ARLINGTON, Va. — President Barack Obama today continued his commitment to improving employment among veterans by introducing an initiative to hire them as the country's first responders.
"In my State of the Union address, I proposed a new initiative called the Veterans Jobs Corps to put veterans back to work protecting and rebuilding America," he said. "And today, we're laying out the details of this proposal."
Speaking at a fire station here to veterans, firefighters, police officers and national park employees, Obama shared the venue's significance before his remarks.
"This is a fire station that holds some special significance for our country," he explained. "On September 11th, the firefighters of this house were among the first to respond to the attack on the Pentagon.
"You guys answered this nation's call during its hour of need," Obama added. "And in the years that followed, as Americans went to war, some of you answered that call, as well."
The president encouraged the hiring of veterans to replenish the ranks of the nation's first responders.
"First, we want to help communities hire more veterans as cops and firefighters," he said. "Over the past few years, tight budgets have forced a lot of states, a lot of local communities, to lay off a lot of first responders."
The country already has made progress in veterans' employment, Obama said.
"Already, we've helped 600,000 veterans and their family members go back to school on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill," he said. "We've hired over 120,000 veterans to serve in the federal government [and] we've made it easier for veterans to access all sorts of employment services."
When he first became president, Obama said, one of his first actions was to ensure state and local governments received assistance through the Recovery Act to avoid laying off first responders.
"Thousands of firefighter jobs were saved because of the actions we took," he noted. "But budgets are still tight, and that's a problem we need to fix. Jobs that protect our families and our communities shouldn't be the first on the chopping block. They should be one of our highest priorities as a nation."
Obama emphasized he wants to restore local communities and national parks, noting Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's presence. The Department of the Interior manages and sustains the country's lands, water, wildlife, and energy resources, among its other responsibilities.
"He needs some help," Obama said of Salazar. "And our veterans are highly qualified to help him. They've already risked their lives defending America. They should have the opportunity to rebuild America. We've got roads and bridges in and around our national parks in need of repair. Let's fix them."
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said in a conference call with reporters yesterday that the new three-part Veterans Job Corps initiative "will ensure our veterans don't have to fight for jobs once they come home."
Shinseki called on employers to "enlist veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation."
The nation owes those who volunteered to serve in uniform after 9/11 "a debt of gratitude," Shinseki said, "and we must ensure that veterans who come home from Afghanistan and Iraq get the opportunities they deserve."
Obama lauded veterans for their resolve and "unparalleled skills and experience."
"They've saved lives in some of the toughest conditions imaginable," he said. "They've managed convoys and moved tons of equipment over dangerous terrain. They've tracked millions of dollars of military assets.
"They've handled pieces of equipment that are worth tens of millions of dollars," he added. "They do incredible work. Nobody is more skilled, more precise, more diligent, more disciplined."
Obama noted these are "challenging" times for America, but "we've faced challenging times before."
"On the grounds here you've got a stone from the Pentagon and a beam from the World Trade Center," he said. "And that reminds us of our resolve as a people.
"They remind us that when we come together as one people and as one community, one nation, then we prevail," Obama continued. "That's who we are."
America exists because of values and teamwork — generations of Americans working together to build it, the president said.
"This is a nation where, out of many, we come together as one," Obama said. "Those are the values that every veteran understands."
Copyright 2012 Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc.
SALINE, Mich. — Authorities released dash cam that shows a 24-year-old DUI suspect struggle with police after he was pulled over.
On Christmas Day Saline Officer Ashley Kofahl stopped John Craigmile, who got out of his car and began to fight with her as backup officer Dennis Gruschow arrived on the scene, according to AnnArbor.com. The video shows Gruschow enter the fight, but together the two officers were unable to deter Craigmile, who threw punches and used Gruschow's flashlight as a weapon, the police report said.
Off-screen, the struggle continued until Craigmile's father exited the home and calmed down his son, sources said. Craigmile was arrrested shortly afterward and will appear in Washtenaw County Trial Court March 13.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The trooper grabbed his gear and ran to the blazing car — not to save a life, but to put on a show.
