RETIRED ARMY GENERALS FACE PUNISHMENT IN TILLMAN CASE

Retired Army generals facepunishment in Tillman case
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Two generals singled out for blame in the Pat Tillman case have retired since the Army Ranger was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, but they remain within reach of the military justice system. Because they receive military pensions, Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger and Brig. Gen. Gary Jones could be recalled to active duty and court-martialed, former and current military lawyers say. Kensinger, the officer most heavily criticized in a Monday report from the Pentagon, could be charged with making false official statements. The maximum punishment if convicted is five years in prison, a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay, said John Einwechter, who has been an Army commander and a military prosecutor.
Racial issues surfacein teachers' sex cases
CLINTON, S.C. -- The arrest of two female teachers on charges of having sex with their male students has brought cries of lingering racism in one of South Carolina's most conservative counties and evoked some of the South's oldest and deepest-seated racial taboos. Both women are white. The boys -- six in all -- are black. Some of the blacks who make up more than a quarter of Laurens County's 70,000 residents are upset over the handling of the two cases, particularly the release of the teachers on bail. They say the cases reflect the way crimes by whites against blacks in the segregated South were treated less seriously than other offenses, and blacks who leveled accusations against whites were less likely to be believed. "If this had been black teachers, they would not be out of jail right now," said Corinnie Young, a 49-year-old bookstore employee who is black. Some blacks shudder to think what would have happened if the teachers were black men and the students were white girls. "I can assure you if it were an African American male who committed such an offense against a white female, history shows us that the charges, the punishment and the sentencing would be totally different," said state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph. "The system ain't blind when the perpetrator is an African American male or female or when the victim is a white female."
Tuskegee Airmen beinghonored for their service
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Recognition has been a long time coming for Milton Crenshaw and other members of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit in the Army Air Corps. But now, in the span of one week, Crenshaw has been honored by the state of Arkansas, and he and other survivors of the unit will receive the Congressional Gold Medal for their work as fighter pilots during World War II. Without men like Crenshaw, the unit would not have been as successful, Gov. Mike Beebe said as he presented Crenshaw a plaque for his dedication, service and commitment. "I don't think there's any question that nobody had a greater track record as a unit in World War II than the Tuskegee Airmen," Beebe said. "Over 100 kills and ... not a single loss in combat as a result of enemy fire. That didn't just happen, somebody trained those guys to be that good."
DNA tests link abandonedbabies to the same mother
OROSI, Calif. -- The first newborn was discovered swaddled in a blanket on an outdoor bench, an umbilical cord still hanging from his tiny body. Then, at neat 11-month intervals, two more abandoned babies were found in parked pickup trucks in the same neighborhood. This week, DNA tests established all three babies were almost certainly born to the same mother. Now, in a heartbreaking mystery that has transfixed this central California farm community of 7,300, investigators are trying to find the mother and figure out what drove her to such desperate lengths. All three newborns were found within a two-block radius. The first two -- a boy and a girl -- survived and are now wards of the state.
Marine Corps bansextra-large tattoos
OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Five tattooed skulls stretch from Marine Cpl. Jeremy Slaton's right elbow to his wrist, spelling out the word death. He planned to add a tattoo spelling life on his left arm, but that's on hold because of a Marine policy taking effect Sunday. The Marines are banning any new, extra-large tattoos below the elbow or the knee, saying such body art is harmful to the Corps' spit-and-polish image. Slaton and other grunts are not pleased. "I guess I'll get the other half later," grumbled the 24-year-old leatherneck from Eden Prairie, Minn. "It's kind of messed up." For many Marines, getting a tattoo is a rite of passage. They commonly get their forearms inscribed to remember fallen comrades, combat tours or loved ones, and often ask for exotic designs that incorporate the Marine motto, Semper Fi, or "Always faithful."
Associated Press