the va is not think much about it. they won't tell us a budget or the problems veterans call with are getting resolved and we found out it was located in this building in west virginia, not the white house which brings up these questions of is this what the president intended with this hotline? are veterans really getting help? how does this help with other call lines, is it a good use of resources? i talked to some veterans who felt their calls were getting sent back to their local va offices instead of being acted on by the executive branch. i heard there are some veterans who had good experiences. it is just the fact this is operating in the shadows in west virginia and everyone wants to know more about it. >> host: nikki wentling is our guest, graduate of the university of kansas, spent time in little rock, is a veterans reporter with "stars & stripes". her work available@stripes.com. derek is joining us in pablo, california. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i want to say i am a first-time collar but i have be

so the va secretary wasn't even going to the meeting at mar-a-lago about the va. it seemed odd to me. except it won't. we now know about the true rulers of the va. there is ike perlmutter. bruce moskowitz and wealthy attorney marc sherman. none of them were veterans, none of them elected. and none of them confirmed. yet because they are friends with trump, and pay dues to his private club, they have been allowed to run the department. take us through the details of this absolutely insane example i am joined by isaac. this is one of the nuttiest stories of the trump era i have read. how involved really are these three gentlemen in overseeing the va? >> they are involved with everything. they speak with va officials every day on the phone. they have a hand in all manner of policy and personnel decisions that have been coming out of the va for the past year and a half. >> every day? >> as often as every day or multiple times a day. >> this is like how everything about the policy for the largest health care system in the united states. >> yeah. this is like how much he

all about the va. >> okay. so that what you just saw was this really weird moment from back in 2017, we played it in the show. donald trump talking to his then veteran's affairs secretary asking him if he, david shulkin plans to be about a meeting at mar-a-lago all about the va. so the va secretary wasn't even going to the meeting at mar-a-lago about the va. it seemed odd to me. except it won't. we now know about the true rulers of the va. there is ike perlmutter. bruce moskowitz and wealthy attorney marc sherman. none of them were veterans, none of them elected. and none of them confirmed. yet because they are friends with trump, and pay dues to his private club, they have been allowed to run the department. take us through the details of this absolutely insane example i am joined by isaac. this is one of the nuttiest stories of the trump era i have read. how involved really are these three gentlemen in overseeing the va? >> they are involved with everything. they speak with va officials every day on the phone.

. >> i think about all the controversy that has surrounded the va over the last few years or so.k, there's an absolutely shocking report that shows the president's friends and members of his private club are making major policy and personnel decisions for the va. the reporter who broke this story joins me next to explain how the mar-a-lago crowd is running the department of veteran affairs. l. 1, cover 2, define 3, enhance buildable, blendable formulas. for perfect definition. new infallible shaping sticks, by l'oreal paris. since joining ninehahi, ubmonths ago,o. my priority has been to listen to you... to cities and communities, and to my own employees. i've seen a lot of good. we've changed the way people get around. we've provided new opportunities. but moving forward, it's time to move in a new direction. and i want you to know just how excited i am, to write uber's next chapter, with you. one of our core values as a company, is to always do the right thing. and if there are times when we fall short, we commit to being open, taking responsibility for the problem, and fixing

. >> i think about all the controversy that has surrounded the va over the last few years or so. we come back, there's an absolutely shocking report that shows the president's friends and members of his private club are making major policy and personnel decisions for the va. the reporter who broke this story joins me next to explain how the mar-a-lago crowd is running the department of veteran affairs. sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. stadium pa : all military members stand and be recognized. sometimes fans cheer for those who wear a different uniform. no matter where or when you served, t-mobile stands ready to serve you. that's why we're providing half off family lines to all military. and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everyth

why is the va still turning amputees in afghanistan and iraq catastrophically injured, still turning own? >> process culture. a culture in some respects that looks at a patient is a generic number coming through the system and that is not the way it should be. for those who sacrificed the most, i am probably out of line with standard procedure, those folks need to be at the front of the line. >> when you commit to changing the system, the catastrophically injured, the amputees don't have to drive 3 hours every 6 months to show they are still in amputee. >> absolutely. the government culture is one we need to fix. >> reporter: and the promise unfulfilled is to the spouses and mothers caring for recent war veterans in a 20s who would be disabled for the rest of their lives. >> caregivers want two things, they want permanent status recognition so they don't have to keep reapplying to be the caregiver and they want permission to work outside the home and receive caregiver benefits because they need to do so to make ends meet. will you commit to changing? >> absolutely. >> reporter: wilkie

