Ft. Hood, Again: An Iraq war veteran went on a shooting rampage at the Army’s Ft. Hood in Texas yesterday, killing three people and wounding 16. The gunman, who was wearing an Army uniform, killed himself. The incident echoed a similar incident in 2009 when an Army major killed 13 people and wounded 30 on the base. Military authorities said yesterday’s gunman, identified as 34-year-old Ivan Lopez of Puerto Rico, had sought help for anxiety and depression.

Election Sale: The Supreme Court yesterday struck down the limit of money any one person can donate to candidates and campaigns during a two-year federal election cycle. The decision is likely to give still more political influence to people who have lots of money. It’s similar to the court’s decision in the Citizens United case that struck down limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions. The logic of the court’s majority is that limiting the amount of campaign donations is a limit on free speech.

Cars: General Motors CEO Mary Barra spent a second day getting beaten up by senators on Capitol Hill. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a former prosecutor, noted that while the old GM management may have sat on the fatal problem with ignition switches for 10 years, the new bosses took their sweet time as well. McCaskill said, “even under the new GM banner, the company waited nine months to take action after being confronted with specific evidence of this egregious violation of public trust.” Barra said she didn’t know about the ignition switches that turn off on their own until January, just before millions of cars were recalled.

World: The number of Syrian refugees who have registered in Lebanon has passed one million, according to the United Nations. Nearly half of Syria’s population of 9.5 million have left the country, but Lebanon has sheltered the most. It now has the highest concentration of refugees in the world.

Nation: A Delta passenger jet made an emergency landing at JFK in New York last night, sliding off the runway into the grass. The jet had a hydraulic problem and the brakes failed. No one was hurt.

Social Notes: Russian President Vladimir Putin is officially divorced. He’s single, although he’s been reported to be dating a former Olympic gymnast for years. Watch out Ukraine, they’re going on tour …

Yard Sale: In 1975 an Italian worker at Fiat motors bought two paintings at an auction of possessions left on trains and they hung in his kitchen for years. That was, until his son looked them up in a book and found that they had been painted by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard. The Gauguin is worth $48 million. The paintings had  been stolen from a London home in 1970 and evidently left on an Italian train. The owners are now dead, and who owns the paintings now is yet to be settled.

Screen Wars: Amazon.com, the retail giant that started out selling books over the Internet, announced it is getting into the video entertainment business with its new “Amazon Fire TV.” The device allows customers to stream video and play games on their television sets, cutting cable bills, similar to some other devices already on the market. The Fire costs $99, the controller not included. Another $40, please. And expect to pay more for the stuff you really want to watch.

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