AP - Israel pressed the first full day of a massive new ground attack, sending 8,000 troops into southern Lebanon on Wednesday and seizing five people it said were Hezbollah fighters in a dramatic airborne raid on a northeastern town. Hezbollah retaliated with its deepest strikes yet into Israel, firing a record number of more than 160 rockets.

AP - President Jalal Talabani predicted Wednesday that Iraqi troops will assume security duties for the whole country by the end of the year, even as more U.S. soldiers headed to the capital to bolster local forces struggling to contain violence.

AP - Commuters sweated on their way to work Wednesday as the temperature and humidity started climbing back up to heat wave levels after a night of little relief.