some people believe there should be more privatization in the va. what's wrong with people arguing for more privatization? >> this because big part oftr presidenmp's campaign, but most veterans oppose that. and the major veterans groups oppose that, because their view is that they get better care in the va and it would be much more expensive and serve veterans worse to have them out in the private sector. >> schifrin: melissa bryant, let me turn to you i want to ask about your notion of privatization, but this tion of outside influence from the outside and formal adviss and also turmoil at the top of the veterans affairs, that influence the care? >> it absolutely does. what we see from theeterans service organizations and my colleagues across the veterans space is that we've seen fits and starts for a program and for policies throughout the last particularly eight months since dr. hulken has faced his ethics challenges and then he was ousted.en but ollowing that we saw a lot of challges to contrac such as healthcare, a contract, a $10 billion contrac

the va is currently short doctors and nurses. >> a pair of delta passengers being hailed as heroes, aso, quote, take the plane down. former corrections officer and another man who identified himself as being with the coast guard were able to handcuff the man to his seat and kept their eye on him. most watched, most trusted, and most grateful. good night from washington. i'm shannon bream. no matter who, there are over 10,000 allstate agents riding sweep. call one today. are you in good hands? experience the versatility of utility, with a range of suvs perfect for any adventure, at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so, try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another

>> billions of dollars. >> the vfw t says problems exist at other va facilities nationwide. the backlog of rarnz maintenance is > they physically can't perform all these tackles in a yearly basis. it would involve a major effort to do so. >> as for edgar gleason, he's a healthyin but was so frustrated that hot night in july he left. before being discharged. >> 36 hou later, you're walking out. >> right. >> those discarded flu shots were replaced and the fda tells the i-teamnu it will con to inspect the blood bank at the center. we'll keep watching the medical center, too. >>cott mcfarland, news4 i-team. e> when we come back, more reaction from th redskins game including the rookie star on his injury and it's sounding like good news. it was always my parents dream for me to go to college. and to this day, one of my biggest regrets is that i never finished if you're the first in your family to go to college, if you took time off to raise your kids, or if you're in one career and you hear another calling, i get that and strayer university gets that that's why we're teaming up, t

who is running the va? >>> breaking news from routers, the special counsel recommends that the judge sentence george papadopoulos for up to six months in prison for lying to investigators in the russian probe. what do we know about this story? >> we are scrambling trying to get ahold of this document. it has been clear in recent months that the notion that george papadopoulos was cooperating with the investigation was breaking down. and it was starkly clear most recently when his wife went on ari melber's show and said she believes he should withdraw his plea deal because he wasn't getting a fair shake and that is consistent with a number of interviews she has been given. all is not well in that relationship and if they are recommending prison time and suggest they don't believe he is fully cooperating. remember, he pleaded guilty to one single count of lying to investigators about his contact. the russians had e-mails, incriminating e-mails about hillary clinton and what we don't know is who in the trump ca

so we'reoncerned that we're not seeing the absolute best the va can do because they're so distracted with the turmoil within leadership and the outside influencers who are able to distract civil servants and others who are trying to do what's best re va. >> schifrin: why do you and hur organization oppose efforts that president tru talked about that, these outside advisers have talked about toward privazation? >> we oppose privatization in that it would, as isaac spoke to, it would cost upwards of trilons by our best estimates. it could possibly lead to poor healthcare and poor healthcare outcomes for veterans. under the va's infrastructure, its facilities and the providers that they have, they be understand the military community. they unerstand healthcare and the challenges of the invisible wounds of war such ast.s.d., traumatic brain injury, they understand things like amputation and the advances that they made in prosthetics in veterans. these are the types that are healthcare advances he va does best. we would love to see infrastructure being ind ves within the va to continue to

