Category: <span>Science & Environment</span>

Science & Environment

A little-known law has forced over 120,000 veterans to…



A federal law has forced nearly 122,000 disabled veterans in the last 12 years to return payouts — some totaling tens of thousands of dollars — they received to leave the military when it needed to downsize, according to new data obtained by NBC News.

The statistics come amid renewed calls to change the little-known law, which prohibits veterans from receiving both disability and special separation pay, which are one-time, lump-sum incentives offered to service members when the U.S. had to reduce its active-duty force.

“Nobody realizes that they are doing this to so many people,” said Vernon Reffitt, who was recently told to repay the $30,000 he got to leave the Army more than 30 years ago.

The clawbacks have thrown many veterans into sudden hardship. One said it would take him nearly 15 years to pay back what he owes. Another said he has to cut out expenses that are not a necessity, as his wife, who works full-time, is considering taking on another job to make ends meet. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it had to recoup special separation payments from more than 17,000 veterans in the 2018 fiscal year — the highest annual amount so far. That total swelled from about 12,400 the previous year, although it’s unclear why.

The number of recoupments fell nearly each following year until the PACT Act, a measure that expanded benefits to millions of veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances during their service, was signed into law in August 2022, VA statistics show. The recoupments demanded from vets in fiscal year 2023 grew to nearly 9,300, from 7,940 in 2022. 

VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said the agency cannot speculate on why numbers rise or fall. He said the VA is legally bound to recover special separation benefits from veterans before those eligible can begin receiving disability payments. 

At least two veterans who had long been receiving both benefits said the VA caught its own error only after they submitted PACT Act claims.

Shawn Teller accepted a one-time gross payment of about $10,700 to leave the Army in 1996, when the U.S. had to reduce its active-duty force. Then in 2012, the veteran, who served about eight years, including in operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, began receiving monthly disability compensation for an old knee injury.

He filed a PACT Act claim for asthma in the summer of 2023, which the VA granted, slightly increasing his disability rating. But the benefit was short-lived. Months later, the VA sent him a letter, saying he should not have been receiving both disability and separation benefits without penalty for the last dozen years. 

“It was something somebody overlooked at the time, and then they caught it now,” said Teller, 55, who lives in Walnut Creek, California. 

Beginning in July, the VA wrote, it would start withholding Teller’s monthly disability payment of about $586 until he repays the amount of his separation pay.

“I rely on this pay every month,” Teller said. “It’s not right.”

Similarly, NBC News previously reported that Reffitt, the Army veteran, began receiving disability compensation in 1992, the same year he took the special separation pay.

But after Reffitt filed a PACT Act claim for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — which was denied — the VA began withholding his monthly disability pay in May until he repays the $30,000. It would take the 62-year-old nearly 15 years to do so.

“This is wrong,” the Twin City, Georgia, resident said. 

‘No concerted effort’

In fiscal year 2013, the earliest year with available data, the VA said it had to recoup separation pay from about 6,700 veterans — the lowest amount in the last dozen years. The total inched up slightly to about 7,500 in fiscal year 2014, data shows. It held steady around 12,000 for the next three fiscal years before surging to more than 17,000 in fiscal year 2018.

The VA had to recoup separation pay from 8,130 veterans in fiscal year 2020 and 8,550 in 2021. 

The number of recoupments dropped even lower in fiscal year 2022 before surging in 2023. As of the end of June, the VA said it had already initiated recoupments for more than 8,920 veterans so far this fiscal year.

While Hayes said he cannot speculate on reasons for dips and spikes in annual tallies, the VA press secretary said there has been a rise in disability claims. In fiscal year 2023, when the VA had to recoup separation pay from nearly 9,300 veterans, Hayes said the agency received a total of 2.3 million compensation claim applications —  a 42% increase over 2022.  

“Fiscal year 2023 was a record-breaking year for VA,” he said. “There is no concerted effort to increase recoupment. Instead, it is a part of the normal, legally required process during completion of the initial claim application which asks claimants if they received a separation bonus and the amount received.”

Hayes said the number of recoupments the VA has processed over the last five years has consistently been less than 1% of the total applicants or recipients of disability compensation. In 2023, more than 5.6 million veterans received compensation, he said.

Hayes said veterans who apply for PACT Act benefits are far more likely to receive an increase in benefits rather than any decrease.

It’s unclear how many recoupment errors like Teller’s and Reffitt’s were caught since the PACT Act was enacted. The VA said it does not track those cases.

