JIM LEHRER: Nearly 50 Iraqis died in a series of attacks today, as the U.S. moved to send more troops. Car bombs did most of the killing; 25 people died in a blast just north of Baghdad. To the south, 12 more were killed in the city of Hillah. More than 30 others were wounded. Later, a third bomb killed nine people in a Baghdad bakery.
Also today, U.S. officials announced another American soldier was killed on Monday.
The U.S. command confirmed today 1,500 more troops have been deployed in western Iraq. Soldiers from the First Armored Division were sent from a reserve force in Kuwait. They'll try to bring down a surge in insurgent attacks in the west.
The prime minister of Iraq today criticized the killing of civilians in Haditha. Witnesses allege U.S. Marines murdered two dozen Iraqis in that western town last November. The U.S. military is now conducting two criminal investigations.
Today, Prime Minister al-Maliki promised his own investigation. He said, "It is not justifiable that a family is killed because someone is fighting terrorists. We have to be more specific and more careful."
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the president is waiting for the chain of command to report.
TONY SNOW, White House Press Secretary: We need to find out what the facts are. So there have not been any long talks about this particular thing. Everybody wants to find out what happened; I mean, that's the first thing. You want to find out what happened.
And that's true for everybody. I mean, we've all seen sort of the same stuff leaking out, but keep in mind you're getting little pieces here and little pieces there. We're going to get a full picture.
JIM LEHRER: One of the investigations involves the killings; the other, a possible cover-up.
A lawyer for one of the Marines' commanders said today the focus is on about one dozen enlisted men. He said their commanding officers are not targets.
Iraq's political leaders held new talks today on the two unfilled key cabinet posts. There's still no agreement on who will run the defense and interior ministries. But Prime Minister Maliki threatened to name his own nominees this week if the deadlock continues.
CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany today. She arrived there in critical but stable condition. She was seriously wounded yesterday in a car bomb attack in Baghdad; two CBS crew members and a U.S. soldier were killed in that attack.
In Afghanistan today, the U.S. military blamed faulty brakes for a fatal traffic accident yesterday in Kabul. The accident sparked violent anti-American protests that killed 11 people.
Today, U.S. Army Colonel Tom Collins offered this explanation.
COL. TOM COLLINS, Coalition Spokesman: The driver, very experienced in their operation of this type of vehicle, a heavy cargo truck, applied the primary and emergency brakes and took evasive action to avoid hitting pedestrians, to include hitting several unoccupied parked cars in an effort to slow or stop the truck. However, he was unable to avoid hitting occupied vehicles in the intersection.
JIM LEHRER: Tensions in Kabul eased today under a heavy presence of Afghan and coalition troops. We'll have more on Afghanistan later in the program tonight.
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned today. He'd served in the cabinet since 2003. His departure had been rumored for nearly a year.
As the replacement, President Bush nominated Henry Paulson, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street financial firm. We'll have more on this right after the news summary.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against government whistleblowers today. It said: Free speech rights do not always protect public employees from retaliation when they publicize misconduct.
The decision was 5-4. New Justice Samuel Alito cast the tie-breaking vote.
U.S. Marines began arriving in Indonesia today with disaster aid for earthquake victims. They joined international efforts to help survivors on Java. Saturday's quake there killed nearly 5,700 people, and the death count kept rising today. We have a report on the situation narrated by Darshna Soni of Independent Television News.
DARSHNA SONI, ITV News Correspondent: A desperate search. This is all that is left of his home; everything he owned flattened by the earthquake.
EARTHQUAKE VICTIM (through translator): I'm looking for money. It's not much, but anything will be useful.
DARSHNA SONI: Survivors are trying to salvage anything that could be used to trade for food, medicine or water.
Two hundred thousand people have been left homeless in a makeshift camp exposed to the elements and with no hygiene facilities. Dozens of remote villages have been cut off; the only way in is by helicopter. This delivery of aid was overwhelmed by people begging for food.
The U.N. says it has learnt from the confusion that followed the tsunami, which also hit an isolated province, nearby Aceh. The authorities appear to be better coordinated now; 22 countries have promised aid, and it is slowly getting through.
This field hospital was set up by a team from Singapore, but the medics say they are overwhelmed, with five injured patients for every bed. One elderly woman arrived in a wheelbarrow, traveling for over two hours with her family.
This evening, there is another concern: 15 miles north of Yogyakarta lies Mount Merapi, a volcano that has been threatening to erupt for weeks now. If that should happen, the U.N. says the relief effort, already stretched, may not be able to cope.
JIM LEHRER: So far, the United States has pledged $5 million in emergency aid to the quake survivors.
The U.N. reported today the AIDS epidemic shows few signs of letting up after 25 years. It said India now has the largest number of infections; an estimated 5.7 million Indians have AIDS or HIV, the virus that causes it. Worldwide, nearly 40 million people are infected. We'll have more on this story later in the program.
The FBI reported today it found no trace of Jimmy Hoffa's remains at a Michigan horse farm. A team spent two weeks digging at the site and demolishing a barn in the search for Hoffa. The former Teamsters leader disappeared 31 years ago. The FBI said it focused on the farm after a tip from a prison inmate.
A sell-off hit Wall Street today. Stocks fell on news of a dip in consumer confidence and a rebound in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 184 points to close at 11,094. The Nasdaq fell more than 45 points, 2 percent, to close at 2,164.