the va has a massive department, it's bigger than most people think. n of the va that deals with health care, they have 33,000 vacancies. right? i mean, what does president trump get out of this parade nonsense? >> self gratification. i think it makes him feel important. you know, i guess theoretically everybody would be saluting him when they walk by. >> i mean, even the conversation about it, well, now we're not going to have a parade so we can buy more jets. that's not the problem right now with u.s. military. we're not short of jets, we're short of doctors and treatment. >> we just added 10% to the military budget out of thin air. $70 billion. we have a massive, massive military budget. it doesn't need to be half this size. we are so much larger than the rest of the world combined that it's ridiculous. i mean, so, the idea that we would buy more jets, this is just him making excuses. i don't even think the 9 millimillio 2 million. >> pro public has a story how the va is not being run by anybody, it's being run by a bunch of trump cronies without par

why can't the va -- >> washington journal is live everyday at 7:00 on c-span. previous "washington journal" programs available on c-span.org. we are leaving the last few minute of the segment as the senate is coming back into session after a 12 day work period. they will recess at some point this afternoon, returning it to:15 for debate on the nomination of martin bottle bound to be a judge on the court of appeals to limit debate it 5:30 eastern. then we begin work on an $857 billion spending package that would combine the largest annual appropriations bills including defense and labor, hhs and education. now live to the senate floor on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. glorious god, the source of our strength, fill us with life anew. strengthen and guide our lawmakers by the light of your counsels, directing their steps. lord, open their eyes so that they may discern your truth and courageously obey your precepts. give them reverence for yo

in terms of the va, when i got to the senate in 07, the va backlog was 600,000 claims. part of that when i left, it was 900,000 claims. increasing difficulty of the and part of that was the increasing difficulty of the system with attorneys involved in a way they hadn't been before and the litigation. but a lot of it was just plain leadership inside the va. i worked very hard on that, and one of the other lessons from vietnam is that the gi bill for the people who served in vietnam was minuscule compared to the world war ii gi bill that enabled the futures of 8 million of our 16 million world war ii soldiers. i wrote and passed when i was in the senate in 16 months the post-9/11 gi bill, which is the best gi bill in the history of the country. i'm very proud of it. >> i'd like to say everything that happens with the va is a reminder that wars don't end when the battles end. they go on for the rest of the lives of the soldiers who fought in them. >> joe is next, also a vietnam veteran from silver spring, maryland. good morning. >> good morning, gentlemen. how are you doin

in terms of the va, i got to the senate in '07. the va backlog was 600,000 claims. en i left it was 900,000 claims. and part of that was the increasing difficulty of the system with the attorneys involved in a way that they hadn't been before. a lot is just plain leadership inside the va. i worked very hard on. that one of the other lessons from vietnam is that the gi bill for the people who served in vietnam was tiny compared to the world war ii gi bill which enabled the futures of eight million of our 16 million world war ii soldiers. i wrote and passed what i was the senate in 16 months the post 9/11 gi bill, the best gi bill in the history. >> i like to say that everything that happens with the va is a reminder that wars don't end when the battles end. they go on for the rest of the lives of the soldiers that fought in them. >> joe is next. also a vietnam veteran from silver spring, maryland. good morning. >> yes, good morning. qu the question about winning the war, the people that won the war are those that supplied the bombs and bullets in vietnam. i read and i

the va medical center in d.c. has added shuttle buses to help patients with disabilities move around i campus. as scott macfarlane tells us, the change came afte started asking questions about the lack of parking spots. >> reporter: yeah, doreen, we showed you you tell problems, some veterans walking the length of sevenootball fields to get from their cars to and from the front doors of the medical center. a parking garage is being rebuilt but it won't be ready until at let march. the va acknowledges there is a serious shortage of spaces. we began asking questions about this in july. anda as patients told us, ts august 1st, they added a new shuttle to fleet in addition to this one, an suv accessiblee to pe with disabilities to help patients get through the lot. many veterans say they've been struggling to navigate the jammed parking lot, some tellins head ofve hours their appointment so they have extra time to search for a spot and make the walk. sometimes if i have a noon appointment, i will leave her by 8:00. >>

