VA: Secret waiting list delayed care for 87 veterans in 2017

October 29, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

OMAHA, Neb.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials say an unauthorized, secret waiting list for psychotherapy appointments at Omaha’s VA hospital delayed care for 87 veterans this year.

Letters addressed to Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse – all Republicans – blamed the unauthorized list on “training deficiencies” involving the hospital’s medical-support assistants, the Omaha World-Herald reported Saturday.

The VA’s response to Sasse said no employees were fired, but one employee who was involved retired and another resigned.

The VA set up strict requirements for establishing waiting lists following a 2014 scandal that showed VA employees were covering up chronic delays with false paperwork and secret lists. It was reported in 2016 that 40 medical facilities maintained secret lists. The Omaha facility had not been among those 40.

Sources: DeVos may only partly forgive some student loans

WASHINGTON

The Education Department is considering only partially forgiving federal loans for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, according to department officials, abandoning the Obama administration’s policy of erasing that debt.

Under President Barack Obama, tens of thousands of students deceived by now-defunct for-profit schools had more than $550 million in such loans canceled.

But President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is working on a plan that could grant such students just partial relief, according to department officials. The department may look at the average earnings of students in similar programs and schools to determine how much debt to wipe away.

The officials were not authorized to publicly comment on the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Power of anti-Trump resistance in question in Virginia race

RICHMOND, Va.

Virginia’s gubernatorial election stands as a test for the anti-Donald Trump resistance, and whether it can energize voters and donors for the less glamorous races featuring traditional Democratic politicians.

The Nov. 7 contest pits Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a physician, Army veteran and former state senator, against Ed Gillespie, onetime aide to President George W. Bush and former head of the Republican Party. The current governor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, is term-limited.

The stakes in Virginia are immense: Though Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the state by five percentage points in 2016, Republicans typically are more likely to turn out in off-year statewide elections.

Tropical Storm Phillipe forms, heading to Florida

MIAMI

The depression soaking parts of western Cuba formed into Tropical Storm Phillipe and was expected to dump heavy rains across South Florida and the Keys.

The National Hurricane Center said Saturday evening the storm was expected to take a turn toward the northeast today when a faster motion toward the northeast was expected.

Tropical storm warnings were in place for parts of Cuba and the Bahamas, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the upper Keys and parts of southeastern Florida.

Associated Press