Top Army general scheduled to testify at Bergdahl hearingFORT BRAGG, N.C. — A top Army general is scheduled to testify today about why he destroyed letters he received from supporters and critics of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.Gen. Robert B. Abrams is expected to appear in court today at a pretrial hearing to answer questions related to a motion seeking to disqualify him from the case. Abrams is the four-star head of U.S. Army Forces command who decided to send the soldier’s case to a general court-martial rather than a lower-level tribunal.Abrams has acknowledged that he disposed of letters on the case that he had largely received from the general public by sending them to an incinerator. The defense is seeking to allow another commander to decide whether the case warrants a general court-martial.The destruction of the letters is one of several reasons the defense says Abrams should be disqualified. They also cite his prior role advising former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during efforts to return Bergdahl from captivity and questions about whether Abrams considered defense objections to the findings of a preliminary hearing.The judge overseeing Bergdahl’s case, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, decided Monday that Abrams must testify this week.Prosecutors argue that the letters, sent largely by members of the public, didn’t constitute evidence and that Abrams shouldn’t be disqualified.

Rio Games score small TV audience; video streaming hits record highVideo streaming every competitive event at the Olympics may have been too much of a good thing for NBC.The prime-time TV audience over 17 nights for the Rio Games averaged 25.4 million viewers, the lowest since the 2004 Games in Athens, which averaged 24.9 million viewers. Nielsen data showed an 18 percent decline from the 31.1 million who watched the 2012 Games in London.But online streaming of live video on NBC’s apps reached 2.7 billion minutes, nearly double the amount for all previous Olympic Games. When online viewers of replays and highlights are added in, the total is 3.3 billion minutes. NBC said its digital coverage had 100 million unique users, a 29 percent increase over the 2012 Games.When NBC executives return from Rio, their first job likely will be analyzing how much streaming cannibalized the traditional TV audience.Every event was available live online and a stream of the prime-time coverage was offered as well.Live Olympics coverage also was carried on NBCUniversal’s cable networks.From combined wire services