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Mentions of race, gender and, in some cases, disabilities have been scrubbed from an upcoming report from a federal task force aimed at improving veterans' access to parks and other outdoor recreation, according to copies of different versions of the report reviewed by Military.com and a task force member who resigned in protest of the changes.

Sailor for Life - Veterans. Retirees. Families. Issue #2 | 2025 Spring/ Summer

WASHINGTON — A mortgage industry group representing small and mid-sized lenders urged Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to delay ending a home loan rescue program run by the VA that lets veterans facing foreclosure refinance their mortgages at a lower interest rate. Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-04-16/veterans-home-loans-refinance-mortgages-17490857.html Source - Stars and Stripes

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – You may have heard about the ongoing measles outbreak in the U.S. As of April 10, there have been 712 confirmed cases in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most of these cases are in Texas and New Mexico, cases have been rising across the country. Anyone who isn’t protected against measles can get the illness—and children are especially at risk of getting seriously sick. You may be wondering how to keep your family safe. CDC: Tracking Measles Cases and Outbreaks

A Chinese satellite company linked to the country’s military is supplying Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen with imagery to target US warships and international vessels in the Red Sea, according to American officials.

There’s growing concern that President Donald Trump might invoke the Insurrection Act to bring National Guard troops under federal control and deploy them within the U.S. This speculation may be partly because one of President Trump’s Inauguration Day executive orders, which declared a national emergency at the southern border set an April 20 deadline for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to recommend whether to use the Insurrection Act. That date is approaching quickly.

US law specifically prohibits presidents from directing the IRS to investigate anyone in a section entitled: “Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations.” While the IRS falls under the Treasury Department, it’s important that it be as protected from politics as possible. That’s why the IRS has only two politically appointed officials, according to Mark Mazur, who was assistant secretary of treasury for tax policy at the outset of the Biden administration

Another grassroots, widespread action against the Trump administration is planned nationwide on Saturday. Search for Event

Rule of Law A federal judge on Wednesday said he has found probable cause to hold President Donald Trump’s administration in criminal contempt of court for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

Government Overreach The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Department of Defense’s school system for children of military families, asserting that the removal of race- and gender-related books and curricula violated students’ First Amendment protections against government censorship. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in northeast Virginia said the Department of Defense Education Activity nixed educational materials in line with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January.

A group of military families filed suit this week seeking to reinstate books and curriculum removed from Defense Department schools, following Pentagon orders to sideline materials that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2025-04-16/aclu-sues-dodea-over-book-ban-17486877.html Source - Stars and Stripes

A sampling of disability claims filed under the 2022 PACT Act found that roughly one-quarter listed incorrect start dates, resulting in improper payouts of about $6.8 million to some veterans and shortchanging an estimated 2,300 others, the Department of Veterans Affairs' internal watchdog found.

Lack of Transparency Fresh from a courtroom loss over The Associated Press’ access to the presidency, the White House on Tuesday put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by news agencies that serve media outlets around the world. It was the latest attempt by the new administration to control coverage of its activities.

In considering this unfortunate event, I can’t help but to think of the relentless attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that Trump and his acolytes have levied. For example, Hegseth authored a book titled “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In it, he questioned the bona fides of former Joint Chiefs Chair CQ Brown: “Was (he promoted) because of his skin color? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter.” Brown, who is a four-star general, is universally praised by those who are qualified to assess his accomplishments. This highlights the irony and hypocrisy of Hedgehog, who self-evidently was chosen for his current role based upon his race, his gender, and his unflinching fealty to Donald Trump.

Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday said he would launch proceedings to determine whether Trump administration officials should face criminal contempt charges for defying his order not to remove Venezuelan migrants from the country based on the wartime Alien Enemies Act.

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At Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's town hall in her district in Georgia, three people were removed from the event minutes after it started. Almost immediately after the congresswoman took the stage, a man was dragged out by police officers. Shortly after that, another attendee shouted from the audience. Greene ordered him to leave, and he exited, trailed by an officer. Moments later, a third man was tackled and dragged out by police. When he attempted to reenter, officers tased him.

The federal judge overseeing the case of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador said she would allow for expedited fact-finding to help her figure out whether the Trump administration is complying with her order that it “facilitate” his return from one of the country’s notorious mega-prisons. “I do need evidence in this regard because to date what the record shows is nothing has been done,” US District Judge Paula Xinis said in a tense hearing Tuesday afternoon in Greenbelt, Maryland.

President Donald Trump is exploring whether he can legally deport U.S. citizens to prisons in Central American countries, the White House said Tuesday. “It’s another question that the president has raised,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when a reporter asked if Trump currently has the power to send Americans to foreign prisons or would need to change the law to do so.

At around noon on 14 April, 2025, America ceased to have a law-abiding government. Some would argue that had already happened on 20 January, when Donald Trump was inaugurated. On Monday, however, Trump chose to ignore a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling to repatriate an illegally deported man. He even claimed the judges ruled in his favour. The US president’s middle finger to the court was echoed by his attorney-general, secretary of state, vice-president and El Salvador’s vigilante president Nayib Bukele. The latter is playing host to what resembles an embryonic US gulag.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – For service members and their family members living overseas, challenges like language barriers and unfamiliar health systems may make getting medical care stressful. But getting health care overseas doesn’t have to be difficult. Luckily, TRICARE offers a program to help.

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