Austin Morning News with Mark, Ed and Sam

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11/18/2009 Mom Refuses Deployment To Care For Baby SAVANNAH, Ga. -- An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas. Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son -- her mother -- was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems. Her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, said Monday that one of Hutchinson's superiors told her she would have to deploy anyway and place the child in foster care. Link to full story Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Obama: I'd Fire Afghan Decision Leakers CBS) President Obama arrives in Seoul, South Korea Wednesday - the final destination of his five-stop, whirlwind tour of Asia. Before leaving Beijing for Korea, Mr. Obama sat down for a one-on-one interview with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Chip Reid, and addressed his administration's pending decision about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, as well as Sarah Palin, and the toll the presidency is taking on him. Reid reports the president said it's still several weeks before he makes a decision on how many more troops to send to Afghanistan. "Afghans are responsible for their own security," Mr. Obama said. "We have to get Pakistan involved in a more effective way. There is a range of things we have to do at this point; it's fine-tuning a strategy that we can be confident we'll be successful. I think that Gen. (Stanley) McChrystal shares the same goal I do, for us to protect homeland, protect our allies and U.S. interests around the world." . Link to full story Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Fort Hood probe likely to broaden WASHINGTON — Worried that the Army may have missed red flags about the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre, the Pentagon probably will open an inquiry into how all the military services keep watch on other volatile soldiers hidden in their ranks, officials said Tuesday. The investigation, still in the planning stages, would be a broad examination ranging beyond the specific case of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the killings, officials said. The inquiry, they said, could look at personnel policies and the availability of mental health services for troubled troops. Link to full story Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Pirates Again Attack Maersk Alabama NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months and were thwarted by private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship who fired off guns and a high-decibel noise device. A U.S. surveillance plane was monitoring the ship as it continued to its destination on the Kenyan coast, while a pirate said that the captain of a ship hijacked Monday with 28 North Korean crew members on board had died of wounds. Pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama last April and took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage, holding him at gunpoint in a lifeboat for five days. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates in a daring nighttime attack. Link to full story Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Dems alarmed as independents bolt By ALEX ISENSTADT \| 11/18/09 12:02 AM EST Mounting evidence that independent voters have soured on the Democrats is prompting a debate among party officials about what rhetorical and substantive changes are needed to halt the damage. Following serious setbacks with independents in off-year elections earlier this month, White House officials attributed the defeats to local factors and said President Barack Obama sees no need to reposition his own image or the Democratic message. Since then, however, a flurry of new polls makes clear that Democrats are facing deeper problems with independents—the swing voters who swung dramatically toward the party in 2006 and 2008 but who now are registering deep unease with the amount of spending and debt called for under Obama's agenda in an era of one-party rule in Washington. Link to full story Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Arkansas cop uses Taser on 10-year-old girl It was an encounter one Ozark 10-year-old will likely never forget. Called to a home to help control an allegedly "unruly child," an Ozark police officer was reportedly told by the girl's mother that he could use the electric weapon to subdue her, according to 40/29 News Arkansas. http://rawstory.com/2009/11/arkansas-cop-taser-10yearold-girl/ Read Full Story
11/18/2009 Man acquitted in burger tampering case A Burnet County jury took less than 20 minutes to find Jaime Perez — accused of spitting on the Burnet police chief's hamburger — not guilty of harassment of a public servant. After the verdict, jurors told prosecutor Joe Greer and defense attorney Tim Cowart that there wasn't enough evidence for a conviction. "It's fairly evident that the jury felt the state didn't prove its case," Cowart said. But Greer said, "We had no physical evidence because (Chief) Paul Nelson ate it." http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/18/1118perez.html Read Full Story
11/17/2009 Students drink more and more often if living in coed dorms By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY In the past 30 years, coed college dormitories have gone from rare to routine, with nearly all students who live on campus now sharing housing with members of the opposite sex. But a study out today suggests that the shift may have had unintended results. It finds that students in coed dorms are far more likely than those in single-sex dorms to drink alcohol regularly – and nearly 2½ times as likely to drink to excess on a weekly basis. Link to full story Read Full Story
11/17/2009 Fort Hood captain: Hasan wanted patients to face war crimes charges By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News begerton@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News s Dave Michaels and Lee Hancock contributed to this report. Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan sought to have some of his patients prosecuted for war crimes based on statements they made during psychiatric sessions with him, a captain who served on the base said Monday. Other psychiatrists complained to superiors that Hasan's actions violated doctor-patient confidentiality, Capt. Shannon Meehan told The Dallas Morning News. One day after the Nov. 5 attack that killed 13 and wounded 29, a Fort Hood official said she had never received complaints about Hasan's job performance. Col. Kimberly Kesling, deputy commander of clinical services at the base's Darnall Army Medical Center, also said he was a "hardworking, dedicated young man who gave great care to his patients." Link to full story Read Full Story
11/17/2009 Palin on Oprah, ‘Reloading’ Before 2012 By KATE ZERNIKE Is she or isn’t she running for president in 2012? Sarah Palin, on the Oprah Winfrey show, answered by borrowing the line her father used when she resigned as governor of Alaska in July: “She’s not retreating, she’s reloading.” Reloading for 2012? Ms. Winfrey asked. Link to full story Read Full Story