Founder of Islamic TV station accused of beheading wife

The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said. Muzzammil Hassan was charged with second-degree murder after police found the decapitated body of his wife, Aasiya Hassan, at the Bridges TV station in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, said Andrew Benz, Orchard Park’s police chief

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Not enough evidence to charge Phelps, sheriff says

Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps will not face criminal charges in connection with a November party at which he was photographed using a bong, a South Carolina sheriff said Monday. “We do not believe we have enough evidence to prosecute anyone” who was at the party in Columbia, South Carolina, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told reporters, adding that authorities are ending their investigation into Phelps. “We had a photo, and we had him saying he was sorry for his inappropriate behavior,” Lott said.

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Saudi activist: Female minister ‘first step’ but more needed

The appointment of a woman to Saudi Arabia’s influential council of ministers is a "first step" for women’s rights in the country, but it’s unclear if she will have any real power, an outspoken advocate said Sunday. “It is something really great, and we are very proud of our king that he took this decision,” said Wajeha al-Huwaider, a prominent Saudi activist and writer

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Zimbabwe accuses new minister of terrorism

Roy Bennett, the former Zimbabwean opposition activist who was arrested Friday shortly before he was due to become a Cabinet minister, has been charged with conspiracy to commit banditry, sabotage and terrorism, his lawyer told CNN. The Movement for Democratic Change nominated Bennett to be deputy minister of agriculture in a national unity government with President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, which has ruled the country since independence in 1980. Bennett was arrested on Friday while on his way to South Africa, where he has been living for three years

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CNN exclusive: Secret files reveal NIU killer’s past

A former student who killed five people at Northern Illinois University last Valentine’s Day had been drummed out of the Army for hiding his psychiatric history and expressed admiration for famous murderers, CNN has learned. Steven Kazmierczak was known as “strange Steve” to roommates, studied the Virginia Tech and Columbine massacres and idolized the sadistic killer in the “Saw” horror films, according to documents from the year-long investigation into the NIU killings. The still-unreleased police file on the shootings, which also left 18 students wounded, shows that 27-year-old Kazmierczak had been hospitalized several times as a teenager for psychiatric issues and had a history of suicide attempts

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Winners and losers in the final stimulus bill

Here is a breakdown of who gained, who lost and who survived in the final economic stimulus bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on Friday: Winners High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

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Turboprop crash plane one of the safest

The turboprop plane that crashed in New York state, killing all 48 people on board and one on the ground, was one of the safest and most sophisticated aircraft of its type, according to an aviation industry expert. The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 was less than one year old and had flown for only about 1,500 hours, said Kieran Daly, of the online aviation news service Air Transport Intelligence. The Continental Connection Flight 3407 was operated by Colgan Air between Newark Liberty International Airport and Buffalo.

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