US staff sergeant to stand trial on voluntary manslaughter charges in Iraqi deaths in Haditha

A staff sergeant will face a court-martial on charges stemming from the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005, the U.S. Marine Corps announced Monday.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 27, will stand trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.

The commanding general in the case, Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, dismissed charges of unpremeditated murder, soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement.

The killings occurred after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy in Iraq, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two other …

Cubs 6, Braves 5CUBS AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

S.Castro ...

Cubs 6, Braves 5

CUBS AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

S.Castro ss 5 0 0 0 0 4 .311

Barney 2b 5 2 3 0 0 1 .293

Ar.Ramirez 3b 5 1 3 0 0 0 .290

C.Pena 1b 4 1 1 3 0 2 .221

Byrd cf 4 1 3 0 0 0 .305

A.Soriano lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 .247

Samardzija p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Marshall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Colvin rf 4 0 1 2 0 2 .135

Soto c 4 0 0 0 0 3 .229

Garza p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .065

a-DeWitt ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .262

Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---

Re.Johnson lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 .351

Totals 39 6 12 5 0 18

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Bourn cf 4 1 3 2 1 0 .304

Prado …

Better tropical storm tracks from models

An enhanced objective method for detecting and tracking model tropical storms in atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) improves the tropical storm climatology and interannual variability. The method takes into account model biases and variability of storm statistics from one ocean basin to another, whereas previous detection/tracking algorithms monitored used global dynamical and thermodynamical threshholds determined from observed tropical storm climatologies.

Previous tracking algorithms connected nearby locations for which the model storm detection criteria were met for longer than some fixed time and produced tracks that were shorter than observed storm tracks. The …

McCain ad puts distance with Bush on environment

TITLE: "Global"

LENGTH: 30 seconds

AIRING: National cable and broadcast markets in Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa.

SCRIPT: Announcer: "John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming, five years ago. Today, he has a realistic plan that will curb greenhouse gas emissions. A plan that will help grow our economy and protect our environment. Reform. Prosperity. Peace. John McCain." McCain: "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."

KEY IMAGES: Jarring music and a quick black and white succession of …

Israel to build new houses in settlements

Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he would approve hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements before considering a temporary freeze in construction, drawing harsh criticism from Washington, which has called for a total halt.

The U.S. has a set a high public bar for a freeze, saying repeatedly that all settlement activity on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state must stop, without exception in order to restart the long stalled peace negotiations.

"We regret the reports of Israel's plans to approve additional settlement construction," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a bluntly worded …

Robinson's Playoff Streak Is Snapped

With the Kings' official elimination from the playoff race lastweek, rookie coach Larry Robinson's 22-year playoff streak (20 as aplayer with the Montreal Canadiens and two as an assistant coach withthe New Jersey Devils) was snapped.

"It was inevitable (though); everything comes to an end," hesaid. "I was hoping it wouldn't. That was one of the goals I setout when I came here - to make the playoffs. If somebody would havetold me we would have had this many injuries and this many thingswould have happened, I wouldn't have believed it."

Asked if he still would have taken the job if he knew then whathe knows now, Robinson said, "Yeah."Would he have asked for more …

Photos of dead aim to bring new life to cold cases

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The corpses' faces are mostly bloated, their skin pale and discolored. One man's lips are stiffened into a grim frown and he stares with half-open eyes. Another man appears to be sleeping, his color natural enough that he almost looks alive.

Forensic investigator Michael Simley knows some people will find the photographs unsettling, but he said he decided to post them online for an important reason: the bodies are unidentified. All were found in Wisconsin's most populous area, Milwaukee County, and have been without names for years — decades, in some cases — and Simley said he's desperate to find answers.

"We're not doing these people justice to let them go …