there's three departments within the va. the one that we're most focused on is the one that delivers health care benefits to veterans. by the va's own estimation, there are over 33,000 job vacancies, and these are health care providers, doctors, nurses. >> stuff you actually need. >> absolutely. so that's a critical capacity for the va to be able to deliver on america's promises to our veterans. >> and we have particular issues among the veteran community. we have suicide issues, we've got 20 veteran suicides a day are estimated. and the opioid crisis is also hitting veterans so there are real needs. this isn't like it's all taken care of, it's okay, let's have a parade. >> sure. those two issues are hitting the veteran population at a disproportionate rate compared to civilian counterparts. if you're in iraq or afghanistan or syria and you get blown up by an ied, you're going to have some serious issues that need to be addressed. when you're looking at chronic pain and traumatic brain injury and the relief that comes from th

the key is that va is putting the regulations in place and it's very important that we don't create a new regulatory barrier in place of the old regulatory barrier and not accomplishing what we're trying to do. so i'm asking for your help and your support and i've already approached department of labor. secretary of labor is on board with this. secretary of the va is on board with this. and i want to make sure that you're on board and that as these regulations are written, we end up with one set of regulations and inspections and so forth, whether that long-term care facility, home-based or institutional care, whether they use -- are getting medicaid, medicare or va reimbursement. >> yeah, i think it's very important that our veterans have access to the care that they need and different choices about the care that they receive. as you know, president trump started something called cut the red tape. and as part of that, cms has initiated our effort which is called patience over paper work. as we're talking about the high costs of health care, one of the things we know that drives the h

the va choice act allowing our veterans who cannot access timely quality care through the v.a. system, which most say they can to go into the private sector and access those options. and not have to pay out of pocketed for them. the whistle blower and accountability act was really remarkable, helping folks to ferret out abuses or fraud and be protected in the meantime and more accountability in the v.a. also, this president through the gi education bill, he said that you use your benefits at any time. there was real uncertainty in that. the list goes on and on. and the opioid space which i work on here the v.a. has been a tremendous partner in helping our veterans understand that pain management may not always mean pain medication. we don't need a parade to celebrate all this president has done for those brave men and women in uniform and all the people are so anti-american, america was never great, abolish ice, spitting on men and women in uniform. disrespecting the flag when they have the opportunity. i'm very proud to work for a man who loves this country and the men and wom

employees who were removed went up 25%. >> reporter: the law makes it easier for the va secretarye. it also expedites the appeals process for senior executives. i'm erin colman for nbc news. >>> oh, my gosh. look at that. new video from a safari park. a rhino caught on camera as you see repeatedly ramming an suv. this happened at a animal park in mexico. it looks like some park employees tried to distract the rhino but it clearly did not work. the rhina kept slamming the suv and even chased it as the driver tried to get away. yikes. >>> now back here locally. there are many occupationings we never realize exist until we need them. one oakland artist has done one of those jobs for thousands of families. today we see what he does and why most people will never know his name. >> reporter: there are some jobs that require a special level of care. >> they call me a perfectionist. >> reporter: every time manuel alvarez sits down to work, there is no such thing as mailing it in. >> you have to do it pretty much right every time. >> reporter: alvarez's work begins where life ends. for 34

a picture worth 1000 words but the va says not so fast. on a hospital floor is not what it seems. >> unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs. the deceased read in november. we give the military a $700 billion budget increase which they didn't even ask for. jillian: alexandria ocasio-cortez doesn't always have her facts straight. this time is different. carly shimkus with what she said about the middle class, outrage flooding social media. ♪ call on me brother ♪ when you need a hand ♪ lean on me, when you're not strong ♪ ♪ and i'll be your friend ♪ ♪ i'll help you carry on ♪ ♪ lean on me ♪ mmm... ♪ lean on me... ♪ mmm... ♪ lean on me. rob: touching video from 2016 going viral of mollie tibbetts telling a personal story about prayer. >> whatever happened, i knew that the power of prayer was something. jillian: a sad story. carly shimkus with serious xm 115 here with thoughts and prayers that continue to pour in for the missing iowa university student. >> reporter: mollie tibbetts's and shows her speaking at high school faith event w

