WASHINGTON — The Bush administration ruled out any quick shift in military strategy in Iraq on Tuesday, despite growing bipartisan calls in the Senate for a troop withdrawal and sharp criticism of the Iraqi government.

As the Senate opened a new debate on the conflict, one of the president's staunchest supporters bluntly said the administration had pursued the wrong policy for years after toppling Saddam Hussein from power. "The strategy we had before was not the right strategy," said Christopher Bond, R-Mo. "We should have had a counterinsurgency strategy."

Asked later who bore responsibility for the error, Bond said, "Ultimately, obviously the president."

Democrats said Bush's newest strategy was hardly a success, either.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that since Bush ordered thousands more troops to Iraq last winter, "We've lost more than 600 troops, costing the American taxpayers more than $60 billion. The escalation has done nothing to bring the Iraqi government together. It's done absolutely nothing to lessen the violence in Iraq."

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5 die after small plane crashes into 2 Fla. homes; NASCAR executive's husband among the dead

SANFORD, Fla. — A small plane carrying the husband of a NASCAR executive crashed into a neighborhood Tuesday and engulfed two houses in flames, killing both people aboard the aircraft and three others on the ground.

The pilot had reported smoke in the cockpit and was trying to make an emergency landing when the twin-engine plane went down in suburban Orlando, officials said.

NASCAR confirmed that Dr. Bruce Kennedy, a Daytona Beach plastic surgeon and husband of International Speedway Corp. President Lesa France Kennedy, and NASCAR Aviation pilot Michael Klemm were among the dead.

The identities of the victims on the ground were not immediately released.

Authorities said an adult and two children died in the homes that were quickly gutted by fire after the airplane crashed.

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At least 3 killed, 18 wounded in Green Zone barrage in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Extremists unleashed a barrage of more than a dozen mortars or rockets into the Green Zone on Tuesday, killing at least three people — including an American — and wounding 18 in an area once considered the safest in the Iraqi capital.

An Iraqi and a "third country national" were also killed in the attack, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. The embassy said the 18 wounded included five Americans — two military members and three civilian contract employees.

The 3.5-square-mile district along the Tigris River in the center of Baghdad includes the U.S. and British embassies as well as Iraq's parliament and the offices of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Attacks against the Green Zone have increased in recent months, adding to the concern over the safety of key Iraqi and international officials who live and work in the zone.

In a report last month, the United Nations office in Baghdad said the "threat of indirect fire" — meaning rockets and mortars — into the Green Zone had increased, adding that the barrages had become "increasingly concentrated and accurate."

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McCain struggles to right presidential bid, jettisons two top aides, other staffers depart

WASHINGTON — John McCain jettisoned two top aides Tuesday, the one-time Republican front-runner struggling to right a presidential bid in deep financial and political trouble.

Campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver offered McCain their resignations, which the Arizona senator accepted with "regret and deep gratitude for their dedication, hard work and friendship."

Other senior aides followed the two out the door, and the campaign announced that Rick Davis, who managed McCain's 2000 bid and the current campaign's chief executive officer, will take over.

The second major staff shake-up in a week comes as McCain grapples with several problems, not the least of which are his dwindling bank account of some $2 million and slippage in opinion polls. He also has staked out politically unpopular positions on two key issues — the Iraq war and immigration — that have hindered his candidacy.

Considered the GOP front-runner as the year began, McCain now faces significant hurdles to winning the Republican nomination that eluded him seven years ago. The senator is essentially restarting his campaign six months before the first voting begins.

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U.S. counterterror officials warn of increased risk of attack this summer

WASHINGTON — U.S. counterterror officials are warning of an increased risk of an attack this summer, given al-Qaida's apparent interest in summertime strikes and increased al-Qaida training in the Afghan-Pakistani border region.

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he had a "gut feeling" about a new period of increased risk.

He based his assessment on earlier patterns of terrorists in Europe and intelligence he would not disclose.

"Summertime seems to be appealing to them," Chertoff said in his discussion with the newspaper about terrorists. "We worry that they are rebuilding their activities."

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Calif. pizza deliveryman sentenced to death for murders of 10 women, 1 fetus

LOS ANGELES — A pizza deliveryman was sentenced to death Tuesday for murdering 10 women and a fetus during the 1980s and '90s in Los Angeles neighborhoods plagued by a crack cocaine epidemic.

A jury in May recommended the death penalty for Chester Turner, and Superior Court Judge William R. Pounders agreed Tuesday.

