The Slatest  Morning Edition  |  Daniel Politi

  1. Army Doctor Suspected of Killing 13 at Fort Hood Is Alive

    A psychiatrist who had spent much of his career at Walter Reed Army Medical Center opened fire at a medical processing center for soldiers returning from, and about to be sent, overseas, killing 13 people and injuring 30. USA Today notes that officials beleive this is the deadliest shooting rampage at a U.S. base in history. The gunman was shot by a civilian officer who was herself wounded but is expected to survive. He finally fell after being struck by four bullets. Contrary to initial reports, the gunman, identified as 39-year-old Nidal Hasan, wasn't killed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent surgery and is currently unconscious and on a ventilator but "his death is not imminent," one official said. Hasan, wearing a military uniform, fired an automatic pistol and another weapon. The New York Times points out that it's not clear whether he reloaded, but it seems likely considering that 43 people were shot. But his day appeared to begin like any other. The Houston Chronicle talks to a 7-Eleven manager who says nothing seemed out of the ordinary early yesterday when Hasan went into the store for his daily hash browns. "He came in [Thursday] morning just like normal," she said, "nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary." A few hours later, Hasan was in the largest U.S. military facility in the world, and he just began shooting. Once the shooting stopped, military personnel used skills learned for combat, ripping off clothes to make bandages for those who had been shot. "Horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse," one military official said. Most of the victims were military personnel, but also included two civilians. Everyone calls it one of the worst cases of soldier-on-soldier violence in U.S. military history, but no one seems to be able to cite one that was worse. "I don't recall any officer homicides [like this]," said a military law professor. Military historians say that when members of the armed forces open fire on colleagues it's usually in a war zone because of the stress of the fight or, in some instances, to complain about mistreatment from officers.

    Read original story in The Dallas Morning News | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  2. Suspect's Deployment to War Zone Was Imminent

    There are a lot of unanswered questions about who Nidal Hasan was, and why he carried out the shootings. But the details emerging from interviews and records "are troubling," as the Associated Press says. At least six months ago, he came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings under the screen name "NidalHasan" that seemed to be sympathetic toward suicide bombers, although it was never determined whether the two were the same person. The New York Times points out that the way he carried out the shooting suggests the whole thing was premeditated, particularly considering that medical personnel have no reason to carry a weapon. Officials believe Hasan acted alone. Now they're trying to figure out whether obvious signs of potential trouble were missed. He graduated from Virginia Tech, went on to earn a doctorate from the University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, and then spent several years at Walter Reed before going to Fort Hood. He spent much of his time counseling victims of trauma in war zones and often talked about his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a colleague who spoke to Fox News. After seeing the effects of war up close, he was terrified of being deployed, his cousin told Fox News. Then, when he was give orders to deploy to Iraq on Nov. 28, "he became distraught," says the Los Angeles Times. (Update: This morning, an Army spokesman said Hasan was to be sent to Afghanistan.) At one point, he even hired a military lawyer to help him get discharged. Hasan apparently went into the military against his parent's wishes but then felt discriminated against because of his Muslim roots. During his time in the Washington area, he had been a "very devout" worshipper, who often attracted attention for attending prayers wearing his Army fatigues.  He apparently tried to find a wife but his former imam says he was looking for an extremely religious woman and didn't have much luck in suburban Washington. The Washington Post reports that Hasan didn't quite fit in at Walter Reed, and he often tried to stay far away from female colleagues, even refusing to be part of an annual Christmastime tradition of taking group photos. One Walter Reed colleague says many tried to avoid sending patients to Hasan because his work habits were seen as too unusual. The Associated Press reports that, as an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan required counseling and extra supervision because of some "difficulties' and at one point even received a poor evaluation. USA Today reports that those difficulties appeared to continue at Fort Hood, where he apparently felt like "he didn't fit in," according to Rep. Michael McCaul from Austin.

    Read original story in The Washington Post | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  3. Iran Tested Advanced Nuclear Warhead

    The Guardian says that "previously unpublished" documents by the International Atomic Energy Agency reveal that the nuclear watchdog has asked Tehran to explain the existence of evidence that seems to suggest the country has experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design. The technology—a "two-point implosion" device—is officially a secret in the United States and Britain, but it seems Tehran may have tested some components of the design. Experts said the revelation is worrisome because if the technology is mastered it would allow Iran to put a nuclear warhead on a missile much more easily. "It is breathtaking that Iran could be working on this sort of material," said a European government adviser.

    Read original story in The Guardian | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  4. Babies Cry in Mother Tongue

    Although it was long believed that infants began to imitate language patterns at around 12 weeks, new research suggests they could begin to pick it up in the womb. The study recorded and analyzed cries of 30 babies born into French-speaking families, and 30 from German-speaking families. Researchers discovered differences in how the babies cry that appear to follow patterns of their mother tongue. French newborns "cry with a rising melody contour," whereas German babies seem to do it with a "falling melody," which would appear to follow the general pattern of each language. Some, however, aren't buying it. "Biologists and medical people are always talking rubbish about language because they don't understand it," one linguist said.

    Read original story in The Times (of London) | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  5. Is it Even Possible To Train Afghan Forces Quickly?

    A number of internal assessments have been raising doubts about whether the United States could realistically speed up the training of Afghan forces. Gen. Stanley McChrystal outlined it as one of his top priorities, but skeptics say he is being overly optimistic and these internal reports give them plenty of fuel to make their case. About "one out of every four or five" members of the Afghan forces quits every year, meaning that there has to be a constant recruitment effort, and the number of battalions able to fight independently has been on the decline. On top of it all, there aren't enough American trainers, and there have been repeated problems with facilities to train and house new recruits, who are, for the most part, poorly led and illiterate. 

