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struck his position as the Allies struggled to break out from Normandy.
• In Vietnam, helicopter gunships killed U.S. troops on Hamburger Hill.
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US ponders whether new leadership in Baghdad could slow extremists but sees few alternatives
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a Sunni Muslim insurgency gains ground in Iraq, the United States is pondering whether the violent march could be slowed with new leadership in Baghdad after years of divisive policies pushed by the Shiite prime minister.
• But with no obvious replacement for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- and no apparent intent on his part to step down -- Washington is largely resigned to continue working with him for a third term as Iraq's premier.
• Since the start of this year, insurgents with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have taken over several Sunni cities in the country's western Anbar province, including Fallujah, the site of two of the bloodiest battles of the eight-year war that ended in 2011 when U.S. troops left. The insurgency continued its rampage Tuesday by seizing most of the northern city of Mosul in a shocking defeat for al-Maliki's security forces that raises new questions about his ability to protect Iraq.
• Both Fallujah and Mosul were insurgent hotbeds at the height of Iraq's sectarian fighting over the last decade but were largely calmed by the time U.S. troops withdrew. Less than three years later, violence across Iraq has returned to levels comparable to the darkest days of the war.
• Sen. Tim Kaine, chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations panel that oversees Mideast policy, called the security situation in Iraq "extremely concerning" and said it is being exacerbated by Syria's civil war. Located about an hour east of the Syrian border, Mosul is a major way station for insurgents who routinely travel between the two countries and are seeding the Syrian war's violence in Baghdad and beyond.
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Hagel to face questions from House members angry over prisoner exchange with Taliban
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will face angry lawmakers as he becomes the first Obama administration official to testify publicly about the controversial prisoner swap with the Taliban.
• Hagel was scheduled to appear Wednesday before the House Armed Services (Continued on page 23)
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