In Reffitt’s case, the VA said it erroneously allowed him to receive both benefits without penalty for more than 30 years because it was “unaware of the amount” of his separation pay when he began receiving disability compensation in 1992.

The VA said it caught the error when Reffitt filed a PACT Act claim and that it should have followed up on attempts to determine the separation amount and initiated recoupment earlier. 

The agency said Teller’s severance pay remained undetected until 2023 because he did not previously indicate in VA forms that he had received separation pay or follow through with submitting a claim within a year of filing an intent to submit one.

In 2021, the Veterans Benefits Administration began scanning all veterans’ service and medical records into electronic files, which “reduces the likelihood of this situation reoccurring,” Hayes said.

Unique exceptions to the law

Veterans have a chance to pursue a waiver of their recoupment responsibilities for only certain special separation benefits under the law. Even then, the standards are high and have been confusing.

To get a waiver for voluntary separation pay, the VA said the secretary of the applicable branch of service must determine that “recovery would be against equity and good conscience or would be contrary to the best interests of the United States.”

At least six have been granted so far, officials said.

The Air Force said some of its members signed “erroneous” statements of understanding when they separated from active duty between 2007 and 2014. The paperwork incorrectly told them recoupment would be waived if they subsequently became eligible for disability compensation benefits, ​​Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col. Erika Yepsen said.

The Air Force said it has granted at least five waivers to veterans affected by the error since fiscal year 2016 — the year the Air Force said it changed how it tracked its data.

It denied 17 other requests, but in those five cases, Yepsen said, “it was determined that waiving recoupment was in keeping with equity and good conscience standards.” 

The Air Force also approved a waiver request for a sixth veteran “based upon the individual’s disability precluding them from earning an income,” Yepsen said.

The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard said they are not aware of anyone who has requested a waiver for recoupment. In 2023, the Navy authorized reducing the amount of disability pay that is withheld while voluntary separation pay is recouped, Navy spokesperson Charlie Spirtos said.

The Army did not respond to requests for comment.

Advocates say the law not only blindsides veterans, but it robs them of earned benefits that should not be linked financially.

While special separation pay is based on a service member’s military career and calculated by years of active duty, disability pay solely relates to illnesses or injuries sustained during service, according to Marquis Barefield, an assistant national legislative director with DAV, an advocacy group formerly known as Disabled American Veterans.

“The two payments have nothing to do with each other,” Barefield said. “They are two separate buckets of money.”

Veterans have had an average of $19,700 to $53,000 withheld for recoupment from 2013 to 2020, according to a study published in 2022 by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research group. 

In 2022, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., introduced a bill that would change the recoupment law, but the legislative progress has been slow. “It is costly,” he said, “and that’s kind of been the biggest hindrance of why I can’t get it through.”

Science & Environment

Wedding guest criticized by bride for requesting money back…


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Louise Thomas

A frustrated wedding guest requested compensation after they bought a bunch of food for one event during the weekend.

The 28-year-old woman thought her request was reasonable until the bride accused her of being a “terrible friend.” Questioning whether she made the right decision, the woman took to Reddit’s popular confession forum, Am I The A**hole, to ask anonymous users if they thought she was wrong.

For context, the Redditor admitted she had a “well-paid” job, but she’s supporting herself and her boyfriend because he’d recently lost his job.

The wedding they were attending was a “two-day Spanish-Italian“ affair in which the Reddit user was asked to be the bride’s witness. “The two-day event was held three hours away from the city and included a wedding ceremony, lunch, party and next day a barbecue to celebrate the relative’s birthday,” she explained.

According to the Reddit user, guests were told not to bring gifts since the bride and groom were planning a second, larger wedding in Italy at a beautiful mansion.

“As a witness and best friend, I always went above and beyond by helping her in every day life,” the friend added. “For the wedding, I rented a car for +250 euro, I was picking up guests and helping a lot with logistics (bringing people from and to the airport).”

That said, when it came time for the barbeque, the Redditor was asked to help more than they intended. Upon arrival, she was notified about a food shortage and instructed to go to the grocery store.

The Reddit user said: “Fine, it happens, we made a list of groceries for ourselves. While we shopped, I got calls from the hosts to buy more food. My bf was even asked to get fresh bread.”

Then, when the Redditor returned to the barbeque, she was put on cooking duty. The food she purchased was being served to all the guests, but for some reason, her boyfriend wasn’t allowed to eat the bread he bought. Even though she was really the only guest helping, the Reddit user said she was happy to do so.

