Fort Hood Shooter Trial Delayed Indefinitely Over Beard

Maj. Nidal Hasan who will not shave

From CNN.com - By Mike Mount - A military appeals court halted the murder case against Maj. Nidal Hasan indefinitely on Friday to sort out issues surrounding a judge's threat to shave the beard the Army psychiatrist grew while awaiting trial in the 2009 Fort Hood killings. The court martial was originally stopped on Wednesday and Hassan was fined $1,000 for remaining bearded, which violates Army regulations. The military judge in the case, U.S. Army Col. Gregory Gross, had previously held that Hassan's beard disrupts the court proceedings and held him in contempt of court five times, the Army said in a news release. Hasan's court-martial had been scheduled to start Monday at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, where he is accused of killing 13 people and wounding another 32. Gross, had threatened to have him forcibly shaved unless he got rid of the beard on his own. It was unclear how long the case would be on hold.  Hasan had been expected to enter a plea during a Wednesday hearing, but the proceedings were halted by the appellate court. Hasan has previously expressed interest in pleading guilty, but military regulations bar a judge from accepting a guilty plea in a capital case. Hasan is accused of opening fire at the post's processing center, where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq, in November 2009. The stay came the same day he was expected to enter a plea to the charges against him. The issue surfaced in June, when a bearded Hasan - who remains in the Army while awaiting trial - appeared at a June hearing. Gross postponed that hearing, found Hasan in contempt of court at a July hearing, fined him $1,000 and warned him he would be shaved by force unless he got rid of it. Read more

Fort Hood Shooter Trial Delayed Indefinitely Over Beard

Woman shoots intruder to protect herself and children

NewsNM: Swickard - Better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it. This woman was minutes away from the police but only had seconds to save her life. From alabamas13.com - UPDATE: The suspect, 25-year-old Michael Jacobs, is still at UAB hospital. According to Dora Police Chief John Duchock, they have not yet spoken to him as he is medically unresponsive -- whenever he comes out of sedation, he's combative and has to be sedated once again. WALKER CO. - A Walker County woman was forced to shoot an intruder to protect herself and her children. It happened Tuesday morning on Sellers Hollow Road in the city of Dora. Martha Lewis says she immediately called police and woke up her daughters. Lewis says she gave the intruder several warnings before shooting, but he wouldn't listen. Police say Lewis will not be charged, since she was defending herself. "It wasn't like, oh can I pull the trigger? It was like when should I shoot? When will he be close enough that I know I won't miss him? That's one of the things that was going through my mind," said Lewis. Police say the suspect, 25-year-old Michael Jacobs, is in the hospital in stable condition. He faces burglary and criminal mischief charges as well as possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Read more

Woman shoots intruder to protect herself and children

Commentary: The Luck Of The Draw Will Fail You

From the Huffington Post - by Bonnie Kavoussi - The lottery is ruining your life.  Whether you buy lotto tickets once a day or once a year, the lottery is destroying you because it is insidiously convincing you that the only way you can succeed in life is through luck instead of skill. As income inequality has grown, it's become harder to get ahead. But that doesn't mean you should give up on working hard and developing your skill set. On the contrary, the stakes now are higher: all the more reason why you should devote your time to becoming worthy of high pay for doing meaningful work that improves society. You may fall short of your goals. The world is not a machine that produces guaranteed outcomes. But the worst failure is never trying at all. If you work hard enough, you'll be surprised by how much success builds on itself. Once you have enough momentum, it will be hard not to thrive. Buying a lottery ticket is an admission of defeat. "Maybe I'll get lucky," you say to yourself. But you should really be telling yourself that you will try your best, definitely. As technological innovation and outsourcing replace jobs, the economy is rewarding skill and education more than ever. That's because robots and low-paid work abroad can't replace critical thinking. If you feel stuck, you should consider going back to school or working somewhere that will give you valuable experience. If you already have developed a skill set that's in demand, you should consider using it in a way that will pay off -- like applying for a higher-paying job, writing a book, or starting a new company. Just don't buy a lottery ticket. It's effectively a tax on the poor and the desperate. You have almost no chance of winning the lottery. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot in March, for example, was 1 in 175 million. The odds that you will try your best to achieve your goals, on the other hand, are within your control and can reach 100 percent. Even when people win the lottery, they often go broke because they never planned for a windfall. On the flip side, if you incrementally achieve your goals, you are more likely to win and spend your earnings wisely. It's just like losing weight. People that go on crash diets usually gain back the weight quickly and then some. People that make permanent lifestyle changes, on the other hand, lose weight more slowly but have a significantly better chance of staying thin for life. That's why it's important to make these lifestyle changes: Work hard. Build your skill set. Become more educated. Get to know people in your industry. Find a mentor. And choose a profession that you are passionate about, where you have a good chance of making a good living and succeeding. Get to work and throw away those leftover lottery tickets. They are a string of broken promises from someone that only took advantage of you. Love yourself and make yourself the best person you can be. Read column

Commentary: The Luck Of The Draw Will Fail You

Forty-Four States See Jobless Rate Rise in July

CNBC - Unemployment worsened in most states last month. While the July unemployment figure rose a tenth of a point from June to 8.3 percent, the government says 44 states saw their jobless rates increase. These include Nevada, which continues to have the highest jobless rate in the nation, at 12 percent. But when compared to a year ago, the same number of states, 44, have lower unemployment, and even Nevada is in this group.

One year ago, the jobless rate in Nevada was 13.8 percent. (Related: Housing Starts Drop, Permits Jump; Jobless Claims Rise.)

The state with the most job growth continues to be California, with more than 25,000 jobs added between June and July. Over the last year, the nation's largest state, hit hard by the housing collapse, has had a net gain of a thousand jobs a day.

Still, California has the third highest unemployment rate in the country, at 10.7 percent. "I'm looking for anything," said a woman named Pam at the Verdugo Jobs Center in Glendale, CA. "At my age, no one wants to hire me." She says she has done secretarial work and worked in merchadising. Now she's hoping to become a house cleaner. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Forty-Four States See Jobless Rate Rise in July