The Daily MuckLt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, a top Army medical officer, says mental care for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder is inadequate, as more than 28,000 troops have been diagnosed with PTSD in recent years. The Army is attempting to fill 120 more mental health professional positions, Schoomaker says. Between 12 and 15 percent of soldiers deployed Iraq and Afghanistan are taking some kind of medication to combat stress. (Baltimore Sun)
The U.S. investigation into whether guards working for Blackwater maliciously fired onto a crowd of Iraqis in Baghdad on Sept. 16, killing 17, continued Tuesday. Family members of the slain Iraqis testified before a federal grand jury. Witnesses of the shootings claim the guards fired into a crowd unprovoked. The convoy was responding to a car bombing in Baghdad’s bustling Nisoor Square. (Associated Press)
Long-running investigations of Muck All-Stars Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, both Alaskan Republicans, may unfold before this fall’s election, resulting in indictments of the two politicians. Those two of three Alaskan congressional seats are already highly contentious, as both Stevens and Young have been scrutinized for their connections to disgraced Veco CEO Bill Allen; Young also faces allegations of misconduct regarding a shady earmark in Florida and the ongoing Jack Abramoff probes. (Anchorage Daily News)
The American Lung Association filed a lawsuit claiming the Bush administration’s woeful policies on smog rules has endangered public and environmental health. (Associated Press)
Orange, NJ Mayor Mims Hackett Jr. pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges Tuesday admitting he accepted money in exchange for steering contracts to insurance brokers. The momentary “grave error in judgement” as his lawyer called it caused Hackett to resign his post. (Associated Press)
