Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316217021?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Gay marriage ruling will help many veteran spouses
WASHINGTON (AP) ? For Stewart Bornhoft, who completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, the Supreme Court's decision granting federal benefits to married, same-sex couples means that he and his spouse, Stephen McNabb, can one day be buried together at Arlington National Cemetery.
For Joan Darrah, who served nearly 30 years in the Navy and lived through the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, the decision means her spouse, Lynne Kennedy, can join her more generous, less expensive health plan.
Just two years ago, gays and lesbians were prevented from serving openly in the military. Now, with the Supreme Court ruling this week, same-sex spouses of gay veterans and service members will be able to share in their benefits.
The Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law, reports that 650,000 same-sex couples live in the United States and about 13 percent of those relationships include a veteran. The institute said it's unknown how many of those estimated 85,000 relationships involve marriages. A dozen states and the District of Columbia allow for gay marriage.
Same-sex spouses of military veterans now will be able to get help with college tuition and can be buried in a national cemetery. They also can get a monthly indemnity payment that compensates them for the death of the veteran. Meanwhile, veterans receive enhanced disability compensation for their injuries if they're married, generally amounting to several thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
But under the Defense of Marriage Act and the law covering Veterans Administration benefits, such extra assistance was unavailable to veterans who were part of a same-sex marriage. That all changed with the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday.
President Barack Obama said he's directed Attorney General Eric Holder to work with all members of the Cabinet to ensure that changes to benefits are implemented swiftly and smoothly.
David McKean, legal director at Outserve-SLDN, which provides legal counsel to gay and lesbian service members and veterans, said Congress may need to update the statute governing VA benefits because it stipulates that marriages are valid only if they are viewed as such by the state where the veteran lives. That means the current VA statute doesn't recognize as valid a marriage that takes place between two residents of, say, Texas or Florida, even if the veteran has a marriage certificate from Massachusetts or Vermont.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has introduced legislation that would liberalize the definition of spouse to include anyone whose marriage is considered valid in the state where it occurred.
After the court's decision, Shaheen wrote letters to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki saying she hoped policies that "discriminate against loving, same-sex couples will no longer be enforced."
"The sooner people can access benefits that should be available to them, the better for them and their families," she said.
Testifying last month at a Senate hearing, the VA said it supported exempting the department from the Defense of Marriage Act, and that it supported the Shaheen bill.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the panel would take up Shaheen's bill next month if the VA cannot act on the Supreme Court's decision without congressional legislation. "The ruling means that all men and women who served our country and their families must be treated fairly and equally," Sanders said.
But Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said he's waiting for an analysis from the VA to determine how it will comply with the court's ruling.
"Until VA's review is complete, any talk of legislative actions in response to the Supreme Court's ruling is premature," he said.
Josh Taylor, a VA spokesman, said the department was reviewing relevant statutes and would try to implement any changes to benefits for veterans "swiftly and smoothly."
In the days leading up to the Supreme Court's decision, Bornhoft said he felt the nation he had served for 26 years was discriminating against him.
"There is not equal treatment. There is not equal protection. There is not equal support," said Bornhoft, a resident of Bonita, Calif., who served in the Army and graduated from West Point in 1969.
After the ruling, Bornhoft said he wanted to read the ruling's fine print before celebrating.
"I'm obviously in no hurry to get planted at Arlington Cemetery, but it's very comforting to know that eventually Stephen could be there by my side, as he has been in life," Bornhoft said.
Darrah, a resident of Alexandria, Va., said it's been stunning to watch the country move from the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians serving in the military to having her marriage recognized, all in less than two years. She, too, hopes one day to be buried at Arlington with her spouse.
"Change is never fast enough, but I'm dumbfounded with how quickly the country has moved," Darrah said. "I wanted it to happen. I never thought it could happen."
Major veterans groups have been largely silent on the issue of extending benefits to married, same-sex veterans. One exception was Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which applauded the Supreme Court's decision.
Earlier this year, Shinseki approved the first burial of a same-sex spouse of a veteran in a national cemetery, but officials emphasized at the time the decision didn't establish a precedent or policy. Rather, Shinseki used his discretion as secretary to approve a specific veteran's request based on a showing of a committed relationship.
One of Leon Panetta's final acts as defense secretary was extending certain benefits not covered through DOMA, such as access to on-base commissaries.
The financial gain from the Supreme Court's decision could be significant for some veterans. For example, a veteran considered 100 percent disabled gets VA compensation amounting to $2,816 a month. A similarly disabled veteran with a spouse gets $2,973 ? a difference of nearly $1,900 annually. In another example, a spouse of a veteran who died as a result of injuries or illness incurred while on active duty is eligible to receive at least $1,195 a month in indemnity compensation.
Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, veterans can transfer to their spouse or children their unused educational benefits. The VA will pay the in-state tuition rates and fees for veterans attending public schools and up to $17,500 for veterans attending private schools.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-ruling-help-many-veteran-spouses-080453337.html
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
3rd man held in Aaron Hernandez murder probe; Puma drops NFL star
Law enforcement officials have confirmed that Aaron Hernandez, who has been charged in the murder of Odin Lloyd, is also being investigated for two 2012 murders. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports and NBC legal analyst Lisa Bloom discusses the revelations.
By Richard Esposito and Erin McClam, NBC News
A third man was in custody Friday in Florida in an expanding murder investigation swirling around Aaron Hernandez, the star NFL tight end accused of orchestrating the shooting death of a friend.
Massachusetts State Police
Ernest Wallace, 41, known as ?Fish,? turned himself in in the Miami suburb of Miramar, police said. Massachusetts police had said they were seeking him as an accessory after murder, and that he was considered armed and dangerous. They were on their way to Florida to pick him up, NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston reported.
Hernandez, an All-Pro who was released by the New England Patriots after his arrest earlier this week, is charged with first-degree murder in the execution of the friend, Odin Lloyd. He was denied a second request for bail Thursday.
Sources told NBC News that he was being investigated in another case ? the drive-by killings of two men in Boston last year. The men were shot to death in an SUV after leaving a nightclub.
Hernandez, who is being held in a Massachusetts jail, lost a second endorsement deal Thursday. The Puma sportswear company, which signed Hernandez to a two-year deal in April, told CNBC it was ending the relationship ?in light of the current situation.? CytoSport, maker of the Muscle Milk supplement drink, dropped Hernandez as a pitchman last week.
Authorities have said Hernandez took part in Lloyd?s killing in the early hours of June 17 after summoning two friends from out of state. Lloyd?s body was found in an industrial park near Hernandez?s home in North Attleborough, Mass. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.
Connecticut authorities said Thursday that they had charged another man in connection with Lloyd?s killing ? Carlos Ortiz of Bristol, the city where Hernandez grew up. He was charged as a fugitive and agreed to return to Massachusetts, authorities said.
Authorities have not spelled out the connection they believe Wallace and Ortiz have to the killing. They have said Lloyd was killed by two shots fired from someone standing above him, but they have not said who they believe pulled the trigger.
Ortiz was being held on $1.5 million bail. His public defender declined comment on Thursday.
Prosecutors say that text messages ? including from Lloyd to his sister when he was worried about his safety ? and surveillance video are part of their case against Hernandez. The judge who denied his second request for bail, Renee Dupuis of Superior Court in Fall River, described the state?s case as ?circumstantial but very, very strong.?
Prosecutors said they had uncovered four new pieces of evidence in less than 24 hours after searching a condo leased by Hernandez. They said they had found ammunition, a clip and a picture of Hernandez with a Glock handgun.
William McCauley, an assistant district attorney, also said that Hernandez had interfered with the investigation by home surveillance-camera video and instructing his girlfriend not to talk to investigators.
?The evidence of his guilt is overwhelming,? prosecutor William McCauley said.
Hernandez?s lawyers argued that he deserved bail because of his upstanding character and clean record, and because he was not a risk to flee. They noted that he stayed put last week, when rumors circulated that Hernandez was about to be arrested.
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This story was originally published on Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:10 AM EDT
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Cyprus ratings downgraded over debt swap
NICOSIA: Cyprus's bond ratings have been downgraded by Standard & Poors Ratings Services and Fitch following Nicosia's announcement that it would swap one billion euros in local bonds for longer maturities.
On Thursday, the finance ministry said that government bonds maturing in 2013 through the first quarter of 2016 would be replaced with five new issues holding the same coupon rate and at five-10 year maturities.
The move was required under the terms of a bailout deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
But S&P said on Friday that the "exchange materially changes the terms of the affected debt and constitutes what we consider a distressed exchange".
"We view the extension of maturities without what we find to be adequate offsetting compensation as the exchange of new debt on less favourable terms to the existing debt."
It lowered the long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings to SD (selective default) from CCC/C.
After the exchange, which is expected on July 1, S&P said liquidity strains on the government should be alleviated, and that the rating is expected to rise to CCC+.
However, it noted that the "government will still need to deal with the forthcoming rollover of a stock of 950 million euro Treasury bills," equivalent to five percent of GDP.
Fitch also said on Friday it had lowered its long-term local currency rating to RD (restricted default) from CCC.
"This transaction constitutes a DDE (distressed debt exchange)... as the maturity extension at existing coupon rates represents a material reduction in terms for bondholders," the agency said.
In exchange for a 10-billion-euro loan from the EU and the IMF, Cyprus agreed in March on 13 billion euros in measures to cut its budget deficit and to restructure its bloated banking system.
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