Two Republican House members have asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to review the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ authorization to help veterans file disability claims following the group’s use of a provocative cartoon that protests proposals to cut VA benefits.House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois and Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan, wrote Collins July 1 saying the VFW’s use of the cartoon raised questions regarding the organization’s “fitness to represent claimants before the department.”They asked Collins to review whether the VFW’s accreditation was consistent with serving as a veteran service organization, examine whether the VFW’s licensing…

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More › Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. If you’re in the market for a large-window pistol red dot, the Holosun 507 Comp and the Vortex Defender XL are the two top options to consider (at least without spending Trijicon SRO money). They’re both reliable, have generous-sized windows, and are generally good red dots. So, which one should you buy? Here’s a breakdown of the key differences and similarities. Durability Drop Testing the Holosun…

The U.S. Army is consolidating its official social media presence, drastically slashing the number of allowable accounts and ordering commanders to remove newly-unauthorized accounts within 30 days, the service announced in a late-June memorandum.The directive, signed by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, limits official social media accounts to a set list of higher-level organizations, effectively ending the digital footprints of many subordinate units. In a Wednesday statement, the Army said the move was intended to “ensure a clear, unified voice, reduce operational risk, and improve information access for Soldiers, Families and the public.” The service said the policy does…

“Universal Basic Capital” is a much-needed solution to the continued advancement of artificial intelligence technology’s consistent advancement. Universal basic income (UBI) was a popular topic years ago, especially as AI gained a foothold in the economy, beginning to replace human workers; however, the newer UBC concept is now gaining traction. According to a report by The Atlantic, the idea has been endorsed by figures as ideologically diverse as Bernie Sanders, Gavin Newsom, Steve Bannon, Sam Altman, and even Donald Trump. In both cases, UBI and UBC are policies that would give every single human a baseline salary, whether they contribute…

The world’s largest aircraft carrier pulled into Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Tuesday to begin scheduled repairs after wrapping up the longest post-Vietnam carrier deployment.The USS Gerald R. Ford and its sailors returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on May 16 following 326 days at sea that saw a non-combat fire in the main laundry room and significant plumbing issues. The Ford most notably operated in the Middle East in support of U.S. Central Command and Operation Epic Fury against Iran. “This marks Gerald R. Ford’s first regularly scheduled availability at a public shipyard as well as the first time a…

Sign up for the Quick Strike Newsletter The hottest fishing news, tips, and tactics Fly fishing is synonymous with trout. When most people think about fly fishing, they conjure images of mountain streams and fish sipping mayflies and caddisflies off the surface. It’s true that the origins of fly fishing are squarely rooted in the trout scene, but the sport has grown well beyond brooks, browns, and rainbows. These days, muskies, myriad saltwater species, bass, and even carp are pursued with fly rods. Panfish, however, don’t rank very high on the list of fly rod targets, which is a shame…

The world’s oldest commissioned warship is still afloat — thanks to a forest in Indiana. The USS Constitution, named by George Washington and built with copper bolts forged by Paul Revere, was launched in 1797. The three-masted heavy frigate earned is famous nickname — “Old Ironsides” — during the War of 1812 after an astonished American sailor reportedly watched British cannonballs bounce harmlessly off the ship’s exceptionally thick oak hull and shouted, “Huzzah, her sides are made of iron!” according to the National Park Service.While the wooden ship remains a symbol of durability and strength, its longevity would not be…

Sign up for This Happened to Me News on backcountry adventure and wilderness survival. We’d walked for hours, breaking the portage into stages, shuttling loads back and forth. Four trips per stage. Nine stages total.  Black flies sounded like rain landing on my hood. My daughter was ahead with a dry bag, picking her way through dog-hair spruce. The canoe bit into my shoulders. Wind turned our 17-foot boat into a weathervane, forcing me to stop every few minutes. Twelve days into our trip, we were carrying our boat and gear 36 miles around the Thelon Canyon. My hands had…

Healthcare workers on the frontlines of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have begun an unofficial strike. Those on strike say that they are working in poor conditions with inadequate safety equipment and low wages. As of today, an X post by BNO News reported that 1,729 Ebola cases and 582 deaths have occurred in the DRC and Uganda, where the Bundibugyo strain of the virus is spreading in an already chaotic region gripped by conflict and mass migration. Government officials in Ituri said the missing payments are because of the broader implications of the outbreak.…

