Good Samaritan killed while helping motorist on I-4
The victim has not been identified, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel
12:26 p.m. EST, January 26, 2012
A man who was helping another motorist on the side of westbound Interstate 4 in Volusia County was fatally struck by a passing vehicle early Thursday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The unidentified victim pulled over to help Tiffany Walters, 23, who properly parked her Landrover sport-utility vehicle on the right shoulder near Mile Marker 115 in Lake Helen after she ran out of gas, said FHP Sgt. Kim Montes.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
557,460 wait more than 125 days for VA claims
VA sees 'paperless' claims as critical to ending backlog
By TOM PHILPOTT
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: January 26, 2012
The only way to achieve VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s goal for 2015 -- that every disability compensation claim gets processed within 125 days and with 98 percent accuracy -- is to shift to a paperless claims system. And that transformation has begun.
That was the testimony Tuesday by VA’s top claim processing official before the House veteran affairs’ subcommittee on disability assistance.
Tom Murphy, director of compensation service for the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), an agency for the Department of Veterans Affairs, acknowledged the claims backlog has grown in recent years.
Compensation and benefit claims pending at VA, as of Jan. 23, totaled 852,127 and 65 percent of them – 557,460 – had been filed by veterans more than 125 days ago, which means they are in “backlog” status.
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Big cuts coming; lower pay raises start in 2015
Big cuts coming; lower pay raises start in 2015
By Andrew Tilghman and Rick Maze - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 14:00:23 EST
Service members can expect standard pay raises for the next two years — most likely 1.7 percent for 2013 — but that will change starting in 2015, according to a new budget plan unveiled at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released details of the 2013 budget, the first since Congress ordered the Pentagon to slash more than $450 billion in planned spending over the next decade, with a few glimpses of what may be in store beyond 2013.
Under the plan, military pay will continue to rise in tandem with the average annual increase in private-sector wages, but starting in 2015, raises may be capped a level slightly below annual growth in civilian pay.
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By Andrew Tilghman and Rick Maze - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 14:00:23 EST
Service members can expect standard pay raises for the next two years — most likely 1.7 percent for 2013 — but that will change starting in 2015, according to a new budget plan unveiled at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released details of the 2013 budget, the first since Congress ordered the Pentagon to slash more than $450 billion in planned spending over the next decade, with a few glimpses of what may be in store beyond 2013.
Under the plan, military pay will continue to rise in tandem with the average annual increase in private-sector wages, but starting in 2015, raises may be capped a level slightly below annual growth in civilian pay.
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Former Marine pleads to military shootings
Former Marine pleads to military shootings
By Matthew Barakat - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 12:27:11 EST
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region.
Prosecutors also revealed Thursday new details about Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target: Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.
As part of Thursday’s plea deal, Melaku, 24, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. property, use of a firearm in an act of violence and intention to injure a veterans’ memorial, namely the cemetery. Prosecutors and Melaku’s lawyer agreed to a 25-year sentence as part of the deal, and U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would agree to the sentence as well. But formal sentencing was delayed until April so a pre-sentence report can be prepared and Melaku’s lawyer can request a mental-health evaluation for his client.
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By Matthew Barakat - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 12:27:11 EST
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region.
Prosecutors also revealed Thursday new details about Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target: Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.
As part of Thursday’s plea deal, Melaku, 24, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. property, use of a firearm in an act of violence and intention to injure a veterans’ memorial, namely the cemetery. Prosecutors and Melaku’s lawyer agreed to a 25-year sentence as part of the deal, and U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would agree to the sentence as well. But formal sentencing was delayed until April so a pre-sentence report can be prepared and Melaku’s lawyer can request a mental-health evaluation for his client.
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U.S troops killed in action have a last ally
U.S troops killed in action have a last ally
By Misty Showalter, CNN
updated 8:33 AM EST, Thu January 26, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Scientists and historians, military and civilians aim to recover all missing U.S. service personnel
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command digs at battle sites and crash sites for remains
In the lab they use dental records, photo recognition software and DNA tests to put a name to the remains
They call it the most honorable mission in the military
Together, it tells the story of life and death in the military.
At the world's largest skeletal identification laboratory more than 30 forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and dentists of Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command are working to put names to the remains.
Based at Hickam Air Force Base -- site of the Pearl Harbor attack -- in Honolulu, Hawaii, JPAC is made up of all branches of the U.S. military and civilian scientists, united in the goal of bringing back all 84,000 U.S. service members who went missing during war or military action.
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By Misty Showalter, CNN
updated 8:33 AM EST, Thu January 26, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Scientists and historians, military and civilians aim to recover all missing U.S. service personnel
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command digs at battle sites and crash sites for remains
In the lab they use dental records, photo recognition software and DNA tests to put a name to the remains
They call it the most honorable mission in the military
Editor's note: A team dedicated to finding, recovering and identifying every missing U.S. service member opens its doors to CNN International. Watch "World's Untold Story" Friday January 27 at 2330 ET, Saturday at 1630 ET and Sunday at 2330 ET.Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii (CNN) -- There is a skull here, hundreds of fragments of bones there. Table after table is lined with human remains. One holds a near-complete skeleton, another has hundreds of tiny pieces of bone that could come from many different people.
Together, it tells the story of life and death in the military.
At the world's largest skeletal identification laboratory more than 30 forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and dentists of Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command are working to put names to the remains.
Based at Hickam Air Force Base -- site of the Pearl Harbor attack -- in Honolulu, Hawaii, JPAC is made up of all branches of the U.S. military and civilian scientists, united in the goal of bringing back all 84,000 U.S. service members who went missing during war or military action.
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