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The Army released the names of the three soldiers killed by Army Spc. Ivan Lopez during a shooting spree Wednesday at Fort Hood, Texas, before Lopez, 34, turned the gun on himself.

The latest shooting at Fort Hood highlights the need to improve security on military posts across the country.

Despite evidence that suggests Spc. Ivan Lopez had an argument before going on a shooting rampage, investigators said they may never determine what compelled the Fort Hood soldier to kill three soldiers and wound 16 others before taking his own life.

Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh: Tracking "inside threats" is challenging.

How Obama lost Afghanistan.

Northeast Asia has become a potential powder keg. What should China do to prepare itself for possible conflict?

North Korea on Friday accused the United States of being "hell-bent on regime change" and warned that any maneuvers with that intention will be viewed as a "red line" that will result in countermeasures.

North Korea managed to fly (and crash) a couple rudimentary drones over Seoul. Do its drones pose a threat?

Lawmakers question utility of Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review.

Lawmakers are pushing back against a Navy review to potentially ban the sale of tobacco on Navy and Marine Corps facilities.

The Army along with its sister services passed along its "Unfunded Priorities List" for fiscal 2015 this week.

The Associated Press reports that a Chinese ship involved in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has detected a "pulse" today in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

The A-10 Warthog looks especially awesome and futuristic in this photo.

Don't forget Mike Judge's new HBO comedy Silicon Valley premieres Sunday.

Free Comic Book Day hype. We're about a month away from the most important holiday of the year (May 3), which happens to fall the day before Star Wars Day.

Toadies' have a new brew from the folks at the Martin House Brewing Company, Rubberneck Red beer.

Finally: Bacon-flavored Ritz crackers.

What are you going to do today?

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Army mourning loss of soldiers at Fort Hood.

One of the three soldiers killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood died while trying to hold a door shut that would have led the gunman to a room packed with military personnel.

The U.S. military services have sent Congress wish lists that include $36 billion in priority items that were not included in the Pentagon's 2015 budget proposal. But actual passage of the lists seems unlikely.

Without the benefit of a full defense review covering force levels to support national needs, Hagel has left civilian support for the Pentagon largely untouched.

Budget cuts threaten military readiness, officials said.

Hagel said sending another permanent Army brigade to Europe could be a possibility.

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify parts of the panel's controversial 6,200-page report that is harshly critical of the CIA's Bush-era interrogation program.

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on defended plans to scrap the A-10 fleet and retire roughly 40 C-130s.

Army's part in the so-called Pacific Pivot remains in the concept phase.

A new kind of drone war: UCAV vs. UCLASS

Latest Army Virtual Battle Space release adds realism to scenarios, avatars.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord Arrowhead soldiers play a part in Operation Alaska Shield.

Nine ingenious urban hacks to make the city smarter.

The best part of Letterman's retirement announcement is that it was revealed by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills.

Bill Murray explains his bucket list on Letterman.

Surreal reversed footage of a man walking backward in Tokyo.

Watch the first seven minutes of FX's Fargo.

The Big Bang Theory will have a special Star Wars Day episode ...

What the Internet looks like as a subway map.

Finally!

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A U.S. soldier with mental health issues shot dead three people and injured at least 16 on Wednesday before shooting himself at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas.

Fort Hood's commander said soldier was treated for behavior and mental health "issues."

Wednesday's mass shooting by an Army specialist in Fort Hood, Tex., put the Pentagon on a dreaded, if increasingly familiar, footing as officials grappled to understand how yet another insider threat went undeterred.

Shootings at U.S. military bases over the years.

NATO general: Russians capable of quick strike.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will take a major step forward today toward publicly releasing portions of its massive 6,300-page report on Bush-era interrogation tactics.

Arms control and materials-security initiatives can continue despite political tensions with Russia, Obama administration officials say.

The unfolding crisis in Ukraine has prompted a new and forceful wave of commentary lamenting U.S. passivity in the world. 

Boeing lobbies Congress to add EA-18 funding.

Soldiers will return to the field to test different camouflage patterns as the Army looks to meet requirements laid out by Congress to find a camouflage pattern that could be used across the military.

Researchers are one step closer to creating shields that could render parked tanks and aircraft virtually invisible.

The Raytheon Co. is challenging the Navy's decision to halt manufacturing of the Tomahawk cruise missile in 2016.

