Washington Post
Alex Horton is a reporter for the Washington Post. He formerly served as a senior advisor for VoteVets.org, a nonpartisan group looking after the rights of active and retired duty officers. Horton is a former specialist with the Army's 3rd Stryker Brigade, where he wrote the blog, Army of Dude.
More than 1000 migrants trek from Central American to U.S. President Trump tweeted today, “Mexico has the absolute power stop these Caravans.” He went on to blame Congress and Democrats for scuttling a deal on DACA, and other things. The president’s Twitter feed isn’t the most reliable source, but there truly is a caravan of migrants headed for the U.S. border.
Air Force oversight allowed Texas mass shooter to buy guns The killer of 26 people in a Texas church on Sunday was court martialed by the Air Force for domestic violence. Federal law might have prevented him from buying an assault weapon and two pistols, but the Air Force failed to enter his record into a data base. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC’s Squawk Box that the Air Force is checking all of its databases to confirm that all court martial convictions for violent offenses have been reported to civilian databases. "We've taken responsibility and we're going to find out what happened and fix it." Alex Horton is covering the mass shooting for the Washington Post .
Bowe Bergdahl gets dishonorable discharge but avoids prison At Fort Bragg, North Carolina today, a shocked courtroom heard a military judge sentence Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who pled guilty to deserting his post in Afghanistan and faced life behind bars. The prosecution asked for 14 months. Instead, Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge, a fine of $10,000 and no jail time at all. During last year's campaign, candidate Donald Trump accused him of "treason." About his chances of getting justice, Bergdahl said, "We may as well go back to kangaroo courts and lynch mobs that got what they wanted." Alex Horton, who covered his trial for the Washington Post , says many – including Bergdahl -- were shocked that he did not receive jail sentence.
Origins of Memorial Day; Honoring Our Fallen Soldiers Memorial Day began after the Civil War, which killed 600,000 Americans, North and South. But the first day of remembrance wasn't really about them. It was started by southern women, mourning what they called the Lost Cause: the Confederacy. When the northern states got into the act, it was all about commemorating the soldiers who died for the Union. We bring the history up to the present holiday—which is also about barbeques, three-day weekends and the beginning of summer. Does America do a good job of remembering war dead? What about grieving families and living veterans?
Veterans' Day: Just Another Day to Go Shopping? In the aftermath of September 11, President Bush told Americans to return to business as usual and go shopping. Today Americans have the day off to honor the veterans of past wars and those that are being fought now in Iraq and Afghanistan. But since establishment of the all-volunteer service, there’s a disconnect so great that, on Veterans' Day, many civilians don’t even know one. We talk to veterans about why they fight and what it’s like to come home. Should the dead and the wounded be treated as "victims" or heroes who suffered the consequences of their own choices? Is Veterans' Day more than another day to go shopping?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.