To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: President Donald Trump, center, meets Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, right, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, left, along with other members of his Cabinet and the White House staff, Saturday, March 11, 2017, at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. POTOMAC FALLS, Va.
Category: Veteran Affairs
US to expand mental health care for some veterans
REUTERS: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said on Wednesday that it intends to expand mental health care to former service members with other-than-honorable administrative discharges. As part of the proposal, former OTH service members will be able to seek treatment at a VA emergency department, Vet Center or contact Veterans Crisis Line, the department said in a statement.
UN chief: Funding, support needed for AU troops in Somalia
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says it’s important for Congress to act quickly to extend a program aimed at widening veterans’ access to private-sector health care. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says it’s important for Congress to act quickly to extend a program aimed at widening veterans’ access to private-sector health care.
Endless Wars Are The Real Scenes Of ‘American Carnage’
In his inaugural address, President Trump described a dark and dismal United States, a country overrun by criminal gangs and drugs, a nation stained with the blood seeping from bullet-ridden corpses left at scenes of “American carnage.” It was more than a little jarring.
Connecticut WWII veteran receives Belgian Honor
When Ernest Maynard first put on his olive drab Army uniform some 74 years ago, he expected nothing in return, he said. On Monday, wearing that same uniform, Maynard was given the Belgian Fourragere for his service with the 92nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion with the 2nd United States Armored Division.
Democrats Resurrect McCarthyism on Trump, Russia
From newspaper opinion pieces to social media posts, the ghost of Sen. Joseph McCarthy roams the Washington, D.C. corridors and McCarthyism permeates the Democratic playbook, punctuated with the leadership’s incessant murmurings of “the Russians hacked the election.” As fallout of his investigation in the 1950s into Russian connections in the U.S., McCarthy was accused of conducting a “witch hunt” and was also indelibly linked to the Hollywood blacklist era.
Mast gets earful as hundreds pack town hall meeting in Fort Pierce
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast was jeered and, at times, cheered during a packed, raucous, four-hour town hall meeting at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce Friday. The Palm City Republican was the most recent member of Congress to face constituents infuriated by policies supported by the Republican Party and by President Donald Trump.
Australians doubt Trump’s commitment to its traditional ally
Some Australians foresee trouble in their country’s traditionally strong alliance with the United States because of what they see as “unpresidential” behavior from President Donald Trump, while others think outspoken businessman-turned-Australian-leader Malcolm Turnbull is a good match for him. Australians have long had an affinity with the United States and absorb American popular culture like blotting paper.
Next GOP Target: Legal ImmigrantsBy Matt Laslo
Republicans used to say they were against illegal immigrants, not those making their way through the U.S. system in a legal, orderly way. That kinder, gentler rhetoric is now a thing of the past.
Senate on track to confirm Trump’s VA pick
Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin, currently undersecretary for health at the VA, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Senator: Army Corps told to approve Dakota pipeline easement
FILE- In this Dec. 3, 2016, file photo, law enforcement vehicles line a road leading to a blocked bridge next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball,… . This Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, photo from video provided by KXMB in Bismarck, N.D., shows cleanup beginning at a North Dakota encampment near Cannon Ball where Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents have protested for months.
Senator: Army Corps told to approve Dakota pipeline easement
FILE- In this Dec. 3, 2016, file photo, law enforcement vehicles line a road leading to a blocked bridge next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball,… . This Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, photo from video provided by KXMB in Bismarck, N.D., shows cleanup beginning at a North Dakota encampment near Cannon Ball where Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents have protested for months.
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If confirmed, the 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch would be the youngest justice on the court and could be shaping decisions for decades. Senate Republicans stood united behind President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, bracing for a bitter, weeks-long fight with Democrats over a conservative judge similar in philosophy to the late Justice Antonin Scalia Shulkin is in line to be the lone ex-Obama administration official serving in Trump’s Cabinet amid a conservative push to privatize several government services and fierce partisan battles over Trump’s other Cabinet nominees.
Guam governor orders EPA to test for traces of Agent Orange
Guam’s Environmental Protection Agency has been ordered to test sites around the tiny U.S. island territory for traces of the toxic Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. In a letter dated Jan. 19, Gov. Eddie Calvo instructed the agency’s on-island administrator, Walter Leon Guerrero, to examine “drinking water sources and soils,” where U.S. military veterans who served there in the 1960s and ’70s claimed the toxic-chemical mixture had been sprayed.
Four federal departments that could be shut down first.
