the v.a. budget increase in over three decades, his very first year. [applause] >> under his leadership, the v.a. budget has nearly doubled. he opened it their doors to nearly half a million veterans who had lost their eligibility in 2003 and supported three presumptive conditions for veterans exposed to agent orange. today, even though there are 2 million fewer veterans than in 2009, there are nearly 1.2 million more veterans receiving some type of v.a. care and services. [applause] 1.2 million more veterans are enrolled for v.a. health care. 1.3 million more receive disability compensation. half a million more veterans have v.a. home loans. we have seen a 76% increase in veterans receiving educational benefits. we have cut veteran homelessness and half since 2010. veteran unemployment has dropped. [applause] >> veteran unemployment has dropped by over half in the last five years. unemployment for post-9/11 veterans has dropped by 70%. america will not let you down, the president said. we will

the v.a. specifically and i tried to drive that far. host: thank you for telling us your story. guest 2: a lot of challenges we face with his v.a., a large with aation and people lot of needs. we have seen improvements. care has been largely positive. one of the bigger challenges, one of the biggest is met the shores of the v.a. is inclusive and address needs like the caller had. a long way org you feel like you're not a valued member. that is something women face a lot, it's a male driven organization and women do not always feel like they belong or assumed they do not. certainly, we are going to face challenges in addressing multi-generations and why varying needs. it is something we will have to keep an eye out and address. guest 1: i think it is, the point i would like to address is the climate of the veteran came back to. our generation has came back to welcoming public and has been able to decouple the conflict and the politics with the service of the individual or the service member. we

the v.a. d support the veterans that don't have outside insurance and strengthen the the a v.a. due to healthoe care in the v.a. but if there's better health care, veterans can support themselves by taking their insurance money to the v.a. and strengthen it. generallywould you rate -- you said health care at the v.a. is poor? delays causedhe the infection on the loan in my toe to go clear into it and the loan is sticking out by the time i got to steve -- and the loan is sticking out by the time i got to the doctor. host: from when did you report this to when you were actually seen about it? it for he was working on three weeks and i had an appointment a week later and they canceled the appointment and moved it back another week. i told him i was having problems with this thing. they did not set me up to see another doctor and did not do anything until it was too late. they had me sign a paper or tried to saying that it's not their fault. of course it was their fault. i lost it. host: that's tim

the v.a.'s current process for background checks. certainly the ten questions asked of the secretary remain unanswered. they remain unanswered why the v.a.'s credentialing process failed to catch mr. weisner, a convict. does the v.a. not consider lewd crimes or convictions in an applicant's file as a risk to veterans? the responses have been unacceptable. the lack of response has been unacceptable. but also unacceptable are the circumstances surrounding mr. weisner's separation from the v.a. instead of an immediate termination, unbelievably he was permitted to retire with full benefits. when the v.a. police received a complaint about mr. weisner in may of 2014, they alerted the v.a. inspector general. weisner was removed from patient care and placed on paid administrative leave while the i.g. conducted its investigation. some days later with an interview with the v.a. inspector general, special agent wisner admitted that he -- quote -- "crossed the professional lines and that he engaged in -- q

point, whether the head of the v.a. or on the hill, whitney veterans to step up. -- we need of interest to step up. we needed them to be leaders. your service is now where it ends. i would encourage veterans to find ways to serve this country. mentioned ptsd issues. there is an op ed by mark jackson. he writes about what it means to be a veteran. he says -- does it reflect your experiences considering what you did? guest 1: not to mind. that is the point. veterans are all different. our lives are going to be different. have been because i deployed and i have seen combat and been with these weapons, the fireworks on the fourth of july would cause me to put the sign that of veteran lives here, it is not true. does it mean there is not another veteran that experiences this? obviously, it does. when we start painting with these broad brush strokes, we are doing all of us a disservice. we are people. serve people who chose to this country. our experiences will be different. west 2: it is dangerous when paint the broad strokes

