Washington, D.C.
President Obama to argue for avoiding overreach
WASHINGTON – Confronting critics of his foreign policy, President Barack Obama soon will outline a strategy for his final years in office that aims to avoid overreach as the second of the two wars he inherited comes to a close.
The president will make the case for that seemingly more limited approach during a commencement address Wednesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The speech will come amid growing frustration in the White House with Republicans and other critics who contend Obama has weakened America’s standing around the world and faltered on problems across the Middle East and in Russia, China and elsewhere.
That criticism has only mounted over the past year after Obama’s decision to pull back a military strike in Syria and his inability to stop Russia from annexing territory from Ukraine. A White House official said Obama would specifically address both situations, as well as the status of ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.
VA increases access of private care for veterans
WASHINGTON – More veterans are being allowed to obtain health care at private hospitals and clinics in an effort to improve their treatment after allegations of falsified records and delays in treatment.
In a statement issued Saturday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki also said VA facilities are enhancing capacity of their clinics, so veterans can get care sooner. In cases where officials cannot expand capacity at VA centers, the Department of Veterans Affairs is “increasing the care we acquire in the community through non-VA care,” Shinseki said.
Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for this policy change as the VA confronts allegations about treatment delays and falsified records at VA centers nationwide.
New York
Walters gives her archives to Sarah Lawrence College
NEW YORK – Barbara Walters is giving a trove of tapes, papers and photos from her five decades in journalism to Sarah Lawrence College, her alma mater.
She made the announcement in a surprise appearance at the suburban New York college’s commencement Friday. The Journal News says she told the graduates her career benefited from going to what she called “a college where I was not afraid to ask questions.”
Walters retired from daily television this month. Her final episode of “The View” aired May 16. She remains an executive producer of the show.
South Carolina
Bible college president faces forced labor charge
FLORENCE, S.C. – The president and founder of Cathedral Bible College faces federal charges that he made international students work long hours with little pay by threatening their legal status.
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach and WBTW reported that bond was set at $250,000 at a hearing Friday for Reginald Wayne Miller. Under terms of his bond, he is not allowed to visit the college’s campus in Marion or communicate with current or former foreign students.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations filed a criminal complaint against him last week, saying they have probable cause to charge him with forced labor, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for each count.
Associated Press
