BAGHDAD — Romania's small military contingent ended its deployment in Iraq yesterday, reducing the U.S.-led coalition to three countries. In Iraq's north, another U.S. soldier died in combat.

The alliance that once included nearly 40 countries has been whittled down as the Americans themselves prepare for a full withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. Aside from the United States, the remaining troops come from Britain and Australia.

The Americans have nearly 140,000 troops left in Iraq, according to the U.S. military.

SOTOMAYOR’S ASSETS MORE THAN $1 MILLION

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor says her personal assets top $1 million.

Her $1.16 million in assets include her Greenwich Village condo, valued at $997,500; a $20,000 stake in another condominium; and about $109,000 in cars and other personal property. Her financial statement shows she has $31,985 in the bank.

Sotomayor released details about her finances as part of a massive portfolio of documents she sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday in response to a questionnaire about her background and writings. It shows her personal assets amount to far less than others whom President Obama considered nominating for the high court.

MAN CHARGED IN THREATS TO PRESIDENT

SALT LAKE CITY — Federal prosecutors have charged a man with making threats against President Obama after he allegedly told a bank employee in Utah he was on a mission to kill the president.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its Web site yesterday that Daniel James Murray allegedly made the remark to a teller at a bank in St. George on May 27 as he withdrew $13,000 from an account.

Murray's whereabouts are unknown. The U.S. Secret Service says Murray has at least eight registered firearms, the Tribune reported.

Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington, told The Associated Press he had no comment yesterday.

GOVERNOR ORDERED TO TAKE STIMULUS CASH

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's Supreme Court ordered Gov. Mark Sanford yesterday to request $700 million in federal stimulus money aimed primarily at struggling schools, ending months of wrangling with legislators who accused him of playing politics with people's lives.

The nation's most vocal anti-bailout governor had refused to take the money designated for the state over the next two years, facing down protesters and legislators who passed a budget requiring him to. While other Republican governors had taken issue with requesting money from the $787 billion federal stimulus package, Sanford was the first to defend in court his desire to reject the money.

But he said yesterday he will not appeal the Supreme Court ruling and plans to sign paperwork to request the money Monday.

MARS ORBITER SAFE AFTER ABSORBING HIT

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA says its powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode after being hit by a cosmic ray or solar particle.

The spacecraft abruptly rebooted its onboard computer Wednesday night, but can still send down engineering data to ground controllers.

Crews at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena have been working to return the craft to normal science operations, expected as early as next week.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in 2005.

4 CHARGED IN SECURITY GUARD’S MURDER

TACOMA, Wash. — Murder charges were filed yesterday against four people accused in the killing of an armored car guard as he carried a money bag out of a Washington state Wal-Mart.

Two of the four, including the man accused of pulling the trigger, also face aggravated first-degree murder charges, which could carry the death penalty.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said the defendants entered not guilty pleas during a hearing in Pierce County Superior Court. It was not immediately known if the four were represented by lawyers.

Loomis security guard Kurt Husted, 39, was shot in the head while leaving a bank branch inside a Wal-Mart in the south Tacoma suburb of Lakewood. The same bullet also wounded a customer.