In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

Q: (CNN) -- After nearly 40 years of recorded increases, the number of immigrants living in the United States remained flat between 2007 and 2008, recent statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau show. The number of naturalized citizens in the U.S. increased, partly attributed to voter drives for the 2008 election. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the U.S. foreign-born population represented about 12.5 percent of the population in 2008, down from 12.6 percent in 2007. Taking into account the margin of error, it was possible that the immigrant population remained even. "Between '07 and '08 there really wasn't that much of a change," said Elizabeth Grieco, chief of immigration statistics staff at the Census Bureau. But given the steep upward trend in the foreign-born population since 1970, no change is big news. The American Community Survey collects data from about 3 million addresses each year, and provides one of the most complete pictures of the population, according to the bureau. The survey doesn't give a reason for the leveling off, but experts pointed to the economic downturn and the resulting high unemployment as factors behind the shift. "The recession has had a significant effect on immigrants' decisions on whether to come to the U.S.," said Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Would-be unauthorized immigrants and legal temporary workers are mostly the ones who have decided to stay put in their home countries for now, Mittelstadt said. The largest declines in the foreign-born population were in states that were hardest hit by the recession, including California, Florida and Arizona. Mittelstadt noted, however, that those immigrants already in the United States appear to be staying. A recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center concluded that emigration from Mexico, the largest source of immigrants to the United States, slowed at least 40 percent between mid-decade and 2008, based on national population surveys in the United States and Mexico, as well as Border Patrol apprehension figures. The Mexican-born population in the United States dropped by about 300,000 between 2007 and 2008, according to census data. The new Census statistics show that for the first time since the American Community Survey was fully implemented in 2005, the number of noncitizens decreased, Grieco said. There were about 21.6 million noncitizens in 2008, down from 21.9 million in 2007. The label noncitizens includes both legal residents and illegal immigrants. Along with the decline in the noncitizen population, however, there was a notable increase in the number of naturalized citizens, Grieco said. The number of individuals who are naturalized citizens increased to 43 percent of the foreign-born population in 2008 from 42.5 percent in 2007. The Census survey matches reports from the Department of Homeland Security on the rise of naturalization applications. "Naturalizations grew at a record pace between 2006 and 2008, with a total of 2.4 million immigrants becoming new citizens in the United States," according to a DHS statement. A significant fee increase imposed in 2007 for naturalization applications and an awareness of citizenship brought on during voter registration drives for the 2008 election help explain the increase, Mittelstadt said.

A: Bureau official: "Between '07 and '08 there really wasn't" much immigration change .
Notable increase in naturalized citizens, Census Bureau's Elizabeth Grieco says .
Mexican-born population in U.S. dropped by about 300,000 between 2007 and 2008 .
****
Q: HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN)  -- Illegal diamond mining by Zimbabwean troops is leading to bloodshed and attacks against civilians, said a global watchdog group formed to cut the flow of so-called "blood diamonds." The armed forces also are accused of funneling money from diamond fields to President Robert Mugabe's party. Residents and workers contributed accounts of attacks detailed by the interim findings of the Kimberley Process after a weeklong investigation in Zimbabwe. The probe started days after a Human Rights Watch report accused the nation's armed forces of violently taking over the diamond fields in Marange district and killing about 200 people since last year. Some victims of the clash were buried in mass graves, the report said. Lameck Chiso, 29, said he was stopped at a police checkpoint on his way from work in the diamond fields. "Three men in army uniform jumped into my car and asked me to drive them back to the mining area," Chiso said. They took his money and urged him to praise the "wonderful job" the army was doing of restoring order to the Marange diamond area, Chiso added. "I complied, but they responded by assaulting me with the back of a gun on my back," he said. Kimberly Process officials urged the government to demilitarize the diamond fields and investigate the accusations against the military. Tapiwa, 32, who declined to give his last name, said he has scars on his back and head from beatings he got when troops found him in the mining area. Such stories are common, said Georgette Gagnon, director of Human Rights Watch. The organization said more than 100 witnesses, including soldiers and children, were interviewed for its report. "The police and army have turned this peaceful area into a nightmare of lawlessness and horrific violence," Gagnon said. "Zimbabwe's new government should get the army out of the fields, put a stop to the abuse and prosecute those responsible." The money from blood diamonds can end up funding rebel violence, the Kimberley Process group said. Separately, Human Rights Watch has accused the armed forces of funneling money from the fields into ZANU-PF, President Robert Mugabe's party. The government decried some aspects of the report, saying the critics were trying to smear the Mugabe's party. "I can confirm that there has been illegal mining taking place in Zimbabwe, but we seem to be getting on top of the situation now," said Kembo Mohadi, Zimbabwe's co-minister of home affairs. The government has not been able to verify allegations of deaths and mass graves, Mohadi said. "As a responsible government, we have started investigating these reports," he said, adding that mining proceeds in the cash-strapped nation are not being distributed to any particular group. "The money will not be handled by any party but by the Treasury," he said.

A: Probe finds illegal diamond mining by Zimbabwe troops leads to attacks on civilians .
Watchdog group urges government to investigate accusations against military .
Zimbabwean official admits illegal diamond mining taking place .
Government unable to verify allegations of deaths and mass graves, official says .
****
Q: (CNN) -- The Army sergeant who admitted to gunning down 16 civilians in a 2012 rampage through two villages near his outpost in southern Afghanistan is expected to take the stand at his sentencing hearing and will apologize. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales pleaded guilty in June to more than 30 criminal charges, including 16 premeditated murder counts. The plea spares the 39-year-old Bales the prospect of a death sentence in the killings. He now faces life in prison, but a jury of four officers and two enlisted personnel will decide whether he will have a chance at parole. "Yes, Bob will take (the) stand ... Yes, Bob will apologize," Bales' lawyer, John Henry Browne said in an e-mail to CNN. Bales admitted to slipping away from his outpost in southern Afghanistan and going on a house-to-house killing spree in two nearby villages in March 2012, a massacre that further strained ties between American troops and their Afghan allies. Afghanistan shootings Fast Facts . But he has not offered an explanation for his actions. "I've asked that question a million times since then. There's not a good reason in the world for the horrible things I did," Bales said when he pleaded guilty, according to Drew Mikkelson of CNN affilliate KING, who was tweeting from the courtroom. Mikkelson also tweeted from the sentencing hearing, which began this week at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington. So far, a number of Afghan civilians have taken the stand for the prosecution to talk about what they saw and survived. Haji Mohammed Wazir lost 11 relatives -- his wife, mother, two brothers, a 13-year-old nephew and six of his seven children -- according to KING. "My life has never been the same," Wazir told the jury. It's been more than a year since the massacre, but Wazir said: "I feel like it's happening right now," the affiliate reported. KING's Mikkelson tweeted that a 12-year-old boy who survived the rampage testified about seeing his father and sister get shot. Another witness broke down on the stand and cried out: "For God's sake, don't ask me any more questions," Mikkelson wrote. In addition to the murder counts, Bales pleaded guilty to six counts of attempted murder, seven of assault and the use of illicit steroids and alcohol. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of obstruction of justice. Bales is a member of the Army's 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, an element of the 2nd Infantry Division. His attorneys have said the service made a mistake in assigning Bales to another combat tour despite evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury suffered during a combat tour in Iraq. CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report.

A:
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales admitted to gunning down 16 civilians .
The plea spares the 39-year-old Bales the prospect of a death sentence .
A jury will decide whether he will have a chance at parole .
Afghan civilians have been called to testify about what they saw, survived .
****