Fallen Marine's letter marks Memorial Day in Kabul
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| U.S. Marines conduct an operation to clear a village of Taliban fighters on July 5, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan ((Joe Raedle, Getty Images) |
Gen. John Allen said during a ceremony Monday in Kabul that the words of his fellow Marine, Sgt. William Stacey, speak for all fallen troops.
The 23-year-old Stacey told his family it would be worth giving his life for the safety of an Afghan child who may one day change the world.
Stacey was killed by a homemade bomb while on a foot patrol in southern Helmand province on January 31st.
At least 1,851 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, according to the latest Associated Press count.
Guilty plea in fatal crash case
The Salt Lake Tribune reports 19-year-old Laura Blocker entered the plea Friday in 3rd District Court to the class A misdemeanor.
Judge Judith Atherton suspended a jail sentence and ordered Blocker to complete 24 months of probation and 500 hours of community service.
According to court documents, Blocker's car went out of control, rolled and burst into flames, killing her 19-year-old cousin Kellie McElroy.
Blocker, who escaped with minor injuries, told police she was driving about 100 mph in a 50 mph zone at the time.
Legal battle brewing over unusual deportation case
DENVER (AP) - Attorneys are scrambling to find a way to prevent the deportation of a woman who was adopted from an orphanage in India when she was 3-months-old following a determination by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that she is in the United States illegally.Kairi Abha Shepherd's adoptive mother died when she was 8-years-old, never having filed citizenship paperwork.
The appellate court earlier this month upheld an immigration court's ruling that Shepherd, now 30, is too old to qualify for automatic citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 that applies to children from foreign countries who are adopted by Americans.
Shepherd has no family or contacts in India. ICE officials say a prior felony conviction for forgery make her an enforcement priority.
Man ends hunger strike over Hatch debates
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah man who went on a hunger strike to pressure Sen. Orrin Hatch into televised debates with a Republican challenger has ended it after five days.McKay Christensen posted on Facebook that he stopped the hunger strike on Thursday because of health problems. He says his wife, kids and mother had pleaded with him to end the effort.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the 43-year-old Christensen is a volunteer for GOP candidate Dan Liljenquist.
Liljenquist forced a primary election with Hatch at the Republican state convention in April. The Liljenquist campaign has said they would like more debates with Hatch, but they did not support the hunger strike.
Hatch is still declining televised debates, but the longtime senator has agreed to appear with Liljenquist on a political radio talk show. That debate is expected to happen in June.