just since the v.a.'s appeal of the ruling, over 100,000 veterans have been put -- their claims have been put into a pending status. that equates to thousands upon thousands of veterans who are waiting today for the v.a. to help them pay their bills. mr. president, it is a fact that those most affected by the v.a.'s noncompliance with the emergency care fairness act are our elderly veterans, many of whom are living on fixed incomes and have limited resources to pay medical bills. often these veterans find themselves dealing with collection agencies as a result of emergency care received in the community. in an era where we know that more than 20 veterans commit suicide every day with 65% of those veterans aged 50 years or older, this is simply unacceptable. i'd like to tell a short story about a constituent of mine who is a veteran that was supposed to be covered by the emergency care fairness act. his name is mr. alfred dimmick. mr. dimmick is 90 years old and he served in the army air corps during the k

now it's time for the v.a. to prove their commitment our soldiers. >> secretary mcdonald, what are you doing to reduce the wait time? >> we can't allow there to be any separation from the time the individual leaves the active duty service and they become a full-fledged veteran. we want that to be entirely seamless, and that's what we're working towards. >> i actually think i found something. this is from 1978. they say in the study that service members with less than honorable discharge it negatively effects them from to employment. it says it in here. it's the same thing. >> so a u.s. president saw this was a problem 40 years ago? it was a warning? >> absolutely. it was absolutely a warning 40 years ago. >> i think the government could finance mental health treatment not only in veterans hospitals, but also any veterans who can't get almost immediate care in a veterans hospital, let them have the funds to administration to go to private psychiatrists. >> you shouldn't have to wait days. you shouldn't have to wa

second, while the v.a. sends a presidential memorial of certificate that expresses the nation's recognition and gratitude of military service to family members of a deceased veteran, current law limits presidential memorial certificates to the families of those who served in regular armed services or national guard and reserve members who were called to absentive duty. h.r. 4757 very rightly expands eligibility for a presidential memorial certificate to members of a reserve component of the armed services, armed forces and the army national guard or the air national guard eligible for internment or inurnment at national cemeteries. and finally, current law only allows v.a. to pay for the cost of transporting the remains of a deceased veteran to the nearest open national cemetery. if it is the family's choice, instead, to be buried in a state or tribal veteran cemetery, h.r. 4757 authorizes v.a. to pay the costs associated with transporting the remains of an eligible deceased veteran to that cemetery nearest

this is one of the things v.a. is concerned about because they are a lot of folks that are receiving care through the program and kind of what happens next. we have seven or differeeight w purchasing care, this is one of them. they can fall into three types of buckets. one is distance. so it's 40 miles right now from a primary care provider. so if you live more than 40 miles from a primary care physician in the v.a. you're eligible for the choice program. second is if you cannot get care within the wait time goals of the department. and third is -- they're called unusual and excessive so if there's a mountain range or a lake or a stream or severe weather we're able to use those exceptions so those are the three types of veterans that are eligible. as you can imagine, the geographic criteria for the most part is pretty set with a stable type of population. the wait time criteria alters. so an individual may be receiving care in the v.a. for one condition that maybe we can't provide as timely so they would go out on a

the v.a. for all these years would tell me you're not a veteran. and then they want to see my actual paperwork. so they see the hard copies in front of them, and then tell you, okay, but my computer says it's not. sorry, you can't come in. disgrace is the biggest understatement ever for that. >> if someone comes to us who served in the military who is a veteran but they have an other than honorable discharge, we are by law not allowed to treat them. congress sets the terms on who we are allowed to treat and what the eligibility criteria are. >> they volunteered to serve. they didn't volunteer to get ptsd. >> i feel like we're doing military. and he may look okay and he may function okay, but they don't know what we deal with. i had faith that, as an american, our soldiers would be treated, and that their injuries would be compensated for. i was naive because i believed in the system. the system doesn't work. it's a broken system. i miss that intelligent, fun-loving son that has been taken from us. i miss that. >> when you got word it would be upgrad

