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NORTHBROOK — Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk publicly apologized Tuesday for being “careless” in describing his military service and background, after a series of embellishments were revealed that could threaten his bid for President Barack Obama’s former seat. As Kirk apologized, however, he also acknowledged something his campaign had flatly denied just two weeks ago.

Defense attorneys for Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood psychiatrist charged in a deadly shooting spree here last fall, won a four-month delay Tuesday in a hearing that could lead to his court-martial. Army Col. James Pohl ruled in favor of the defense, which said it had not received the documents it needed. Witnesses will be called starting Oct. 4. “We got what we wanted,” retired Army Col. John P. Galligan, lead attorney for Hasan, said after the session. Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5...

FORT HOOD, Texas — The Army psychiatrist accused of opening fire at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding dozens more, was to make his first military courtroom appearance Tuesday as his attorney seeks to delay the case.Neither Maj. Nidal Hasan nor any witnesses were expected to speak during the hearing, at which military prosecutors and defense attorneys planned to discuss case preparations and other basic matters.Defense attorney John Galligan said he would seek to delay Hasan's Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding in which a judge hears witness testimony to determine whether the...

Note: Video included. SNIPPET: "New information tonight about the man who confessed to setting fire to a Southeast Austin hotel. Arson investigators here say the man is a Moroccan National who went to school at St. Edward's in the 90's and who hasn't lived in the United States in eight years. His motive for setting the fire remains a mystery tonight. Flames and billowing black smoke poured out of the America's Best Value Inn Sunday. A day later, hotel guests relived the harrowing moments as they escaped the fire." SNIPPET: "Investigators say 33-year-old Mohamed Lahlou, who checked into the hotel...

A former minister was stabbed twice in the stomach by a knife-wielding woman today as he held a surgery for constituents. Stephen Timms was attacked by the 21-year-old, who appeared to be wearing Muslim dress, at his regular Friday afternoon surgery in his East London constituency. She lunged at him and stabbed him twice before being wrestled away by a security guard and arrested. An aide to Mr Timms was hailed a hero after it was revealed he wrestled the knife out of the hands of the female attacker. Andrew Bazeley, 22, bravely disarmed the woman who had made an...

FORT WORTH, Texas | Former President George W. Bush turned to his faith amid the tough times during his eight years in office, he said Saturday at a religious school's banquet. "I don't see how I could be president without prayer," he told the crowd of more than 1,100 at the Fort Worth Christian School event at a downtown hotel. "The prayers of the people ... sustained me, comforted me and strengthened me in a way I could have never predicted before becoming president, and for that I am extremely grateful." Bush, who has had many speaking engagements since moving...

WASHINGTON -- Former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met for coffee in their first reunion since President Barack Obama's inauguration more than a year ago. Bush and Cheney met Thursday in the Washington area, Cheney's office said in a statement, declining to give the location. ABC News aired video of Bush shaking Cheney's hand in front of Cheney's Virginia home. The meeting came the day after Cheney left a Washington hospital, where he was treated after a mild heart attack. Bush has kept out of the spotlight since leaving office. Bush took Obama up on the...

TYLER, Texas (AP) - Recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were likely set by an individual or a group of people, federal authorities said Tuesday. Fires that broke out at two churches near Tyler on Monday have not yet been ruled arson, but authorities are investigating them as such. They were reported within an hour of one another and there were signs that at least one of the churches had been broken into. Since Jan. 1, eight churches—seven in eastern Texas and one in the central part of the state—have been set ablaze deliberately, authorities...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2010 – The violent extremist threat is evolving, senior U.S. intelligence officials told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence yesterday. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and CIA Director Leon Panetta told lawmakers that al-Qaida remains at the center of the extremist threat against the United States. Meanwhile, al-Qaida, its affiliates, and other terror groups are changing as they continue to plot and attempt attacks, the intelligence officials said. “My greatest concern and what keeps me awake at night is that al-Qaida and its terrorist allies and affiliates could very well attack the United States in our...

A radical Muslim cleric claims Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan asked him about killing American soldiers nearly a year before Hasan allegedly shot to death 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood. In an interview Wednesday with the Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera, Anwar al-Awlaki, considered a key recruiter for al-Qaida, said Hasan asked him in a December 2008 e-mail "whether killing American soldiers and officers is lawful or not" under Islamic law. In the interview, Al-Awlaki then appears to taunt U.S. intelligence and security, saying, "I wonder where were the American security forces that one day claimed they can read the...

