Montana senator's nephew dies in Iraq

HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A nephew of Sen. Max Baucus serving in the Marines was killed in Iraq during the weekend, the senator's office said Tuesday.

Residents flee as rain swamps Texas

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- A third day of heavy rain caused widespread flooding around El Paso on Tuesday, swamping mountainside homes, forcing evacuations and closing major roads.

General: Army Guard 'in dire situation'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.

Navy ends Haditha investigation

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. naval investigation team has wrapped up its investigation into the murders of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, allegedly at the hands of U.S. Marines, U.S. military officials told CNN.

'Hit-and-run grannies' charged with murder

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two women in their 70s were charged Monday with having homeless men killed in hit-and-run car crashes to collect more than $2 million in life insurance.

Gibson: 'I am not an anti-Semite'

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Mel Gibson on Tuesday admitted making anti-Semitic remarks during his drunken driving arrest and appealed to the Jewish community to help him recover from his alcohol addiction.

Tropical Storm Chris heads for Leeward Islands

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, developed early Tuesday near the Leeward Islands, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.

Exiles in Miami cheer Castro's illness

HIALEAH, Florida (AP) -- When Gladys Morales heard that Fidel Castro had temporarily given up power, she woke her 70-year-old mother to celebrate with other Cuban exiles dancing in Hialeah's streets.

Heat puts strain on people, power

NEW YORK (AP) -- The famed necklace lights lining the city's East River bridges will remain off to save power, as the city braces for potentially record breaking heat. It's one of many conservation tactics across the country during soaring temperatures from the Midwest to the Northeast.

Sixty Western wildfires stretch crews to limit

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Fot the first time since 2003, federal land management agencies are being asked to make more employees available to fight wildfires because crews and equipment have been stretched to the limit by nearly 60 major blazes around the West.