the v.a. for all these years would tell me, you're not a veteran. and so they see the hard copies in front of them, and then tell you, okay, but my computer says it's not. sorry, you can't come here. disgrace is the biggest understatement ever for that. >> if someone comes to us who served in the military who is a veteran but they have an other than honorable discharge, we are by law not allowed to treat them. congress sets the terms on who we are allowed to treat and what are. >> they volunteered to serve. they didn't volunteer to get ptsd. >> i feel like we are doing badly. we are just battling the military. an may look okay and he may function okay, but any don't know what we deal with. i had faith that as an american our soldiers would be treated i was naive because i believed in the system. the system doesn't work. it's a broken system. i miss that carefree, happy, intelligent, fun-loving son that has been taken from us. and i miss that. >> when you got word it out? >> by letter. i wanted to call everyone and brag, and then strangle those that -

it would be great if ava could see veterans -- if the v.a. could see veterans, even if they could not prove that their health issues happened in active service. jack: another veteran caught my and he said no disrespect to the people in prison, they can go and get dental care in the county prison. she has to wait a year for dental coverage. it should be covered and part of what they get. josh: and i imagine -- you are a bit of a trailblazer in this area. are you reaching out to others? tom: i think we have become a benchmark for other delta countries across the country. in the establishment of this program, now have access. so it is becoming more of a national program. josh: big picture, i know you're working on this a lot. when it comes the veterans, whether it is homelessness or reintegrate in into society, this is not a single-pronged problem. a framework needs to be built. your station and you in particular. you have been on the radio-thon with me. that is a 12 hour show i did on my station network to help veterans count, a great organizati

the v.a. for all of these years would tell me, you're not a veteran. and then they would want to see my actual paperwork, and so they see the hard copies in front of them, and then they tell you, okay, but my computer says it's not. sorry, you can't come in understatement forever for that. >> if someone who comes to us and served in the military and is a vet van and they have anything but an honorable discharge, we are not allowed to treat them by law. congress sets the law of the eligibility criteria. >> they volunteered to serve. they didn't volunteer to get ptsd. >> i feel like we are doing may function okay, but they don't know what we deal with. i had faith that as an american, our soldiers would be treated and that their injuries would be compensated for it. i was naive. i believed in the system. the system doesn't work. it's a broken system. i miss the fair-free, happy, in that has been taken from us. and i miss that. >> when you got word that it would be upgraded, how did you find out? >> by letter. i wanted to call everyone and that said yeah.

but during the republican primary this year, the group that wanting to get rid of the v.a., they started put being them on the town hall shows, they called them defend and reform and interviewed big name candidates like marco rubio and ted cruz and rand paul and jeb bush and get them aligned on their issues, and suddenly the entire slate was also saying they, too, were for privatizing parts or all of the va. these republicans were getting on board on something that was considered red hot, too radical, crossing veterans. the people who were most definitely on board were veterans. when ben carson proposed abolishing the v.a., eight veterans groups joined forces and wrote him a scathing letter. we disagree with this dangerous proposal. when you poll actual veterans at large on whether or not they want to privatize the v.a., the answer is a resounding no. during his campaign, like other republican candidates, donald trump's team said he was cool with privatizing at least big parts of the v.a. and as president-elect, the group advising him right now on veterans policy is the "kill the v.a." g

and wouldn't that be ironic if you actually fix the v.a. nto the system, and then you allow the v.a. to focus on what it's baas at, and that's treating, rather, traumatic brain injury and ptsd and really boosting those systems. but, yes, please, give them more choice. because when you open up these systems to more competition, you make the whole thing better, and you drive costs down. paul krugman, liberal economist for "the new york times," said that we should be moving as a country to a single-payer universal health care system because the v.a. works so well. obviously, he was wrong, but if you flip that and create free market competition in the v.a. and make the care much better, faster, easier to get and keep these veterans healthier so they have better lives, then you take that model and you apply it. melissa: that idea of the hotline, to people out there who think it may sound like a joke, that's actually the way the best corporations operate. you have the office of the president of the corporation, and when somebody's really in a bind

