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By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders have coalesced around legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if that country's leaders fail to meet promises to help reduce violence there, party officials said Thursday.
The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time.
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The U.S. military announced Thursday that it has sent home two Afghans and three Tajikistani detainees at Guantanamo Bay, leaving fewer that 400 prisoners at the naval base.
The five men, who were held at the isolated detention center in southeastern Cuba without being charged, were flown out early Wednesday and transferred to the custody of the governments in their native countries, Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand said.
They were cleared for departure by a military review process that assesses whether prisoners have intelligence value or pose a threat to the United States. The military does not provide details about individual cases including the names of those released.
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Deadly tornadoes hit southern US Al Jazeera
At least 13 students were trapped under a
collapsed roof at an Alabama schoolTornadoes have killed 19 people in two southern US states, including at least 13 in a school in Alabama, the White House says.
The toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue overnight, Yasamie Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, said on Thursday.
In the Alabama school, students were trapped under a collapsed roof, state officials said.
The separate tornado incidents, which also wrecked mobile homes, had claimed the lives of a girl in Missouri and 18 people in Alabama.
Richardson said some students were still trapped three hours later.
