American Morning
Wounded Fort Hood soldier still wants to deploy
Pvt. Joseph Foster is one of dozens wounded in the deadly shooting at Fort Hood last week. He was shot in the hip trying to save those around him, but he survived and says he's still ready for deployment to Afghanistan in January.
Foster and his wife Mandy spoke to our John Roberts on American Morning Monday.
Muslim soldiers facing backlash?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/hood.flags.art.jpg caption="A temporary memorial site is set up in front of the Central Christian Church in memory of those killed and wounded at Fort Hood, Texas."]
By Carol Costello and Ronni Berke
Although about 3,500 American servicemen and women are Muslim, the Army's Chief of Staff is worried about backlash after a Muslim-American was named a suspect in the killings at Fort Hood.
General George Casey says, "as great a tragedy as this was ... it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."
It's something that deeply worries many Americans who are Muslim and have made the ultimate sacrifice. Like the family of Army Corporal Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. His mother, Elsheba Khan, visits his grave at Arlington National Cemetery every Sunday.
“He represented the country, he represented Muslims all over the world,” she says. “I’m very proud of him."
Watch: Backlash against Muslims? 
Khan is concerned there will be a backlash against Muslim-American soldiers. She knows some are already reaching conclusions as to why Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly opened fire on his fellow soldiers.
Nap time for pilots?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/faa.gi.art.jpg caption="An FAA-assembled advisory committee has recommended that the FAA endorse "controlled cockpit napping.""]
By Allan Chernoff
CNN Sr. Correspondent
"This is your pilot speaking. It's time for my nap."
While you won't hear that announcement, next year it could be exactly what's happening in the cockpit of your flight at 35,000 feet!
A Federal Aviation Administration-assembled advisory committee, representing airlines and pilots, has written to the administration, to "recommend that the FAA endorse controlled cockpit napping." A "controlled nap" would last for no more than 40-minutes to prevent pilots from falling into a deep sleep.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is now considering the Aviation Rulemaking Committee's recommendation, as he searches for ways to address the problem of pilot fatigue. For 19 years fatigue has been on the National Transportation Safety Board's "Most Wanted" list of urgent safety issues that need to be addressed.
Watch: Cockpit napping endorsed
"It is beyond overdue. It is needed right now. We can't wait another year," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.
NASA studied the idea of pilot naps at its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California 20-years ago. The Fatigue Countermeasures Group, known within NASA as the "Z Team", found flight deck naps to be effective and safe in reducing pilot fatigue.
"The FAA paid for that research and we've shown very clearly the nap really improved performance and alertness of the flight crews," said Curt Graeber, who led the "Z Team" of scientists and is now a fellow of the Flight Safety Foundation.
"The most risky part of the flight, in terms of safety, is the approach and landing. So we want crews to be well rested and alert on the approach and landing. The idea of a controlled rest in the flight deck helps make that happen – it's a safeguard," said Graeber.
Indeed some foreign carriers, including British Air and Air Canada, permit pilots to nap on longer flights, allowing one pilot to rest in the cockpit, while the other pilot mans the controls.
Tragedy at Fort Hood
Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) - Officers early Friday raided the apartment of a soldier suspected in the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, searching for clues as to what caused the military psychiatrist to allegedly gun down soldiers he had taken an oath to help, a police spokeswoman said.
The alleged gunman, identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire at a military processing center at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding 30 others, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said.
Hasan, a psychiatrist practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, was shot multiple times and was taken into custody, ending the shooting rampage Thursday afternoon, Cone said.
In the nearby town of Killeen, a SWAT team and FBI agents were searching Hasan's apartment to help determine what caused the shooting, which military experts called the worst mass shooting at an American military base, Carol Smith, a Killeen police spokeswoman, said early Friday. Read more
Unemployment check extensions are coming
By Christine Romans
The president today will sign an extension in unemployment benefits. Nationwide, it will be 14 more weeks for the jobless.
If you recently ran out of benefits, you can reapply for the extension. If you live in a high-unemployment state, with a jobless rate above 8.5%, you are eligible for 20 more weeks of jobless checks.
Many of you have asked if your state qualifies for 14 or 20 more weeks. Here are those high-unemployment states:
AL, AZ, CA, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, ME, MA, MI, MO, MS, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, WA, WV. Also, Washington, D.C.
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