"I don't think any jury would arrive at a different conclusion and would, in any court, demand a death penalty," Pounders said.

Turner, 40, showed little emotion when he was sentenced and declined to say anything after several of the victims' relatives spoke. Outside court, Turner's attorney John Tyre said nothing was accomplished by sending his client to death row.

"California spends a lot of money to put someone to death," Tyre said. "That money would be better served educating people (about crime) so things like this could be prevented."

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New Merriam-Webster dictionary includes 100 added words, including 'ginormous,' 'Bollywood'

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — It was a ginormous year for the wordsmiths at Merriam-Webster. Along with embracing the adjective that combines "gigantic" and "enormous," the dictionary publishers also got into Bollywood, sudoku and speed dating.

But their interest in India's motion-picture industry, number puzzles and trendy ways to meet people was all meant for a higher cause: updating the company's collegiate dictionary, which goes on sale this fall with about 100 newly added words.

As always, the yearly list gives meaning to the latest lingo in pop culture, technology and current events.

There's "crunk," a style of Southern rap music; the abbreviated "DVR," for digital video recorder; and "IED," shorthand for the improvised explosive devices that have become common in the war in Iraq.

If it sounds as though Merriam-Webster is dropping its buttoned-down image with too much talk of "smackdowns" (contests in entertainment wrestling) and "telenovelas" (Latin-American soap operas), consider it also is adding "gray literature" (hard-to-get written material) and "microgreen" (a shoot of a standard salad plant.)

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Charles Lane, longtime character actor for film, TV dies at 102

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Charles Lane, the prolific character actor whose name was little known but whose crotchety persona and roles in hundreds of films made him instantly recognizable to generations of moviegoers, has died. He was 102.

His son, Tom Lane, said he was talking with his father at 9 p.m. Monday. "He was lying in bed with his eyes real wide open. Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing."

Lane, whose career spanned more than 60 years, appeared in such film classics as "It's a Wonderful Life," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Twentieth Century." He also had a recurring role as the scheming railroad man, Homer Bedloe, on the 1960s TV sitcom "Petticoat Junction" and appeared often on "I Love Lucy."

His crisp, stage-trained voice and no-nonsense appearance made him a natural for playing authority figures. He was a judge in "God is My Partner," a prosecutor in "Call Northside 777," a priest in "Date With an Angel" and a member of Clark Gable's newspaper editorial board in "Teacher's Pet."

Although the roles provided a good living, Lane objected to being typecast.

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Stocks fall on disappointing forecasts from Home Depot, Sears, D.R. Horton

NEW YORK — Stocks plunged Tuesday as investors, nervous about upcoming earnings reports, cringed at troubling forecasts from retailers Home Depot and Sears and at soaring oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 148 points.

The market seemed to be following the pattern of previous earnings seasons, turning lower as second-quarter reports had a rocky start. Home Depot Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. offered dreary outlooks that suggested the sluggish housing market may dampen consumer spending.

The outlooks followed Monday's news that aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.'s second-quarter sales missed estimates and that printer manufacturer Lexmark International Inc. slashed its second-quarter earnings forecast. Together, the reports dispirited investors who had been counting on corporate America's performance giving a boost to the stock market, which has been stuttering in recent weeks.

"People are a little bit skittish about the health of the consumer," said Jack Caffrey, equities strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

As the U.S. dollar tumbled and investors fled to the relative safety of Treasury bonds, the stock market dropped further after oil prices briefly spiked above $73 a barrel, raising concerns about Americans' energy bills.

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Sidney Crosby signs 5-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $43.5 million

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby has a new contract before his 20th birthday and his eye on the Stanley Cup for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL MVP and scoring champion signed a five-year extension through the 2012-13 season worth $43.5 million. The deal leaves room for the team to re-sign other young stars, such as Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, in the coming seasons.

"It feels great, especially with the group of guys we have, to know I'm going to be able to grow with these guys and spend a while with them," Crosby said Tuesday. "To have that sense of security, it definitely feels good."

The three-year contract Crosby signed as a rookie lasts through the coming season, and the five-year extension keeps him under contract for the next six seasons. Crosby may negotiate a new deal shortly before he turns 26, when he should be in his prime, agent Pat Brisson said.

"The main goal here was that we had to establish that Sidney is all about winning," Brisson said. "He wanted to obviously help general manager Ray Shero put the right numbers together to help the team. Building a winner is key to him."