JIM LEHRER: A special state commission today sharply criticized Virginia Tech officials over last spring's mass killings. The group investigated the April shootings by Seung-Hui Cho, a student. He killed 31 people and then himself in assaults separated by more than two hours.
The panel said the administrators could have saved lives if they had quickly warned the campus after the initial killings. And before the shootings, counselors and others at the school failed to communicate about Cho's mental health problems.
Parents of some of the victims demanded today university leaders be fired, but Governor Tim Kaine said no.
GOV. TIM KAINE (D), Virginia: I think the right way to take this report is to focus on the fixes that need to be made. And as I read the report and reflect upon all the circumstances, I believe that we can make an effort to fix these problems and that we needn't -- that I needn't get involved in personnel decisions to do so. Personnel actions could be taken that would not advance any of these fixes one centimeter.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on this story right after the news summary.
A U.S. congressional audit concludes Iraq has made little headway toward political and security goals. Today's Washington Post reported on draft findings by the Government Accountability Office. It said the Iraqis have failed to meet all but three of 18 benchmarks set by Congress.
In response, a Pentagon spokesman called for immediate revisions in the report. And White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the GAO findings are not the last word.
TONY SNOW, White House Press Secretary: There are a lot of reports. It's a season of reports. But we're certainly looking forward to hearing from the general who's in charge of overall operations and the ambassador who works there every day, the folks who have a real grasp of ground truth. All these reports, obviously, are interesting.
JIM LEHRER: The overall commander in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus, will give his assessment next month. But the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, moved today to lower expectations. He said the Petraeus report would not provide any "magical solutions."
In Iraq today, the U.S. command announced the deaths of two more U.S. soldiers. And the city of Karbala was calmer after Iraqi forces arrested 72 Shiite gunmen. Fighting there this week left more than 50 Iraqis dead.
In Afghanistan today, Taliban gunmen freed their seven remaining South Korean hostages. The church workers were picked up by Red Cross officials after being held for nearly six weeks. Twelve others were let go yesterday. Afghan officials said the South Korean government paid a ransom. A spokesman in Seoul would not confirm or deny that today.
The government of Pakistan insisted today President Musharraf has not yet decided to step down as army chief. Yesterday, exiled Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto indicated there was an agreement on that issue, advancing a power-sharing deal. But Pakistan's information minister said today those talks were ongoing.
MOHAMMED ALI DURRANI, Information Minister, Pakistan: There should be no doubt that this is a dialogue. This is not a deal. Until the dialogue reaches a conclusion, it remains a dialogue. As far as the president's uniform is concerned, whatever the decision is, the president himself will make it.
JIM LEHRER: Another exiled prime minister announced he's returning to Pakistan on September 10th. Nawaz Sharif said he will challenge Musharraf in upcoming elections, and he rejected any deals. He spoke in London.
NAWAZ SHARIF, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan: We want restoration of rule of law, and this is all that we are struggling for. The country is fed up with the military dictatorship in Pakistan. The nation is fed up with this military dictatorship in Pakistan. And the country is in a very deep crisis, and we think the only answer to the problem is to go back to democracy.
JIM LEHRER: We'll have more on this from Margaret Warner in Pakistan later in the program tonight.
The U.S. Justice Department is now investigating its own boss, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. At issue is whether he misled Congress in testimony on surveillance without warrants. The department's inspector general confirmed the probe today in a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee had asked for that investigation. Gonzales announced Monday he's stepping down as of September 17th.
The Michigan State House today approved holding presidential primaries or caucuses on January 15th; the State Senate had already endorsed that bill. Governor Jennifer Granholm was expected to sign it. It's the latest move in the scramble to vote early next year. But the national Republican and Democratic parties have warned they'll punish states that go too early.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50 points to close at 13,238. The Nasdaq rose two points to close at 2,565.