She noted: “Afterwards, the couple went on a honeymoon and asked me to take care of their plants for one month, which is totally fine with me. I prepared them a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate their return from the honeymoon.”

Wanting to be reimbursed for the food she bought not only for herself, but for all the guests, the original poster added her expenses to Splitwise, an app the calculates the total amount of money owed by each person in a group. The Redditor said she charged the bride for two-fifths of the total amount she paid.

“Despite my efforts and expenses, I was harshly criticized for being a terrible friend, for not bringing a present, not washing dishes, or contributing enough financially,” the woman confessed. “I was told that I should be thankful that their friends allowed us to stay overnight (we got them a bottle of expensive wine as a thank you).”

She continued: “Then her fiancé accused me of trying to get their money and suggested I check my finances. The groom even implied that I didn’t do enough for the wedding.”

The Redditor noted how “emotionally” disappointing this response was. She felt “unappreciated” and “hurt by the accusations and misunderstandings” from the bride and groom. Though her intentions were genuine, they didn’t see things that way. However, her fellow Reddit readers did.

Supportive Reddit users flocked to the comments section of her post, arguing she did nothing wrong in the situation. Most readers thought her reasons for requesting compensation were valid given the number of people she fed.

One person wrote: “You realized what kind of ‘friends’ they are, when they showed you their true colors, though. Be thankful for that. If they insist not paying you back, tell them to consider it your wedding present, then drop the acquaintance entirely.”

Another reader said: “They aren’t your friends. They treat you as a servant. I would let their plants die and drink the champagne myself.”

“You should send her this post link and the total of your groceries. Tell her if she doesn’t pay, it’s her wedding present,” one reader suggested.

A fourth added: “The reaction from your friend and the groom was disproportionate and hurtful, showing a lack of appreciation for your efforts.”

Science & Environment

Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro now available in U.S.…


An injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, is displayed in New York City on Dec. 11, 2023.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

All doses of Eli Lilly’s highly popular weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro are now available in the U.S., according to an update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database on Friday. 

A previous update said some doses of the treatments were still in short supply. Some doses of Mounjaro have been in shortage since as early as 2022, while doses of Zepbound joined the FDA’s shortage list earlier this year following its U.S. approval in November. 

Demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs has trounced supply for months, pushing Eli Lilly and its rival Novo Nordisk to invest billions to ramp up manufacturing. 

The FDA’s update comes one day after Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Bloomberg that the shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound would end “very soon.” 

“I think actually today or tomorrow we plan to exit that process,” he told the outlet in an interview. 

A spokesperson for Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the FDA’s update on Friday. 

All doses of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes injection Ozempic are available in the U.S. as of Friday, according to the FDA’s database. Meanwhile, the FDA said some doses of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy have limited supply.

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Science & Environment

Trump rally video affirms Secret Service ‘failure’ after figure…


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BUTLER, Pa. – Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said that video of someone moving along a roof minutes before former President Trump was shot confirms a “failure.”

In an exclusive Fox News Digital video, taken by Jim Copenhaver, one of the victims critically wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, a figure is seen moving across the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally.

“Looking at this, it even just affirms to me that this was a failure,” Rowe told reporters on Friday. “We should have had better protection, for the protectee we should have had better coverage on that roofline.

“We should have had at least some other set of eyes from the Secret Service point of view, covering that. That building was very close to that outer perimeter. And we should have had more of a presence.”

TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Ronald Rowe, Jr. testifies about the attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump

Ronald L. Rowe, Jr., acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, appears before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the attempted assassination former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Capitol Hill in Washington July 30, 2024.  (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)

In the video taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, the person appears on the roof of the building adjacent to where Trump is speaking and can be seen walking from the 1:00 second mark to about the 2:50 second mark.

Officials believe Thomas Crooks began shooting with a collapsible AR-15-style rifle three minutes later, around 6:11 p.m. The 20-year-old unleashed eight shots towards the audience – targeting the former president.

VIDEO FROM TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM’S POV SHOWS FIGURE MOVING ON ROOF MOMENTS BEFORE GUNFIRE

Counter snipers fatally shot Crooks shortly afterward, and law enforcement officials found eight shell casings near his body.

WATCH:

The exclusive footage appears to show Crooks on the AGR rooftop before the shooting. Other videos from rally attendees have shown bystanders pointing out Crooks on the roof and capturing the response from law enforcement officers who were trying to find him.

