Latest news with #USDepartmentofVeteransAffairs
Metro
3 days ago
- Health
- Metro
Area 51 staff ‘left with fatal diseases' after guarding top secret project
US Air Force veterans have revealed that many workers at the Area 51 base were killed by cancer. Security guards at Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), known as the secretive Area 51, were handed a death sentence by the government due to the presence of an 'invisible killer' on site, they have said. The NTTR was built in the 1970s on land found to be contaminated with radiation due to years of nuclear testing. However, veterans who survived the ordeal have not been offered medical care by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as they have not been able to prove they were exposed to radiation. Former Air Force Sergeant David Crete, who worked at NTTR between 1983 and 1987, said that the left side of his brain was 'dying' due to atrophy, MailOnline reported. He told the House Veterans Affairs Committee he was one of the luckier ones, as 490 of his co-workershave died of severe illness since serving at the former nuclear site. Sergeant Crete said that an airman had lost his life at 33 after serving in the unit, and that his fellow servicemen had lived to an average age of 65. Despite concerns over the NTTR's radiation risk, a government report insisted that stopping projects being carried out there would 'be against the national interest'. However, veterans have been left without evidence to prove their exposure because the top secret nature of their work meant their records had been 'data masked'. Sergeant Crete added that the radiation risks were not just a health hazard for servicemen but also for their families, to whom they have never even been able to explain what they did while at the top secret base. Area 51 is known as a top secret facility operated by the US Air Force, located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada. Apart from its only confirmed use as a flight testing facility, the site is off limits to the public and media. Its name comes from its designation on maps by the Atomic Energy Commission. The base has given rise to many conspiracy theories with many claiming to have witnessed UFOs near Area 51. These are accounted for my military aircraft tests according to the CIA. Workers reach the site by air from a designated terminal at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 'My wife had three miscarriages. One of the guys that I worked with, his wife had seven,' he added. 'All four of my children were born with birth defects or significant health problems. It's not their fault. I'm not saying it's mine, but I brought it home.' Another veteran, Pomp Braswell, said working at the base at a young age felt 'very special' as his mother knew 'absolute zero' about the nature of his activities. More Trending Two Congress bills have been introduced to provide more support to NTTR veterans, the Protect Act and the Forgotten Veterans Act. A previous bill was signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 2000 to provide compensation for veterans who had worked at certain government sites But Sergeant Crete said that the only acknowledgement of his service came from the late US Senator John McCain, who told him that his unit 'ended the cold war'. Metro has approached the US Air Force for comment. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: In a divided world, I found the community I was craving on the streets of Washington DC MORE: Angry Trump fans burn their MAGA hats over Epstein files mystery MORE: Dentist facing murder trial accused of lacing wife's protein shakes with cyanide
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Department of Veterans Affairs layoffs: Trump's plan to sack over 83,000 junked, VA plans to shed employees through retirements and resignations
The US Department of Veterans Affairs had in March 2025 planned to layoff nearly 83,000 employees to bring down the total strength to less than 400,000, a figure which it had in 2019 before the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc across the world. The massive shedding of employees was to a part of the massive restructuring of the federal government following President Donald Trump 's orders to bring down the cost. But the plan to fire more 83,000 employees, which was confirmed by a memo sent by VA Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek , seems to have been shelved. However, the VA said Monday (July 14), it still plans to bring down the employee strength. This will be undertaken by resignations and retirements. The numbers by which the employee strenth will go down - 30,000, a figure much less than the over 80,000 circulating in March 2025. "The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced it's on pace to reduce total VA staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of fiscal year 2025, eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force," a VA press release dated July 7 stated. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here Undo It went on to highlight the number of employees in the department had come down in the first five month of 2025. Also Read: Russia caught napping as Antonov An-124 Ruslan takes off from Ukraine, flies over Kiev and vanishes in Germany Live Events "While VA had been considering a department-wide RIF to reduce staff levels by up to 15%, employee reductions through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition have eliminated the need for that RIF. The numbers break down as follows: VA had roughly 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025, and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025 - a reduction of nearly 17,000. Between now and Sept. 30, the department expects nearly 12,000 additional VA employees to exit through normal attrition, voluntary early retirement authority ) or the deferred resignation program. VA has multiple safeguards in place to ensure these staff reductions do not impact Veteran care or benefits. All VA mission-critical positions are exempt from the DRP and VERA, and more than 350,000 positions are exempt from the federal hiring freeze." Trump's initial plan saw military veterans and Democrats voicing their strong protest. They were joined by a small group of Republicans too. Also Read: Virgin River Season 7: Is release date confirmed? See what to expect, cast, new characters, key storylines and season 8 update After his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States of America in January, Trump set up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and brought in Elon Musk , then his close confidant, to shed the flab from the federal government. Musk, however, left the Trump administration in last May 2025 following a rift with the US President and since then the two have indugled in a series of verbal altercation on the policies adopted by the White House.
