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Federal funding for honor guards at military funerals in Minnesota has been cut. KSTP sister station WDIO-TV reports instead of supporting 5,000 military funerals each year, only 3,000 funerals will be supported. Funerals held at Camp Ripley, Fort Snelling and a new veterans cemetery in Preston will get priority. John Marshall, captain of the Duluth Honor Guard, says that means some veterans in the Duluth area will likely miss out on having the two active duty military personnel at their funeral. “The federal government reneged on its promise to supplement two active military soldiers at all military funerals,” Marshall told...

Historically, Democrats have been politically vulnerable on military issues. The recent missteps President Barack Obama has made in dealing with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the situation in Syria are hurting his party’s chances for keeping control of the Senate in the next Congress. Another problem for the President and Congressional Democrats, is having to spend the 2014 election cycle explaining to voters why our Veterans Hospitals are government-run healthcare disasters. In Phoenix, Veterans Administration secretary Robert McDonald acknowledged that secret waiting lists and bad care needlessly “caused the death of veterans.”Why is such an outrage...

United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement today after her vote to invoke cloture on the DREAM Act. The cloture motion was defeated by a vote of 55-41. Sen. Landrieu said: "America is a land of enormous opportunity that is strengthened, not weakened, by the immeasurable contributions of people from different backgrounds. There are 2.1 million young people in this country who were brought to America by their parents as children. They are undocumented, yet they know no other home than the United States of America. I believe these young adults deserve a chance to earn...

The former U.S. Army Ranger from Indianapolis was deployed to Iraq in 2007, and he decided to aid Syrian refugees after his service. He started his own aid group called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA). ISIS has threatened to execute former U.S. soldier Peter Kassig, who has given most of his young life to others, next in the gruesome video showing the beheading of British citizen Alan Henning. A former U.S. Army Ranger from Indianapolis who was deployed to Iraq in 2007, Kassig went to help Syrian refugees in a Lebanese hospital and, in the spirit of humanitarianism shared...

Veteran Neglect: A Navy and Marine Corps veteran asks a House panel why an administration that says it leaves no one behind has let a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder sit in a Mexican jail for six months. From the famous "latte salute" to the Marine holding the presidential umbrella, President Obama's respect for our men in uniform has been open to question. Unless, of course, they desert their post in Afghanistan to try to join the Taliban, like Bowe Bergdahl. Then you have the parents to the White House and trade the Taliban general staff to obtain their release....

2014 – April 5: “Mom. I am not going to make it through the night. There are hit men in the cell with me and they told me they are going to kill me. Whatever you do, do not come down to ask questions or investigate because they are going to kill you, too. Change your bank accounts and go underground. Your life is in danger.” 2014 - April 14: “Mom. I tried to kill myself because the guards and the inmates were going to rape, torture and eventually execute me for information.” 2014 - May 1: “Mom. I have...

Veterans at the Shreveport, La., Veterans Affairs hospital have been going without toothbrushes, toothpaste, pajamas, sheets and blankets while department officials spend money on new Canadian-made furniture, televisions to run public service announcements and solar panels, a Watchdog investigation has revealed. Sources inside the hospital told Watchdog.org that patients also have had to contend with substandard care, as many nurses spend less time on work than on cell phones, iPods or accessing personal data on hospital computers.

Leroy Williamson, 93, has seen relations between the United States and Russia during good times and bad, and has some advice for the countries: "We have to get along," he told ABC News. "We don't need a patriotic war or a World War III." The Texan was in Russia this week to share his appreciation for the Soviet soldiers who liberated his Nazi prisoner-of-war camp on May 1, 1945. He met with a Russian general for lunch, visited with veterans, and placed a wreath at Moscow's memorial to the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is known in the...

A marijuana giveaway for veterans attracted about 1,000 people to a Colorado hotel. The “Grow 4 Vets” giveaway in Colorado Springs aimed to bring cannabis-based treatments to veterans with service-related conditions as an alternative to pain medications. […] Not all who received the bags were veterans. A $20 donation from non-veterans was encouraged. …

[Full Title: CCHR Says Congress Should Look at Conflicts of Interest Influencing VA’s Failure to Investigate Psychotropic Drug Deaths] While Congress currently is focusing on the VA’s alleged poor quality of care due to long wait times for medical access, still little, to no, attention is being given to the hundreds of veteran cardiac arrests and suicides that occurred after being prescribed cocktails of dangerous psychotropic drugs, especially antipsychotics. Why? The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), the nation’s leading mental health watchdog, presented written testimony this year to Congressional hearings into military and veteran deaths and believes that conflicts...

