Newscast for Friday, March 27, 2009

Pakistan suffers deadly attack
In one of the most violent attacks in months, a suicide bomber in
Pakistan’s northwest tribal areas blew up a packed mosque as people
gathered for Friday prayers. An estimated 80 are dead, dozens injured.
Catherine Komp reads for our reporter in the region, Gabe Matthews.

Obama announces plan for Pakistan and Afghanistan
Hours after the deadly attack in northwest Pakistan, President Obama
announced what he is calling a new US strategy for Afghanistan and
Pakistan. But critics say the plan is more of the same. More troops in
Afghanistan, more promises of aid and more hopes of accountability.
FSRN’s Karen Miller has more

New bill seeks to reform Criminal Justice System
Virginia Senator Jim Webb has introduced legislation to create a
blue-ribbon commission to investigate problems in the U-S criminal
justice system. He says the commission’s goal will be to reshape the
system “from top to bottom.”  Webb calls the criminal justice system
“a national disgrace…” citing irregularities and inequities that
disproportionately target communities of color. According to the NAACP
Legal Defense and Education Fund, one out of every three African
American males will be incarcerated during his lifetime. Prisons have
also become holding facilities for the mentally ill, housing four
times more mentally ill people than mental hospitals. To understand
the problems with the nation’s criminal justice system we talk to Jin
Hee Lee, assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund.

Environmentalists protest militarization of ocean
The US Navy’s is facing criticism for its training operations that use
sonar in the Pacific West Coast. Sonar is an underwater technology
that is known to adversely impact marine mammals. Other trainings
include underwater bomb detonations, and the use of aircraft and
missiles. Environmental groups say some areas should be off limits to
weapons testing, and some criticize the militarization of the sea.  As
FSRN’s Christina Aanestad reports, the US Navy wants to use nearly the
entire US coastline for weapons and warfare training.

Vets go back to college
Six years after the US invasion of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of war
veterans are flooding onto America's colleges and universities. More
than 300,000 returning veterans are using their GI Bill to attend
college, with a tidal wave of over 500,000 more student-veterans
expected when a newer, expanded education benefit takes effect this
fall. From Sacramento, Aaron Glantz looks at what these veterans
encounter when they show up on campus and what we all can do to ease
the transition from combat to college.