Austin Morning News with Mark, Ed and Sam

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11/6/2009 Suspected Fort Hood Shooter Was 'Calm' During Massacre, May Have Shouted 'God Is Great!' The Army psychiatrist suspected of being the lone gunman in a horrific massacre at Fort Hood in Texas took a "very calm and measured approach" to carrying out the mass shooting, the commanding general said Friday. Survivors of the rampage that killed 13 and wounded 30 said the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is great!" in Arabic — before opening fire, base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said. Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that Hasan, 39, made the comment. Authorities searched his apartment early Friday for clues but haven't yet been able to talk to Hasan, who survived the shootings and was hospitalized on a ventilator. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,572448,00.html Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Austin detective fired over bias in shooting inquiry E-mails among evidence cited in finding that favoritism shown toward officer who killed suspect. Friday, November 06, 2009 Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo called a former internal affairs detective "damaged goods" and fired him Wednesday for showing bias in favor of senior police officer Leonardo Quintana, who fatally shot Nathaniel Sanders II in May. In a blistering eight-page disciplinary memo, Acevedo said Detective Chris Dunn repeatedly showed favoritism toward Quintana, citing two e-mails Dunn wrote during the investigation. "Detective Dunn's actions have undermined public respect and trust for the internal affairs division and department as a whole," Acevedo wrote in the memo. "Detective Dunn has lost all credibility himself as an effective police officer or an investigator." http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/06/1106dunn.html Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Panel had recommended 90-day suspension for officer But chief suspended Quintana for 15 days for failing to activate patrol car camera. Friday, November 06, 2009 A citizens oversight panel that reviewed the fatal police shooting of Nathaniel Sanders II recommended that senior police officer Leonardo Quintana be suspended for at least 90 days for using poor tactics and other policy violations, according to city documents and several sources. But Police Chief Art Acevedo on Wednesday suspended Quintana for 15 days for breaking one rule — not activating his patrol car camera — in a decision that angered some community leaders. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/06/1106quintana.html Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Army Doctor Held in Ft. Hood Rampage An Army psychiatrist facing deployment to one of America’s war zones killed 13 people and wounded 30 others on Thursday in a shooting rampage with two handguns at the sprawling Fort Hood Army post in central Texas, military officials said. It was one of the worst mass shootings ever at a military base in the United States. The gunman, who was still alive after being shot four times, was identified by law enforcement authorities as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, who had been in the service since 1995. Major Hasan was about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/06forthood.html Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Suspect, devout Muslim from Va., wanted Army discharge, aunt said He prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, a devout Muslim who, despite asking to be discharged from the U.S. Army, was on the eve of his first deployment to war. Yesterday, authorities said Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, a 39-year-old Arlington-born psychiatrist, shot and killed at least 12 people at Fort Hood, Tex. In an interview, his aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, said he had endured name-calling and harassment about his Muslim faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110505216.html Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Troubling portrait emerges of shooting suspect Walter Reed training director said Hasan required extra counseling WASHINGTON - His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients. There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33695256/ns/us_news-tragedy_at_fort_hood/ Read Full Story
11/6/2009 Fort Hood Shooter on video at 7-11 hours before shooting Read Full Story
11/5/2009 Officer involved in shooting suspended 15 days Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said Wednesday that the fatal police shooting of Nathaniel Sanders II did not constitute excessive force and that the officer's tactics before the shooting were within departmental rules. But senior police officer Leonardo Quintana will begin serving a 15-day unpaid suspension today for not turning on his patrol car camera before approaching Sanders — a policy violation that Acevedo said perpetuated mistrust between the department and community. Acevedo's decision — condemned Wednesday night by several African American leaders — concluded the internal affairs investigation into the May 11 shooting outside the Walnut Creek Apartments on Springdale Road in East Austin. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/05/1105quintana.html Read Full Story
11/5/2009 Travis settles with fired worker More than two months after Travis County commissioners fired the county's human resources director, they approved a $40,000 settlement with her Tuesday, in part to head off a potential lawsuit, the county judge said. But they rejected a settlement for more than $500,000 with the former executive manager of administrative operations, who was fired alongside the human resources director after the two were found to have been feuding for years. Commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the $40,000 payment to Linda Moore Smith. Commissioner Margaret Gómez voted no; Commissioner Ron Davis was absent. "We've invested enough in that whole issue," Gómez said Wednesday. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/05/1105county.html Read Full Story
11/5/2009 AP IMPACT: Clunker pickups traded for new pickups The most common deals under the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press. The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_J2CDMBIZhobnHhGIYFCzqvR52wD9BOVF6O0 Read Full Story