It was a day like any other day - except that it was the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But with so much else going on - a torpid economy, a climactic debate over health care reform, a mounting conflict in Afghanistan - it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Americans are still fighting and dying in Iraq.

A four-star general will testify at a pretrial hearing in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war. Gen. James Mattis is scheduled to address a military judge on a defense motion to dismiss charges against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich on grounds of undue command influence.

David Coleman Headley pleaded guilty Thursday in the most significant terrorism case ever linked to Chicago, acknowledging he was an operative who traveled to India multiple times to scout targets for gunmen who carried out the bloody coordinated assault in Mumbai in 2008. By cooperating, he was spared the death penalty and extradition.