US – Thursday, March 18
National
Congress passes job-creation bill
A package of tax breaks and highway spending cleared Congress yesterday, the first of what Democrats hope will be several efforts to bring down the 9.7 percent unemployment rate.
 
International
Pakistan charges U.S. 5 with terror
A Pakistani court formally charged five young Americans of plotting terrorism in the country yesterday, their lawyer said, in a case that has raised alarm over the danger posed by militants using the Internet.
 
The Word
Bullock gets ‘Blind Side’d by alleged affair
It seemed too crazy to be true — America’s sweetheart Sandra Bullock fell for Jesse James, a heavily tattooed former bodyguard for Slayer turned custom motorcycle maker who was once married to a porn star.
 
Music
‘The age of the freak is almost here’
For the past few years the tourist shops near where the SXSW Music Conference takes place have been selling goods emblazoned with the axiom “Keep Austin Weird.” And if the first night of live music was any indication, visitors, revelers and performers are taking the sentiment to heart. Here are a few of the highlights from Wednesday
 
Business
‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit
NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.
 
My Travel
The key to Kyoto
Kyoto’s temples and Geisha culture are legendary, but this city is no slouch when it comes to mixing in a large slice of contemporary, too.
 
Published 22:54, November the 12th, 2009
Send
 

13 murder charges for base slayings

Death penalty

If convicted of premeditated murder by a military court he could face the death penalty, a U.S.  military official said.

 

The U.S. Army has charged a military psychiatrist with 13 counts of murder in last week’s shooting spree at the Fort Hood Army base, which shocked the country as it prepared to celebrate Veterans Day.

An Army spokesman said on Thursday that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a Muslim born in the United States of immigrant parents, was charged with murdering the 13 victims of the Nov. 5 rampage at Fort Hood, the world’s biggest military facility.

He could face the death penalty and the case has drawn criticism of Army intelligence after it became known that Hasan had been in contact with an Islamic figure sympathetic to al-Qaida.

President Barack Obama has ordered a review of how U.S. intelligence agencies handled information they may have gathered about Hasan following questions about whether authorities may have missed warning signs about him.

Hasan is undergoing treatment at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for wounds from the gunshots that took him down during the attack.

The Army is not ruling out bringing future charges against Hasan. “We are doing everything possible and we are looking at every reason for this shooting,” said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.

REUTERS