JIM LEHRER: The American death toll in Iraq kept climbing on this final day of May. The U.S. military reported three more soldiers killed. That made 123 this month, the third highest total of the war. A report on the troop surge is due in September, but today, the number-two commander, Army Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, warned the final units won't be up to speed until August.
LT. GEN. RAY ODIERNO, U.S. Army: Well, that will be the first time I'll be able to make a real initial assessment of the true effect of the surge. So after that point, we'll see. And the assessment might be is I need a little more time. The assessment might be I've seen enough, and it's effective, or I've seen enough, and it's not going to be effective. Right now, if you ask me, I'll tell you I'll probably need a little bit more time to do a true assessment.
JIM LEHRER: Odierno also said the U.S. military is trying to work out cease-fire agreements with militant groups.
Also today, U.S. forces fought gunmen in western Baghdad for several hours. A suspected al-Qaida leader was killed. And Iraqi police said up to 25 Iraqis were killed in a suicide bombing in Fallujah.
NATO troops in Afghanistan today secured the site of a deadly helicopter crash. Five Americans and two other NATO soldiers were killed yesterday when the helicopter went down in Helmand province. It apparently was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Elsewhere today, Taliban fighters ambushed a convoy in Zabul province and killed 16 Afghan police. We'll have more on Afghanistan right after this news summary.
President Bush unveiled a new plan to deal with global warming today. It calls for 15 major nations to set a long-term goal by the end of next year to reduce greenhouse gases. The goal would be developed during a series of meetings in the United States starting next fall. Individual countries would then develop their own strategies for meeting the target.
The president laid out the plan ahead of next week's summit of the world's richest nations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: The United States takes this issue seriously. The new initiative I am outlining today will contribute to the important dialogue that will take place in Germany next week.
The United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
JIM LEHRER: The U.S. never ratified the Kyoto treaty, and the president has rejected German proposals for a new system to cut emissions. Today, Germany and Britain welcomed the U.S. plan. A number of environmental groups attacked it. They said it was a ploy to ease pressure on the United States at next week's meeting.
Northwest Airlines emerged today from federal bankruptcy protection after 20 months. It marked the end of a wave of airline bankruptcies that began after the 9/11 attacks. Northwest is the nation's fifth-largest carrier. During its reorganization, it dropped routes and cut labor costs by $1.4 billion a year.
U.S. economic growth sputtered in the first quarter of the year. The Commerce Department reported today the growth rate was just 0.6 percent from January through March; that was the worst showing since 2002.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost five points to close at 13,627. The Nasdaq rose more than 11 points to close at 2,604.
