Looking to show action on economy, Obama to promote trio of proposals for growth Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is pitching a trio of economic proposals Wednesday in an effort to show the public he's taking action to spur economic growth.

During a trip to Cleveland, the president will outline a $50 billion infrastructure investment, a permanent expansion of research and development tax credits for companies and new tax breaks that would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of their new capital investments through 2011.

The administration hopes the proposals will increase business and consumer confidence, while also giving Democrats a boost in the November elections. But each proposal would require congressional approval, which is highly uncertain given Washington's partisan atmosphere.

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White House, religious leaders pressure Fla. minister not to burn Quran; he's still praying

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said he was still praying about whether go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, which the White House, religious leaders and others are pressuring him to call off.

The Rev. Terry Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip but still did not back off his plan Tuesday to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect. The 58-year-old minister said the death threats started not long after he proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn-a-Quran Day."

Supporters, though, have been mailing copies of the holy text to his church of about 50 followers to be incinerated in a bonfire on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Gen. David Petraeus took the rare step of a military leader taking a position on a domestic matter when he warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan - and around the world - to inflame public opinion and incite violence."

Jones responded that he is also concerned but is "wondering, 'When do we stop?'" He refused to cancel the protest at his Dove World Outreach Center but said he was still praying about it.

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AP Exclusive: Owner of peanut company linked to 9 salmonella deaths is back in business

WASHINGTON (AP) - The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a salmonella outbreak two years ago that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more is back in the business.

Stewart Parnell, former president of the now-bankrupt Peanut Corp. of America, is working as a consultant to peanut companies as the federal government's criminal investigation against him has languished for more than 18 months, The Associated Press has learned.

Parnell, who invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before Congress in February 2009, once directed employees to "turn them loose" after samples of peanuts had tested positive for salmonella and then were cleared in a second test, according to e-mails uncovered at the time by congressional investigators.

In an interview with the AP, Parnell expressed exasperation and said he wants the pending criminal investigation resolved - one way or another.

"They just say we're still investigating," Parnell said. "I feel like I wish they'd come on and do what they're going to do. I'd like to get this behind me."

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Suspected US missile strike kills 6 militants in NW Pakistan, say intelligence officials

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) - A suspected U.S. drone killed at least six militants in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday when it fired a missile at a house linked to a group that often carries out attacks on NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said.

The U.S. has stepped up drone strikes in recent days, carrying out five suspected attacks in less than a week in North Waziristan, a tribal area along the border that is effectively controlled by militants at war with foreign troops in Afghanistan.

The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge such strikes, but officials have said privately that they have killed several senior Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Wednesday's strike hit a house in the village of Dande Darpa Khel near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, two Pakistani intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The house was owned by Maulvi Azizullah, a member of the Haqqani network, a militant group based in North Waziristan that U.S. military officials have called the most dangerous threat to NATO troops in Afghanistan.

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US expands military training in Yemen, reflecting a broader counterterror program

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. special operations forces are expanding their training of the Yemeni military as the Obama administration broadens its program to counter terrorism in countries reluctant to harbor a visible American military presence.

That balancing act has become an administration trademark, funneling millions of dollars in aid and low-profile military trainers to countries like Pakistan and Yemen in order to take on a more diverse, independent and scattered al-Qaida network.

The scope and amount of the military training in Yemen has grown slowly, reflecting the Pentagon's intention to tackle the terror threat while still being sensitive to fears that a larger American footprint in Yemen could help fuel the insurgency.

Over the past year, the number of elite U.S. trainers moving in and out of Yemen has doubled, from 25 to about 50 now. The numbers fluctuate depending on the training schedule, but U.S. forces are now providing a more complex level of instruction that combines tactical ground and air operations.

At stake is the stability of a troubled, poverty-stricken nation struggling to thwart al-Qaida-linked terrorists who are growing stronger and are increasingly targeting the U.S. and other Western interests.

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BP to release report on internal probe on Gulf of Mexico disaster before key evidence analyzed

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Oil giant BP PLC on Wednesday planned to release the conclusions of its internal investigation into the rig explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the massive Gulf of Mexico spill.

BP was striking first with a detailed report about what it believes went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon on April 20. It comes just days after a key piece of evidence in the explosion was raised to the surface but has not yet been analyzed. It also comes as the blame game heats up in Washington and in the courtroom.

