Reuters - President George W. Bush plans on Wednesday to try and counter criticism that he lacks a clear strategy on Iraq by focusing on the training of Iraqi forces to take over security so U.S. troops can eventually withdraw.

Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court takes up its first abortion case in five years and returns to one of its most contentious issues on Wednesday when it considers a state law requiring notification of a parent before a minor can end her pregnancy.

AP - President Bush is trying to convince skeptical Americans that Iraqi forces are increasingly able to protect their nation but the president is not ready to set dates for withdrawing U.S. troops.

AP - More than 700 people — many suffering from pneumonia and hypothermia — were treated at hospitals Wednesday as winter descends on Pakistani Kashmir and the millions who lost their homes in last month's earthquake.

AP - The victims of the busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record may be comforted now that it's finally ending Wednesday: No hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December and May.

AP - The East Coast may be losing residents to states in the South and West, but many of the high-paying jobs have stayed behind.

Reuters - Gunmen opened fire on a minibus north of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing nine people and wounding two, police said.

Reuters - A 25-year-old Indonesian woman who died has tested positive for bird flu, a senior researcher at the health ministry said on Wednesday.

AFP - A massive police manhunt is underway in Bangladesh for would-be suicide bombers after two Islamic extremists blew themselves up, killing eight others as part of a battle to impose strict Muslim law in the country.

AFP - The United States will likely reach this week the grim milestone of 1,000 executions of convicts since 1976, although capital punishment is declining with fewer juries choosing death sentences.

AFP - Britain will make a last effort on Thursday to push through a European-wide package of anti-terror measures in the face of dogged opposition from some of its partners.

AFP - Two Saudi businesswomen swept to an unprecedented victory in elections to the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the first polls in which women stood as candidates in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

AP - A peace group blamed the United States and Britain for the abduction of four activists shown in an insurgent video, saying the kidnapping was the direct result of the occupation of Iraq.

Reuters - Masked men shot dead nine Iraqis near Baghdad on Wednesday, underscoring the country's dire security situation two weeks before elections and as President George W. Bush was due to unveil a comprehensive new strategy.

Reuters - Young men prevented from voting in the slums of Egypt's second city say U.S. support for their government has added to their mistrust of a country already deeply unpopular in the Arab world.

AP - President Bush confronted doubts about his war policy Wednesday, asserting that more Iraqi security forces are taking the lead in battle but saying it's still uncertain when U.S. forces can be withdrawn.

AP - The victims of the busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record may be comforted now that it's finally ending Wednesday: No hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December and May.

AP - Airport security screeners are reportedly going to let passengers bring sharp objects on board airplanes again. Today's Washington Post says the Transportation Security Administration plans to announce security changes Friday.

AP - Looking to gain another edge on its rivals, Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. on Wednesday will begin testing a new e-mail folder designed to make it easier for people to track the latest information posted on their favorite Web sites.

AP - U.S. stock market futures trended lower Wednesday after the second broker downgrade of Internet search engine Yahoo Inc. this week. The release of data expected to show a better performance for the U.S. economy in the third quarter than originally forecast also will be a market focus.

AP - The rosters were much different, and so was the result. Dee Brown scored 14 points, Brian Randle grabbed a key rebound in the waning seconds and No. 12 Illinois held off North Carolina 68-64 on Tuesday night in a diluted rematch of last season's NCAA championship game.

Reuters - The White House said on Wednesday that Iraq was likely to struggle with violence for many years, but as its forces increasingly take over security, U.S. troops can eventually withdraw.

Reuters - A dead Indonesian woman has tested positive for bird flu but there was no evidence two brothers were victims of the avian influenza virus, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Reuters - A key Lebanese suspect in the killing of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri has been taken to hospital following a heart problem, judicial and security sources said on Wednesday.

AP - The Supreme Court is considering its first abortion rights case under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, with an unpredictable outcome because of the court's changing makeup.

