veterans

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Napolitano Apologizes to Vets for Report

DHS had painted soldiers as prone to right-wing extremism

(Newser) - Janet Napolitano apologized today for language in a recent Homeland Security report suggesting that veterans were more likely to be wooed by far-right extremist groups, CNN reports. “The return of military veterans facing significant challenges,” said the report evaluating domestic threats, “could lead to the potential emergence...

Special Courts Deal With Problem Vets

New system aims to rehabilitate returning troops

(Newser) - After returning from war, many “perfectly good kids” struggle with drugs and criminal behavior, but a new trend could help, the Los Angeles Times reports. Veterans courts are springing up around the country, offering an alternative route to justice—and recovery—for troubled former troops. “If they've been...

Army Charity Hoards Millions as Veterans Suffer

Army Emergency Relief fund's reserve dwarf its giving

(Newser) - A US Army charity is hoarding tens of millions of dollars while military families face record foreclosures and long deployments, the AP reports. Designed to dole out cash to veterans in financial crisis, Army Emergency Relief has padded reserves with $117 million and given or lent only $64 million. "...

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

War, economy burden system former Army general would inherit

(Newser) - Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki garnered bipartisan support for his Veterans Affairs Secretary nomination today in outlining his priorities before Congress, the Military Times reports. The former Army chief of staff admitted to little experience with veterans issues, but his vows to streamline the agency won support from the likes of...

Aiming to Right History, Group Sniffs Out Fake POWs

Pretending to be war prisoner is legal, but vets say it dishonors the true heroes

(Newser) - When Richard Cayton told a Texas newspaper about his harrowing escape from captors in Vietnam, former Navy SEAL Steve Robinson thought something smelled fishy. He ran some quick checks, and told the newspaper that it had been lied to—Cayton had never been a prisoner of war. Sniffing out such...

Iraq Vets Hit by Financial Woes
 Iraq Vets Hit by Financial Woes 

Iraq Vets Hit by Financial Woes

Disabled veterans struggle to find jobs, keep homes

(Newser) - Many soldiers returning from Iraq are finding themselves up against a new enemy: their finances. Unemployment, lack of credit, and foreclosures all seem to be hitting veterans harder than the average citizen, the New York Times reports. "You fill out a job application and you can’t write ‘...

Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study
 Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study 

Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study

Research contradicts previous government denials

(Newser) - Gulf War syndrome is real, and "few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time," according to a scientific study commissioned by Congress. Nearly a quarter of the 700,000 troops who served in the first Gulf War suffer from neurological problems related to exposure to chemicals during...

90 Years On, It's Still the War to End All Wars

Across Europe, World War I remains the defining conflict of modern times

(Newser) - Ninety years ago today the Allies and Germany signed the armistice that ended World War I, a conflict of unprecedented brutality and expense. But where today Americans celebrate Veterans Day, a commemoration of wars' survivors, in Europe the mood is "altogether more somber," historian Alexander Watson writes in...

As Tomb Cracks, Army Mulls New Monument to Unknowns

Repeated patching leaves Arlington marker 'shabby,' but replacement may dim symbolism

(Newser) - The US Army’s proposal to build a replica of the cracked marble monument atop the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is reigniting controversy, USA Today reports. “It is important to have the authentic tomb that was there when the first remains were interred,” said...

15% of Women Vets Report Sexual Abuse: Study

Assaults often lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, survey of 125K finds

(Newser) - Some 15% of female Iraq or Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care report suffering sexual trauma, including harassment or assault while on duty, a study finds, with more than half suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The study by the Department of Veterans Affairs surveyed more than 125,000 in 2001-2007, USA ...

Young Vets Burst Onto Political Scene

Military stays neutral, but returned troops stump for both sides

(Newser) - Military rules bar troops from getting involved in politics while on duty, the New York Times reports, but as they return home more young vets are diving into an election that will determine the nation's course in Afghanistan and Iraq. Driven by a sense of political duty and kept up...

Troop Brain Injuries Often Overlooked

Wounded suffer blast affects that stump medical experts

(Newser) - An alarming number of US veterans are returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffering long-term effects from concussions, the New York Times reports. Half of those who have suffered concussions quickly recover, but others have symptoms—including memory loss and mood swings—that can resurface months after the...

Union Ad Urges Vets to Abandon McCain

AFL-CIO spot aims to separate war record from economic policy

(Newser) - Worried about the appeal John McCain has for military veterans among its members, the AFL-CIO is launching an advertising campaign criticizing the Republican's economic policies, the Chicago Tribune reports. The union will spend $53.4 million on the campaign, running mainly in places like Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia— battleground...

New US Tax Law Looks Heartless to Foreign Workers

Would-be tax evaders will pay, but so will wealthy green-card holders

(Newser) - A new tax law set up to help troops and veterans, offset by taxing wealthy Americans who give up citizenship to beat the IRS, hits some others in the wallet, Portfolio reports. Long-term, legal foreign workers who return home will see unrealized capital gains taxed—potentially damaging the perception of...

House OKs War Funding, Aid for Flood Relief

Spending bill also extends jobless benefits

(Newser) - A much-delayed Iraq war funding bill sailed through the House tonight, along with a doubling of college aid for returning troops and help for the unemployed and Midwestern flood victims. Republican allies of President Bush provided the winning margin in a 268-155 vote to provide $162 billion to fund US...

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests
Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests

Obama Wants Probe of VA Drug Tests

'Outrageous' that suicide-linked drugs were tested on vets

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John Cornyn are seeking a probe into reports that veterans had been recruited for tests on drugs linked to suicide, ABC News reports. An ABC News/Washington Times story noted that vets were given the anti-smoking drug Chantix in government tests, but for more than three...

Vets Used to Test Drugs Linked to Suicide

VA accused of treating troubled patients like 'lab rats'

(Newser) - Combat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder were recruited for clinical trials of drugs linked to suicide and mental disorders, ABC reports. In a trial involving the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, the VA did not warn patients of the drug's serious potential side effects until 3 months after the FDA and the...

On 64th Anniversary, a D-Day Vet Looks Back

He recalls old battles with pride

(Newser) - It’s not the horrors of Normandy that haunt Clifton Raynor these days; it’s the horrors of growing old. “Every day is a trying day for me,” the 86-year-old says. Raynor is part of a dying breed who saw D-Day firsthand, and today, on the 64th anniversary...

Mac, Obama Clash at Memorial Day Rallies

Hopefuls disagree on bill to guarantee college for 3-year vets

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain dueled at Memorial Day rallies in New Mexico today, Bloomberg reports. Obama restated his support for a new veterans bill, while McCain said an alternate plan would better reward those who reenlist. "Our bill has a sliding scale," he said, that "increases...

Oldest WWI Veteran, 107, Looks Back
Oldest WWI Veteran, 107, Looks Back

Oldest WWI Veteran, 107, Looks Back

KC ceremonies honor last living doughboy, enlistee at 16

(Newser) - Memorial Day observances in Kansas City this weekend had a very special guest: the last surviving American veteran of the Great War. Frank Buckles, 107, who hoodwinked a recruiter to enlist in 1917, was honored today at the World War I Museum, Fox 4 News reports. "I was gung-ho,...

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