BP report blames itself, others for oil spill (AP)

AP - Oil giant BP PLC laid much of the blame for the rig explosion and the massive Gulf of Mexico spill on itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures in an internal report released Wednesday before a key piece of evidence has been fully analyzed.

Fla. minister: Sept. 11 Quran burn still planned (AP)

AP - The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.

Colo. wildfire's toll of destroyed homes rises (AP)

AP - Will Esposito describes an otherworldly scene after a wildfire tore through a canyon in the Colorado foothills: Some houses in his neighborhood burning while others stood intact, a propane tank shooting flames into the sky, and an eerie quiet interrupted only by firefighting helicopters and airplanes.

FBI: Aircraft searched, no credible threat found (AP)

AP - Investigators found no explosives aboard a Los Angeles-bound Thai Airways flight in which a bomb threat was found scrawled on a bathroom mirror, the FBI said Wednesday.

LAPD brass plead for calm; protesters egg station (AP)

AP - Police Chief Charlie Beck pleaded for calm and vowed his department would conduct an exhaustive investigation into a bicycle officer's fatal shooting of a drunken day laborer with a knife.

Chicago mayor race wide open as Daley steps aside (AP)

AP - Suddenly, the race for Chicago mayor is on. Mayor Richard M. Daley has thrown the competition for the city's top job wide open by announcing he won't run for a seventh term, ending 21 years of token opposition and prompting speculation about who's next in line to lead the nation's third largest city.

Imam: NYC Islamic center to include other faiths (AP)

AP - A proposed Islamic community center near ground zero will include separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, the imam behind plans for the facility wrote in an op-ed piece published online Tuesday.

Former NM gov is little known but has big ideas (AP)

AP - Despite two terms as governor of New Mexico and recent visits to 26 states, most Americans have never heard of Gary Johnson.

Winds pushing fire through 2 dozen Detroit homes (AP)
AP - Fire officials say flames have swept through at least two dozen Detroit homes, fanned by strong winds that toppled power lines across the city and knocked out service to at least 113,000 Michigan homes and businesses.

Hermine's remnants head north after storm weakens (AP)

AP - Its power spent, what was left of Tropical Storm Hermine made its way north Wednesday, having drenched parts of northeastern Mexico and south Texas before weakening.

WTC steel column installed at ground zero (AP)

AP - Officials hoisted a 70-foot piece of World Trade Center steel at ground zero Tuesday and vowed to open the Sept. 11 memorial by next year, although they acknowledged that the ongoing construction at the site would limit where and how the public could visit.

George Soros gives $100M to Human Rights Watch (AP)

AP - Billionaire philanthropist George Soros is putting up $100 million, one of the largest donations of its kind, to expand Human Rights Watch and help it court more international support.

Microbes are eating BP oil without using up oxygen (AP)

AP - Government scientists studying the BP disaster are reporting the best possible outcome: Microbes are consuming the oil in the Gulf without depleting the oxygen in the water and creating "dead zones" where fish cannot survive.

Flight attendant in passenger tiff to be evaluated (AP)

AP - The flight attendant accused of onboard antics that captured the nation's attention when he told off a passenger and slid down the plane's emergency chute with a beer will undergo a mental health evaluation with the aim of avoiding jail time in a possible plea deal.

Non-word `refudiate' gets most online searches (AP)

AP - Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Summer" is not even a word. That's something no one can "refudiate."

Kansas man charged with murdering burned teen (AP)

AP - A 36-year-old factory worker who spent much of his adult life in prison was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting and murdering a 14-year-old girl whose badly burned body was found behind gravel piles at the asphalt plant where he worked.

Hermine gives south Texas another tropical lashing (AP)

AP - Tropical Storm Hermine gave a wet and windy punch to Texas on Tuesday before weakening into a tropical depression, leaving only minor scrapes in the storm-weary Rio Grande Valley, which is proving resilient this hurricane season after taking a third tropical system on the chin.

Feds: Army base gunman threatened to kill Obama (AP)
AP - A former soldier accused of demanding mental treatment as he took hostages at gunpoint at a Georgia Army hospital later told investigators he planned to kill President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed Tuesday.

2 asteroids to whiz harmlessly past Earth (AP)
AP - NASA says two small asteroids discovered just days ago will zip harmlessly past Earth on Wednesday, a double flyby that should be visible through a telescope.

Court: Judges can demand warrant for cell locales (AP)
AP - Judges have the right to require warrants before police get cell phone records that could suggest a customer's likely location, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a novel electronic privacy case.