One user on X, @realDJStew724, captured local law enforcement with guns drawn surrounding the building where Trump’s would-be assassin was crouched down a full two minutes before Crooks shot the former president.

The footage was captured at the base of the AGR building where Trump supporters were gathered to listen in on the rally on the outside perimeter.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM JAMES COPENHAVER ‘SAD’ WITH STATE OF ‘POLITICAL DIVISION’ IN US

Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event

Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024.  (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Trump can be heard taking the stage and beginning to speak as law enforcement began to encircle the AGR building where Crooks was positioned with an AR-15-style rifle.

SECRET SERVICE, FBI RESPOND TO TRUMP RALLY VIDEO SHOWING FIGURE ON ROOF MINUTES BEFORE GUNFIRE

“Oh my God, there is someone in this building,” said Dave, the X user.

“There’s f—ing cops surrounding this whole entire f—ing building right now,” another woman is heard saying.

WATCH:

In the following two minutes of Dave’s footage, the shooting unfolds with witnesses near the AGR building encouraging others to “make themselves small.”

“Make yourself small, bro,” Dave is heard saying. “I don’t know what is going on.”

“Get down, get behind this tree,” another said. “I saw this big puff of hair.”

After a final shot rang out, Dave is heard asking somebody, “Did they pick him off?”

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: FBI STILL DOES NOT HAVE COMPLETE ACCESS TO SHOOTER’S ONLINE ACTIVITY

Police snipers on the roof at the rally where an assassination attempt was made on the life of former President Donald Trump

Police snipers on a roof at the rally where an assassination attempt was made on former President Trump (Todd the Driller)

Following the chaotic moments leading up to Crooks’ shooting and the immediate minutes following, additional law enforcement officers were seen scurrying around the AGR building.

“He said kill confirmed,” David is heard after officers were heard talking about snipers shooting Crooks. “He said kill confirmed.’

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FORMED FROM ‘CAREFUL PLANNING,’ SCOPING OUT RALLY SITE, FBI SAYS

A graphic representation of the position of the sniper team in relation to the would-be assassin at the Trump rally

A graphic representation of the position of the sniper team in relation to the would-be assassin at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (Fox News)

The witness account of the shooting sheds light on what local law enforcement officers were doing directly before the shooting that injured three, including Trump, and killed Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who died shielding his family.

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The security failures of the Secret Service have prompted congressional hearings focused on investigating how Crooks managed to climb on top of the AGR building undetected and nearly assassinate a former president.

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.



Science & Environment

Turkey sparks outrage after embassy in Israel lowers flag…


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Turkey sparked outrage on Friday after its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered a day of mourning for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and flags around the globe were apparently lowered to half-mast – including in Israel.

The Israeli foreign minister summoned the deputy Turkish ambassador for a “severe reprimand” after the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag in honor of Haniyeh’s death.

“The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

TURKEY’S ERDOGAN THREATENS TO INVADE ISRAEL OVER WAR IN GAZA AS REGIONAL TENSIONS GROW

Turkish embassy Hamas

A flag flies at half-mast at the Turkish embassy in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 2, 2024. Reuters/Ricardo Moraes (REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes)

Katz went on to accuse Erdoğan of turning Turkey into a “dictatorship” over its support for “Hamas’ murderers and rapists, against the stance of the entire free world.”

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oncu Keceli, responded to Katz’s comments and said, “You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators [or] threatening diplomats,” in an apparent reference to Haniyeh, who was reportedly involved in ongoing ceasefire talks. 

Pictures on social media show that the Turkish flag was not only lowered to half-mast in Tel Aviv, but also in Washington, D.C., though Fox News Digital could not immediately verify these images. 

Neither the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C., nor the U.S. State Department immediately returned Fox News Digital’s questions regarding the incident. 

Ismail Haniyeh funeral

Iranians follow a truck, center, carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, during their funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on Thursday, Aug. 1. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

HAMAS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH WAS KILLED IN TEHRAN BY HIDDEN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE: REPORT

Erdoğan has been vocal in his condemnation of the killing of the Hamas terrorist earlier this week in Iran. 

Haniyeh was killed in an attack that allegedly involved a bomb that had been planted in the visitor quarters where Haniyeh was staying in Tehran, according to a report by the New York Times. 

Questions have mounted over how a bomb was allegedly planted months ahead of time in a building heavily monitored by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran leader pays tribute to Ismail Haniyeh

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

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Israel has not taken credit for the killing of the Hamas leader like it did for the strike in Beirut on Tuesday, in which Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr, head of the group’s military operations, was killed. 

