Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Crime Sep 30, 2013
Fear still rules the lives of Newtown survivors
by John Christoffersen
A few nights after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, David Posey heard a strange noise in his house and went upstairs to check on his son. The little boy, who had just seen his teacher and a first-grade classmate gunned down, was ...
World Sep 22, 2013
Vetting firms 'rush' through security clearances
by Jia Lynn Yang
When Ileana Privetera started working for the contractor USIS, the firm that vetted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, it sounded like the perfect job. A mother, she would have flexible hours for her family, and she ...
World Sep 22, 2013
Gun-violence victims often greeted by silence
by Eli Saslow
The survivors took their places onstage from memory, because by now they knew exactly where to go. The shooting victims in wheelchairs entered first, rolling into the front row, wearing bracelets engraved with the words “Aurora,” “Oak Creek” or “Virginia Tech.” Behind them stood ...
Crime Sep 22, 2013
Shooter's erratic, violent behavior overlooked
Aaron Alexis’ erratic and violent behavior was ignored, overlooked or dismissed for nine years by police, the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs and his employer, creating a series of missed opportunities that might have stopped the Washington Navy Yard gunman, according to records ...
Crime | Focus Sep 22, 2013
Alexis was atypical Buddhist
by Michelle Boorstein and Elizabeth Tenety
Aaron Alexis had a gold Buddha in his room, a regular meditation practice and a gun with him “at all times,” according to a friend. At one point, he aspired to be a monk. He wound up a killer. Of the many details that ...
Crime Sep 19, 2013
Capitol Police were ordered to leave Navy Yard
U.S. Capitol Police officials are reviewing reports that tactical team members were ordered to leave the scene after they responded to Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. A Capitol Police officer said he thinks officers could have made a quick entry into the ...
Offbeat Sep 19, 2013
Starbucks says guns 'unwelcome'
Starbucks says guns are no longer welcome in its cafes, though it is stopping short of an outright ban on firearms. The fine line that the retailer is walking to address the concerns of both gun-rights and gun-control advocates reflects how heated the issue ...
Crime | Focus Sep 18, 2013
For world, U.S. gun violence is new norm
by Anthony Faiola and Karla Adam
Jimmy Davis, a 41-year-old London disc jockey, was saddened when he heard about the latest mass shooting in the United States. But like much of the world after the attack Monday at Washington’s Navy Yard, he was no longer shocked. The United States is ...
Crime Sep 18, 2013
Federal gun laws failed to block Washington Navy Yard shooter
The gunman who killed 12 people before being shot dead by police at the Washington Navy Yard had a history of violent outbursts, was at least twice accused of firing guns in anger and was in the early stages of treatment for serious mental ...
World | Focus Sep 17, 2013
First confusion, then 'we just started running'
Standing at an ATM in the first-floor atrium of the building where she works at the Washington Navy Yard, Patricia Ward was startled by a rapid succession of sharp noises that seemed to come from overhead. Bam, bam, bam. It was about 8:15 a.m. ...
Crime Sep 13, 2013
U.S. study links gun ownership and homicide
Researchers in the United States claim to have established a convincing statistical link between gun ownership and homicide, according to a study published Thursday. The study, which appeared in the American Journal of Public Health, challenges the National Rifle Association’s claim that increased gun ...
Crime Aug 24, 2013
America hails secretary who talked man out of school shooting plan
Americans all the way to President Barack Obama are praising a new kind of hero in the country’s epidemic of school shootings: a secretary who talked a gunman into surrendering. Obama himself called Antoinette Tuff on Thursday to praise her for her bravery and ...