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.
Social Issues Sep 30, 2013
India's plan for 'women-only' spaces welcomed, criticized
In the months since a gruesome gang rape riveted India, a “women-only” culture has been on the rise, with Indians increasingly seeking out women-only buses, cabs, travel groups and hotel floors. One city is preparing to open a women-only park. And in November, the ...
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 ...
Crime Sep 19, 2013
Hong Kong couple jailed for 'inhumane' abuse of Indonesian maid
A Hong Kong couple have been jailed for a shocking string of attacks on their Indonesian domestic helper, including burning her with an iron and beating her with a bike chain. Tai Chi-wai, 42, and his wife, Catherine Au, subjected their former maid, Kartika ...
Tech Sep 18, 2013
'Grand Theft Auto V' hits streets in brash debut
Fans of “Grand Theft Auto V” on Tuesday got their first chance to play the latest version of the brutally violent blockbuster video game franchise after many lined up for hours to buy it. Rockstar Games spent five years crafting the title with a ...
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 12, 2013
Porters hacked to death by PNG bandits in attack on Aussie, N.Z. trekkers
A group of Australian and New Zealand trekkers who were brutally attacked by bandits in Papua New Guinea told Thursday of their harrowing ordeal and horror as two porters were butchered. The eight tourists were in their tents on the remote jungle-clad Black Cat ...