Iran, along with Hamas and Hezbollah, has still accused Israel of the death of Haniyeh and has vowed to take revenge. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

Science & Environment

With a fire burning just miles away, residents of…



Sentiments like these are common during high-stress wildfires throughout the rural West. As large, intense wildfires and evacuations become more common, some residents are growing tired of uprooting their lives and are growing inured to the risk — or more confident in their own abilities to manage it themselves. 

That means some people are determined to stay in their homes even when authorities say they ought to leave, particularly when there are rifts in trust between communities and those managing wildfires and emergency response.

“Especially in rural communities, we’ve started seeing a lot more folks decide to stay and defend,” said Amanda Stasiewicz, an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Oregon who studies evacuation decisions. “There’s a lot of mistrust going on there.”

As fire behavior grows intense because of climate change and overgrown forests, doubts can fester in rural communities as fire managers operate more conservatively than in the past.

“People were used to seeing fires attacked in different ways decades ago and now there’s a different reality,” Stasiewicz said. “Now, we’re seeing fires act more radically, make their own weather and be more unpredictable.”

This dynamic is playing out in rural communities elsewhere.

Some Northern California residents whose homes are threatened by the Park Fire — now more than 397,000 acres and the fourth-largest in state history as of Friday morning — have similarly decided not to evacuate, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. One couple told the Chronicle that they’d soured on evacuating after they had to wait 10 days to return home after the 2018 Camp Fire.

Some 94 large fires are burning across the West, which more than 29,000 wildland firefighters are working to suppress, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Of those blazes, 28 have active evacuation orders.

“When it gets like this, it’s all hands on deck, and they’re running out of resources,” said Brad Bramlett, a public information officer assigned to the Pioneer Fire.

The Pacific Northwest, in particular, is reeling this summer as some 51 major fires burn in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. A hotter and drier-than-normal spring and summer primed the landscape to burn.

As of Friday morning, the Stehekin area was under a red flag warning for dangerous fire weather, according to the National Weather Service. The Pioneer fire had grown to more than 33,700 acres and was about 12% contained.

In most years, the fire season would only have just begun.

Stehekin’s full-time population is about 85, and its residents take small-town living to the extreme. The community famously resisted telephone service into the early 2000s.

Surrounded by glaciated peaks and the clear waters of Lake Chelan, the town swells in population during the summer, as tourists take 2.5-hour ferry rides to access trailheads in North Cascades National Park that begin in Stehekin.

The Pioneer Fire began on June 8 and has been slowly creeping north. It’s burning in some of the most challenging terrain firefighters must deal with in the U.S., with steep slopes, rocky outcrops and few trails.

“As soon as I heard about it, it was, ‘OK, here we go,’” Courtney said. “We all know how dry and early spring has been. It felt like the fire season was going to be accelerated.”

Stehekin residents have been planning and preparing, Courtney said, removing brush near homes, constructing a floating dock in the harbor and holding community meetings.

Tourists were forced away on July 25, when emergency officials raised the evacuation level to 2 of 3.

Meanwhile, firefighters have flooded into Stehekin. More than 640 fire personnel are working the fire, though not all are based in the town. Johnston said she and her staff of six have served about 200 meals a day to crews.

On Sunday, emergency officials asked everyone in the town to leave.

Magnussen said emergency management officials can’t guarantee any kind of help, particularly if the boat dock — “the only way out,” as he described it — burns.

“When they choose to stay, they’re doing so at their own risk,” he said.

Courtney said she recognizes that but worries that leaving Stehekin now could mean she won’t be able to return for weeks, if not longer. She feels her self-reliant community, which is filled with people who have boats and are used to working the land, is prepared to fend off fire, for now.

Some previous close calls have also hardened her demeanor toward fire. Courtney witnessed the 2015 Wolverine Fire, which burned more than 60,000 acres near Stehekin, and last month, she joined family and friends a few miles “down lake” to save her uncle’s property after firefighters had left.

“My tolerance has gone up,” she said.

Stasiewicz said that based on her own focus groups, surveys and interviews, sentiments like Courtney’s are becoming more common in rural communities. Evacuation often carries a stiff financial cost, she said, and some rural residents worry their properties won’t be prioritized.

“We can sometimes see rural communities lose compared to more developed areas. There is this mentality, ‘Maybe we do have to take care of ourselves,’” Stasiewicz said.

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