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ByLolitaC.Baldor The Associated Press BRUSSELS TheArmymay still pursue an investigation that could lead to desertion or other charges against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was freed from five years of Taliban captivity in a pris- oner exchange last weekend, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chair- man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. Dempsey also told The Associated Press in a telephone in- terview from his plane that Bergdahl's next promotion to staff sergeant, which was set to happen soon, is no longer automatic because Bergdahl isn't missing in action any longer. Speaking publicly for the first time about the case, Dempsey said he does not want to prejudge the out- come of any investigation or sayanythingthatmightinflu- enceacommander'sdecision. But he said U.S. military leaders "have been accused of looking away from miscon- duct, and it's premature" to assume they would do so in Bergdahl's case, despite the soldier's five years as a Tali- ban prisoner. Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. Army special forces Saturday in exchange for the releaseoffivedetaineesatthe Guantanamo Bay, Cuba de- tention facility. Service members who are missing in action routinely continuetobepromotedonthe same schedule as their peers. But,Dempseysaid,"hisstatus has now changed, and there- fore the requirements for pro- motion are more consistent with normal duty status." As a result, he said, other things needed for promotion, such as proper levels of education and job performance, would now apply. That makes Bergdahl's promotion less automatic. There are a variety of of- fenses related to an absence without proper approval,and a number of potential actions could be taken by the mil- itary. He could be tried by court martial under the Uni- form Code of Military Jus- tice for desertion; he could be given a non-judicial pun- ishment for a lesser charge, such as being away without leave. And he could be given creditfortimealreadyserved while he was a prisoner. SOLDIER Armymay still pursue desertion charges Bergdahl The Associated Press CLINTON, ARK. A logging truck blew a tire, over- turned and spilled its cargo onto a group of construction workers, killing two people and injuring 19, authorities in north-central Arkansas said. Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley said the wreck occurred Monday afternoon on a U.S. 65 bridge in Clin- ton, about 70 miles north of Little Rock. The driver of the logging truck, Jerry Hickman, 39, of Bee Branch, suffered mi- nor injuries, and 19 people were taken to a hospital in Clinton, officials said. Ozark Health Medical Center ad- ministrator David Deaton told the Democrat-Gazette that 12 of those patients suf- fered "major injuries." State police on Tuesday identified the two people who died as Ricardo Trochez, 40, of Atkins, and Robert Keith Moore, 51, of Chester. It could take a month or longer before the investiga- tion is complete, state police spokesman Bill Sadler said. A preliminary state police report said a rear tire on the big rig's trailer blew out, causing the load to shift and the logs to scatter among the workers. ARKANSAS 2 killed, 19 hurt in logging truck wreck By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO The na- tion's strictest rules on the use of abortion drugs are likely to be struck down and will continue to be blocked while a lawsuit against them plays out, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A unanimous three- judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Arizona regula- tions appear to be an un- constitutional "undue bur- den on a woman's right to abortion" and kept in place its injunction on them. The decision reverses a lower court ruling that found the rules legal. Planned Parenthood Ari- zona and the Tucson Wom- en's Center are challeng- ing the regulations, which would ban women from tak- ing the most common abor- tion-inducing drug — RU- 486 — after the seventh week of pregnancy. Women had been allowed to take the abortion pill through nine weeks of pregnancy. The rules also require that the drug be adminis- tered only at the FDA-ap- proved dosage and that both doses be taken at a clinic. The usual dosage is lower, and it's normally taken at home, decreasing the cost and chance of com- plications. The 9th Circuit rejected Arizona's arguments that the new restrictions were passed to protect wom- en's health and designed to comply with FDA-approved use. Judge William Fletcher, writing for the 9th Circuit panel, said the FDA "en- courages" so-called off-la- bel use of RU-486, formally mifepristone, which is most often administered in lower doses than the approved la- bel directs. COURT Abortion restrictions to remain blocked in Ariz. By Julie Pace The Associated Press WARSAW, POLAND Presi- dent Barack Obama pledged Tuesday to boost U.S. mil- itary deployments and ex- ercises throughout Europe, an effort costing as much as $1 billion to demonstrate American solidarity with a continent rattled by Russia's intervention in Ukraine. But even as Obama warned that Moscow could face further punishments, leaders of Britain, France and Germany were lining up to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at week's end. Those one-on-one meet- ings