Retired general Mattis a top candidate for Pentagon chief

By Steve Holland BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - James Mattis, the blunt-spoken retired Marine Corps general who headed the U.S. military command covering the Middle East and Afghanistan, emerged on Sunday as a top candidate for defense secretary, with President-elect Donald Trump calling him "very impressive." Trump, who was holding a series of meetings at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, with candidates for posts in his incoming administration, met on Saturday with Mattis and Mitt Romne