BP was unlikely to place too much onus on itself, given the hundreds of lawsuits and billions of dollars of liabilities it faces. In public hearings, the company has tried to shift some blame to rig owner Transocean Ltd. and cement contractor Halliburton. BP was leasing the rig from Transocean and owned the well that blew out a mile under the Gulf surface, spewing some 206 million gallons of oil into the water over three months.

BP's report is far from the final word on possible causes of the explosion, as several divisions of the U.S. government, including the Justice Department, Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, are also investigating.

Also, a key piece of the puzzle - the blowout preventer that failed to stop the oil from leaking from the well off the Louisiana coast - was raised from the water on Saturday. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had not reached a NASA facility in New Orleans where government investigators planned to analyze it, so those conclusions will not be part of BP's report.

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Weeks of torrential rains force tens of thousands to flee their homes in southern Mexico

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (AP) - Tens of thousands of people have abandoned their homes across southern Mexico to escape flooding from weeks of torrential rains, and forecasts are predicting even more rainfall.

The situation worsened for some areas Tuesday when authorities began releasing 2,000 cubic meters (71,000 cubic feet) of water every second from four dams whose reservoirs were filled to capacity. The surge caused several rivers to overflow.

The flooding has affected all four of Mexico's southernmost states: Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas and Oaxaca. But despite the dangers, government pleas to evacuate were ignored by many people, who are accustomed to severe flooding every year.

Tens of thousands are sleeping on the roofs of their homes, refusing to abandon their possessions despite the rapid rise of rivers.

Hipolito Hernandez hauled many of his belongings onto his roof as the Rio Carrizal washed over its banks and flooded dozens of homes in the farming community of Sauces in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

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Chicago mayor's race promises to be most competitive in decades as Daley steps aside

CHICAGO (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.

Political observers expect a crowded field, as Democrats seize the opportunity after years of biding their time.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a native Chicagoan, former congressman and one-time Daley aide already has said he'd like the job someday. Several aldermen are said to be mulling their chances. And Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is considered a strong contender.

Then there are U.S. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. - who has considered face-offs with Daley in the past but then didn't run - and Luis Guitierrez, who could draw support from the city's substantial Hispanic population.

Political analyst Don Rose, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said Dart and Emanuel probably stand the best chance, though the field may include "a serious African American."

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A White House visit ahead, China's president calls for stable ties with US

BEIJING (AP) - Trying to smooth over recently rocky relations before a visit to Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao told American officials on Wednesday that he wants to see healthy and stable ties between the two countries.

The meeting between Hu and a White House economic policy official and deputy national security adviser was unusual because the Chinese president rarely meets with visitors ranked lower in diplomatic protocol. It underscored Hu's desire to move ahead in relations after months of discord over trade imbalances, Chinese currency policies and U.S. arms sales and military maneuvers.

"China looks positively on the fresh progress made in China-U.S. relations, and we are willing to work together with the United States in promoting the advance of healthy and stable China-U.S. relations," Hu told director of the U.S. National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon.

Addressing the security and economic spats that have dragged down relations was at the heart of Summers' and Donilon's three days of meetings in Beijing. With an anemic economy and his Democratic Party under pressure in upcoming congressional elections, President Barack Obama is hoping for concessions from Beijing on exchange rate policies that critics say keep the Chinese currency too low, thereby subsidizing Chinese exports and contributing to high U.S. unemployment.

Hu, in the meantime, is trying to strengthen his political hand ahead of a delicate Communist Party leadership transition and maintain the popularity of his government with people grown used to high rates of economic growth in part buoyed by trade with the United States.

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Defending champ Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams win to set up marquee semifinal at US Open

NEW YORK (AP) - Nobody can say Kim Clijsters took an easy path to her U.S. Open title last year. She played both Williams sisters.

This year, she'll only play one, though this could be an even more effective version of Venus Williams than came to Flushing Meadows in 2009.

Clijsters and Williams each won their quarterfinal matches Tuesday to set up a marquee semifinal - the No. 2 seed, Clijsters, vs. the No. 3 seed, Williams, and a pair of women both seeking a third U.S. Open championship.

"Just the ability to compete," Williams said when asked to describe her opponent. "I think in coming back from her layoff, I think she never lost that. Obviously she's a very good athlete. When you're a really, really incredible athlete, it really takes your game to another level."

Last year, Clijsters returned from a 2½-year layoff and was hoping to use the U.S. Open as a bit of a tune-up and a test - so she could see how big-time competition felt before she made the comeback in earnest in 2010.