The number of vets in Congress appears headed down again
Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
November 7, 2018
WASHINGTON — After Tuesday’s midterm contests, the number of female veterans and younger veterans in Congress are rising but the overall number of veterans in Congress remains on a steady decline.
Navy veteran Mikie Sherrill greets voters during a candidate forum in New Jersey on Oct. 9, 2018. Sherrill is one of 17 new veteran candidates to win a congressional seat in Tuesday's midterm elections. (Mary Altaffer/AP)
In a contentious election which saw Democrats take over the House and Republicans add to their majority in the Senate, 77 veterans won elections across the country. Combined with 15 incumbent veterans in the Senate who did not face election, that guarantees at least 92 veterans will be part of the 116th session of Congress in January.
As of Wednesday morning, 10 races involving veteran candidates were still undecided. If all of those veterans were to win — an unlikely scenario, given the unofficial results at press time — that would still only match the 102 veterans who were in office at the start of the 115th session.
Still, Veterans Campaign Executive Director Seth Lynn said he sees plenty of positives in Tuesday’s midterm results for veteran candidates.
“We saw an uptick in the number of non-incumbent veterans who got major party nominations this cycle,” he said. “We had an uptick in the number of women veterans. And we have a huge cohort of incoming veterans now.
“We’re seeing more of the younger veterans taking their place in Congress.”
Of the 77 election-night winners, 17 of them are new candidates. Lynn said that’s the biggest class of freshman veteran lawmakers since 2010.
Almost half of the veterans in Congress in January will be individuals who served after Sept. 11, 2001. Of the 92, 25 are Democrats and 67 are Republicans.
read more here
Heartbroken family searching for answers after veteran’s suspected overdose death
The Citizen's Voice
BY BOB KALINOWSKI
PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 6, 2018
The Citizens’ Voice interviewed Houck the day his unit, Bravo Battery of the 109th Field Artillery, left for Iraq in September 2008 for a yearlong deployment. His twin sons, then 9-months-old, were in a stroller by his side for the departure.
A local family is mourning the death of an Iraq war veteran from a suspected drug overdose.
Stephen Houck, who served eight years in a local Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit, was found dead inside his Wilkes-Barre apartment on Thursday. He was 32.
Funeral services with military honors will be held today at the Kielty-Moran Funeral Home in Plymouth following a viewing 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“I was so proud of him. I told him how proud of him I was,” Houck’s mother Gloria Blizzard said Monday about her son’s military service.
Houck, a Larksville native, is suspected of taking a lethal dose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and heroin, she said.
Blizzard, 70, of Noxen Twp., reached out to The Citizens’ Voice to notify the paper about the military funeral and a police investigation into her son’s death.
read more here
Who Won the 2018 Election?
While it is too early to determine how many people voted in this election, as it is, this election shows that the winner is America!
People stood in line for hours to have their voice heard.
And for some, they got pizza!
“Americans are hungry for democracy and are turning out in record numbers to vote,” reads the group’s website. “But that means long lines and sometimes empty stomachs, which might discourage these brave patriots from performing their civic duty.”
As of Tuesday morning, the organization has sent 1,344 pizzas to 99 polling places around the country, according to its website. It’s raised about $65,000 this year to pay for the pies.
They volunteered for candidates they believed in.
Some voters voted even though the electricity was out in Tennessee.
'A High Water Mark for Midterm Turnout.' 2018 Could Be a Historic Election for Voter Participation
Early voting
As of early Tuesday morning, at least 33 million people have voted early nationwide, according to data collected by Catalist, a data company that works with Democrats and others, to compile counts of ballots cast before Election Day, either early in-person or by mail.
Women elected to office
At least 98 women will be elected to the House of Representatives -- 84 Democrats, 14 Republicans -- and 12 will join the Senate -- 10 Democrats, two Republicans -- according to the latest projections by ABC News.
There will be a lot of disappointed people this morning, but that happens with every election. Some win and some lose. When we do not use our right to vote, the country loses.
But no matter who were the declared winners in the races we paid attention to, America is the winner because of all the people who voted!
Colorado dad pleads guilty in killing of pregnant wife, 2 daughters
ABC News
By CLAYTON SANDELL, CAROL MCKINLEY EMILY SHAPIRO
Nov 6, 2018
A Colorado man arrested in the killing of his pregnant wife and two young daughters pleaded guilty Tuesday to all charges against him as his wife's family looked on, holding each other and sobbing.
In exchange for Chris Watts' guilty plea, the death penalty will not be considered, the Weld County District Attorney's office said. The victims' family agreed to those terms, the district attorney's office added.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, shackles, and an olive green bulletproof vest, Watts told the judge he understood the plea agreement reached with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to five counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy, prosecutors said.
As the judge read each charge one by one, Watts pleaded "guilty," his voice sometimes cracking.
read more here
10,000-torch display in London marks 100th anniversary of WWI's conclusion
ABC News
By DAVI MERCHAN LONDON
Nov 6, 2018
An installation commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I has opened in London.
Yeoman Warders, commonly known as a "Beefeaters," stand by after lighting the first of thousands of flames in a lighting ceremony at the Tower of London, Nov. 4, 2018.
Called "Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers" and featuring approximately 10,000 torches, each illuminated every evening by more than 250 volunteers, is an act of remembrance for the lives lost during the war.
read more here