AP - The economy grew at a lively 4.3 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in more than a year. The performance offered fresh testimony that the country's overall economic health managed to improve despite the destructive force of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Reuters - The White House said on Wednesday that Iraq was likely to struggle with violence for many years, but as its forces increasingly take over security, U.S. troops can eventually withdraw.

Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court takes up its first abortion case in five years and returns to one of its most contentious issues on Wednesday when it considers a state law requiring notification of a parent before a minor can end her pregnancy.

Reuters - A Lebanese former security chief arrested in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has been taken to hospital with heart trouble, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. economic growth was much stronger in the third quarter than first thought as consumers and businesses spent more than estimated, but corporate profits shrank as insurers were sideswiped by Gulf Coast hurricanes, a government report showed on Wednesday.

AFP - US President George W. Bush laid out his most detailed strategy yet for winning the Iraq war, but warned there would be violence there "for many years to come" and declined to set a date for a US pullout.

AP - President Bush, facing growing doubts about his war strategy, said Wednesday that Iraqi troops are increasingly taking the lead in battle but that "this will take time and patience." He refused to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.

AP - New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte urged the Supreme Court Wednesday to uphold that state's parental notification law, as the justices took up their first abortion rights in five years and under the leadership of new Chief Justice John Roberts.

AP - U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs, the military said Wednesday.

AP - Airline passengers will be allowed to carry small scissors and tools onto planes, reversing a rule that led to confiscation of many thousands of sharp objects at airports since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a Homeland Security Department official said Wednesday.

USATODAY.com - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the first abortion dispute before the justices since 2000, when they voted 5-4 to strike down Nebraska's ban on 'partial birth' abortion. The new dispute tests whether such a health exception should be required in parental-involvement mandates, which have been passed in various forms by 43 states.

AP - Julia Roberts may be a wife and mother, but she still brings home the bacon — to the tune of $20 million per movie.

Reuters - U.S. troops will be able to withdraw from Iraq as local forces gain competence, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday, but near Baghdad the killing of nine people underscored a dire security situation two weeks before Iraq's milestone election.

Reuters - Israeli veteran statesman Shimon Peres will announce on Wednesday he is quitting the Labor Party, which ousted him as its leader in an internal election earlier this month, Israel Radio said.

Reuters - Britain said on Wednesday it had asked the United States to respond to media reports that the CIA is running secret jails in Eastern Europe and covertly flying prisoners through airports in the European Union.

AFP - Two Saudi businesswomen swept to a suprise victory in chamber of commerce elections in the first polls in which women stood as candidates in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

AP - The economy grew at a lively 4.3 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in more than a year. The performance offered fresh testimony that the country's overall economic health managed to improve despite the destructive force of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

AP - Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer had another abnormal heartbeat this week and returned to the hospital for treatment.

Reuters - U.S. troops will be able to withdraw from Iraq as local forces gain competence, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday, but near Baghdad the killing of nine people underscored a dire security situation two weeks before Iraq's milestone election.

Reuters - A scientist who helped to discover the HIV virus said he has made progress toward producing an AIDS vaccine and hopes to launch a clinical trial in about a year.

Reuters - House of Representatives Minority leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday backed a call by Democratic Rep. John Murtha to quickly start the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Reuters - The main building of the Library of Congress was evacuated on Wednesday morning after a "suspicious odor" was detected and two people felt faint, Capitol police said.

AFP - Embattled President George W. Bush defiantly dismissed mounting worries about his Iraq war strategy, refusing to set a date for a US pullout and warning that victory requires "time and patience."

AFP - Angela Merkel, in her first speech to parliament as German chancellor, pledged to return the country to its status as an economic powerhouse and said her government would not be blackmailed over the fate of a hostage in Iraq.

AFP - Talks between the European Union and Iran on winning guarantees Tehran is not making nuclear weapons may take longer to restart than expected as the two sides are bickering over substance and form, diplomats told AFP.

AFP - Israel's elder statesman Shimon Peres was set to quit Labour and support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima party, which polls predict will emerge the winner of a March general election.

