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

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1.   Panetta seeks to remind Americans the war isn’t over.  Defense secretary said he seems to be writing more condolence letters lately.
 
2.   Medal of Honor recipient now fights to hire vets.  Dakota Meyer owns a small construction company in his native Kentucky, but the 24-year-old former Marine sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient is taking some time away from work to help other veterans find jobs.
 
3.   VA hospital could open next year, officials say at Orlando hearing.  Veterans in Central Florida may see their long-awaited VA Medical Center open for patients in 2013 after all — only one year later than planned, according to testimony delivered at a congressional field hearing Monday in Orlando.
 
4.   Pentagon lowers the estimate of lives saved by MRAPs.  Armored trucks designed to protect troops from roadside bombs and adapted to conditions in Afghanistan have saved more than 2,000 American lives there, far fewer than the Pentagon estimated last year.

5.   Resources, education, advice for woman veterans.  9NEWS.com  “We are going to be talking about transition – transitioning not only from soldier to civilian but also transition throughout your life,” Rebecca Sawyer Smith of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said. “The schedule is very robust, and we’re very …

6.   Information shared on burial benefits.  Clarksville Leaf Chronicle  Any items or services obtained from a funeral home will be at the families’ expense, to include the plot and grave provisions if the veteran is not buried in a national or state cemetery. The VA does not pay for any expenses related to a veteran’s …

7.   Local Vet’s Parade to Get National Publicity.  Bay Net  The parade has been approved for inclusion on a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website that touts Veteran’s Day parades all across the country. This year there … Leonardtown’s parade will be the only one listed from the state of Maryland. It has …

8.   New Program Offers Veteran and Their Families Help With Housing.  Patch.com  Community Hope is New Jersey’s largest charity serving homeless veterans and at-risk veteran families. The new Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program for veteran families was funded by a US Department of Veteran Affairs grant and the …
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9.   IG Investigating Two VA Conferences That Cost A Combined $9 Million. Federal Times  Veterans Affairs’ Inspector General (IG) is “investigating allegations of wasteful spending and improper acceptance of gratuities in connection with two human resources training conferences, held in Orlando, Fla., in July and August 2011.” After noting that the two conferences cost a combined nine million dollars, the Times says that in a letter sent last week to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, US Sen. Susan Collins (R-MO) said the IG’s preliminary findings are “alarming.” In its own statement, VA said Shinseki, who has ordered an outside review of all VA training policies and procedures, “will hold accountable any individuals who are found to have misused taxpayer dollars or violated our standards of conduct.”
 
10. Women’s Brains Recover Quicker From Alcoholism Than A Man’s Brains, But Men Have Stronger Recovery. Medical Daily “Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System found that, after abstaining from drinking, female brains’ white matter levels increase more quickly than male brains do.” The study also found that “women’s recovery slowed down as men’s recovery outperformed theirs.” Findings from the study “have been published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.”

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