By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
A federal appeals court says a Plano school district's rules regulating when students could hand out religious materials are constitutional.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld the 2005 Plano school district regulations. But the appeals court sent claims over a policy in effect before 2005 back to the district court.
The most recent rules allow students to distribute materials before and after school, at three annual parties, during recess and at designated tables during school hours. Middle and high schoolers could also use lunch periods to hand out items.
Before the 2005 policy, four families with students at Plano schools said their children were banned from handing out pencils saying "Jesus is the reason for the season," candy canes with cards describing their Christian origin, and other religious materials.
Fort Hood suspect charged with attempted murder
The Army has charged the Fort Hood shooting suspect with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.
These charges are added to the 13 premeditated murder charges filed against Maj. Nidal Hasan in the wake of the Nov. 5 shooting massacre at Fort Hood.
The Army said the attempted murder charges filed Wednesday were related to the 30 soldiers and two civilian police officers injured in the shooting at a soldier processing center on the central Texas post.
Hasan's attorney, John Galligan, said Wednesday the additional charges may not affect Hasan's punishment, if he is convicted, because premeditated murder carries the death penalty. Authorities haven't said whether they plan to seek the death penalty.
Ex-Dallas cop sentenced for pointing gun at singer
A former Dallas police officer who pointed a gun at country music singer Steve Holy during an off-duty night of drinking is going to jail for 45 days.
Randy Anderson, 27, was sentenced Wednesday as part of a deferred adjudication probation. He won't have a conviction if he successfully completes his probation for aggravated assault. Anderson and his attorney declined to comment.
Another former officer was charged aggravated assault but his trial date has not been set.
The confrontation occurred in 2007, after Holy invited the officers to his home after a nearby bar closed. An argument ensued and Anderson pulled the gun. Anderson testified at trial that he only pulled his gun after Holy acted aggressively.
Evidence blocked arrest of imam with Fort Hood tie
Federal prosecutors in Colorado say they had no choice but to dismiss 2002 charges against a Muslim cleric who later had contact with the accused Fort Hood shooter.
U.S. Attorney David Gaouette said Wednesday that his office filed passport fraud charges against Anwar al-Awlaki, who got a passport in Fort Collins in 1993 while attending Colorado State University.
But Gaouette says prosecutors dismissed those charges a few months later after learning that a Social Security number al-Awlaki used to obtain the passport was valid. The imam was reportedly e-mailing Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood last month.
Gaouette says that even if the imam had been convicted, he would have faced only about 6 months in custody.