Dolly lashes Texas coast as Category 2 hurricane
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Hurricane Dolly churned into a Category 2 storm as its eye neared the Texas-Mexico border Wednesday, bringing fierce winds and heavy rains that blew down signs, damaged an apartment complex and knocked out electricity to thousands. Forecasters warned of up to 15 inches of rain that could produce flooding and breach levees in the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley. Thunderstorms were attributed to Dolly as far away as Houston, 400 miles up the Texas coastline.

Obama defends plans for direct talks with Iran
SDEROT, Israel (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his proposal to negotiate with Iran Wednesday and said he would use "big sticks and big carrots" to persuade the country's leaders not to develop nuclear weapons. "My whole goal in terms of having tough, serious direct diplomacy is not because I'm naive about the nature of any of these regimes. I'm not," Obama said at a press conference. "It is because if we show ourselves willing to talk and to offer carrots and sticks in order to deal with these pressing problems, and if Iran then rejects any overtures of that sort, it puts us in a stronger position to mobilize the international community to ratchet up the pressure on Iran."

President Bush drops opposition to housing bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -President Bush dropped his opposition Wednesday to a broad housing package aimed at bolstering the sagging economy, despite his objections to including $3.9 billion for neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosures. The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, and it could become law as early as this week. Under the bill, the government would help struggling homeowners get new, cheaper loans and would be allowed to offer troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a cash infusion.

Rice pushes top North Korean diplomat on nukes
SINGAPORE (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed North Korea on Wednesday to accept terms to verify the dismantling of its nuclear weapons program, as the two countries held cabinet-level talks for the first time in four years. Rice told Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun that his nation must move quickly to prove it has told the truth about its past atomic activities if it wants to improve ties with the United States and North Korea's immediate neighbors and end its international isolation.

McCain credits Bush for drop in oil price
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign. The cost of oil and gasoline is "on everybody's mind in this room," McCain told a town-hall meeting.

Serb's fugitive life had mistress, bogus family
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Radovan Karadzic's secret life included a mistress, a bogus family he claimed he left behind in the U.S., and frequent visits to a Belgrade pub called "The Madhouse," acquaintances said Wednesday. A lawyer for the former Bosnian Serb leader - who sported a bushy white beard and long gray hair when he was captured Monday - said he had a shave and a haircut at his request.

Stocks mostly rise following drop in oil prices
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were mostly higher Wednesday as another decline in oil prices and several upbeat profit reports eased some of Wall Street's concerns about the economy. Investors believe that a sustained easing of oil prices could give a crucial boost to the economy. Crude has retreated as Hurricane Dolly looked likely to spare key oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico and after the government reported Wednesday that domestic inventories increased last week as consumers curbed their energy use. But oil came off its lows - and stocks pared their gains - after the hurricane strengthened to a Category 2 storm.

Electronics giants to create wireless HD standard
NEW YORK (AP) - Sony, Samsung and other consumer-electronics heavyweights are uniting to support a technology that could send high-definition video signals wirelessly from a single set-top box to screens around the home. The consortium due to be announced Wednesday is an important development in the race to create a definitive way to replace tangles of video cables, but doesn't end it - both Sony and Samsung also are supporting a competing technology.

Omarosa: Wendy Williams is 'a fake and a phony'
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Omarosa is not sorry for sparring with Wendy Williams. "I stand by everything I said," Omarosa told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The reality star - whose full name is Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth - appeared Monday on "The Wendy Williams Show" to promote her upcoming book but instead spent more time trading insults with radio personality-turned-talk show host Wendy Williams, who infamously engaged Whitney Houston during an interview on her radio show in 2003.

Phillies rally for 6 runs in 9th to beat Mets
NEW YORK (AP) - So Taguchi and Jimmy Rollins had two-run doubles in a six-run ninth, and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied against the New York Mets' makeshift bullpen for an 8-6 victory Tuesday night, taking over first place in the NL East. After Johan Santana pitched eight dominant innings, the Mets had to make do without closer Billy Wagner, who had an MRI on his shoulder earlier Tuesday.