Author: Reporter

Return of horse-drawn caissons at Arlington National Cemetery delayed to improve animal care

The return of horse-drawn caissons at Arlington National Cemetery is being delayed for months and maybe longer, the Army said as it struggles to improve the care of the horses, after two died in 2022 as a result of poor feed and living conditions. Nearly a year after the Army suspended the use of the gray and black horses for funerals, officials said they are making progress buying new horses, getting better equipment, and improving the training, facilities and turnout areas. But Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, commander of the Military District of Washington, said it’s been far more time...

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Trump’s corrupt allies fill Congress as election deniers move from radical right to GOP mainstream

In the hours after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Ohio’s then-Republican senator, Rob Portman, voted to accept President Joe Biden’s win over the defeated former president, Donald Trump, despite Trump’s false allegations that Biden only won because of fraud. But as Trump charges toward his rematch with Biden in 2024, Portman has been replaced by Senator J.D. Vance, a potential vice presidential pick who has echoed Trump’s false claims of fraud and said he will accept the results this fall only “if it’s a free and fair election.” South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and...

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A source of contention: The meaning, evolution, and controversies of celebrating Memorial Day

Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it has come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawnmowers. But for people such as Manuel Castañeda Jr., the day is very personal. He lost his father, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, in an accident in 1966 in California while his father was training other Marines. “It isn’t just the specials. It isn’t just the barbecue,” Castañeda said in a discussion about Memorial Day last year. Castañeda also served in the...

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Start-of-summer weekend: Why Memorial Day travel jams are expected to be much worse this year

When travel restrictions were lifted after the COVID-19 pandemic, most people expected that summer travel would be easier. 2024 is proving for the second year that it is not. Highways and airports are likely to be jammed the next few days as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend getaways and then return home. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8 million people expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday, May 23 and Monday, May 27. The Transportation Security Administration expected up to 3 million might pass...

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Ukraine can finally target Russian-occupied areas with long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S.

Ukraine for the first time began using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian forces in April. Long sought by Ukrainian leaders, the new missiles give Ukraine nearly double the striking distance, up to 190 miles, that it had with the mid-range version of the weapon that it received from the U.S. last October. Officials said the U.S. was providing more of those missiles in a new military aid package signed by President Joe Biden, after the pro-Putin faction of the Republican party delayed funding for six months....

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Russia’s brutal advances strain Ukrainian front-line troops just as mobilization law comes into force

A divisive mobilization law in Ukraine came into force on May 11, as Kyiv struggles to boost troop numbers after Russia launched a new offensive that some fear could close in on Ukraine’s second-largest city. The legislation, which was watered down from its original draft, will make it easier to identify every conscript in the country. It also provides incentives to soldiers, such as cash bonuses or money toward buying a house or car, that some analysts say Ukraine cannot afford. Lawmakers dragged their feet for months and only passed the law in mid-April, a week after Ukraine lowered...

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