SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An Army officer with a key role in the U.S. military hearings at Guantanamo Bay says they relied on vague and incomplete intelligence and were pressured to declare detainees "enemy combatants," often without any specific evidence.

His affidavit, released today, is the first criticism by a member of the military panels that determine whether detainees will continue to be held.

Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a 26-year veteran of military intelligence who is an Army reserve officer and a California lawyer, said military prosecutors were provided with only "generic" material that didn't hold up to the most basic legal challenges.

Despite repeated requests, intelligence agencies arbitrarily refused to provide specific information that could have helped either side in the tribunals, according to Abraham, who said he served as a main liaison between the Combat Status Review Tribunals and those intelligence agencies.

"What were purported to be specific statements of fact lacked even the most fundamental earmarks of objectively credible evidence," Abraham said in the affidavit, filed in a Washington appeals court on behalf of a Kuwaiti detainee, Fawzi al-Odah, who is challenging his classification as an "enemy combatant."

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U.S. ALLIES MULLING LIGHTER IRAN COMPROMISE

VIENNA, Austria — Key U.S. allies are debating the idea of a nuclear compromise with Iran that would call for only a partial freeze of Tehran's uranium enrichment program — a stance that could put them at odds with Washington, officials said today.

The officials — U.S. and European diplomats and government employees — told The Associated Press that the deliberations among senior British, French and German decision-makers were only preliminary and that no conclusions had been drawn.

Germany was supportive, France opposed and Britain noncommittal, they said.

"Nothing is on paper," said one European diplomat, describing the tentative plan as a "freeze for peace."

With the United States continuing to insist on a full enrichment freeze, the talks could strain the U.S.-led attempt to show unity on the issue or even push Washington to settle for less than it has been demanding.

An American official said "there is some truth" to the reports of the discussions among the British, French and Germans. "We're still very skittish on that," the official said.

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ATLANTIS LANDS SAFELY IN CALIFORNIA

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely today, ending a two-week mission to deliver an addition to the international space station and bring a crew member home from the outpost.

Atlantis crossed the Pacific and glided to a stop at 12:49 p.m. on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. NASA managers had hoped to land the shuttle in Florida, but bad weather forced them to abandon that plan.

"Welcome back," Mission Control told Atlantis. "Congratulations on a great mission." Controllers praised the crew for providing a "stepping stone to the rest of NASA's exploration plan."

Atlantis' return from NASA's first manned flight of the year was marked by its trademark twin sonic booms that were heard from San Diego to Los Angeles. After deploying its parachute, the shuttle came to rest on the concrete runway under mostly sunny skies.

Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams returned to Earth on Atlantis after spending more than six months at the space station. She set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 195 days. During her stay, she also set the record for most time spacewalking by a woman.

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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT NOMINEE WITHDRAWS

WASHINGTON — President Bush's pick to be the No. 3 official in the Justice Department asked to have his nomination withdrawn today, four days before he was to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bill Mercer sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales saying it was unlikely that the Senate would confirm him to a post he has held on an interim basis since September. He plans to leave Washington and turn his full attention to his work as U.S. attorney for Montana.

"With no clear end in sight with respect to my nomination, it is untenable for me to pursue both responsibilities and provide proper attention to my family," Mercer wrote.

The Judiciary Committee had scheduled a hearing on Mercer's nomination for Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the committee had said senators needed the facts from an investigation into the firings of several federal prosecutors before he could be confirmed.

"The White House has found many ways to keep sunlight from reaching some of the darker corners of the Bush Justice Department, but this is a new one," Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement. "With a confirmation hearing looming next Tuesday, they have withdrawn this nomination to avoid having to answer more questions under oath."

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REPLACEMENT FOR LATE WYOMING SENATOR NAMED

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Republican John Barrasso, a surgeon and conservative Wyoming legislator, was named as the country's newest U.S. senator today to replace the late Craig Thomas.

The temporary appointment, announced by Wyoming's governor, is immediate but won't change the Senate's party breakdown since Thomas was also a Republican. He died June 4 while being treated for leukemia.

Barrasso, 54, will serve in Thomas' place until the beginning of 2009. The orthopedic surgeon and state senator from Casper said on his application that he also intends to then run in a November 2008 special election to serve out the remainder of Thomas' term, which ends in 2013.

Telephone messages left with Barrasso were not immediately returned, but in a news release Barrasso said he would work to promote issues that are important to Wyoming.

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STUDY: NEWBORNS AFFECTED BY MOTHERS' BLOOD-SUGAR LEVELS

CHICAGO — The higher a pregnant woman's level of blood sugar, the greater the risk to her newborn — whether the mother has diabetes or not, the largest study on the problem suggests. The findings released today may lead to more women being diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy and given stricter diet advice or medication to lower blood sugar.

The research involved more than 23,000 pregnant women in nine countries. It found a surprisingly strong relationship between the blood sugar levels of the women and the rate of big babies and first-time Caesarean sections, said lead investigator Dr. Boyd Metzger of Northwestern University.

The newborns also were more likely to have low blood sugar levels and high insulin levels if their mothers' blood sugar levels were higher. The problems can lead to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.

Large babies risk shoulder damage and other injuries if delivered vaginally and lead to more C-sections, which also pose health risks to mothers and babies.