and if the decision is we continue as it is and v.a. has an annual budget submitted two years in advance, every time beyond what was expected or projected, there will be access problems and decisions to stay within the budgets. and if you increase the eligibility, it is going to be difficult. so thinking in the big picture of what is your responsibility to veterans, what is our commitment and how are we going to pay for that. >> okay. we have had several questioners want to know how to make the -- how to get claims paid faster? just a softball question. >> this is probably one of the things that i spend a big chunk of my day on, especially as a doctor. when one of our partners delivers care, they deserve to be paid on time and accurately. what we are realizing is there is a number of of root cause issues here that have to be addressed to make sure we're able to timely pay our providers. one is the eligibility piece. when we have six, seven, eight different programs all with different criteria, if you tonight match them up exactly right a

corey had made miraculous progress in the tampa v.a. unit. e, with help, corey stood, saluted, and said what you would expect. rangers lead the way, sir. corey is the apparently of that epitome of that rare sense of a combination of qualities that characterizes the best among us. a dogged sense of duty, indomitable courage, plain, american grit. president obama admires that in corey. he admires it in all american veterans. it is why he loves them. ladies and gentlemen, honored guest, the commander-in-chief and the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] [cheers] pres. obama: thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. please. thank you. thank you. thank you. secretary mcdonald, distinguished guests, most of all, our extraordinary veterans and your families. the last time i stood on these hallowed grounds on memorial day, our country came to together to honor those who had fought and died for us. -- for our flag. a few days before, our nation observed arm

we attacked the v.a. lem after the scandal and heard talk from congress but there was never comprehensive strategy after engaging in multiple wars to care for people coming home so we have to have goals, strategy and a team in place. this is an opportunity to bring together a bipartisan coalition. it may be the only political issue we can get republicans and democrats behind together and i think for any president it would be a smart issue to come out in the first year in such a difficult vicive time. >> brangham: another issue that's troubling is the rate of suicide among veterans, something like 20 a day, i believe. what can a presidential administration do to address that horrendous issue? >> well, i think we've seen president obama make tremendous progress on this in simply talking about it. veterans advocacy groups have been really screaming for years for help to try to explain that we're losing our brothers and sisters to our left and right, tragically, to suicide on a daily basis. we had a day last y

secondly, the package contains the full year military construction, the v.a. bill for fiscal 17, which was conferenced by the house and senate and passed by the house already in june. in total, $82.5 billion is provided for our military infrastructure and veterans health and benefits programs, $2.7 billion above current levels with targeted increases to address mismanagement and improve operations at the v.a. it is important to note that once the president signs this bill into law, it will be the first time since 2009 that an individual appropriations bill has been conferenced with the senate and enacted before the september 30 fiscal year deadline. third, this legislation includes $1.1 billion in funding to respond to and stop the spread of the zika virus. this funding is directed to programs that control mosquitoes, develop vaccines, and treat those affected. this funding is spent responsibly, balanced by $400 million in offsets, in unused funding from other projects. lastly, this legislation includes important provisions that address current national needs,

. >>> when the v.a. oes, this man stepped in to give them the care they needed. he needs your help to keep it going. my business was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line. what's in your wallet? >>> political headlines. who can forget this moment from howard dean. >> we're going to go to washington, d.c. to take back the white house! >> well, this morning he's full of excitement once again because he wants his old job back. dean sending out that tweet say need a 50-state strategy and tech rehab. i am in for chairman again. >> no word or no more i said texting while legislating. that is the new rule in florida. the house of representatives. richard corcoran is cleaning house and the texting ban is just one of t

