Worst day yet at Pendleton *

Thirty-seven Americans died today in Iraq, the highest toll of any day since the invasion. Most of them were Marines from Camp Pendleton who perished when their helicopter crashed near the Jordan border in the middle of the night. That brings the number of U.S. casualties in the war to 1,418 killed and at least 10,502 wounded in action. More have been from California, of course, than any other state.

* More details: Turns out that most of the Marines were based in Hawaii, with another four from the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, non-military sources say.