JIM LEHRER: Military investigators are ready to conclude U.S. Marines committed murder in Iraq. It involves the killings of up to two dozen civilians last November.
News accounts today said investigators believe a small number of Marines carried out the killings over several hours. A Marine Corps spokesman declined to comment on the investigation today. We'll have more on this story right after this news summary.
Bomb blasts rocked outdoor markets in Baghdad again today. In the first attack, nine Iraqis died, 30 were wounded. The market was packed with shoppers when the bomb went off. The second attack killed as many as 10 people.
As the violence continued, the foreign minister of Iran visited Baghdad. He said his government has ruled out direct talks with the United States on Iraq.
MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI, Foreign Minister, Iran: Unfortunately, the American side tried to use this decision as a propaganda and they raised some other issues. They tried to create a negative atmosphere, and that's why the decision which was taken for time being is suspend them.
JIM LEHRER: Earlier this year, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, was authorized to hold talks with Iran, but none ever took place.
In another development, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki said he could fill two key cabinet posts this weekend. Shiites and Sunnis have been at odds over who runs the defense and interior ministries.
British Prime Minister Blair called today for more international help in Iraq. He spoke at Georgetown University in Washington, and he said Iraqis are working hard for a new life.
TONY BLAIR, Prime Minister of Britain: This is a child of democracy, struggling to be born. They and we, the international community, are the midwives.
You may not agree with the original decision; you may believe mistakes have been made; you may even think, "How can it be worth the sacrifice?" But surely we must all accept this is a genuine attempt to run the race of liberty.
JIM LEHRER: Last night, Blair and President Bush admitted missteps in Iraq at a White House news conference. We'll have more on what they said later in the program tonight.
Violence between Palestinian factions eased some today. The ruling Hamas Party pulled its militia off the streets. The gunmen had clashed with police, who are loyal to President Abbas and his Fatah Party.
The two factions also held a second day of talks today. They focused on Abbas' demand that Hamas accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel or put it to a referendum.
ABDALLAH ABDALLAH, Fatah Representative: In seriousness, in taking the suggestion of the president into account, everybody this morning is saying that it is positive one. Let us work hard to make sure that we reach an agreement that does not make it needed to go to a plebiscite or referendums.
OMAR ABDEL RAZEK, Hamas Member: In principle, referendums are acceptable and the results will be acceptable. However, the problem was is that it was understood that the president maybe looked at as a condition or a precondition on the (inaudible) this is where the problem came out.
JIM LEHRER: The Palestinian prime minister, a senior Hamas leader, hinted today he opposes the idea of a referendum, but he said he'd discuss it next week with President Abbas.
There was chaos at the U.S. Capitol today. A report of gunfire closed the building briefly, and a main House office building was locked down most of the day.
The confusion began with a phone call to police telling of possible shots. They appeared to come from a garage under the Rayburn Office Building. A lengthy search turned up nothing. And later, police said it was a false alarm.
SGT. KIMBERLY SCHNEIDER, Capitol Police: The explanation is that there was some workers who were working in the area of the Rayburn garage in the elevator area. And, in doing their routine duties, they made some sort of a noise that sounded like shots fired, so it was a valid call. Unfortunately, it was just routine duties being performed by some construction workers in the area.
JIM LEHRER: In fact, this was the elevator crew working near where the sounds were heard. They acknowledged they could have started the whole thing.
CONSTRUCTION CREW MEMBER: It's possible. I'm loading up metal onto this trailer over here. And when I drive in the garage, the forklift bounces and the metal goes, "Bang, bang, bang," and maybe that's what they heard. Maybe. I don't know.
JIM LEHRER: No one was hurt, but one congressional staff member was taken to a hospital after a panic attack.
A former aide to Congressman William Jefferson was sentenced to eight years in federal prison today in a bribery scheme. Brett Pfeffer admitted to brokering an illicit deal with Jefferson. The Louisiana Democrat has not been charged, but last weekend FBI agents searched his Capitol Hill office.
Congressional leaders complained the search violated separation of powers. We'll have more on that story later in the program.
Earlier in the day, the Senate easily confirmed Air Force General Michael Hayden to be director of the CIA. His confirmation was eased after he assured senators he would act independently of the Pentagon.
Hayden will succeed outgoing Director Porter Goss. His last day was today.
In other action before the holiday recess, the Senate also confirmed Rob Portman as White House budget director; Dirk Kempthorne won approval as secretary of the interior.
And White House aide Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as a federal appeals judge. In a statement, the president called him "brilliant" and "fair-minded." Democrats argued he's a conservative partisan.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 67 points to close at 11,278. The Nasdaq rose 12 points to close at 2,210. For the week, the Dow gained 1 percent. The Nasdaq rose a fraction of 1 percent.