New Straits Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
US Veterans Affairs to cut nearly 30,000 jobs, far fewer than planned
KUALA LUMPUR: The US Department of Veterans Affairs will make two-thirds fewer employee cuts this fiscal year than it first targeted, reducing staff by about 30,000 people rather than 80,000, the agency said on Monday. The agency employed about around 480,000 people at the start of the Trump administration and expects to end the fiscal year in September with nearly 450,000 staff. Under President Donald Trump's program to downsize the federal government, the agency had planned to reach just under 400,000 employees. That proposal drew widespread condemnation from military veteran groups and Democrats. The agency said in a statement it was on pace to reduce its staff "through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition." It did not say why it no longer needed to make further cuts. The scale of the original planned layoffs was far greater than proposed cuts at other government agencies and potentially posed a political risk for Trump, who portrays himself as a champion of the U.S. military and its members. Between January and June, the agency shed nearly 17,000 employees and expects "nearly 12,000 additional VA employees to exit" by September 30, the VA said. "A department-wide RIF is off the table, but that doesn't mean we're done improving VA," VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a release, referring to a reduction in force, which means permanent layoffs. Just under 9 million veterans were enrolled in the VA Health Care System in March, according to the VA website.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump news at a glance: veterans affairs department muzzled after critical article
Senior officials at the US Department of Veterans Affairs have ordered VA physicians and scientists not to publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump. Veterans advocates say the decision fits into a pattern of censorship by the Trump administration, and came hours after the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published a perspective co-authored by two pulmonologists who work for the VA in Texas. The article warned that cancelled contracts, layoffs and a planned staff reduction of 80,000 employees in the nation's largest integrated healthcare system jeopardizes the health of a million veterans who served in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are the key stories at a glance: The edict, laid down in emails on Friday by Curt Cashour, the VA's assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, and John Bartrum, a senior adviser to VA secretary Doug Collins, came hours after the article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 'We have guidance for this,' wrote Cashour, a former Republican congressional aide and campaign consultant, attaching the journal article. 'These people did not follow it.' Read the full story Russell Vought, the director of the office of management and budget (OMB), on Sunday cast doubt on the constitutional obligation of the White House to ask Congress to sign off on Donald Trump's massive cuts to the federal workforce spearheaded by Elon Musk. Vought indicated the White House preferred to rely on 'executive tools' for all but a 'necessary' fraction of the cuts instead of submitting the whole package of jobs and agency slashing that took place via the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), to the congressional branch for its official approval. Read the full story The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removed a list of 'sanctuary' states, cities and counties from its website following sharp criticism from a sheriffs' association that said a list of 'noncompliant' sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement. Read the full story A teenage transgender athlete in California, who has been at the center of widespread political attacks by rightwing pundits and the Trump administration, won in two track events over the weekend. The 16-year-old athlete, AB Hernandez, tied for first place alongside two other athletes in the high jump, and tied for first place in the triple jump. This comes as the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from California for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports. Read the full story The White House budget director Russ Vought on Sunday dismissed as 'totally ridiculous' fears expressed by voters that cuts to benefits in the huge spending bill passed by the House will lead to premature deaths in America. Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now awaiting debate in the US Senate, will slash two major federal safety net programs, Medicaid, which provides healthcare to poor and disabled Americans, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which helps people afford groceries, which will affect millions of people if it becomes law. Read the full story The is FBI investigating a multiple-injury attack in downtown Boulder, Colorado. One person died and 11 other were injured after 80 shots fired at North Carolina house party. A British businessman was accused of plotting to smuggle US military technology to China. Catching up? Here's what happened on Saturday 31 May.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- General
- NDTV
Memorial Day 2025: Know History And Significance Of This Day
In the United States, Memorial Day is a solemn occasion dedicated to honouring military personnel who lost their lives in service to the nation. The day is observed annually on the last Monday of May- this year, it falls on May 26. A Tradition Rooted in the Civil War Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, traces its origins to the aftermath of the American Civil War. Following the war's end in 1865, communities began holding tributes for fallen soldiers, often decorating their graves with flowers tradition that led to the holiday's original name. Memorial Day isn't about barbecues or beach days—it's about those American heroes who gave everything for our freedom. THIS 70-SECOND VIDEO CAPTURES WHAT THE DAY IS TRULY ABOUT. 🇺🇸 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 25, 2025 The US Department of Veterans Affairs notes that this era also saw the creation of the country's first national cemeteries. Initially, the day specifically honoured those who died in the Civil War. However, after World War I, its scope expanded to include all American military personnel who died in combat. In 1971, the US Congress declared Memorial Day a federal holiday, to be observed nationwide. How Memorial Day Is Observed Memorial Day is marked with a mix of reflection and celebration. The American flag is flown at half-staff until noon, after which it is raised to full-staff to symbolise the nation's resolve to continue the fight for freedom. Many Americans visit cemeteries and memorials, lay flowers on graves, and participate in parades. The long weekend also signals the unofficial start of summer, with families hosting backyard barbecues, planning road trips, and taking part in various community events. Over time, the extended holiday has also become an opportunity for businesses to offer special sales and promotions, tapping into the increase in travel and spending. Memorial Day vs Veterans Day: What's the Difference? While both holidays honour the contributions of US military personnel, they differ in purpose. Memorial Day specifically commemorates those who died in service, while Veterans Day-observed every November-honours all veterans, including those still living. Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, was established in 1926 to mark the end of World War I and recognise those who served.