Contest rules: Create a "Palin Derangement Syndrome" Logo that Freepers and like minded folks can use in replies to all of the stories we are going to see on Sarah over the next three years. The logo must very professional and convey the idea of the "Palin Derangement Syndrome". Contest Winner Reward: You become famous, a living legend here on the FR, and maybe a guest on Hannity (okay, the Hannity part is pushing it but who knows ..) However, I do this this can be effective, and we simply use the winning logo as the official "Palin Derangement Syndrome"...

Enhancing specific chemical signaling in the brain could help treat the disorder. By Emily Singer Drugs that boost the chemical messenger norepinephrine in the brain have been shown to alleviate cognitive problems in mice engineered to mirror Down syndrome. The findings, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggest a new approach to treating the disorder. Several existing drugs can boost the chemical or mimic its effects, though none have yet been tested in patients with Down syndrome. The research also reflects a growing understanding of the brain systems that underlie the cognitive problems in people with Down syndrome,...

Health experts say they are hardly astonished that the suspect in the worst mass murder ever at a U.S. military base is an Army psychiatrist — the very person who is supposed to be helping soldiers deal with the traumatic stress of war. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, suspected of gunning down 13 and wounding 30 at the Fort Hood Army Post in Texas, treated soldiers at the Darnall Army Medical Center there after being transferred in July from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he had worked for six years. Dr. Robin Kerner, an attending psychologist who specializes in...

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. ... At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to...

The military psychiatrist accused of gunning down 12 people in Texas lived most of his life in the D.C. area where he was considered a caring Muslim by friends -- but he had recently made disturbing statements about suicide attacks. U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, earned a degree from Virginia Tech, completed a residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and attended prayer services nearly every day in Silver Spring for several years. He was described as a caring person by a local Muslim leader, but those who got to know him after he was transferred to Fort...

Al Siddiq, president of the Islamic Center of Waco, followed the unfolding news of the Fort Hood tragedy anxiously, as a veteran of the U.S. Army himself, as a friend of some Muslim soldiers currently stationed at the Central Texas post and as a Muslim who has become wary of backlash. Siddiq said the Muslim Islamic community is very concerned that the shooter on Fort Hood was a Muslim because Muslims tend to get all thrown into the same category. Since 9/11, Siddiq said, when an individual Muslim acts stupid, it affects the entire Islamic community. The concern is backlash...

Update 6:38 News Channel 25's Henry Rosoff is reporting Nidal Malik Hasan's neighbors who say Hasan was giving away all of his furniture and copies of the Qu' ran Thursday morning. They also say he was supposed to deploy to Afghanistan in the coming days.

Disgusting example of why Obama will go down in history as the worst Commander in Chief in our countries history. For him to get up and talk for almost two minutes about native american rights and give 'shout outs' to people attending is appalling. The point of his appearance there was changed the instant he found out that men and women at Ft Hood were killed by a crazed gunman. His FIRST duty was to the men and women in uniform, and the fact he seemed so casual and unaffected by the tradgedy was very revealing. The man has no...

It’s the doctors, stupid! I’m not sure why everyone is so shocked that all eight suspects in the attempted British terrorist attacks of last week are Medical Doctors (and that ALL eight suspects are tied to the British national healthcare system, the NHS). Readers of this site aren’t surprised by the doctor terrorists. As you’ll recall, in my mid-May column, “When Your Doctor is a Muslim: Medical Terrorism Comes to America,” I wrote about many of the doctors who’ve been top-ranking terrorists and involved in terrorist plots. Also, of note, I’ve complained about the special visas available for foreign alien...

Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood army base in Texas -- which have left at least 11 people dead and 31 others wounded -- were of course the "horrific outburst of violence" that President Obama bemoaned and condemned Thursday. But, because a soldier identified as one of the gunman had a name that led to the presumption that he was Muslim, and because he was facing an upcoming deployment to Iraq, the incident took on immediate and complex political overtones. News reports identified the man who used two handguns in the assault on his fellow soldiers at a base that is...