Pelosi condemns Stark's remark

Washington

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuked a fellow San Francisco Bay-area liberal Friday for what she said were "inappropriate" comments about Iraq during a congressional debate.

During a debate on children's health care Thursday, Rep. Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to "get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

Condemnations rolled in from Republican politicians; right-leaning bloggers had a field day; and a White House spokesman declined to "dignify those remarks" with a response.

Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Pair to be tried in Haditha killings

A Marine lieutenant colonel and a lance corporal have been ordered to stand trial on charges stemming from the 2005 killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, the Marine Corps said Friday.

Of eight initial defendants, the two are the only ones who have been ordered to court-martial. The case constitutes the largest number of civilian deaths of any case involving Marines in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 42, a former battalion commander, faces charges of dereliction of duty and failing to obey a direct order in not ordering a full-scale investigation into whether the killings constituted a war crime.

Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, 26, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.

Clarksburg, W.Va.

DuPont ordered to pay $196 million

DuPont was ordered Friday to pay $196.2 million in punitive damages for deliberately dumping dangerous heavy metals on an industrial site, ending a complex trial involving property-damage claims, long-term health screenings and corporate accountability.

The suit accused DuPont of deliberately dumping toxic arsenic, cadmium and lead, jeopardizing thousands of people in and around the town of Spelter.

Jurors previously found the company liable for and negligent in creating the waste site and causing a public and private nuisance. DuPont also was required to provide medical monitoring for 40 years.

DuPont also was ordered to pay about $55.5 million to clean up private properties.

The company said it would appeal the decision.

Baton Rouge, La.

Jindal favorite in governor's race

Four years after losing a heated battle for Louisiana governor, Rep. Bobby Jindal is well ahead of the pack in a repeat run.

If he receives 50 percent of the vote in today's primary, the 36-year-old, Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants will become the state's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction and the youngest governor in office.

The Republican's prospects have brightened thanks to his congressional experience, a splintered Democratic field and an incumbent, Kathleen Blanco, whose fortunes were done in by Hurricane Katrina.

Seattle Times news services