AFP - The deputy chief of Uganda's notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) said the rebels are ready to talk peace, breaking the group's penchant for secrecy and drawing a cautious response from the government.

AP - The nation's economy demonstrated just how sturdy it is, posting its best quarterly showing in more than a year despite the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

AP - Paul Konerko decided to stay with the World Series champion Chicago White Sox, agreeing Wednesday to a $60 million, five-year contract.

Reuters - Though a decision on clemency is still pending from the governor of North Carolina, it is virtually certain the 1,000th execution in the United States since 1977 will take place this week, experts said on Wednesday.

AFP - Veteran statesman Shimon Peres abandoned his lifelong home in Israel's Labour party to support his old rival Ariel Sharon, adding momentum to the premier's prospects of re-election in March.

AP - Bitter over his ouster as Labor Party chief, Shimon Peres quit his political home of six decades Wednesday to campaign for Ariel Sharon's new party, saying the prime minister is the best choice to lead Israel to peace with the Palestinians.

AP - As a young government lawyer opposed to abortion rights, Samuel Alito argued for a legal strategy of chipping away at the landmark Supreme Court ruling rather than mounting an all-out assault likely to inflict a defeat on the Reagan administration, according to documents released Wednesday.

AP - An influential Sunni clerical group called Wednesday for the release of five Westerners taken hostage in a grim revival of the kidnappings that shook Iraq last year, saying they should be freed on humanitarian grounds.

AP - Alicia Keys and Bono are hoping to save the lives of children through song. The two superstars have collaborated on "Don't Give Up (Africa)," and will donate all proceeds to Keep A Child Alive, which provides medicine to families infected with AIDS and the HIV virus.

AP - Strong growth in the nation's gross domestic product spooked investors and sent stocks mostly lower Wednesday as the data renewed fears that the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates. Despite the drop, the market ended November with impressive gains.

AP - Paul Konerko decided to stay with the World Series champion Chicago White Sox, agreeing Wednesday to a $60 million, five-year contract.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday rejected calls for a timetable to pull U.S. troops from Iraq, but the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives added to the pressure by announcing her support for a quick withdrawal of forces.

Reuters - The United States is virtually certain this week to execute its 1,000th prisoner since 1977 with two inmates scheduled to die by lethal injection in North Carolina and South Carolina, where they are unlikely to be granted clemency, experts said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Iran said on Wednesday talks on what it says are civilian nuclear plans would begin within days with EU states, but Germany said Tehran would first have to try and dispel fears it really wanted to build the bomb.

AFP - Talks between the European Union and Iran on winning guarantees Tehran is not making nuclear weapons may take longer to restart than expected as the two sides are bickering over substance and form, diplomats told AFP Wednesday.

AP - U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a joint operation Wednesday in an area west of Baghdad used to rig car bombs, while American soldiers rounded up 33 suspected insurgents in a sweep of southern parts of the capital.

USATODAY.com - The Vatican published its long-awaited document on gays in the clergy Tuesday, saying men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies should not be ordained but those with a "transitory problem" could be if they had overcome them for three years.

Reuters - California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named a Democrat in a same-sex marriage as his chief of staff on Wednesday in an apparent political shift on the heels of a major electoral defeat.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. treaty writers have given up on completing a long-stalled comprehensive treaty against terrorism by the end of the year, as called for by U.N. leaders, diplomats said on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Deaths from car crashes in developed countries are nearly 400 times greater than those resulting from international terrorism, according to a study published on Thursday.

AP - Actress Wendie Jo Sperber, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV's "Bosom Buddies" and who in his words became "a walking inspiration" after she contracted cancer, has died. She was 46.

AP - Samsung, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge it participated in a worldwide price-fixing conspiracy that damaged competition and raised PC prices.

AP - The struggling Boston Bruins traded captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night in exchange for three players.

AFP - More than 300 CIA flights have landed at European airports, a British newspaper said, adding a new element to claims that Washington has been transporting terrorist suspects to secret prisons in Europe.