we passed the biggest va reform in half a century, veterans choice. if our veterans can't get the care they need from the va they will have the right to go see a private doctor, pay for the doctor and save a lot of money, help a lot of vets. everybody said trying to get it for 45 years everybody said you can't get it, think of it, veterans choice, great people, these are our great people, who is a veteran in this audience? you like trump? you like the job we are doing? think of it. 45 years, everybody said you will never get it passed. i used to say before i was really well versed on the veteran situation and healthcare i used to say all the time why don't they just let folks go to a doctor, 7 days, 9 days, 14 days, 21 days, some of them started off with a very modest problem, they end up being terminal because they can't see a doctor. i said why don't they let them see a local private doctor, pay the bill and trying to get it passed for 38 years. the other one is 45 and that is va accountability. if somebody treated made a big difference. that was ano

we passed the landmark va accountability act. now if a bad government workers abuses a great veteran, we turn to them and say, you're fired, get the hell out of here! you are fired! we also passed veterans choice. so if our veterans can't get care from the va in a timely manner, they have the right to go and see immediately a private doctor and get taken care of. they have been working on that one for 45 years. we got it passed. i'm good at getting things passed. we are going to get the wall passed, don't worry about that. the obstructionist democrats. the democrats are obstructionists. the only thing they do well. they are lousy politicians, they have stupid policies, let's get rid of law enforcement, let's get rid of the military. let's not build a wall. they are haters. they do anything they can to obstruct or resist. their word is resist, resist. i used to see that word, i said why are they doing senate but they want to resist. i withdrew the united states from the horrible iran nuclear deal. and so many things have happened.

the marla go crowd spoke with the va officials daily. officials traveled there at taxpayer expense to hear the views. everyone has to go down and kiss the ring a former administration official said. if the bureaucracy resists the trio's wishes, perlmutter and others involved in the informal group, a powerful ally, the president of the united states. you serve on that veterans affairs committee as i said. were you aware of this arrangement? >> of course not. and this is yet another astounding revelation that the president trump does not abide by any kind of ethical limitations and i find it astounding for an agency there to serve the needs and provide the programs so that the veterans earned and deserved, astounding to me that this group of totally unaccountable, unelected and behind the scenes people can exert this kind of influence. but they obviously have the protection of the president. this is why the president is not above the law but he's certainly acting as though he is. so i would hope that the veterans affairs committee on which

i had great experience with the va. of the persian people. of persian gulf soldiers said don't celebrate without us. don't celebrate without the vietnam vet and i was welcomed home in 2010. >> thank you, michael. to roger in pennsylvania and then back to our guests. hi, roger. >> caller: hi. the vietnam war documentary was excellent, by the way. i turned 18 in 1972. my lottery number was 217, and i was 1a. i remember a little differently. i went to college with a lot of vietnam vets and i had a business partner that was a medic in vietnam. and i have to disagree. i think they were all -- everybody wanted to hear their stories. people -- i don't ever remember anybody talking down to them. everybody seemed to hold them in a high esteem. we got a lot of higher end work in north jersey because my friend was a vietnam vet and the doctors and stuff wanted to hire him and hear his stories, that he was a vietnam vet. my father was a platoon sergeant in the philippines, i mean, the pacific theater in world war ii. came home and never talked about the

the va has had its eye on this medical nter for some time because of problems. s one of the largest va medical centers in the nation, in february it was deemed high risk and low performing, which means there were concerns about ttient care, t it's getting worse means two things, whatevee dies that were put in place aren't necessarily working yet, but this medical center is getting closer and closer to what the va says a takeover by agency headquarters because conditions have fallen so far below standards. >> the new director, is he getting the blame for all of this? has h had enough time? >> a lot of this predatesis appointment. the time frame that led to all of us was a different acting director. so there's a new acting director who replace an actin director. they have had four people running the place in 1 months. a fifth leader is coming at some point soon, probablyt in aug or september, the lack of permanent leadership could be causing so many--. >> so where do we go from here? >> there is a new va secretary, sworn in on monday, so there's a new person in cha