"I got out and got my fire extinguisher just to make it look good," Trooper Charles Van Morgan told Tennessee Highway Patrol investigators. "I knew he was dead, but you, you got to do that for the media and everyone else. I was just trying to put on a show."
The wreck cost driver Gordon Kyle Anito his life, and the show could cost Morgan his job.
THP officials concluded Morgan deliberately drove past the Nov. 26 crash in North Knox County that killed Anito, 20, after a chase, didn't stop to help and didn't go back to the scene until another officer spotted the wrecked car in flames.
Anito's parents filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against Morgan and the THP in federal court this week. THP officials moved to fire Morgan but initially wouldn't turn over the paperwork.
Officials finally released to the media Wednesday night the letter recommending Morgan's termination.
The letter reveals Morgan's bosses found no fault in his chase of Anito, who Morgan had clocked driving south on Emory Road at nearly 80 mph in a 40 mph zone just before 3:30 a.m. But video from his cruiser shows Morgan driving past Anito's 2005 Subaru Impreza crumpled against a tree in a well-lit spot less than 15 feet from the road.
That video and the trooper's contradictory stories led the THP's commander to leave Nashville and personally visit the crash scene.
"It is my determination that Trooper Morgan did indeed see the crash scene and chose to ignore it," Col. Tracy Trott wrote.
Morgan couldn't have saved Anito, who died "instantly," Trott wrote. The trooper didn't know that when he drove by in silence.
"I've lost sight of the vehicle," Morgan radioed to dispatch. "I'm going to terminate (the chase)."
Smoke had already begun to billow from the wrecked car. Trott, who drove the same route three times at the same speed under the same conditions, concluded Morgan couldn't possibly have missed such a sight. Morgan instead drove another half-mile down the road and sat parked until the Knox County Sheriff's Office broadcast a report of the wreck.
The trooper suddenly sprang into action and returned to a car in flames. He spent a few minutes spraying the blaze halfheartedly with a fire extinguisher and pulled a passer-by away from a rescue attempt.
"Let's get back," Morgan said. "It's over."
The trooper admitted he knew then that Anito had to be dead, but he wanted to "make it look good" to protect himself. He called a lawyer within five minutes.
"I could only guess to the reasons for Trooper Morgan's actions," Trott wrote. "I do know that he was involved in another pursuit where death occurred in previous years." Morgan will face no criminal charges. Randy Nichols, Knox County district attorney general, reviewed the case and found no crime but "egregious" misconduct, Trott wrote.
Knoxville police had reviewed video from Morgan's cruiser a little more than a year before Anito's wreck. April Lawanna Keck, 22, died in an early-morning crash off Chapman Highway in March 2010 while leading Morgan on a three-mile chase at more than 100 mph. No one found her body until the next day.
KPD investigators determined Morgan couldn't have seen Keck's crash and filed no charges.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A man wearing a Darth Vader mask ended up being shot with a Taser gun when he tried to punch a police officer.
Michael Cole, 28, was hit by the 50,000-volt stun gun and a dose of pepper spray after becoming violent when asked to leave a building site he was trespassing on.
Cole, who appeared drunk, was arrested in Orlando, Florida, on charges of battery on an officer and resisting arrest.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A fight at the food court led to "other altercations" that lasted more than an hour throughout Minnesota''s Mall of America, officials said.
Mall spokesman Dan Jasper said in a news release the incident began at about 4:20 p.m. when "50 juveniles caused a large disturbance in the north food court."
"Mall of America security and Bloomington (Minn.) police responded to the call," the release said. "Following that call, a few other altercations occurred throughout the mall. Mall of America security and Bloomington police have called in extra officers to ensure guest safety."
The melee prompted some shoppers to duck into stores for safety, but some shops closed their inside doors during the disturbance the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune reported, citing police and witnesses.
There had been reports the mall was locked down and that the fight involved weapons, but mall officials said those reports were not accurate, the newspaper said. There were no reports of injuries or arrests.
Witnesses said after the fight at the food court, large numbers of young people coursed through the mall — some snatching property from shoppers and merchants.
Hannah Betz, 16, of Maple Plain, Minn., told the newspaper the larger group broke up into small groups and scattered when police arrived.
