Morning Buzz: Sept. 25, 2007

Sgt. Evan Vela is accused of planting evidence on an Iraqi he killed. He says he was following orders. Vela contends that Army snipers who are hunting insurgents in Iraq are ordered to "bait" their targets by leaving out suspicious materials and then killing whoever picks them up. The military wouldn't confirm whether such a program exists.

Computing giant Microsoft is considering pouring billions of dollars into the popular social-networking site Facebook in a move that might also bring online titan Google to the negotiation table. Facebook's creator, 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, has said repeatedly that he plans to keep Facebook independent. Microsoft would invest $10 billion in the company and receive up to a 5 percent stake.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is slated to speak to the U.N. General Assembly today in New York City after raising eyebrows at an appearance at Columbia University. He stood up for his country's nuclear program, said that the root causes of 9/11 needed to be more thoroughly researched, and, in response to a query about his belief in the Holocaust, asked: "Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?"