the v.a. health system has been widely criticized for failing to address the health crisis. conditions, and so putting the resources and the federal government together with the resources of the community, i believe we will get there a lot faster and with better ideas. soledad: for many veterans, free clinics could help advanced treatment options. correspondent diane roberts visited a clinic in new york and spoke with a marine whose road to treatment has taken years. most difficult deployment i have had. stressful situation. we were taking casualties every day, facing constant fire from rockets, constant danger from different convoys. >> as an intelligence officer, lemar winslow was one step removed from the front lines. home eight years, the difficult memories from three different deployments in iraq and kosovo that someone like me, although i was never on the front lines, would the suffering from ptsd, and it took a year of counseling to convince me of that. >> now winslow is a federal civil rights attorney, often under stress, which can trigger episodes. >> i was in my of

the v.a. is contacting potentially affected veterans by phone and mail. patrick: a west milwaukee mom injured in a hit-and-run has been declared brain dead. that's according to her family. 44-year-old peggy cetnarowski was struck last wednesday near mitchell and beloit while walking in a crosswalk. someone found her and called 911. the driver is still on the loose. cetnarowski has three children who lost their father to an police release new information about a murder-suicide in new berlin. an elderly couple was found shot in their home on hickory trail last wednesday. their names are william and karen krueger. he was 76. she was 71. police say the shooting was related to health issues and not domestic violence. they do not plan to identify who was the shooter. joyce: a warning tonight about fake money circulating across the state. lake mills police say this man the clerk cap the bill, and the man paid with a debit card and left. they're now trying to find him. police across the state have issued warnings about the fake bills circulating the past few mont

gallego, people have attacked you for doing nothing and the v.a. crisis hit veterans were being hurt or not served at all in some of the hospitals. mr. gallego: let me tell you about when mr. hurd talked about his reality, i think he lives in an alternate reality. if you look at the congressional debates about the choice card, i led the fight, i am the guy from west texas who had to go -- for someone to go from alpine to san antonio is over 300 miles. 200 miles to el paso. the first thing i did as a member of congress was file a bill that became a pilot program to help veterans get to their nearest v.a. facility. the idea that if you are more than 40 miles away, i pushed for because it helps us help our local health-care systems so if you were in the hospital in alpine, or whatever, you could go there locally and do your ofts and do those kinds things because it helps stabilize the issue of world health care which is a huge issue across the 23rd district. if you talk to veterans, i spent the other day in eagle pass and people who are frustrated beca

trump outlined a ten point program to reform the v.a. at the top of the list: giving veterans the ability to "choose public health care or attend a private doctor of their choice". trump also talks about creating a commission to investigate fraud within the va and increasing the number of mental health care professionals available to patients no word from the trump campaign on how they plan to finance these efforts police are asking for your help to solve an early morning homicide. i'm christine maddela. i'm john huck. a man was shot and killed in downtown and police say they have no leads and little information. fox5s eric hilt is happened with details on the crime. police would rather you give to those services and shelters because giving to people on the street because those donations can cause conflicts and because officers say they want to see people using the shelters or those existing services "we have no leads, no suspects and we have no information as to how this murder occured" now police are asking for your help - before the ca

veterans know what he's saying and he appreciates them and he's fighting to fix the v.a. s them and unleash them and get rid of the political correctness that's poisoned our services and untie the hands of our fighters. veterans like trump because trump wants to win and believes in america. he believes in crushing our he doesn't tiptoe politically and blunt about believing in america. that's something in our core that veterans resonate with even if everything he says isn't perfect. >> veterans are not a huge slice of our society because there are a few number of people who are brave enough to do what you guys do so in terms of affecting the vote, joey, do you think veterans will turn out in large numbers? >> i believe they will and i don't buy that they're not a large slice because some states like florida or georgia, a high veteran concentration but people in the household, 60 million or 70 million people affected by veterans issues and commander in chief, i don't trust him. he wants it both ways. iraq was a big mistake, beat up on bush and go after them, tell the veteran

