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KERA's news coverage of environmental issues in North Texas, the state and beyond.

Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Trial Won't Be Delayed

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan

A military judge has ruled against delaying the trial of the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage.

Maj. Nidal Hasan's trial will proceed as scheduled, beginning Aug. 20.

Defense attorneys wanted the trial moved to December, but the judge said they already had plenty of time to prepare.

Prosecutors had indicated they were ready for trial last fall. The court-martial was set for March, but postponed to June and then August.

Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 attack on the Texas Army post that left 13 dead.

As he did during last week's hearing, Hasan watched Friday's hearing from a closed-circuit television in a nearby room. The judge has barred him from court until he shaves his beard, an Army violation.

AP

Texas' battle against feds leads to more oversight

Gov. Rick Perry has spent much of the past three years fighting Washington mandates from environmental rules to health care. In the process, the state has ended up with more federal oversight.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has gone around the state to work directly with industry to ensure facilities can operate.

Now, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday largely upheld President Barack Obama's health care plan, Texas may again have Washington overseeing its online insurance marketplace designed to allow individuals and small businesses to shop for insurance.

Some, however, say that the federal exchange might not end up being that different than one the state would have to run.

Others say federal oversight helps strengthen the anti-Washington sentiment in Texas.

AP

Ex-EPA administrator joins Sierra Club campaign

A former administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who resigned amid claims by Republicans that he was biased against the oil and gas industry is going to work for the Sierra Club.

Al Armendariz resigned in April as EPA's administrator for Region 6, which oversees Texas and other states with oil and gas interests. Republicans criticized him for comparing the agency's enforcement policies to how the Romans brought order to rebellious towns during the Middle Ages.

The Sierra Club said in a statement Friday that Armendariz will be the environmental group's senior campaign representative for the Beyond Coal campaign. He starts in mid-July.

The campaign is designed to encourage Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas to replace coal-fired electricity with renewable energy sources such as wind and sun.

AP

Trial set for car designer Shelby's burial dispute

The body of automobile designer Carroll Shelby could remain in a Dallas morgue for another month while his children and his wife fight in court.

A Dallas judge Friday scheduled a July 26 trial to decide the claims made by both sides.

Shelby's three children say their father signed paperwork weeks before his May death giving them authority to cremate his remains and distribute them.

Shelby's last wife, Cleo, contends that paperwork was forged. She wants to decide what to do with his remains.

Judge Jim Jordan said Friday he would decide at trial unless a settlement is reached beforehand.

Shelby, a Texas native who also lived in Los Angeles, was a champion race car driver who built powerful engines for Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper.

AP

TNT's 'Dallas' revival wins a second-season pickup

The Ewings are forever battling each other, and viewers clearly love them.

TNT network says "Dallas" has been renewed for a 15-episode second season. The network announced Friday it will air in 2013.

Following the lives of J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing, as well as the rest of the fractious clan, "Dallas" was revived earlier this month after decades off the air. It is averaging 6.9 million viewers in this, its first season.

"Dallas" brings back original cast members Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, who are joined by Southfork newcomers including Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo.

AP