Nation briefs 10A

Georgia families gather for return of soldiers

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Family members gathered Saturday night to welcome home 600 soldiers returning from Iraq, toting banners and American flags as they waited.

The soldiers' spouses and children gathered early at the Fort Stewart practice field, where the troops were scheduled to arrive by bus.

The first plane of 279 troops landed just after 7 p.m. Saturday at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, with a second flight to follow a few hours later. The soldiers were to board buses for the short trip to Fort Stewart.

About 300 more soldiers were to arrive this afternoon, making this the largest homecoming at Fort Stewart since the 3rd Infantry began deploying 16,500 soldiers to the Persian Gulf last year.

More than 450 Haitian immigrants repatriated

MIAMI -- A U.S. Coast Guard cutter returned more than 450 Haitian immigrants to Port-au-Prince Saturday after they were intercepted at sea on two dangerously overcrowded boats earlier this week, the Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted 146 immigrants on a boat off the Bahamas on Wednesday, and on Thursday, a 40-foot vessel carrying 319 immigrants was spotted off the Bahamas. The Haitians were taken onto Coast Guard cutters.

"Too many times in the past we have seen vessels sailing in severely overloaded conditions like these result in unnecessary deaths," said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Tony Russell.

It is standard U.S. policy to repatriate immigrants picked up at sea, after brief shipboard interviews by immigration officials.

Three drown, four others missing in Lake Michigan

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- Three people drowned and four others were missing and presumed drowned in choppy water along popular Lake Michigan beaches, officials said Saturday.

The accidents happened along a three-mile stretch of beaches just north of the Indiana state line Friday, after storms kicked up waves and created a strong undertow in the area, Berrien County Sheriff's Lt. Ed Sherrick said.

Authorities suspended their search for the missing swimmers Saturday night and planned to resume in the morning.

Bruce C. Chapman, 57, and his wife Judith, 66, drowned off a beach bordering Warren Dunes State Park, about 15 miles south of St. Joseph, and Mark Weiss, 59, of Chicago, drowned off a neighboring beach.

Police: Woman stabs noted chef, kills his son

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. -- A woman critically wounded her former boyfriend and fatally stabbed the man's 13-year-old son in his bedroom before fleeing and leaving a three-mile trail of blood, police said.

Jean Marc Weber, 45, head chef at the California Club, an exclusive private club in downtown Los Angeles, crawled to a neighbor's front porch and pleaded for help after the Friday morning attack.

His son Alex, 13, was found dead in his bedroom, police said.

The attacker may have been injured, Orange County sheriff's Lt. Larry Abbott said. The police believe the attacker was Weber's ex-girlfriend, Tamara K. Bohler, 44.

Weber was hospitalized in critical condition and was under police guard, Abbott said. Bohler had not been found Saturday morning.

Rapper Beanie Sigel charged in bar shooting

PHILADELPHIA -- Hip-hop artist Beanie Sigel posted bail and was released from jail Saturday after he was charged with shooting and injuring a man outside a bar.

Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, surrendered to police late Thursday after returning to Philadelphia from a concert where he performed with rapper Jay-Z in Camden, N.J.

Police had been looking for Sigel since Tuesday, when he was accused of shooting Terrence Speller, 26, allegedly over an argument between Speller and two women. -- From wire reports

Speller was hospitalized but is expected to recover, police said.

Sigel's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said his client denied any involvement in the shooting.