Betrayed military spouses often keep quiet for fear of losing benefits.

Why freezing yourself is a terrible way to achieve immortality.

The daily schedules of the world's greatest geniuses.

What if Superman entered the film Gravity?

In case you haven't seen the Spider-Baby ad ...

Courtney Love says she has reunited with the original members of Hole.

Watch the new trailer for Lucy with Scarlett Johansson.

What will you do at work today?

I do a lot of indiscriminate bashing of movies (sight unseen, never to be corrected) for this column. It's fun! In the case of movies like the recent, bafflingly shitty God's Not Dead, it's both rewarding and entirely warranted. Other times, I take potshots at movies that might end up being quite good. (The Lego Movie, anyone?) My point is that I'm swinging wildly in the dark, over here. This is the nature of Judging by the Trailer.

Which brings me to the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I would rather be writing about literally anything else. Watching this trailer, my eyes blurred and a ringing tone sounded in my ears, interrupted only by the obligatory BWOOOMPs that are required of every "dark" superhero trailer, thus decreed Christopher Nolan. Captain America appears to me only as a muscular assembly of blonde-haired pixels.

I took a hard pass at the opportunity of seeing the first Captain America movie, deciding I'd just catch up when The Avengers came out. As a result, I now find myself faced with your standard gritty sequel, populated with characters about which I couldn't care less, facing a super-villain who - though exhaustively detailed in the trailer - seems to be mostly notable for possessing a "metal arm," as Cap puts it.

Of interest to other folks who don't have an affinity for Captain America, this film is helmed by the Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe, who directed lots of episodes of Community. That's neat! Maybe, when #SixSeaonsAndAMovie finally reaches fruition, the Russo Brothers can take a break from bathing in $100 bills to take a stab at Community's theatrical debut. Until then, I'll continue my hot streak of never seeing a Captain America movie (except for that truly awful 1990 version that starred J.D. Salinger's kid).

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Russia has massed all the forces it needs on Ukraine's border if it were to decide to carry out an "incursion" into the country and it could achieve its objective in three to five days.

NATO foreign ministers moved to beef up the defenses of front-line alliance members feeling menaced by a more assertive Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the U.S. commitment to their security is "unwavering."

Alliances realign as latest superpower pulls out of Afghanistan.

A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform killed six police officers today inside the heavily fortified Interior Ministry compound in the heart of Kabul.

NATO's foreign ministers ordered an end to civilian and military cooperation with Russia.

A group of closely held companies received the Defense Department's biggest contract last month, a potentially $10 billion award for special operations equipment and services.

General Dynamics Land Systems cannot and will not compete for the Army's largest surviving weapons program, the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, unless the service changes how it is handling the program.

A sneak peek at Marines' New Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

Remotely piloted aircraft have spawned a new breed of professional aviator that the Air Force says is here to stay.

Three Army women honored for extraordinary courage, character.

7th Civil Support Command begins Operation Saber Guardian 14.

Soldiers may soon be shelving their collection of desert boots and lacing up the Army's new, modernized jungle boots.

The U.S. military has more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles in Afghanistan that it can bring home - and Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are locked in a three-way competition for them.

Child gets wish to be a Navy SEAL for a day.

Former senior World Bank lawyer Karen Hudes claims elongated-skull non-human creatures are hiding amongst us.

Spotify starts rolling out a new darker redesign.

Jack White has released a new song.

Is anyone watching Courtney Love's web series?

Finally: Flea's memoir.

Finally: A robot band covers the B-52's.

Singers on a plane...

COMMUNITY G.I. JOE PARODY

As of this writing, Rob Schrab (creator of the cult comic Scud: The Disposable Assassin, and co-creator of The Sarah Silverman Program) is in an office, somewhere in Los Angeles, furiously working to finish animation of the G.I. Joe parody episode of Community - which is slated to air Thursday, April 3. A beleaguered Schrab, in between generally tweeting his frustration and half-jokingly calling out Community creator Dan Harmon for putting him in this position, tweeted that he has "80 shots to finish before tomorrow. We average 15 a day."

No doubt, much of the hubbub is being made in jest (anyone who's heard Schrab appear on Harmon's podcast knows that they have a delightfully contentious chemistry), but it's a healthy reminder of the sort of tyrannical tinkering that got Harmon fired from his own show in the first place, before returning for this latest season. Because he simply couldn't turn in a script before it was perfect (which ideally would have been months ago), the turnaround for animating a loving homage of a crummy cartoon has been absurdly accelerated.