we have to solve problems like long wait times at the v.a. to resist privatizing the health care we owe america's veterans. [applause] on veterans day, we acknowledge that we could never serve them quite the same way they served us. but we can try. we can practice kindness, pay it forward, we can volunteer, we can serve. we can respect one another. we can always get each other's backs. that is what veterans day asks us to think about. the person you pass as you walk down the street might not be wearing our nation's uniform today. consider for a moment, a generation ago, he or she might have been one of our fellow citizens who was willing to lay down their life for strangers like us. we can show how much we love our country by loving our neighbors as ourselves. god bless all who serve and still do. god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] >> please remain standing and joined the united states navy band in singing "god bless america." >> ♪ while the storm clouds gather far across the sea let us swear allegiance to a land tha

in his 100 day plan- trump outlined a ten point program to reform the v.a. at the top of the veterans the ability to "choose public health care or attend a private doctor of their choice" tom waters, veteran: it's easier to fix what we already have and i see in southern nevada we've already done that tom waters is a vietnam veteran who says adding private care to the va is an expensive solution. instead trump should improve the existing system 13:58:40:23 tom waters: we're getting better so what i want him to do as president is to continue to fix it. make it better for the entire veteran - supports trump's plan and says the people who fought for this country deserve the care of their choice when they come back andy alberti, veteran to do something to make sure that veterans are taken caref after words i think that's an important issue and whatever money they spend we can't be ssending ppl to risk their life and not do something to protect them once they get back the new outpatient clinic in pahrump provides services to veterans including mental health care, p

brown is being considered to be secretary of the v.a. he told the president-elect that his experience as a fox news contributor, time in the senate, and 35 years in the army makes him the perfect choice to run the v.a. >> it went very well. it was an open and frank discussion not only about veterans but a whole host of other things. >> he would be an excellent choice for the position. he would unite the republican party and likely gain easy confirmation. shelley: romney is being considered to be secretary of state despite being critical of trump in the past. tom: president obama has now past the 1000 mark for commuting sentences during his presidency. he hit the milestone today when he shortened sentences for 79 many of them were convicted of non-violent drug offenses. the president has commuted sentences for more people than his 11 predecessors combined. shelley: turning our attention to the weather. this is a critical weather forecast for a lot of people tonight. mike: so many people have plans to travel tomorrow, thanksgiving, black fr

it was $1.9 billion below what the v.a. said they needed to do their jobs and i would like them to do their jobs. if you listen to mr. hurd on the border wall, he talks about a wall from sea to shining sea. we are talking about the 23rd district of texas and he says in his own words that a wall was appropriate under certain circumstances in highly populated areas. those are his words. what is a highly populated area? for some of us, my hometown is 6000 people. del rio has traffic lights, they are a highly populated area to me. does that mean he wants to finish the wall in the real because it is not on a sea? we are not talking about florida and california, we are talking about -- we do not have seas here. i want to know about the 23rd district. that is not something he has talked about. he talked about it in the bigger phrases. again, you can tell he has gone washington because he is leaving himself room to maneuver. steve: are you in favor of a border wall in district 23? rep. hurd: a border wall is a tool that should be us

these service members have to be offered the opportunity to get their care wherever they want it, the v.aomewhere else, so they're getting the care they feel is best for themselves. >> so you -- your proposal here is that veterans don't have to go just to the v.a., they should be able to go everywhere. >> that's right. there's a veterans choice program, but it's largely used for veterans they immediate meet a certain threshold or live too far from their facility, so that might be the reasons they're given access to veterans choice. this could be access to every single service member so they can choose the care that's best for themselves so the v.a. has to compete for their care. >> and that makes so much sense. he's brian mast, followed his father's footprint and enlisted in the army for 12 years, injured, got a degree and now will serve florida's 18th. all the best. >> all the best to you. thank you. >>> the nation's intelligence chief says he is step down before president-elect takes office. james clapper, formally broke the news to members of congress this morning. clapper has said for

