World / Nation briefs September 29, 2011

Judge: Loughner can be made fit for trial

TUCSON, Ariz. - A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the man accused of wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a deadly shooting rampage can eventually be made mentally fit to stand trial and should stay at a prison hospital for four more months.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns made the decision as Jared Lee Loughner sat nearby, listening intently and quietly. The 23-year-old's demeanor was in stark contrast to his last court appearance in May, when an angry, loud outburst got him kicked out of the courtroom.

Burns noted on Wednesday that Loughner wasn't smirking and that, for once, was paying attention to the proceedings.

"There's reason to be optimistic he will recover and be able to assist in his case," the judge said in ruling there's a substantial probability Loughner's mental health could be restored. "The court finds that measurable progress has been made."

Experts have concluded Loughner suffers from schizophrenia, and prosecutors contend he can be made competent with more treatment. But Loughner's attorneys argue prosecutors have failed to prove that it's probable his condition will improve enough.

Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges stemming from the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured 13, including Giffords.

Earlier Wednesday, a psychologist testified that Loughner has improved to where he understands that he killed people and feels remorse about it, and can be made competent to stand trial within eight months.

Loughner is still delusional but has made strides during the past four months at the Springfield, Mo., facility, Dr. Christina Pietz said.

New 75 mph limit puts Maine in the fast lane

AUGUSTA, Maine - If you drive along Interstate 95 in the nation's far northeastern corner, "it's trees, trees, trees" for mile after mile, says one motorist. So why not set the cruise control on 75 mph?

That's what a lot of drivers have been doing for years, but now it's legal on one lonesome stretch, making Maine the only state east of the Mississippi River where drivers aren't breaking the law by driving 75 mph.

The new law authorizing the higher limit went on the books Wednesday, though it actually takes effect when new signs replace the old 65 mph ones next Tuesday.

The trees, bogs, potato fields and mountain vistas all might look a little blurrier at 75 mph, but drivers also will burn more fuel and risk more destructive accidents. Residents had asked for the change, saying no one obeyed the limit anyway, and their widespread disregard for the current limit hastened the bill's passage.

"Up here, we're isolated," said Rick Castonguay, a real estate broker in Presque Isle. "Going down that stretch of the interstate, it's pretty straight. It's trees, trees, trees. You can literally sit on that road, set your cruise control and watch the trees go by."

The new 75 mph zone covers an approximately 110-mile stretch of road between Old Town, which is a few miles north of Bangor, and Houlton.

Amazon targets the iPad: Ready, aim, Fire

NEW YORK - Amazon is taking on the untouchable iPad with a touch-screen tablet of its own.

The company on Wednesday introduced its entry in the rapidly expanding market for handheld computers - a device called Kindle Fire that connects to the Web, streams movies and TV, displays e-books and supports thousands of apps.

It's half the size of an iPad and will be less than half the price when it goes on sale Nov. 15. Amazon is offering the Kindle Fire for $199. The bare-bones iPad sells for $499, the most expensive for $829.

Of course, competing with the iPad won't be as easy as swiping a finger.

Analysts at one research firm, Gartner Inc., say three of every four tablets sold this year will be iPads. Apple sold almost 29 million of them from April 2010 through June of this year.

Amazon sells more than 1 million e-books, 100,000 movies and TV shows, and 17 million songs. It hopes it will succeed where other companies have failed because the tablet is designed to tap into Amazon's massive storehouse of media content.

Ford's success stirs UAW resentment

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford's turnaround over the last five years has resulted in big profits and won its CEO a reputation for brilliant management.

But those same achievements are stirring resentment among many of its factory workers. And that is complicating contract talks between the company and its union employees.

At The Rouge, Ford's massive, 94-year-old factory complex in Dearborn, Mich., there's talk along the assembly lines of winning back raises and bonuses lost when the company was near financial collapse in 2007. Workers, who assemble F-150 pickup trucks at the site, are upset that Ford is trying to cut labor costs, especially after nine straight profitable quarters and a $26.5 million pay package for CEO Alan Mulally.

A few miles to the north, inside Ford's 13-story headquarters known as the Glass House, executives are worried because workers, on average, cost the company $58 an hour in pay and benefits, the highest in U.S. auto industry.

Both sides are trying to find a compromise this week while work continues at Ford factories under a contract extension. A top union bargainer told workers on a telephone recording Monday night that talks are accelerating and he is "hopefully optimistic" a deal can be reached this week.

Typhoon heads to China after hitting Philippines

HONG KONG - Residents of Hong Kong hunkered down Thursday as they rode out a powerful typhoon that brought death and destruction when it tore through the Philippines earlier this week.

Hong Kong's stock market suspended trading and shops and businesses shuttered as Typhoon Nesat made its way across the South China Sea from the Philippines, where the storm killed 35 people and that left another 45 missing.

The Asian financial center's normally bustling streets were eerily quiet, with few people venturing outside to brave the rain and fierce winds.

Two people were injured when bamboo scaffolding was blown over and collapsed onto a taxi, while a man was injured by a falling tree, local broadcaster RTHK said. A barge ripped free from its moorings and slammed into a seawall on Hong Kong Island, forcing some nearby apartments to be evacuated, news reports said.

Cuba legalizes general purchase and sale of cars

HAVANA - Cuba legalized the sale and purchase of automobiles for all citizens on Wednesday, another major step in the communist run island's economic transformation and one that the public has been clamoring for during decades.

The government announced the move in April, but sales have been on hold until the measure was published into law in the Official Gazette.

Under the law, which takes effect Oct. 1, buyers and sellers must each pay a 4 percent tax, and buyers must make a sworn declaration that the money used for the purchase was obtained legally.

Unrestricted sales had previously been limited to cars built before the 1959 revolution, one of the reasons Cuba's streets are about the only place on the planet one routinely finds a multitude of finned American classics from the 1950s such as Chevrolets Bel Airs and Chrysler Imperials, all in various states of disrepair.

Doctors, athletes, artists and others sent abroad on official business were allowed to bring cars back or purchase a boxy, Russian-made Lada or Moskvich from the state. Some senior workers were given company cars, though gas usage is strictly monitored to make sure they are only driven for work reasons.