-
CNN
|
Jan 15, 08 2:30 PM CST
(Newser) -
The burnt body found in the yard of wanted Marine Cesar Laurean's house is that of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, and an autopsy revealed she died from blunt trauma to the head, CNN reports. The DA told the Daily News of Jacksonville, NC, he didn't know whether Lauterbach’s child was born then killed; if that was the case, Laurean could face a second murder charge.
More »
-
-
Associated Press
|
Jan 15, 08 7:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
Official orders have yet to be signed, but thousands more Marines have been told to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan, the AP reports. The extra 3,200 troops would bring the number of US forces there to some 30,000, its highest level since 2001, to combat a rise in insurgent violence. The move comes as tensions are growing within NATO over the conflict, the Washington Post reports.
More »
-
Navy Times
|
Jan 14, 08 6:59 PM CST
(Newser) -
Threats transmitted during a recent faceoff between US Navy vessels and Iranian boats may have come from a prankster known as the “Filipino Monkey,” the Navy Times reports. Towards the end of last month's faceoff in the Strait of Hormuz, a voice transmitted: “I am coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes.” Iran says the US lied about the threats; now Navy officials say they may have come from shore.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 14, 08 5:15 PM CST
(Newser) -
Police recovered Maria Lauterbach's ATM card in a Durham, NC, bus station today and said her accused killer's truck was sighted in the area, CNN reports. The FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Cesar Laurean, who allegedly murdered his fellow Marine last month. Lauterbach, 20, was pregnant with a child she said was Laurean's.
More »
-
-
Associated Press
|
Jan 13, 08 9:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Marine suspected in the murder of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child was spotted last night exiting a bus in Shreveport, La., and could be headed to Texas, police said today. Authorities said they believe Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean could be dangerous if "put in a corner," and are hopeful he will be apprehended soon, the AP reports.
More »
-
Washington Post
|
Jan 12, 08 5:05 PM CST
(Newser) -
Objects tossed from Iranian boats posed no threat to US ships last Sunday, the Navy said yesterday, but did reveal Tehran's warfare tactics. The incident was also one of three between US and Iranian ships over the past month: In the first face-off, Dec. 19, the USS Whidbey Island fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat that passed within 500 yards, the Washington Post reports.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 12, 08 4:03 PM CST
(Newser) -
Police found the burnt remains of a woman and a fetus today buried in a Marine's backyard, CNN reports. The suspected remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach are being rushed to a North Carolina medical examiner for positive identification as police launch a manhunt for Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, the chief suspect in Lauterbach's disappearance.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 11, 08 10:11 PM CST
(Newser) -
Police seeking a missing Marine have found blood and human remains at the yard of the Marine she had accused of raping her, CNN reports. Cops found a "trace of violent activity in the house" of Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean in North Carolina, and "evidence of an attempted cleanup." Police are treating Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's death as murder and waiting for daylight to search a cavity in Laurean's yard.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 11, 08 5:19 PM CST
(Newser) -
Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, the pregnant Marine missing since Dec. 19 and declared to be dead this morning, apparently died of an "injury," though North Carolina investigators have yet to locate her body or the place where she is thought to be buried. The search for lead suspect Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, whom Lauterbach had accused of rape, is still on, CNN reports.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 11, 08 12:23 PM CST
(Newser) -
The pregnant Marine missing from Camp Lejune, NC, since Dec. 14 is dead, the local sheriff said today. The search is on for her body and for the suspect in the case, a fellow Marine she had accused of sexual assault, CNN reports. Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach disappeared just before she was scheduled to testify in the case; the suspect's whereabouts are unknown.
More »
-
BBC
|
Jan 11, 08 9:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
The only officer who faced a court-martial over the torture at Abu Ghraib has been cleared of all criminal wrongdoing. The BBC reports that Lt. Col. Steven Jordan was convicted in August of disobeying a gag order, but that decision was annulled and his record is now clean. No officer has been dismissed or faced any direct charges for the Abu Ghraib scandal, although 11 lower-ranking soldiers have been convicted.
More »
-
Associated Press
|
Jan 10, 08 7:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
US bombers and fighters dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives on al-Qaeda stronghold Arab Jabour, an agricultural area just north of Baghdad. The 10-minute strike flattened 40 targets ahead of ground troops as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a new offensive against al-Qaeda, the AP reports. Nine US troops have been killed since the operation began Tuesday, including six in one booby-trapped house in Diyala province, also north of Baghdad.
More »
-
Washington Post
|
Jan 10, 08 5:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Six US soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed when a booby-trapped house in Diyala province exploded, the Washington Pos t reports. Four others were injured. Another three soldiers were killed Tuesday as tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops, along with many local volunteers, began sweeping through northern Iraq in a bid to wipe out al-Qaeda's remaining sanctuaries.
More »
-
Dayton Daily News
|
Jan 10, 08 4:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
A pregnant 20-year-old Marine scheduled to testify about an incident that occurred at her North Carolina military base has been missing for nearly a month, reports the Dayton Daily News . Maria Lauterbach's cell phone was found at the camp's gate, and her car at a bus station six miles away. Her mother said Lauterbach typically calls home several times a day. Her baby boy is due next week.
More »
-
Associated Press
|
Jan 9, 08 9:06 PM CST
(Newser) -
Afghanistan may receive its own troop surge this April, the AP reports. To fend off a resurgent Taliban, the Pentagon will consider deploying another 3,000 Marines for 7 months. Military commanders say they actually need another 7,500 troops to fend off the expected offensive, and defense chief Robert Gates is growing convinced that NATO members will not contribute.
More »
-
Associated Press
|
Jan 9, 08 7:47 PM CST
(Newser) -
More than 150,000 Iraqis—about 120 a day—were killed in the first three years of the Iraqi war following the US invasion in 2003, a new study says. The estimate, from the WHO and the Iraqi government, is said to be the most scientific study yet of the civilian death toll, but the true figure may never be known, the AP reports.
More »
-
CNN
|
Jan 7, 08 10:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
Washington is firing diplomatic volleys at Tehran today after five Iranian ships "harassed" three US Navy ships in international waters yesterday, CNN reports. "Such actions are dangerous and could have quickly escalated into something much worse," the Pentagon press secretary said. "We see it as further evidence that Iran is unpredictable and r