They were some of the driving forces behind creation of the Murray County Veterans Memorial Park, but now the members of Chatsworth American Legion Post 167 have sent a letter to county Sole Commissioner Brittany Pittman asking that the post’s name be removed from monuments at the park and the refund of $10,000 in funds donated for the park. “We can no longer support the park in any fashion or form,” said Bruce Kendrick, a spokesman for the post. Soon after the park, which is off Hyden Tyler Road, was dedicated four years ago, post members discovered problems with some...

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek overstepped his authority in revoking the gun permit of an Iraq war veteran who police say represented a possible danger to himself or others, a judge ruled Friday. The judge ordered Stanek to reinstate the vet’s permit to carry a gun. The case could have broad implications about how veterans in crisis are treated by law enforcement and about how much authority a sheriff may have in revoking permits to carry weapons. At one point, Bloomington police became so concerned about the man, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005,...

The family of a deceased Marine is looking for answers after records from the Department of Veterans Affairs showed that he rescheduled an appointment after his death. Cpl. Jordan Buisman, a former Marine videographer, was medically discharged after developing epilepsy. In June 2012 he saw a neurologist at a Minnesota VA, who instructed him to seek an appointment if there were any changes in his condition. After Cpl. Buisman had a seizure in September, he scheduled an appointment with the VA on Oct. 12, and was confirmed for an appointment Dec. 20, a local NBC affiliate reported.

Education School tells Missouri boy his 9/11 souvenir violates school weapons policy A souvenir shell casing handed out by veterans at a 9/11 ceremony landed a seven-year-old Missouri boy in hot water when he took the keepsake to school. Sherry Falke said her son, Zane, forgot he had the souvenir in his pocket when he showed up for class on Tuesday, Fox4KC.com reported. The boy was given the souvenir at a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Carrollton, Mo. "He felt it in his pocket, and he took it out and was showing some of his friends at school," Falke told...

The U.S. is planning to train veterans to become solar panel installers in the next six years, the White House said Thursday. The jobs training program is among a host of initiatives the White House says will cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300 million tons through 2030, plus save billions of dollars on energy bills for homeowners and businesses. It will launch this fall at one or more military bases and train a total of at least 50,000, including veterans....

The U.S. is planning to train veterans to become solar panel installers in the next six years, the White House said Thursday. The jobs training program is among a host of initiatives the White House says will cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300 million tons through 2030, plus save billions of dollars on energy bills for homeowners and businesses. It will launch this fall at one or more military bases and train a total of at least 50,000, including veterans. …

Mark Blum served his country for eight years in the Air Force. When he left the military, he had high hopes the skills he learned as a logistical advisor would help him land a new career in civilian life. Instead, he says, he was taken in by an elaborate online employment scheme that has financially ruined him. Blum posted his profile on LinkedIn, which led to an email from a woman identifying herself as Betty Blake from Blue Line Network. “The very first contact with me was, 'We’re looking to hire ex-military people because of their attention to detail,”' Blum...

Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch is enjoying her latest role, starring in a Christian movie currently in production. But the West Virginia native is not sure if an acting career is in her future. Lynch plays Beth Barlow, the president's daughter, in the JC Films production of "One Church." "It's a lot of stress," Lynch told The Associated Press on Tuesday as she was heading from West Virginia to Rock Hill, South Carolina, to finish filming. "But I have to say I've had fun with it and it's an opportunity. I'm one of those people who says 'never say...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)A former Veterans Affairs supervisor has been sentenced for stealing up to $20,000 of government property, a recent Justice Department release announced. From 2010 to 2013, 48-year-old Venita Godfrey-Scott directed her employees to use materials and supplies intended for VA medical center upkeep on her own house. These taxpayer-funded home improvement projects included “a deck in her backyard, carpet installation, and various kitchen, bathroom and basement improvements.” She also instructed employees to buy other necessary materials with her government-issued credit card, and had them work on these projects during normal work hours, when they were being paid by the VA....

Military veterans are receiving preferential treatment for many federal job openings, and as with any kind of preferential-treatment program, it’s causing a backlash. In a remarkable story, the Washington Post describes growing tension between veterans and civilians who never served in the military throughout the federal government. Civilians complain that their veteran colleagues are conservative yes-men who don’t question authority and are sometimes lacking in the necessary skills. Some complained that male veterans sometimes act inappropriately around their women peers. “You’re getting a very conservative worker that’s very narrow-minded,” said one civilian who works in the Office of Personnel Management....