Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need

1.    Hackers claim to have exposed nearly 171,000 military email accounts.  The hacker group known as LulzSec appears to be back after many months of laying low, claiming to have exposed the accounts of nearly 171,000 members of the military.
 
2.    Courts help veterans re-acclimate.  A growing number of military veterans survived the battlefield but as civilians collided with the criminal justice system. There are now more than 90 courts across the U.S., tailored to veterans willing to work to repair their lives.

3.    Women Veterans Report Poorer Health Despite Access to Health Services, Insurance.  Health Behavior News Service  In 2010, women made up 8 percent of the US veteran population, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).The study, appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first to demonstrate how female veterans’ health status …

4.    First defendants graduate from LA County Veterans Court.  Los Angeles Times  “Our graduating veterans have truly invested in change,” Sergio Antoniuk, a social worker with the US Veterans Affairs Department, said in a statement. “They have humbly tackled problems that have hindered their stability and progress.

5.    New HUD and VA Initiative to House Nearly 10000 Homeless US Vets.  National Mortgage Professional Magazine  US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric K. Shinseki have announced that HUD will provide $72.6 million to public housing agencies in all 50 states and the …

6.    Shelter Care Ministries receives funds from Veterans Cash lottery.  Rockford Register Star  It also offers much-needed funding to strengthen local and statewide programs that assist veterans struggling with accessibility, health care, homelessness and mental health issues,” Erica Borggren, director of the veterans’ affairs department, …

7.    Charter Oak Students Deliver Veterans Tribute to Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.  Patch.com
The student-created banner, which has the signatures of more than 1000 residents, will be presented as an official ‘Thank You’ at the state’s Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event on Saturday. By Ronni Newton SAIL students wear shirts that spell out

8.    PTSD not solely a battlefield issue for college students.  The Massachusetts Daily Collegian  Seven to eight percent of the United States population will have PTSD at some point in their lives, with 5.2 million people suffering from the disorder during any given year, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Those figures vary widely …

9.    Tough Challenges Ahead: Helping Ethnic Minority Veterans Transition Back.  Huffington Post  The challenges can be even tougher when the vet is an ethnic minority. According to the US department of Veteran Affairs, roughly 6 percent of current veterans are Hispanic. This might pose special challenges to Hispanic veterans, involving lack of …

10. New counseling center in Wausau for veterans.  WAOW  The Wausau Vet Center Outstation, is located at 605 South 24th Avenue, Suite 24. The center is run through the US Department of Veterans affairs. But, organizers say the counseling services offered there are confidential. Veterans who need to talk.

More Veteran News

•    Lawmakers Aim To Help Vets Maximize GI Bill Benefits.  Army Times  “Concerned that the Post-9/11 GI Bill could become a target for budget cutters” as the two-and-a-half-year-old “program’s price tag tops $17 billion, major veterans groups are supporting consumer protection and counseling legislation aimed at ensuring that students maximize their benefits.” Two “bills, one in the House and one in the Senate,” do just that. After noting that the House bill would set up online information tools for vets using the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, the Times adds, “Education counseling is available for those who request it from the Veterans Affairs Department.”

• VA Gulf War Task Force Report Now Available.  Los Angeles Examiner On Monday, VA “released the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force Report,” which “addresses health-related concerns.” In a news release, Secretary Shinseki said the report “provides a roadmap for our continued enhancements in the care and services we provide to Gulf War veterans. We will also apply lessons learned from this Task Force to our engagement with Veterans of all eras.'”

•   NBC, US Chamber Of Commerce Trying To Help Vets Find Jobs.  “Hiring Our Heroes,” a partnership between NBC News and the US Chamber of Commerce that seeks to help vets find jobs. One of the programs, “MSNBC’s Now With Alex Wagner,” praised efforts by VA under Secretary Shinseki to accomplish that same task.  NBC’s Today Show  A “special initiative across the platforms of NBC News” is “called ‘Hiring Our Heroes.’ We’ve partnered with the US Chamber of Commerce to help unemployed veterans get back into the workforce. On Wednesday, jobs fairs will be held at Fort Hood, in Chicago, New York City, and online.” NBC’s Today Show  A campaign with retired General Stanley McChrystal, who said veterans have “not just technical skills but this wealth of very rich leadership experience.”

•  VA Secretary Visits Denver Veterans Hospital.  AP  Secretary Shinseki “met with staff and patients” at VA hospital in Denver. The “aging hospital is being replaced by a new facility in the Denver suburb of Aurora. The new hospital will cost $580 million and is expected to be completed by early 2015.”

•   Secretary Discusses Expanding Care Access, Attends Opening Of Winter Sports Clinic. KMGH-TV  Shinseki was in Denver to “talk about expanding access to care and services for veterans. Part of that plan” is a new hospital in Aurora. KMGH notes that this past weekend, Shinseki “was at the opening of the Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic,” an event that is being held in Colorado.

•    Shinseki’s Monday Itinerary Included Tour Of Cheyenne VA Women’s Clinic.  AP Secretary Shinseki’s Monday visit to the Denver VA. Later in the day, according to the AP, Shinseki was scheduled to visit “Wyoming to learn more about the growing number of women veterans and their” healthcare needs. Shinseki was supposed to “tour the women’s clinic at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center on Monday afternoon.” The AP said that while in Wyoming, Shinseki was also supposed to discuss programs that aim to increase access to services for vets residing in rural areas.

•  Number Of Homeless Women Veterans Is On The Rise.  WDSU-TV “The number of homeless American women veterans is on the rise, according to a Government Accountability Office report. It’s a challenge that organizations across the country are dealing with, including in New Orleans.” Martha Kegel, the executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans Martha Kegel, “says that she is optimistic because the Veteran’s Administration of New Orleans, the City of New Orleans and Unity of Greater New Orleans are joining forces to end homelessness in the Crescent City.”

•  Vets To Storm The Hill.  Politico Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is “kicking off its annual lobbying blitz ‘Storm the Hill,'” which “includes more than 100 meetings with White House and Labor Department offices.” But the “group wasn’t able to book a sit-down with the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Politico quotes Paul Rieckhoff, the group’s executive director and founder, who said, “We’d like to meet” with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki “and work with him constructively on some…issues” faced by vets. But, he added, Shinseki “hasn’t gotten back to us, unfortunately.”

•  More US Companies Are Hiring Vets.  Wall Street Journal  Ann Curry says it is beneficial to the US economy that more and more companies are hiring veterans. Curry, who hopes this trend will continue, points out that on Wednesday, NBC News and the US Chamber of Commerce are putting on a nationwide veterans hiring fair.

•  Group Trying To Help Hispanic Vets Find Jobs.  Huffington Post  Manny Espinoza, chief executive officer of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), notes, “As part of its Hiring our Heroes initiative, NBC, the Today Show and the US Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a series of job fairs for veterans,” including one that will take Wednesday on the USS Intrepid in New York City. Espinoza adds, “According to the US department of Veteran Affairs, roughly 6 percent of current veterans are Hispanic. This might pose special challenges to Hispanic veterans, involving lack of mentorship or supportive networks.” So, Espinoza says, his organization is also trying to help vets find jobs.