The Daily Muck

Following reports of over 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets in need of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and allegations from former troops that the Department of Veterans Affairs is unequipped to handle such demands, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged Thursday that the military has been substandard in the treatment of returning soldiers. He is calling for procedural change in access to PTSD treatment, as well as the improvement of housing throughout the ranks. (Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle and Reuters)

Detained in December 2001 by Pakistani security on his way to a reporting assignment, then held the next six years at Guantanamo Bay by the U.S. government, Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al Hajj was released recently, his attorneys say. The Pentagon declard Hajj an “enemy combatant,” not believing he was a journalist as he claimed. (McClatchy)

A Senate panel has voted to ban defense contractors from engaging in CIA interrogations of detainees. The bill approved in the Senate Intelligence Committee would also give the Red Cross access to prisoners now deemed “ghost detainees,” as well as limiting the CIA to interrogation tactics only approved by the U.S. military’s Army Field Manual. (Associated Press)

The Environmental Protection Agency declared plans Thursday to regulate the amount of lead in the air, but even their own scientists rejected the proposal saying the new limits weren’t good enough to protect public health. (Washington Post)

Following weeks of controversy over his past endorsement of a Mariana Islands-level guest-worker program for immigrants in the U.S., as well as his ties to stained lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Colorado Senate candidate Bob Schaffer got a helping hand from a White House superstar at his fundraiser Thursday night. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino appeared at the event, the third member of the Bush administration to support Schaffer since January. (Rocky Mountain News)

Wednesday on the House floor, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) placed blame on Florida Republicans for the $10,000 Coconut Road earmark that he is alleged to have doctored in order to steer the money to an ally. Young accused Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) of supporting the earmark, then separating his name from it once the media discovered the legislation. Mack claims he never asked for the earmark. (The Hill)