Nation in brief: Accused serial killer sentenced in rape

A man accused of being the Phoenix Baseline Killer was sentenced to 438 years in prison Friday for a brutal attack in which he raped a woman while pointing a pistol at her pregnant sister’s belly.

“It is clear from the record that you cannot function in a civilized society,” Superior Court Judge Andrew Klein told Mark Goudeau, who still faces trial for the slayings of eight women and a man in 2005 and 2006.

The 43-year-old former construction worker was convicted in September of 19 counts, including sexual assault and kidnapping, for assaulting the sisters in 2005 as they walked home from a park.

Goudeau still faces trial on 74 other criminal charges, including nine murder counts, from a crime spree police have attributed to the Baseline Killer, named for the south Phoenix street where many of the early attacks took place.

Washington

Senate confirms nominee for VA

The Senate confirmed James Peake, a former Army surgeon general, as Veterans Affairs secretary Friday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Peake, 63, the son of a medical services officer and Army nurse, has spent 40 years in military medicine. He retired from the Army in 2004 after being lead commander in several medical posts, including four years as Army surgeon general.

President Bush said one of Peake’s first tasks would be to implement recommendations of the presidential commission on veterans care. The recommendations include aggressively treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, streamlining VA processes and improving support for families.