VA official resigns amid review
WASHINGTON –The top official for veterans’ health care resigned Friday amid a firestorm over reported delays in care and falsified records at veterans’ hospitals.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki says he has accepted the resignation of Robert Petzel, the department’s undersecretary for health care. Shinseki had asked for the resignation, a department official later said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for attribution.
An initial review of 17 people who died while awaiting appointments at the Phoenix hospital found none of their deaths appeared to have been caused by delays in treatment, acting inspector general Richard Griffin told senators Thursday.
Montana teacher seeks end to case
BILLINGS, Mont. – A high school teacher who served one month in prison for raping a 14-year-old student is asking the Montana Supreme Court to reconsider a decision that could send him back to prison for at least two more years.
The high court in April ruled that the original sentence given to former Billings teacher Stacey Dean Rambold was illegal.
Justices cited in part comments from Judge G. Todd Baugh, who said during Rambold’s sentencing that the victim shared control over the situation.
Under state law, children younger than 16 cannot consent to having sexual intercourse.
In a petition for rehearing filed Thursday, Rambold’s attorneys acknowledged the girl’s role had no bearing on his guilt.
Clinton pushes need for economic mobility
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton says the dream of upward mobility feels further and further out of reach for many Americans struggling in the economy.
In a speech to the New America Foundation, she pointed to the need to promote policies to help struggling workers and young Americans find jobs and training to develop new skills.
Associated Press
