Judge Will Decide If Marines Stand Trial

A military judge at Camp LeJeune, N.C., said he expects to decide in the next few weeks whether two Marine aviators will stand trial in an Italian gondola accident that killed 20 people. In closing arguments to their motion to dismiss the charges, attorneys for two Marines accused in the February tragedy said the military was pressured into charging them. Capts. Richard Ashby and Joseph Schweitzer each are charged with 20 counts of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. Their EA-6B Prowler anti-radar jet hit the cable of a ski gondola near Cavalese, Italy, on Feb. 3 and killed 20 people. Investigators say the aviators were flying too fast and too low.