it turns out it's a because of huge parking problem at the va's medical center here in d.c. scott macfarlane and the i-team show us how even with an n'pointment, some military heroes say they caalways get to their care on time. >> reporter: getting most places takes just a little longer for sequoia pointer these days. >> when you have a traumatic situation happen to you, you just, you just don't recover as fast as they think. >> reporter: three decades after serving in the u.s. army poiiger is fing another battle. he's recovering from aro stke, and still struggles to use his left arm and leg. >>> youet aside 30 minutes just to find parking. >> just to find parking, yes. >> reporter: 30 minutes? >> yes, at least 30 minutes. >> reporter: but getting to his e d. ntments recently at cv a. medical center has turned into a lesson inie ps. >>> you watched this. does that seem reasonable to you? >> no, not reasonable at all. >> reporter: the trip to the v.a.ars a mhon for her husband. we watched him unload the scooter then make the long trek from the back of the lot just to get insid

we passed the biggest va reform in half a century. veterans choice. our veterans can't get the care they need from the va, they will have the right to go see a private doctor, we'll pay for the doctor, and frankly we'll save a lot of money. we'll help a lot of vets. everybody said they've been trying to get it for 45 years. everybody said you can't get it. think of it. think of it. veterans choice. they have to stand -- our great people. these are our great people. who's a veteran in this audience? do you like trump? do you like the job we're doing? well think of it, 45 years, everybody said you'll never get it passed. and i used to say before i really was well-versed on the veteran situation and health care. i used to say all of the time, why don't they just let the folks go to a doctor. they'd wait in line for seven days, nine days, 14 days, 21 days. some of them started off with a very modest problem. they end up being terminal because they can't see a doctor. i said, why don't they just let them go see a local private doctor, pay the bill, and tak

. >>> your time is .4: the va medical center is loosing its cool, literally. news4 is shed sething light on the growing problems keeping the building cool enough fornd patients a >> announcer: you're watching "news4 today." no> most of us that exercise can be good for our bodies. >>xcept when you hurt the next day because you're sore, but that's supposed to be good fu, too. >> right. >> but itlso benefits your brain. rearchers find that active people have fewer days of impression. be careful not to go overboard. researchers who found those who worked out for more than three hours a day -- thr hours a day -- >> a workout? .> wh they had worse mental health than those that d not exercise at all. that's because you think about all the things you didn't get done three hours a day. i mean, if jury j. lo, you exercise three hours a >> she doesn't. how couldve she does, you look like that? it's >>4:25. temperature problems inside a major medical center. >> an iestigation by scott mcfarland and news4 i-team shows a disruption in the hospital taking care of veterans in

with vladimir putin, if he could get away with that, then this idea that he has other people running the vaof benefitting from his presidency in a financial way, it's harder to make those things stick. >> everybody that does an argument only goes so far when you have to choose on election day. >> that's why they like hillary clinton on the ballot. kimberly, bill, howard, thank you very much. >>> up ahead, creating a safe space. the first survivor of alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you. join the fight with the alzheimer's association. are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi.? a more powerful way to stay connected. it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you dri

we passed the landmark va accountability act. now if a bad government workers abuses a great veteran, we turn to them and say, you're fired, get the hell out of here! you are fired! we also passed veterans choice. so if our veterans can't get care from the va in a timely manner, they have the right to go and see immediately a private doctor and get taken care of. they have been working on that one for 45 years. we got it passed. i'm good at getting things passed. we are going to get the wall passed, don't worry about that. the obstructionist democrats. the democrats are obstructionists. the only thing they do well. they are lousy politicians, they have stupid policies, let's get rid of law enforcement, let's get rid of the military. let's not build a wall. they are haters. they do anything they can to obstruct or resist. their word is resist, resist. i used to see that word, i said why are they doing senate but they want to resist. i withdrew the united states from the horrible iran nuclear deal. and so many things have happened.

