NPR 2009-11-10

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Craig Windham.

The suspected gunman in the deadly shooting attack at Fort Hood 1, Texas is alert and talking to medical personnel at the hospital where he is being treated. Investigators 2 from the Army and the FBI have been waiting to question him. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston has more.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan is the only suspect in last week’s shooting spree. He’s at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas, recovering from gunshot wounds. He was shot in the torso four times by civilian 3 police trying to end the rampage. Investigators are still searching for a motive 4 and have been hoping to interview Major Hasan to understand why he allegedly shot fellow soldiers. The FBI has been focused on trying to figure out if Hasan acted with others. Investigators think he acted alone. What is unclear is why. There are two competing theories. The first is that the attack was related to some sort of Muslim extremism on Hasan’s part. The second is that he buckled 5 under pressure ahead of his impending 6 deployment 7. Talking to him could clear all that up. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

The Supreme 8 Court heard arguments today on the issue of whether sentencing a juvenile 9 to life in prison without possibility of parole for crimes less serious than homicide amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The arguments came in appeals on behalf of two Florida men, including Joe Sullivan who was convicted of raping 10 an elderly woman when he was 13. Bryan Stevenson is Sullivan’s attorney.

To say to any child of 13, and that you are only fit to die in prison is cruel. And we believe that the constitution prohibits that kind of punishment.

But Florida Solicitor 11 General Scott Makar says the life without parole sentence is used sparingly.

We'd like to think that it is only used rarely, in those cases that are justified 12 for public safety purposes where we have serious violent offenders 13.

Four years ago, the Supreme Court barred the execution of people who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes.

Three young American hikers who were arrested in Iran this summer after straying across the country’s border with Iraq have now reportedly been charged with espionage 14. NPR’s Mike Shuster has the story.

According to an official Iranian news agency, Tehran’s chief prosecutor 15 says the three have been accused of espionage. But the prosecutor’s also quoted as saying the investigation 16 of their case is continuing and an opinion will be given in the not-too-distant future. But it’s not yet certain whether formal charges of espionage have actually been issued against them. The three Americans say they were hiking in the region on the Kurdistan side of the border and strayed across inadvertently. The Obama administration has asked Iran for a speedy resolution of their case. In Berlin, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said we believe strongly there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever 17. Mike Shuster, NPR News.

It’s been a big day on the Wall Street, just before the closing bell, the Dow Industrials are up 195 points at 10,218. The NASDAQ has gained 39. The S&P 500 is up 23.

This is NPR News from Washington.

The Vatican is reaffirming that a recent overture 18 to married Anglican priests should not be seen as an indication that the Roman Catholic Church might soon lift its celibacy 19 requirement for catholic priests. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli has the story from Rome.

Anglicans who were opposed to their church’s embrace of openly gay priests, women priests and the blessing 20 of same sex unions will be allowed to join new parishes called Personal Ordinariates, headed by former Anglican priests. The Vatican had said that married Anglican priests will be allowed to remain in the priesthood on a case-by-case basis as they join the Catholic Church. That announcement had led to speculation 21 on whether the Roman Catholic ban on married priests might be lifted. Today’s document dashed any such hopes. It says the possibility envisioned for some married clergy 22 within the Personal Ordinariates does not signify any change in the church’s discipline on clerical celibacy. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

The sound of celebration today at a bridge in Berlin over which East Berliners crossed 20 years ago at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Speaking at the event, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, nations such as Germany must honor their past while facing the future.

Our minds are focused on the challenges we face and our hearts are beating faster at the possibility that we will be able to meet the challenges of today as those who came before us met theirs.

Clinton said that while the Berlin Wall is history, other walls still exist and must be overcome.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.