would appear to send a mixed message about the West's approach to relations with Russia, given that the same leaders are also boy- cotting a summit Putin had been scheduled to host this week. Obama does not plan to hold a formal meeting with Putin while both attend events Friday marking the 70th anniversary of the D- Day invasion that hastened the end of World War II, though the two leaders are likely to have some interac- tion. The U.S. president sug- gested there was no contra- diction between efforts to isolate Russia and engag- ing directly with Putin. "The fact of the mat- ter is that Russia is a sig- nificant country with in- credibly gifted people, re- sources, an enormous land mass, and they rightfully play an important role on the world stage and in the region," Obama said during a news conference with Pol- ish President Bronislaw Ko- morowski. He added that it could be possible for Putin to "rebuild some of the trust that's been shattered during this past year" but said that would take time. Western leaders, includ- ing Obama, have spoken with Putin by phone multiple times since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and stationed tens of thousands of troops on its border with the former So- viet republic. But until this week, they've avoided face- to-face meetings with Putin to avoid giving the impres- sion that the Russian leader can slide back into normal relationships with U.S. and European leaders that have accused him of stoking in- stability in Ukraine. Putin's meetings this week will be closely watched by Poland and other Cen- tral and Eastern European nations. Many countries in the regions have been press- ing for broader NATO assis- tance to serve as a buffer in case Russia tries to advance beyond Ukraine. Obama's announcement Tuesday of a "European Reassurance Initiative," costing up to $1 billion, was aimed at quelling some of that anxiety. It marks a sig- nificant departure from a two-decade trend toward a smaller U.S. military pres- ence in Europe amid a shift by the Obama administra- tion to a more visible and active naval and air power presence in the Asia-Pa- cific region. Just three years ago the Pentagon downgraded the top U.S. Army Europe commander from a four-star to a three- star general. If the U.S. Congress ap- proves the funding, the Pen- tagon would ramp up its air and ground force rotations in Europe, as well as boost military exercises and posi- tion more equipment on the continent. The plan also calls for increasing the U.S. Navy participation in NATO de- ployments in the Black and Baltic Seas and helping non- NATO nations such as Geor- gia, Moldova and Ukraine bolster their own defenses. But key details of the effort were unclear, including how big the U.S. troop increase on the continent might be. WORLD Obama boosting US military effort in Europe CHARLESDHARAPAK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama shakes hands with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk a er they made statements to reporters in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday. By Bradley Klapper The Associated Press WASHINGTON Top mem- bers of Congress were briefed more than two years ago about the possibility of exchanging an American soldier held captive by the Taliban for five terror sus- pects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, senior Democrats and Republicans said Tuesday. In a statement, House Speaker John Boehner said lawmakers raised serious concerns that were never satisfactorilyansweredabout the potential swap involving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and re- ceived assurances from the Obamaadministrationthatif a deal were more likely, Con- gress would be contacted. Lawmakers weren't in- formed until word came this past Saturday of the ex- change. "There was every expec- tation that the administra- tion would re-engage with Congress," Boehner said. "The only reason it did not is because the administration knew it faced serious and so- ber bipartisan concern and opposition." Boehner's sentiment was echoed by Republican and some Democratic senators, who questioned the Obama administration's sugges- tions that Bergdahl's deteri- orating health posed an im- minent risk, requiring fast action. "There has not been even the weakest case, in my opin- ion, made that he was suffer- ing from a health standpoint to the degree to which a de- cision had to be made," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Sen- ate Intelligence Committee. "He was undernourished, not necessarily malnour- ished," echoed Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's Dem- ocratic chair, citing an as- sessment from a few months ago. "Unless something cat- astrophic happened, I think there was no reason to be- lieve he was in instant dan- ger.Therecertainlywastime topickupthephoneandcall." Both senators slammed the administration's disre- gard for Congress after at- tending a classified brief- ing with intelligence officials Tuesday. Feinstein said she and Chambliss wrote classified letters to President Barack Obama and then-Secre- tary of State Hillary Rod- ham Clinton in late 2011 and early 2012 express- ing their opposition to the transfer of high-level de- tainees to Qatar as part of the proposed deal to free Bergdahl. 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