USA
A Pentagon investigation will get to the bottom of alleged revenge killings of Iraqi civilians by US marines, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday on CBS's "The Early Show." Pace, however, added that it was premature to judge the outcome of the probe about reports that marines shot and killed unarmed civilians, including some in their homes, after a US military convoy was bombed last November in Haditha, an insurgent hotbed. Rep. John Murtha (D) of Pennsylvania has charged a coverup in the case.
Mississippi has stopped distributing $17 million in federal reimbursement money to Harrison County, on the Gulf Coast, after a federal audit revealed contractors were getting paid for removing nonqualifying hurricane Katrina debris. The state has withheld funds since Federal Emergency Management Agency auditors discovered a "multitude of discrepancies," many related to work on trees too small to merit federal funds. The FEMA report also was critical of a noncompetitive bid process used in the state's most populous coastal county.
Sears Holding Corp. said it plans to close 20 underperforming hardware stores, including a number in the Detroit area, by the end of June. The closures leave Sears with 119 hardware stores nationwide.
In a survey about the impatience of Americans, 54 percent said that when placing phone calls they can't wait more than five minutes on hold before losing their patience, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. The survey found that Americans most dislike waiting in grocery stores, with almost 1 in 4 saying checkout lines are where their patience frays most readily.
Barry Bonds has set his sights on overtaking home run king Hank Aaron (755 homers) after passing Babe Ruth with his 715th career homer Sunday at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The 445-foot blast, hit off Colorado pitcher Byung Hyun Kim, came before the Giants hit the road, where Bonds often is roundly booed because of accusations about his use of steroids. Bonds hits a home runs about every 12.9 times to the plate; Ruth homered about every 11.7 times at bat.
