• NC police warned about woman with 5 dead spouses 7/23/2008, 7:27 p.m. EDT
ALBEMARLE, N.C. (AP) — A former police officer and a neighbor said Wednesday that a Georgia grandmother who now has five dead spouses tried to hire them to kill her fourth husband more than two decades ago.

• FCC nearing approval of satellite radio deal 7/23/2008, 7:17 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The proposed merger of the Sirius and XM satellite radio companies appeared close to final approval Wednesday, with the sole undecided member of the Federal Communications Commission poised to support the deal if the companies settle past rules violations.

• Ohio governor declares emergency from wind damage 7/23/2008, 7:17 p.m. EDT
JUNCTION CITY, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has declared a state of emergency in the county hit by a storm with winds of up to 110 mph.

• Obama tells Israel he's committed to its security 7/23/2008, 7:12 p.m. EDT
SDEROT, Israel (AP) — From the solemnity of a Holocaust museum to a dusty village battered by Hamas rockets, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday professed "an unshakable commitment to the security" of Israel, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

• Pentagon to recommend more troops for Afghanistan 7/23/2008, 7:02 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Pentagon leaders are expected to recommend soon that Defense Secretary Robert Gates order hundreds of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the next month or so, according to a senior military official.

• Chicago cop accused of shaking down tow operators 7/23/2008, 6:50 p.m. EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — A police officer was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of shaking down tow truck operators for payoffs of up to $400 per vehicle in exchange for steering towing business to them.

• NTSB investigates near collision at O'Hare 7/23/2008, 6:46 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it is investigating a near collision of airborne planes at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport — the third such incident at a major airport this month.

• Suspect in girlfriend's killing found dead in cell 7/23/2008, 6:35 p.m. EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man charged with murdering his pregnant girlfriend in front of their two children killed himself in his jail cell, a state prison official said Wednesday.

• Hurricane Dolly slams South Texas, but levees hold 7/23/2008, 6:31 p.m. EDT
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Dolly barreled into South Texas on Wednesday, lashing the coast with winds up to 100 mph and dumping heavy rain that threatened to flood low-lying areas but spared levees along the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley.

• Calif. woman attacked by bear, drives self to help 7/23/2008, 6:30 p.m. EDT
CALIENTE, Calif. (AP) — A woman walking her two dogs in a rural area of Southern California was attacked and severely injured by a bear, but managed to escape and drive herself to a nearby fire station.

• McCain denies he misstated timing of Iraq surge 7/23/2008, 6:28 p.m. EDT
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — Republican John McCain pushed back on Wednesday against Democratic criticism that he misstated when the troop buildup ordered by President Bush began, saying elements were put in place before Bush announced the strategy in early 2007.

• Judge: EPA must regulate ship water discharge 7/23/2008, 6:25 p.m. EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An appeals judge says the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate the water discharged from ships as a way to protect local ecosystems from invasive species.

• Ambassador: Al-Qaida leaving Iraq for Afghanistan 7/23/2008, 6:21 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Al-Qaida's foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States said Wednesday.

• Alleged SF computer saboteur's bail request denied 7/23/2008, 6:19 p.m. EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A judge on Wednesday refused to reduce the $5 million bail of a San Francisco technology expert accused of rigging the city's computer system to malfunction during routine maintenance.

• Lawmakers press Labor Dept on worker exposure rule 7/23/2008, 6:18 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading lawmakers on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of acting in secret to make it harder to limit worker exposure to carcinogens and other dangerous chemicals in the workplace.

• NTSB investigates near collision at O'Hare 7/23/2008, 6:15 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it is investigating a near collision of airborne planes at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport — the third such incident at a major airport this month.

• Venezuela, Belarus sign oil deal 7/23/2008, 6:05 p.m. EDT
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Venezuela signed over three more oil fields to a joint venture with Belarus on Wednesday, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declaring that the two nations were strongly united in their resistance to "U.S. imperialism" and Washington's "lackeys."

• Dozens of cities to get fewer anti-terror dollars 7/23/2008, 6:03 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of cities will receive less federal money this year than last for anti-terror programs, The Associated Press has learned.

• Woman charged with bludgeoning toddlers to death 7/23/2008, 5:56 p.m. EDT
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — A German woman was charged Wednesday with bludgeoning two toddlers to death with a hammer and seriously injuring their mother in a rampage in Sweden spurred by jealousy over an ex-boyfriend.

• Pa. judge won't reduce sentence for triple killer 7/23/2008, 5:52 p.m. EDT
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge says a teenager who killed three members of a family must serve three consecutive life terms.

• Today on the presidential campaign trail 7/23/2008, 5:48 p.m. EDT
(AP) — IN THE HEADLINES

• New policy lowers flags only for Ky. soldiers 7/23/2008, 5:46 p.m. EDT
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has started lowering flags to half-staff only for fallen soldiers from the Bluegrass State, upsetting veterans and lawmakers who say the policy dishonors tens of thousands of service members from other states stationed at installations such as Fort Campbell and Fort Knox.

• Karadzic's secret life enthralls his fellow Serbs 7/23/2008, 5:37 p.m. EDT
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Radovan Karadzic sent word he plans to defend himself against U.N. genocide charges, but his fellow Serbs were more enthralled with details that emerged Wednesday about his secret life: a mistress, a bogus family in the U.S., and regular visits to the Madhouse bar and its photo of his beardless days as wartime leader of Bosnian Serbs.

• Gates, Bloomberg pool riches to fight smoking 7/23/2008, 5:32 p.m. EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money to pour $375 million into a global effort to cut smoking.

• Drug smugglers get record sentences in Ireland 7/23/2008, 5:31 p.m. EDT
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — A trio of English cocaine smugglers who were caught after putting the wrong fuel into their boat received the longest drug-related prison sentences in Irish history Wednesday.