the va is part of that, those who bravely serve this country are very often sold short in terms of theeterans administration, particularly in the hospitals. we have a new head of the va, robert wilkie. what are your thought about that? >> i'm going out to visit couple of our va clinics here in kansas and rural america. i'm exciting, i'm proud of what this congress has done and what this president has done for the veterans administration. we increased funding 40 or 50% compared to a decade ago. we're giving veterans more choices. we're increasing competition. there is lots of good things happening for our veterans. put our money where our mouth is. we funded $70 billion for 7 million veterans that would be comparable what we're paying for medicare patients as well. so i think we're going in the right direction. david: what about the idea the president said they deserve, veterans deserve a choice? they should get a voucher they can take either to a va clinic or to a private doctor? are you in favor of that idea? >> absolutely. anything that gives american citizens more choices and increa

morning temperatures in the activities with areas of mist and drizzle on the coast near the va to 80 isco. degrees. morgan hill, tri-valley up towards antioch and pittsburgh, 80s. 60s and 70s bay side from oakland to fremont. peninsula temperatures mostly 70s, but cool upper 50s around daly city, low 60s into san francisco with hazy skies. in the north bay, 70s and 80s. one thing to watch this weekend, air quality is one of them, but watch out for the windshe hills north. sunday through monday, winds picking up which could lead to some fire concerns mainly off towards the lake tahoe area. san francisco temperatures staying cool this weekend, but look at our own valley temperatures by monday and tuesday as skies continue to clear. a bit of a chill in the air. we'll see highs in the low to mid-70s. >> chill in the air. >> chilly tonight too. >> yeah. it was chilly this morning. >>> up next, it's enough to make you dizzy, the story behind that boat running in circles for nearly two hours and what happened to the person driving the boat. >> the powerful hurricane that threatened hawaii f

the vas majority of companies continue to see very little impact from the trade wars. third, there's been a tidal wave of buybacks announced this year. the companies are flushed with cash and it's a record $750 billion of buyback that's been announced so ldfar. n sachs is expecting $1 trillion by the end of the year and that's a jump of 50% from last year and ale alone has bought back more than $40 billion in stock this year.o there's a a market rotation under way despite the narrow rally. the market's n been entirely dominated by technology. when tech falters traders buy other factors and we've seen defensiv value like healthcare and banks and especially consumer staplesn that have b strong in the last month. finally, the u.s. continues to show signs of strength in its economy and the gdp growth isin g to be well over 3% for the rest of 2018. so the big question now is what will it take to get the s&p 500 over the finish line? we're really close. for "nightly business report," i'm bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. >> and the qn surrounding the market any time

this important panel discussion and the va we are releasing are among many of the resources of the department of justice's tool kit we are using to fight the scourge on behalf of the american people. office of justice programs with with dja leading the way has been on the frontlines of the attle of the oipt abuse -- opioid abuse. last year we launched the program to reduce opioid misuse and help bring down the number o of overdose fatalities. we're continuing that program this year and we'll continue the program every year, and we'll have more grants to announce in the coming weeks. in addition, the fy-2019 resident's budget includes $103 million for programs authorized by the comprehensive diction recovery act including $20 million for ojt's comprehensive opioid abuse program and $43 million for the drug court program. i want to thank john and his team for leading our efforts. i particularly want to thank carol and dave, the inhouse experts, who have been guiding our work. many thanks as well to our many partners for their help bringing us together today. they've worked hard to make this gat

and there were many many blacks who came back as combat, wounded, deserved the same treatment in the va hospital as did the white soldiers. that stuck with german -- with truman. that changed his you that we have to change this and bradley became commander of the troops in normandy. 164 black officers and eight white officers. if we are going to give them up and they are going to fight. i wonder if you know about the role that truman and bradley added using the experience from where youa hospitals had black guys shut up and white guys shot up getting equal treatment. >> he had better relations with bradley than his successor eisenhower. than iw more about it do. bradley asked chief of staff at the army that there is a the navy the fact, as was desegregating and actively doing so and the air force was ahead of everybody, that chief of staff bradley was not pushing as hard as even the administration would have allowed him to. in part that could have been due to secretarial leadership. i do not know if this arsenal views -- of his personal views. i just know he said those were not my order

