veterans

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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
Jun 18, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

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
May 26, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

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,...

Busy Military Cemeteries Keep Customers Satisfied

1,800 vets a day are dying

(Newser) - With veterans of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam dying at a record clip, US National Cemeteries are performing more than 100 burials a day—and often use assembly-line tactics to meet demand, AP reports. Despite the use of heavy machinery and the volume—1,800 veterans die...

Senate OKs GI Bill, Sparking Obama-McCain Joust

Exchanges sharper than usual from all corners

(Newser) - Senate Republicans broke with President Bush and John McCain to help pass a GI bill that gives education benefits to veterans, setting off a sharp war of words between McCain and Barack Obama, the Huffington Post reports. “I can’t believe he believes it is too generous,” said...

'Virtual Iraq' Helps Vets Face Stress

Treatment drags soldiers back to moments of crisis

(Newser) - Therapists are plunging US war veterans back into the horrors of battle—as therapy. A virtual reality treatment is helping them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder by returning them to scarring events until their shock value wanes. "When the ground starts vibrating and you smell smoke and hear the...

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers to save disability costs

(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD...

'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

He regrets poor treatment for Iraq, Afghanistan vets

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted yesterday that the US military made mistakes in taking care of soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Reuters. He said he regretted that veterans had received inadequate care for physical and mental problems, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Gates also acknowledged that...

Soldier Laid to Rest After 4 Years

Thousands pay tribute to Sgt. Matt Maupin in Ohio memorial services

(Newser) - Thousands attended emotional memorial services over the weekend for an Ohio Army reservist whose remains made the journey home 4 years after he was captured in Iraq. Ten thousand filed past Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin's casket, and 3,000 attended a ceremony at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati yesterday,...

VA 'Lying About Vet Suicides'
VA 'Lying
About Vet
Suicides'
Apr 24, 2008 3:09 AM CDT

VA 'Lying About Vet Suicides'

It's 12,000 attempts a year, not 790, says secret email

(Newser) - A Democratic senator is calling for the resignation of the Veterans Administration mental health chief, accusing him of deliberately hiding the truth about suicide attempts among US veterans, the Dallas Morning News reports. A secret agency email put the number of suicide attempts at 12,000 a year—not the...

Military Families Sue VA Over Suicides

Agency doesn't do enough for veterans' mental health, suit says

(Newser) - Veterans Affairs hasn’t done enough to stem the “rising tide” of suicides and mental health problems, according to a class action lawsuit going to trial this week. Roughly 20% of deployed US troops are suffering from mental illness, a recent study shows, and an average of 18 kill...

Clark: McCain Must Get Behind Update to GI Bill
Clark: McCain Must Get Behind Update to GI Bill
OPINION
Apr 10, 2008 6:18 PM CDT

Clark: McCain Must Get Behind Update to GI Bill

Convincing GOP on aid for fellow veterans a must, general says

(Newser) - John McCain is "casting doubt" on his "commitment to the newest generation of American heroes” by not throwing his support behind an extension of the GI Bill, Wesley Clark writes in the Los Angeles Times. A bipartisan overhaul would fix the bill that once guaranteed veterans a paid...

Gulf Illness Blamed on Chemicals
Gulf Illness Blamed on Chemicals
Mar 11, 2008 9:05 AM CDT

Gulf Illness Blamed on Chemicals

Pesticides and nerve agents cause syndrome, says researcher

(Newser) - Exposure to chemicals and pesticides during the first Gulf War is the likely cause of widespread illnesses suffered by its veterans, a new study concludes. Some 250,000 veterans of the conflict—a third of the troops who served— suffer fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory lapses, intestinal problems, and...

Iraq's Toll Spirals Into Trillions
Iraq's Toll Spirals Into Trillions
Mar 10, 2008 9:44 AM CDT

Iraq's Toll Spirals Into Trillions

Iraq may cost up to $12.5B each month

(Newser) - In 2002 Donald Rumsfeld envisioned an Iraq war price tag of "something under $50 billion," but a Harvard professor and a Nobel-prize winning economist now pin the total cost at $3 trillion, with a "running cost" of $12.5 billion a month. As the Iraq war enters...

US Troops Lose Hearing at Alarming Rates

Aural damage from Iraq, Afghanistan wars reaching epidemic levels

(Newser) - US troops are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with epidemic rates of hearing damage, AP reports, with 128,000 disabled by permanent hearing loss or tinnitus, ringing in the ears. The nature of the current conflict is part of the problem, with roadside bombs and sudden ambushes giving troops...

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