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Abu Ghraib soldier given 8-year sentence

BAGHDAD, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The most senior soldier accused in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday.

Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick also was reduced in rank and forced to forfeit pay. He will be dishonorably discharged. His maximum sentence of 10 years was reduced to eight as part of a plea bargain. He admitted to five charges at a court martial in Baghdad Wednesday.

Frederick was among the military police and intelligence soldiers who were photographed abusing and humiliating Iraqis at the prison near Baghdad. Frederick personally attached fake electrodes to a naked prisoner and stomped on the fingers and toes of others.

Frederick lawyer Gary Myers said he will seek to get the "excessive" prison sentence reduced.

Myers argued it was the collective fault of the military for setting the conditions that allowed the abuse to happen, and failing to train the soldiers properly for the job.

No senior commander has been charged in the abuse although several have been suspended from their posts.

U.S. gymnast Hamm to keep Olympic gold

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm can keep his Olympic gold medal despite a South Korean appeal.

Hamm was the first U.S. man to win the gymnastics' all-round title at the Olympic Games.

The three-judge panel in Lausanne, Switzerland, threw out South Korea's appeal that Yang Tae-young should be awarded the gold because he was mistakenly docked 0.1 points in his parallel bars routine.

Had he been given the correct score, he would have beaten Hamm. Instead, he was awarded a bronze medal.

The International Gymnastics Federation had previously refused to redistribute the medals because the South Koreans did not protest until after the event.

The three judges involved in the controversy were suspended by the federation.

The ruling ends two months of appeals to various bodies, including the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.

Britain backs shifting Iraq troops

LONDON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Britain's Cabinet has given its unanimous backing to a U.S. request to move British troops in Iraq to more dangerous areas near Baghdad.

While not yet confirmed, reports have said the move would involve about 650 soldiers from the Black Watch regiment now based in southern Iraq, the BBC said Thursday.

The United States made the request, saying it wanted to free up some of its own troops for a mass offensive on the city of Fallujah, which is being held by insurgents.

Prime Minister Tony Blair promised if Black Watch troops are sent north, they will be home by Christmas as planned.

Meanwhile, Britain's senior officer in Iraq, Gen. John McColl, said more British troops could be sent to Iraq as the country's January elections draw nearer.

McColl did not give a figure on the possible deployment, but as many as 1,300 extra troops could be called, bringing the number of British personnel in Iraq to nearly 9,000.

Kerry hunts, campaigns in Ohio

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Sen. John Kerry said he bagged a goose during a two-hour hunting trip with Ohio Rep. Ted Strickland on a Springfield Township farm near Youngstown.

The Democratic presidential nominee bought a hunting license on Saturday and used a borrowed 12-gauge shotgun Thursday, the Youngstown Vindicator said.

He was in the battleground states of Ohio and Minnesota, meeting with Sportsmen for Kerry and seeking votes in Columbus and Minneapolis.

Kerry is to combine a hot topic of the day -- stem-cell research -- with economic issues in his talks. The widow of actor Christopher Reeve was expected to introduce him. Kerry mentioned Reeve during the third presidential debate as someone who could have benefited from stem-cell research to help him recover from spine damage. Reeve died a few days after that debate.

The pictures of the day will likely come from the goose hunt. The National Rifle Association, which recently endorsed President Bush, has pledged to take Kerry to task for the several photo opportunities that have featured the senator with firearms. The NRA says it will spend up to $2 million to deflate ideas that Kerry is pro-gun.

First Internet-initiated organ transplant

DENVER, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A retired Colorado healthcare executive and a Tennessee truck driver were recovering Thursday after the first Internet-initiated organ transplant.

Both were reported "doing really well" at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver, the Denver Post said after the twin surgeries became mired in controversy over medical ethics.

Bob Hickey, 58, of Edwards, Colo., and his donor, Rob Smitty, 32, of Chattanooga, Tenn., met through MatchingDonors.com, one of a handful of Web sites linking living donors to those who desperately need organs.

As the two men, strangers until recently, recover in separate rooms, hospital officials said they expect federal regulators to soon begin a review of the monetary payment that led to the transplant.

Those who need organs must pay to be listed on the Web site.

A federal law prohibits donors or their families from being paid for their organs.