Thursday will reveal the fruits of their labor. Personally, I've found that having Harmon back has done wonders for Community, especially in the aftermath of the "gas leak year." Having a wild, self-destructive comedy genius at the helm is a gift that giveth and taketh.

VOICE-OVER WORKSHOP WITH NICOLE FAZIO

Speaking of animation, I'm fairly certain that a good amount of people spend some time in their youth fantasizing about being a voice-over artist. All it takes is two decent-to-middling impressions and it's easy to fool yourself into believing that you could be the next Mel Blanc. (How many voices did he have, again? Oh, right, a thousand. But that's a cute Gollum impression you got there.)

Not everyone is blessed with the honeyed vocal chords of Don LaFontaine or Hal Douglas (both, sadly, passed away, most recently Douglas). However, your voice is a muscle that can be sculpted and trained, if you have the inclination. If you're a teen who's ever had the notion to give voice-over acting a try, you'd do worse for instructors than Nicole Fazio. A Washington-born actress, Fazio has lent her voice to hundreds of projects, from commercials to animation. Fazio will be holding a workshop to teach you the ins and outs of her craft.

In preparation, why not check out the endearing comedy, In a World..., which explores the very particular world of voice-over artists. 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, April 4, ages 12-18, Tacoma Public Library Main Branch, 1102 Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, free but registration required, 253.591.5666

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The Navy lifted a lockdown at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor after ordering personnel to shelter in place for nearly two hours.

CIA officer confirmed no protests before misleading Benghazi account given.

Sequestration would degrade military readiness, senior military officials recently told a Senate panel.

The involuntary separation of soldiers from the force may be necessary as the Army draws down in strength over the next few years.

Japan today lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, introducing new rules covering the arms trade in a move supporters say will boost Tokyo's global role, but which unnerved China.

The United States should work directly with Taiwan to actively promote peace and stability in Asia.

Putin's imaginary Nazis.

The Pentagon improved its buying power on 51 of its 80 programs in 2013, resulting in $23 billion of procurement savings.

A Senate investigation concludes waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods provided no key evidence in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

After months of criticism about how the military accounts for the remains of fallen U.S. service members from foreign battlefields, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday he will create a single Pentagon-level office to oversee the worldwide mission.

The Air Force is planning to join with European allies to create an ISR or tanker consortium.

Troops might be able to replace heavy night vision goggles strapped to their helmets with contact lenses.

The long-awaited Army Regulation 670-1, with new rules on tattoos, hairstyles, grooming and uniform wear, went into effect Monday.

Defense Secretary Hagel gave his support to moves by the services to consider banning tobacco sales on bases and ships.

Thousands of soldiers and others have signed a White House petition calling for the president to order the Army to reconsider just-released appearance and grooming regulations they contend are 'racially biased' against black women.

Chinese warlords Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren had the best bromance in military history.

Inside the military's new office for cyborgs.

Army testing combat boots, camouflage patterns.

Army Medicine is near completion in the implementation of its secure healthcare-messaging system, the Army Medicine Secure Messaging Service, to all 52 of its military treatment facilities worldwide.

Testing is about to begin on futuristic robot space surgeons.

Michael Stipe is inducting Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Finally: George Lucas explains the birth of lightsabers.

The Flaming Lips has created a companion to Dark Side of the Moon.

Watch a deleted scene from last weekend's Saturday Night Live that really should've aired.

The Pink Panther is being rebooted yet again.

Game of Thrones 9-minute recap...

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Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are advancing far different proposals on how to calm tensions and de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine as Russia continues to mass troops along its border with the former Soviet republic.

America's secret weapon to stop Russia.

North and South Korea fired artillery shells into each other's waters today, a flare-up of animosity between the rivals that forced residents of five front-line South Korean islands to evacuate to shelters.

Taliban gunmen abducted a candidate running for a seat in a provincial council in northern Afghanistan and seven members of his entourage.

Japan and the United States plan to create a permanent consultative body to coordinate the operations of the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military in the face of China's highhanded actions over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

33,000 troops to go: Marine Brig. Gen. Daniel O'Donohue outlines Afghanistan drawdown.

Photographs expose Russian-trained killers in Kiev.

Secret warplane appears over Texas.