she volunteered at the va hospital. she comforted the sick and visited laguna hospital. she was the founding member of the oh my neighbors in accessory dwelling. in '95 she was recognized by senator milton marks for seniors in action for the work that she did. in 2003, supervisor sandra value presented her with a certificate of honor, she was known and everyone knew her as someone that greeted with a smile and was constantly present and just a happy force, so if you saw her, you would not have believed she was 95 years old. she didn't look a day over 70 and carried that happiness with her her whole life. i hope that we can end the meeting in her honor today. i am happy to introduce two ordinances, one of them is surplus medication distribution program. i want to thank janet ril rileley founding member, and my -- essentially this legislation impacts people's lives in a couple different ways. we look for pre screened recycled medication, nonopioid, but medications that would end up in the trash and ultimately into the bay in our waste stream. in this way we can work with t

g at e d of concern is the timing and cost and if you have that you should put the money toward the va'sld focus on the president's record and the military and the veterans. he's the most promilitary and pro-veteran president in modern time. >> reporter: he says the military parade could take lace next year. cbs news, the white house. >> the mayor of washington while denying the city wanted to much money says dc has a long history of posting major gatherings. >>> a congressman who has been a frequent critic of the president says he is weighing a run for the white house. he said he's thinking the democrat has been in congress since 2012. he says he will jump into the 2020 race only if he thinks he has the chance of winning. >> i know something about longshots. i will consider whether the next one is worth doing for the country. >> he says right now his top priority is to help democrats regain the majority in the house and says he expects 15-20 people to run for the democratic nomination for president. if he runs one of his opponents could be center -- senator. miller harris -- >>> 18 hack

we just learned that the trump administration has secretly farmed out leadership of the va to three members of the president's private club mar-a-lago none of whom has relevant experience. wilbur ross. and then just yesterday we learned that the first member to endorse the president's campaign, chris collins carried out an insider trading scheme last year from the lawn of the white house. meanwhile, the president has spent an entire week at one of his golf course. it should not be that hard to find out whose interest the president is serving if own the congressional leaders would say subpoena his tax returns. more likely to support a candidate who promises to be a check on the president. fresh off another round of encouraging election results on tuesday, democrats have a message of their own, they are in the words of nancy pelosi clean up corruption. >> what does that mean? cleaning up corruption. how do you do it? >> we have to make sure that we can get big money out of politics. what we have seen is dark money flow into washington d.c. fuelled by lobbyist who are buying off influence and

the va's inspector general says last year the department mishandled 1300 of the 12,000 claims by veteransfound the va frequently failed to order medical exams, provide proper documentation and review claims with sufficient evidence. >>> it's reported the coast guard referred the duck boat case to federal prosecutors. the duck boat sank last month in a lake near branson, missouri in heavy winds. 16 passengers and one crew member died. the coast guard is doing its own criminal investigation. >>> firemen were put in danger fighting the santa clara fire, the largest one in history. they paid for what they thought was an unlimited data plan, but verizon restricted it to 1/100 of its usual speed, saying the department exceeded its limit. the department says that put lives at risk. mistakes were made and the restrictions should have been lifted. >>> important news for epipen users. the fda is urging people not to throw away expired epipens in the ongoing shortage. they are extending the expiration date by four months. they were set to expire from april to december of 2018. it does not apply to e

. >> also not just public corporations i think what you're doing for the va is signature of apptio. >> i'm excited by the u.s. federal government opportunity there's $90 billion spent on u.s. federal government. if you talk to folks they say $200 billion t. majority of that spend is spent on spreadsheets, if you believe that. we've been partnering with the white house to create a standard cost model, the white house has mandated that agencies report federal cost spending on the cost model we helped co-author we recently won va we have close to a couple dozen customers. that's one of the largest agencies, close to $4 billion-plus spend we plan on delivering great accountability into the spend so they can shift hundreds of millions of dollars into modernization efforts like the cloud. >> you have a close relationship with continental we are very found of vm wear you have a product they used to own. you have a terrific partnership, don't you? >> we're really talking about digital vul. vm owned the company for digital fuel it was probably our latest competitor, market position was very st