so we'll start to see a big number of vietnam vets now coming into the v.a., the hospitals. >> right. i think people just assume there's really no battles going on, but we're going all over the world with more conflicts and special ops and cia, underground operations. that's going to continue for a long time. hopefully we're not going to have another major war again. sometimes i say this is a little bit maybe too emotional about it. ever looked back about the good thing about getting blown up, if there's such a thing, it's been so satisfying, so fulfilling to have this relationship with a group of americans who have served and done so much partly because they volunteered my own 25-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter don't have to join the military unless they really want to. but how has that been for you? i know this as well. maybe to some degree it's an obvious answer to it, but have you ever cried much? >> oh, god, yeah. i cry all the time. but it's more tears of pride. i am moved by this community. moved deeply. because when we talk about pride of country, when we talk about citi

the v.a. has great problems that need to be fixed. >> especially, i would try to work on the suicide issues. i try to get folks with mental health issues covered immediately. the v.a. can't do it all. >> mark: recent study found that 20 vets take their hone lives every day in the u.s. brown says, the secretary of the v.a. is the toughest job in the cabinet because of the number of problems the department faces. coming together in hopes of palsy. hundreds of people showed up on the steps of the state house crimes that they believe are being reported as a result of the recent election. several local lawmakers led the rally and said the issue is much bigger than the election. fox 25's blair miller was there. >> mark: and has more on what happened. >> the reporter: all people are born free and equal. >> it's more than just a rally for people like jenny. it's a deep-rooted concern. >> i think really the acceptance of that behavior, really, i >> the reporter: so much so, she brought her son with her

but on wednesday night, he found veterans at the zablocki v.a. center. teammate steve novak along with other bucks staffers, joined michael...but not in front of the stove. 22:57 no no no. hopefully beasley knows what he's doing; but if i went and tried top help it would be so. so, we'll let beasley; hopefully at the end of the night, if anything goes wrong, we can blame him. and i'll stay out of it. 23:09 actually, beasley cooked like a veteran..and the two players made a special connection with the veterans that the players and for our freedom won't soon forget. 22:02 obviously have gone through different things in their lives. and are working through those things an d just being with them and speaking with them in an intimate setting has been really nice 22::11 22:28 we know that these guys are in our state; they're are fans; so these people who are cheering at the games; the lounge where they put the games on. 'this is where we cheer for you guys'. so 22:37 22:52 it was really cool novak, the former brown deer and marquette university sharpshooter app

., to privatize the v.a. he's also a fox news personality. it's kind of remarkable the number of points of overlap between who the president-elect is meeting, who he's floating for top jobs in his administration, who he's appointing to top jobs in his administration, the points of overlap between that roster of people and the roster of people who are contracted to appear on cable news, specifically on the fox news channel, which the president-elect does sometimes like to criticize but we know he apparently never likes to turn it off. the pattern is amazing. all those folks also, you know, ben carson, has reportedly been offered a job in the cabinet. former fox news contributor. newt gingrich considered till the last second for vice president in the trump administration, former fox news contributor. scott brown who has met with trump about the v.a. job, fox news contributor, laura ingraham and monica crowley both considered for white house press secretary, both fox news contributors. john bolton reportedly und

. >> better the veteran services at the philadelphia v.a. and all the v.a.'s. >> reporter: reform the department of veteran affairs. many admit they struggle navigating the va's red tape. >> overcrowded and dismal. i hope he keeps his promise. >> change won't happen overnight. >> i understand that. we have a president-elect who stands behind the veterans of this country. >> reporter: they played a critical role in trump's history. >> my uniform ready to go. >> reporter: they helped organize the veteran's thai parade. >> like to see more of that. really, really concentrate on the military. >> reporter: do you feel like enough has been done for the veterans? >> not enough. >> reporter: those not entirely sold, give him a chance. give him a year. see what he can do. >> reporter: again, change doesn't happen overnight. many veterans say they are interested to see when mr. trump will live up to his campaign promises. christie ileto, channel 6 "action news." >>> thank you, flames took over the rowan mansion in west hampton township. the home dates back to the late