In the Nation

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A jury yesterday sentenced a Marine sergeant to 15 years in prison for the murder of an Iraqi civilian during a fruitless search for an insurgent.

Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins 3d also was dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank to private, and reprimanded. On Thursday, he became the first and only member of an eight-member squad to be convicted of murder.

Earlier in the day, a separate jury sentenced a Marine corporal involved in the same incident to time served and reduced his rank to private for conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, 24, had served 448 days in custody and was to be freed yesterday.

- AP

BARABOO, Wis. - A 16-year-old was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the shooting death of his high school principal.

Eric Hainstock was convicted a day earlier of the first-degree homicide of Weston Schools principal John Klang in September. Hainstock will be eligible for parole in 30 years. The judge urged the state's Department of Corrections to place Hainstock in a juvenile center.

Hainstock went to school Sept. 29 with his father's shotgun and .22 revolver. He brought dozens of extra rounds of ammunition. He ran into Klang, who tackled him. Hainstock shot Klang three times in the scuffle.

- AP

WASHINGTON - Everybody knows that the Coast Guard has saved countless lives in U.S. waters. Now it has gone back and counted: More than one million rescues.

After reviewing old log books and records dating back nearly to 1790, when Congress created the 10-boat fleet that would become the Coast Guard, the agency concluded it has saved 1,109,310 lives.

The Coast Guard is touting its exploits to mark its 217th anniversary today, as it comes under criticism from those who say its marine safety work has weakened as it takes on antiterrorism responsibilities. But the Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Thad Allen, said the agency could handle both responsibilities because it had "the same commitment to saving lives that it did more than 200 years ago." - AP

NASA has delayed next week's launch of the shuttle Endeavour by one day because of unexpected work to fix a leak in the crew cabin. Liftoff is set for Wednesday evening.

Hurricane researcher William Gray has lowered his 2007 forecast slightly, predicting 15 named storms, with eight becoming hurricanes and four becoming intense. At the start of hurricane season in May, Gray had called for 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, five intense.