Here's a snapshot of some of the top stories we're following Wednesday evening
Obama undecided on whether to strike Syria
President Barack Obama made the case Wednesday for a strike against Syria to send a message and discourage the future use of chemical weapons — but said he had not yet made a decision on whether to take action. Meanwhile, close ally Britain said it wants to wait for a report from a United Nations inspection team before it decides on a response. Read more on NBC News
King’s ‘words belong to the ages’
President Obama paid tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday before throngs of people who descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his "I Have a Dream" speech, declaring that "his words belong to the ages." Read more on NBC News
Fort Hood gunman sentenced to death
Fort Hood massacre gunman Nidal Hasan will report to the maximum security prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., after a 13-member military jury sentenced him to death on Wednesday, also dismissing him from the Army and stripping him of military pay. The families of several victims spoke out after the verdict, one calling Hasan “a coward, a traitor and a murderer.” Read more on NBC News
Court says third-party texters risk liability in car crashes
A New Jersey appeals court ruled that third-party texters — people who send a text message to someone the sender knows is driving — could bear responsibility in car crashes. Read more on NBC News
Zimmerman’s wife pleads guilty to perjury
George Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a perjury charge for misleading a Florida court about her family's finances during a bail hearing. She was sentenced to a year’s probation and 100 hours of community service. Read more on NBC News
Progress in battle against Yosemite fire
Firefighters reported significant progress Wednesday against one of the biggest wildfires in California's history, but it was still spewing an enormous plume of smoke, dangerously contaminating the air across California and Nevada. Read more on NBC News
Are we all Martians?
A controversial hypothesis contends that life on our planet had to get its start somewhere else — most likely on Mars — because the chemistry on early Earth couldn't have provided the required molecular machinery. Read more on NBC News