U.S. Army field artillery is preparing for future wars by returning to Cold War-era tactics supplemented by modern, mobile technology.

The Pentagon's five-year projections for procurement spending on its 63 major weapons programs, submitted to Congress this month, has turned more positive than last year's spending forecast.

The first week of April will be a critical one for what has been a relatively drama-free armored vehicle program for the U.S. Army.

Mustache March ends, but controversy lingers.

Your forecast for the next century: It'll be hotter, drier and hungrier, and the chance to turn down the thermostat is slipping away.

Yes, Louie's back!

Celebrate Jeopardy!'s 50th with these facts about the show.

List: Simpsons Easter eggs you might've missed.

Watch a new trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

A simple flowchart to work out if you should take a selfie.

Here's that giant David Hasselhoff on wheels you asked for.

Forget twerking and planking.  Whaling's the new in thing.

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Obama asked the Russia leader to withdraw troops during a phone call initiated by Putin.

A primal instinct was behind Russia's annexation of Crimea, and its one shared by other powers.

Pentagon to adapt drones for tougher aerial battles.

The U.S. Army's top leaders defended their proposal to strip the Army National Guard of its AH-64 Apaches attack helicopters as part of a cost-saving move.

Jeremiah Denton Jr., who as an American prisoner of war in Vietnam made the world aware of the abuse POWs were suffering, died Friday at 89 in a Virginia Beach hospice.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has paid tribute to retiring Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, who is stepping down as head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.

Air Force looks to cost-effective technologies to sustain future operations.

Defense officials have ordered a review of options that include consolidating commissaries and exchanges, as well as having commissaries adopt an "Exchange-like business model."

A New York congressman is calling for a presidential review of the Medal of Honor cases of two Marines who in 2008 gave their lives to halt a suicide bomber with a truck full of explosives in Ramadi, Iraq.

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan died of a heroin and cocaine overdose last year while receiving treatment at a Miami Veterans Affairs residential treatment facility, according to a VA inspector general report released.

Government stalwart mobility provider BlackBerry got some additional leverage in the form of full operational capacity for its BlackBerry 10 to run on Defense Department networks.

Abby Martin's exclusive interview with former NASA Astronaut and ISS Commander, Leroy Chiao, about U.S.-Russian cooperation in space, life on other words and the reality of the film Gravity.

Watch a lost interview with philosopher Michel Foucault on madness and history.

Patatap lets you make tunes and pictures with your computer keyboard (instead of boring old words).

New York magazine's "100 Years of New York Music" issue celebrates everyone from Debbie Harry to Billie Holiday and includes a portfolio of new photos.

Chrissie Hynde's Dark Sunglasses, her new record, arrives June 10.

Silicon Valley, HBO's delightful new Mike Judge comedy, which stars T.J. MIller, Kumail Nanjiani and other funny dudes, premiere's April 6.

This may not make a lick of sense but it sure is pretty...

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A new classified intelligence assessment concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine.

President Obama and European leaders pledged to bolster the NATO alliance and vowed that Russia would not be allowed to run roughshod over its neighbors. But the military reality on the ground in Europe tells a different.

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely would not have been deterred from invading the Crimean peninsula even if European countries had spent more on defense.

The general in charge of the F-35 told a U.S. House panel he sees more delays ahead - four to six months - for the often-troubled fighter jet program.

Lt. Gen. Howard K. Bromberg, the Army G-1, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that with sequestration will come a slowdown in soldier compensation and benefits in order to maintain readiness and modernization.

Air Force aircraft maintenance mechanics recently teamed up with depot employees to standardize processes for work performed on a satellite communications system and tactical radios.

First female National Guard soldiers graduate Field Artillery School.

U.S. military seeking cheap stealth on ocean floor.

The Navy is testing several new next-generation cruise missiles as potential replacements for the battle-tested Tomahawk.

Air war has, in effect, become as costly as naval war. What are the implications for strategy?

Future drugs will allow prisoners to serve an 1,000-year sentence in 8 hours.

Dad who works for Dreamworks turns son into amazing superhero.

Good News: Rolling Stone has a new cover story on Kiss.

Whoa: Kevin Smith's Hollywood Babble-On may be coming to AMC.

Trippy: A new trailer for the Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending.

Finally: new cupcake ATM.

Of Course: A man named Christopher Reeves was arrested this week ... while wearing a Superman T-shirt.

Welcome home!