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posted.
• Most of the victims were women and children, and some of the bodies were burned; relatives have told The Associated Press they are irate at the notion Bales will escape execution for one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war.
• Under the terms of his agreement with Army prosecutors, Bales will plead guilty Wednesday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle, and a sentencing-phase trial will be held this summer to determine whether he receives life in prison with the possibility of parole, or without it.
• Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne, said Tuesday he expects the judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, to question the soldier closely about what happened before deciding whether to accept the plea. It's unclear whether Nance will make a decision Wednesday.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate debate on a far-reaching immigration bill is becoming a test of Sen. Marco Rubio's influence over fellow Republicans as the Florida conservative works to sell GOP lawmakers on landmark legislation that also may help determine the fate of his presidential ambitions.
• Rubio, a tea party favorite who's acted as the bill's emissary to the conservative community, has spent recent weeks meeting individually with Republican senators to discuss changes to the bill that could get them on board. That included working with conservative Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on a border security amendment Cornyn outlined Wednesday in The Dallas Morning News.
• Rubio was to address House conservatives Wednesday, and he's been promoting the legislation with numerous TV and radio appearances. On Tuesday alone, he showed up on Fox News Channel, CNBC and Hugh Hewitt's talk radio show.
• At the same time he's been making immigration advocates uneasy by issuing demands for stronger border security provisions in the legislation, including giving Congress more authority to write a border security plan instead of the Homeland Security Department. Rubio says he won't support the bill without such changes, and it won't be able to pass.
• For Rubio, it's part of the balancing act he's been performing all year since joining more seasoned legislators like Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as part of the so-called Gang of Eight senators who authored the

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