Editor’s note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom covering the human impact of military service, in partnership with The Sacramento Bee. It is republished here with permission. Subscribe to The War Horse’s newsletter here and The Sacramento Bee here.The Disabled American Veterans post in Sacramento, California, needed work. The small white building with blue trim and an American flag out front was built decades ago. Its heating and cooling system was ancient. The parking lot was riddled with potholes.So when Chapter Treasurer Eldra Jackson Jr. learned they’d be getting a check for more than…

A U.S. Air Force contingency response wing dispatched to Venezuela to assist authorities following high-magnitude earthquakes that devastated the country almost two weeks ago.Airmen in the 621st Contingency Response Wing are supporting Venezuelan authorities with airfield operations to land C-17s that are delivering essential earthquake relief, according to a Wednesday social media post.U.S. Southern Command announced a day after the quakes that the U.S. would be sending C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, alongside C-130 Hercules, the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale and the littoral combat ship USS Billings.On June 24, two devastating earthquakes hit Venezuela with magnitudes of 7.2 and…

Sign up for the Deer Camp Newsletter Get everything from whitetail news and opinion pieces, to advanced hunting tactics and cutting-edge gear reviews. IT WAS UNLIKE any eve before deer season I had ever known. We were camped above 11,000 feet, and that was certainly a novelty. It was August 27 of last summer— that’s right, August. But here’s the topper. As I sat in camp with my back against a big spruce and binoculars to my eyes, I saw three elk walk out onto a knob above the lake and stand there looking around. Presently, they walked in single…

United States ruler Donald Trump said that he is Iran’s “number one target.” He made the comments after recent escalations in the war, saying that he could be gone because the US has assassinated so many high-profile Iranians in the political sphere. US authorities have accused Iran of plotting to kill Trump as early as before the 2024 presidential election. At that time, the US claimed that a man named Farhad Shakeri – an Afghan national residing in Tehran – was tasked with “providing a plan” to kill not only the Republican but also other US and Israeli citizens, according…

There is nothing like that sweet, juicy first bite of a ripe peach on a summer day. Even for bears.The luscious fruit’s lure was seemingly so overpowering for one young black bear this week that it abandoned the wilderness and ventured through the sliding doors of an Alaskan commissary. In a video widely circulated on social media, the hungry bear sauntered around the front section of the Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson’s Exchange, or JBER, shopping mall at 9:00 am before settling on a peach, savoring its ambrosial succulence and promptly leaving the building.Maria Galvez, a spokesperson for the 673rd Air Base…

Germany will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday, in a shift from planned U.S. deployments to Germany’s own long-range strike capability.Merz told lawmakers he had sealed the deal with the U.S. government on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, adding that the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday had exceeded his expectations. “We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he said. According to German government sources, Washington committed…

The Army has developed a new technique for cutting rifled grooves inside 155mm howitzer barrels that officials say could extend cannon life, improve performance and reduce manufacturing costs.The process, demonstrated earlier this year at the Army’s Benét Laboratories in New York, uses electrochemical machining, or ECM, to carve the barrel’s 48 spiral grooves without the cutting tool ever touching the steel.Officials said the no-contact technique leaves the bore in ideal condition for bonding a protective coating that shields the barrel from the extreme heat and erosion generated during firing.“The protective coating applied to the bore is the primary defense against…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news from Outdoor Life. Best Overall Compact Best for the Outdoors Huntsman Best Mini Rambler You might have heard the Benjamin Franklin quote, “A jack of all trades is a master of none.” Yet people forget the rest of the quote, “… but oftentimes better than a master of one.” The unabridged quote perfectly describes a Swiss Army Knife. It’s usually not the best tool for the job, but it can do just enough to solve most problems.  I’ve been testing the capabilities of the best Swiss Army Knife…

This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.  Those who boldly proclaimed that the global energy crisis was over have been proven dead wrong. Within the past 24 hours, the Iranians have attacked numerous commercial vessels that were attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranians have told the world over and over again that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way that it was before the war, and they mean it. Any commercial vessels that want to go through the Strait must get permission from Iran…

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