    Read original story in The New York Times | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  6. Pact To End Honduran Crisis Falls Apart

    Manuel Zelaya, the ousted Honduran president, said that the agreement brokered with the help of U.S. officials has died. It was supposed to end the country's four-month political crisis by having Congress vote on whether to reinstate Zelaya and bringing the two sides together in a unity government until elections would be held at the end of the month. But just a week after it was signed, Zelaya has thrown up his hands and urged supporters to boycott the presidential elections at the end of this month. A unity Cabinet was supposed to be formed this week, but Zelaya refused to name any members until Congress voted on whether to reinstate him to the presidency. But the pact never mandated a date by which Congress has to vote, so de facto leader Roberto Micheletti went ahead and formed a Cabinet without Zelaya's input. When the pact was signed last week it was seen as a huge victory for the United States, but now many say it ultimately contained "too many internal contradictions to be successful," as Reuters puts it.

    Read original story in Reuters | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  7. Fort Hood Feels the Toll of Multiple Deployments

    Sine 2003, there have been 75 suicides at Fort Hood, site of Thursday's mass shooting. That's the highest number at any Army installation since the invasion of Iraq. After so many years of war, personnel are feeling the toll of "revolving-door deployments" that is described as "living in the new normal." Those in the base say divorces, cases of domestic violence, alcoholism, and drug abuse ar running rampant among soldiers who are deploying to the war zone and those who return. The Washington Post notes that the psychological toll on the force has been described as "unprecedented" and some Army officials acknowledge that "they do not know how much the Army can sustain before it breaks." Of course, it's not just in Fort Hood. A total of 117 active-duty Army soldiers have been reported to commit suicide this year. The mental health problems suffered by more than one-quarter of those who return from combat gets worse after repeated deployments. And it's not unheard of for psychologists who treat patient after patient with post-traumatic stress disorder to begin developing some of the same symptoms. 

    Read original story in The Houston Chronicle | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  8. Brown Warns Karzai To Clean Up Government

    In a speech where he paid tribute to the 93 British troops who died in Afghanistan this year, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted that the country "cannot, must not, and will not walk away" from the conflict, describing it as "our first line of defense" against terrorist attacks. Facing increasing calls to withdraw from a conflict that has killed seven British soldiers this week, Brown insisted that the war was "prosecuted out of necessity" to protect the world against terrorism. Still, he had some stern words for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, warning him that he needs to clean up his government or face the consequences. "I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption," he said. Brown said he has been speaking with Karzai and the two agreed to a set of goals in order to measure progress. If it then "fails to meet these five tests, it will not only have failed its people, it will have forfeited its right for international support," Brown said. 

    Read original story in The Guardian | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  9. U.K. Government Says Climate Deal is "Highly Unlikely"

    Two years ago, world officials vowed to have a binding treaty on climate change by the end of 2009. But as the key U.N. summit in Copenhagen approaches, that's starting to look more and more like a pipe dream. At pre-Copenhagen talks in Barcelona, officials say the best they can hope for is to reach "political agreements" and then a binding treaty by the end of next year. British Climate Secretary Ed Miliband had previously been optimistic but has now joined the crowd of naysayers. "I think the important thing about the agreement we now seek in December is that while it may be a political agreement it must lead, on a very clear timetable, to a legally binding treaty" Miliband said.

    Read original story in BBC News | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  10. Football Team Benefits From a Trio of Celebrity Kids

    The quarterback for Oaks Christian High is Joe Montana's kid, and he's part of a football team that also includes the sons of Wayne Gretzky* and Will Smith. Yes, the sons of arguably the greatest quarterback in history, the best hockey player of all time, and the biggest movie star are all on the same team. And guess what? They're pretty good. The private school that is about an hour's drive from Los Angeles and people jokingly refer to as Hollywood High has a football team that is 8-0 and is ranked No. 5 in USA Today's Super 25 high-school football rankings.

    * Correction, Nov. 6, 2009: This article mistakenly referred to the "son of Trevor Gretzky." Trevor is the son of Wayne Gretzky.

    Read original story in USA Today | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

  11. Palestinian President Not Running for January Re-Election

    Mahmoud Abbas told Palestinians in a televised speech on Thursday of his "desire not to run in the upcoming elections." Abbas cited the stalemate in Arab-Israeli peace negotiations as a prime reason for his decision and "charged the U.S. with backtracking on its Mideast policy and refusing to press Israel to freeze construction in its West Bank settlements," according to the Associated Press. Abbas' Fatah Party, which lost the previous parliamentary elections to rival and Islamist faction Hamas, has not announced a replacement candidate for the Jan. 24 elections. Abbas, aides say, recently made a similar announcement to Secretary of State Clinton that he wouldn't run but then recanted after receiving a call from President Obama.

    Read original story in Associated Press | Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009

  12. Can the BlackBerry Bounce Back?

    BlackBerry handsets gave parent company Research in Motion a huge jump-start in smartphone market: Since 2002, the company has sold more than 65 million handsets and reined in 56 percent of the domestic smartphone market. But a series of missteps have placed the BlackBerry's pre-eminence in peril, according to Wired. Unlike Apple's iPhone, for instance, Research in Motion has developed so many permutations of the BlackBerry, "most of which are minor variations of each other," that its line-up confuses consumers. While the iPhone and Google's Android platform run sleek Web browsers, "BlackBerry has gained notoriety for having a browser that seems stuck in the last decade." And perhaps most critically, the complexity of its operating system has discouraged many independent developers from writing applications for the BlackBerry. Research in Motion is taking steps to fix these problems—developing a better broswer and offering more support to outside coders, for instance—but the analysts Wired interviewed worry that it may be too litte, too late.

    Read original story in Wired | Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009