Fort Hood violence results in 14 soldiers fired or suspended
WASHINGTON — The Army said Tuesday that it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation. He also ordered a separate probe into staffing and procedures at the base's Criminal Investigation Command unit, which is responsible for investigating crimes on Fort Hood.
The actions come after a year that saw at least 25 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Guillen was missing for about two months before her remains were found.
McCarthy said based on an independent panel's review, he concluded that the issues at Fort Hood, including major flaws in the response to sexual assault and harassment, “are directly related to leadership failures.”
The firings include Army Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who was left in charge of the base earlier this year when Guillen was killed, as well as Col. Ralph Overland, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment commander and his Command Sgt. Maj. Bradley Knapp. Among those suspended were Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, the 1st Cavalry Division commander, and his Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas C. Kenny. The administrative actions are expected to trigger investigations that could lead to a wide range of punishments. Those punishments could go from a letter of reprimand to a military discharge.
The Army did not provide the names of the other lower-ranking soldiers who face possible discipline. The base commander, Army Lt. Gen. Pat White, will not face any administrative action.
Ohio execution method:
Lethal injection is no longer an option for Ohio executions, and lawmakers must choose a different method of capital punishment before any inmates can be put to death in the future, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
It's “pretty clear” there won't be any executions next year, DeWine said, adding he doesn't see support in the Legislature for making a switch in execution method a priority. Ohio has an “unofficial moratorium” on capital punishment, he said.
“Lethal injection appears to us to be impossible from a practical point of view today,” the governor said.
DeWine said he still supports capital punishment as Ohio law. But he has come to question its value since the days he helped write the state's current law — enacted in 1981 — because of the long delays between crime and punishment.
Brexit: The leaders of Britain and the European Commission will make a lastminute push for a postBrexit U.K.-EU trade deal Wednesday, with both sides warning that the chance of reaching agreement by a year-end deadline is slipping away.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that she looked forward to welcoming U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Brussels.
Johnson's office confirmed the two leaders would hold a dinner meeting “to continue discussions on the future relationship between the U.K. and the EU.”
Johnson and von der Leyen, head of the EU's executive arm, spoke by phone Monday to take stock of trade talks that have ground to a halt after months of tense negotiations. The two leaders said afterwards that “significant differences” remained on fishing rights, fair-competition rules and the governance of future disputes.
Johnson said Tuesday that “the situation at the moment is very tricky” but added “hope springs eternal.”
The Democratic- controlled House on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging de
Defense bill passes:
fense policy bill, even as President Donald Trump renewed his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the very weak National Defense Authorization Act,” or NDAA, unless it repeals Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability. Trump also wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases that now honor Confederate leaders.
Congressional leaders vowed to move ahead on the hugely popular bill — which affirms automatic 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes other military programs — despite the veto threat.
The House approved the bill, 335-78, more than the two-thirds required to override a potential veto. The measure now goes to the Senate.
Mystery illness: Health officials and experts are baffled by a mysterious illness that has left over 500 people hospitalized and one person dead in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The illness was first detected Saturday in Eluru. People started convulsing without any warning, said Geeta Prasadini, the director of public health.
Since then, symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness have been reported in 546 patients admitted to hospitals. Many have recovered and returned home, while 148 are still being treated, said Dasari Nagarjuna, a government spokesperson.
Different theories for the illness have been suggested and are being tested. The most recent hypothesis is contamination of food by pesticides.
What is confounding experts is there doesn't seem to be any common link among those sickened. All of the patients have tested negative for COVID-19 and
other viral diseases.
Mount Everest grows:
On Tuesday, Mount Everest grew by more than 2 feet.
So agreed China and Nepal, two countries that share a treacherously mountainous border and increasingly warm relations. They announced that they had determined the exact height of the world's tallest mountain, a subject to which the Nepalese government has attached increasing symbolic importance over the years.
Officially, according to Kathmandu and Beijing, Mount Everest stands 29,031.7 feet. For 65 years, the consensus height had been 29,028.87 feet.
As Mount Everest has grown, said Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Nepal's foreign affairs minister, in a joint virtual briefing with his Chinese counterpart, so have ties between the world's second-largest economy and its 101st.
The China-Nepal relationship “will rise across the Himalayas, and it will reach a new height,” Gyawali said.