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choice as it faces a $487 billion reduction in projected spending over the next decade and possibly tens of billions more as tea partyers and other fiscal conservatives embrace automatic spending cuts as the best means to reduce the government's trillion-dollar deficit.
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Pakistan's top court orders former President Musharraf to appear in treason case
• ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan's top court on Monday ordered former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf to appear before the judges to answer allegations that he committed treason while in power, an offense that carries the death sentence.
• The Supreme Court was responding to several private petitions alleging Musharraf committed treason by suspending the constitution and sacking senior judges, including the chief justice, while in office. The hearing is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
• Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 but was forced to step down almost a decade later under the threat of impeachment by Pakistan's main political parties. He left the country in 2008 and spent over four years in self-imposed exile before returning last month to run in upcoming parliamentary elections.
• The former president has experienced a bumpy ride since his return. He was only met by a couple thousand people at the airport in the southern city of Karachi when his flight touched down from Dubai, a sign of how little support many analysts say he enjoys in Pakistan.
• The Taliban have threatened to kill him, and he faces a series of legal charges, including some related to the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
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Complaints surge as airlines shrink seats, overbook flights to cram more people into planes
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Airline passenger complaints to the Transportation Department surged by one-fifth last year even though other measures such as on-time arrivals and mishandled baggage show airlines are doing a better job, according to a report being released Monday.
• Private researchers who have analyzed federal data on airline performance say it's not surprising that passengers are irritated. Carriers keep shrinking the size of seats in order to stuff more people into planes. Empty middle seats that might pro (Continued on page 25)
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