Supervising News Editor Monte Plott -- 404-827-1401

UPCOMING

POL-Debate-Main (Will be updated. Debate begins at 9 p.m. ET.)

With the polls narrowing less than five weeks before Election Day, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney hold their first of three debates Wednesday night in what is the most highly anticipated campaign event to date.

Turkey-Syria-Tension (will update)

Turkey fired on targets in Syria in response to the shelling of a Turkish border town in which five civilians were killed Wednesday, a statement from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said.

Syria-Civil-War (monitoring)

A wave of blasts targeting Syrian government forces killed dozens of people at a popular Aleppo square Wednesday, opposition activists said.

MED-Tennessee-Menengitis (will update)

A non-contagious, fungal form of meningitis has sickened 26 people in five states, killing four, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED STORIES

INTERNATIONAL

Iran-Sanctions-Security

Iranian riot police swarmed a major bazaar Wednesday in Tehran as demonstrators launched protests against firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blaming him for plummeting currency that's leaving families across the country struggling.

Africa Al Qaeda Threat

Al Qaeda is determined to make the fragile African nation of Mali and safe haven and the terrorist threat from the network's affiliate in that country, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, "is spreading while we speak," a senior Europen official said Wednesday.

Vatican-Leaks-Trial

Vatican police who searched the apartments of the pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, as they investigated a suspected leak told a court Wednesday how they found more than 1,000 important documents among a stash of hundreds of thousands.

Iran-Sanctions-Security

Iranian riot police swarmed a major bazaar Wednesday in Tehran as demonstrators launched protests against firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blaming him for plummeting currency that's leaving families across the country struggling.

Gaza-Hamas-Abuses

A human rights watchdog has documented "serious abuses" in the criminal justice system of Hamas, the political movement that runs the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Syria-Civil-War

A wave of blasts targeting Syrian government forces killed dozens of people at a popular Aleppo square Wednesday, opposition activists said.

Turkey-Syria-Tension

At least five people were killed and a dozen injured when a shell landed on a house in the Turkish town of Akcakale, near the Syrian border, a local mayor and the semi-official Anadolu news agency said Wednesday.

Sudan-Peacekeepers-Killed

Four peacekeepers with the African Union-United Nations Mission in the Darfur region of Sudan were killed and eight injured in an ambush by unidentified attackers Wednesday, the group said.

Wales-Missing-Girl

The distraught mother of a missing five-year-old girl broke down in sobs Wednesday as she pleaded for help to find her daughter, April Jones, who was snatched from a street in Wales as she played.