He and Mike Pence have promised, Mother Jones magazine points out, that on Trump’s first day in office he will repeal Obamacare, end the “war on coal,” expel illegal immigrants, begin construction of a “beautiful Southern border wall,” fix the Department of Veterans Affairs, come up with a plan to stop ISIS, get rid of “gun-free zones,” “start taking care of our … military,” withdraw from the TPP trade agreement, cut regulations and designate China a currency manipulator. OK, much of that was probably just campaign talk.
Billions to be paid to affected Marines
After years of wait, veterans who had been exposed to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina may now be able to receive a portion of government disability benefits totaling more than $2 billion.
Veterans care still ‘high risk’ as Trump mulls VA head
” Veterans health care remains a “high risk” issue threatening the federal budget and quality of care for former service members, auditors say in a forthcoming report. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office will place the Veteran Affairs Department’s health system once again on its “high risk” list when it’s released next month.
FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein leads airport case new
The FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein alone for months after the former Iraqi leader’s capture is now leading the investigation into the Florida airport shooting rampage that killed five and is being blamed on an Iraq war veteran. George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, was Saddam’s sole interrogator beginning in January 2004.
Trump’s VA pick pledges to save beleaguered agency
Physician David Shulkin headed toward likely confirmation as President Donald Trump’s veterans affairs secretary, after offering repeated assurances Wednesday to sometimes skeptical senators that he will work quickly to meet the medical care needs of millions of veterans without dismantling the beleaguered department. At his confirmation hearing, Shulkin, the top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2015, cited efforts during his tenure to improve wait times for veterans needing urgent care, such as same-day services in primary care and mental health at VA medical centres.
Even with increased airport security vulnerabilities remain
This photo taken Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 by passenger Mark Lea and released by Lea Sunday, Jan. 8 shows a handgun which was used by Iraq war veteran Esteban Santiago when he killed five people is seen on the floor at the scene of the attack at the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida. In a post-9/11 world, American airports have taken all sorts of steps to keep travelers safe.
FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein leads airport case
The FBI agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein alone for months after the former Iraqi leader’s capture is now leading the investigation into the Florida airport shooting rampage blamed on an Iraq war veteran. George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, was Saddam’s sole interrogator beginning in January 2004.
Iraq war veteran accused of killing five at Fort Lauderdale airport
An Iraq war veteran took a gun out of his checked luggage and opened fire in a crowded baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale’s airport on Friday, killing five people, months after he showed up at an FBI office behaving erratically, according to authorities. Esteban Santiago, 26, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting and questioned at length, was expected to face federal charges in the shooting rampage, said George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Miami.
Iraq war veteran accused of killing five at Ft. Lauderdale airport
News selected on topics and regions – oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector An Iraq war veteran took a gun out of his checked luggage and opened fire in a crowded baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale’s airport on Friday, killing five people, months after he showed up at an FBI office behaving erratically, Reuters reported. Esteban Santiago, 26, who was taken into custody immediately following the shooting and questioned at length, was expected to face federal charges in the shooting rampage, said George Piro, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Miami.
Veteran Allegedly Kills 5 at…
A military veteran opened fire in a baggage claim at the Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport in Florida Friday, killing five and wounding eight others, in a horrific scene that sent people running for their lives, officials and witnesses said. The motive for the shooting, just before 1 p.m. in the baggage claim area at Terminal 2, remained unclear and the alleged gunman appears to have acted alone.
Four Cabinet spots still open in the Trump administration
Trump has picked most of his top Cabinet nominees already. But outside groups are getting restless as they wait to see who will lead the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the Council of Economic Advisers.
Ex-POW from Hillary Clinton campaign ads dies
Joel Sollender, a Jewish World War II veteran and former prisoner of war, who appeared in an ad on behalf of Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, September, 2016. Joel Sollender, a World War II prisoner of war who appeared in television ads for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, has died.
Trump interviewing candidates for remaining cabinet posts
President-elect Donald Trump spent his Tuesday holed up at his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida meeting with candidates for his unfilled cabinet and cabinet-level positions, including prospective hires to run the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Trump met Luis Quinonez, who runs a company with military and healthcare ties, and Toby Cosgrove, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. Both are thought to be candidates to be the next VA secretary.
Trump interviewing candidates for remaining cabinet posts
President-elect Donald Trump spent his Tuesday holed up at his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida meeting with candidates for his unfilled cabinet and cabinet-level positions, including prospective hires to run the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Trump met Luis Quinonez, who runs a company with military and healthcare ties, and Toby Cosgrove, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. Both are thought to be candidates to be the next VA secretary.