1. 
   Today in History:

• 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.
• 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
• 1821 – The United States takes possession of its newly bought territory of Florida from Spain.
• 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
• 1850 – Millard Fillmore is inaugurated as the 13th President of the United States upon the death of President Zachary Taylor, 16 months into his term.
• 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
• 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
• 1911 – The Royal Australian Navy was established by HM King George V of Australia.
• 1921 – Belfast's Bloody Sunday: 16 people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
• 1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world.
• 1940 – World War II: the Vichy government is established in France.
• 1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain – The German Luftwaffe begins attacking British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle (this start date is contested, though).
• 1941 – Jedwabne Pogrom: the massacre of Jewish people living in and near the village of Jedwabne in Poland.
• 1942 – Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established.
• 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero") that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics.
• 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
• 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
• 1962 – Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
• 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. As many as 60,000 people came to hear Dr. King as well as Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Peter Paul and Mary.
• 1967 – Uruguay becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
• 1971 – Hassan II of Morocco survives an attempted coup d'état, which lasts until June 11.
• 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1973 – John Paul Getty III, grandson of oil magnate J. Paul Getty, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy.
• 1976 – The Seveso disaster occurs in Italy.
• 1976 – One American and three British mercenaries are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.
• 1978 – World News Tonight premieres on ABC.
• 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état.
• 1985 – Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland, New Zealand harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.
• 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
• 1992 – In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeeringviolations.
• 1997 – In London scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
• 1997 – Partido Popular (Spain) member Miguel Ángel Blanco is kidnapped in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
• 2000 – A leaking southern Nigerian petroleum pipeline explodes, killing about 250 villagers scavenging gasoline.
• 2000 – EADS, the world's second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.
• 2002 – At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.
• 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.

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From:  Joe Davis, VFW Director, Public Affairs
Sent:    Tuesday, July 10, 2012 3:19 PM
 

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO ADDRESS VFW NATIONAL CONVENTION

 

WASHINGTON (July 10, 2012) – The president has accepted an invitation to speak before the 113th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., which begins July 21 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev. The event is closed to the public.

 

“We are very grateful to President Obama for choosing to address America’s oldest and largest major combat veterans’ organization,” said VFW National Commander Richard L. DeNoyer, a retired Marine and Vietnam combat veteran from Middleton, Mass.

 

The president’s appearance continues a long standing VFW tradition that provides a platform for those seeking the nation’s highest office to address issues of importance to veterans, military service members and their families. DeNoyer said this is especially important during a time of war and instability abroad, and economic belt tightening at home.

 

“What we hope to hear is how he will continue to take the fight to our enemies, while keeping America safe through strong national defense and homeland security programs,” he said. “We also want to know how he will create, enhance and protect veteran and military healthcare programs and Quality of Life initiatives, such as educational benefits and better job training and employment programs. We would also greatly appreciate hearing a renewed White House commitment to return our fallen from their battlefields.”

 

President Obama is scheduled to speak on July 23. He last spoke at the 110th VFW National Convention in Phoenix, and prior to then as a presidential candidate in 2007 and 2008.

 

Up to 12,000 VFW and Ladies Auxiliary delegates are expected to represent the organization’s total membership of 2 million at the weeklong convention. Their mission will be to approve new national priorities to guide the VFW as it lobbies Congress on issues important to the nation’s veterans, service members and their families. Convention delegates will also elect a new VFW national commander and recognize prominent individuals and organizations for their support of veterans and military personnel.

 

Awards presented will be the VFW Gold Medal of Merit to the Montford Point Marine Association; the VFW Armed Services Award to the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany; the VFW Americanism Award to correspondent and author Joe Galloway; VFW Teacher of the Year awards to Debra Rose Howell (Monte Cristo Elementary School, Granite Falls, Wash.) and George “Bud” Zorman (Mountain Home High School, Ark.); the VFW Dwight D. Eisenhower Award to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno; the VFW Citizenship Award to “Kids Thank a Veteran” director Cherie Reid; and the VFW Aerospace Award to women’s aviation and space pioneer Wally Funk.

 

Also addressing the delegates will be Elizabeth Scannell of Goose Creek, S.C., the $30,000 scholarship winner of VFW’s annual Voice of Democracy program; Veterans Affairs Commission Deputy Minister Hsiao-hui Chin from the Republic of China on Taiwan; Ekaterina Priyezzheva, Russian co-chair of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs; U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki; and Army Maj. Gen. Stephen Tom, commander of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, among many others.

 

The 113th VFW National Convention is closed to the general public, but everyone can watch it streaming live online at www.vfw.org beginning at 8 a.m. PDT, July 23.

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From:    Mitchell, Amy [Amy.Mitchell@mail.house.gov]
Sent:     Tuesday, July 10, 2012 11:16 AM

Subj:    MEDIA ADVISORY: Full Committee to Consider Pending Legislation

 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2012            CONTACT: Amy Mitchell (202) 225-3527

 

***** MEDIA ADVISORY *****

Full Committee to Consider Pending Legislation

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.undefinedOn Wednesday, July 11, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., in Room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a markup on H.R. 5948, H.R. 5747, and H.R. 4057.

 

WHO:             House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

WHAT:          Markup of H.R. 5948, H.R. 5747, and H.R. 4057

WHEN:          9:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 11, 2012, Room 334, Cannon House Office Building

 

Agenda

 

H.R. 4057, as amended: Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012, introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, with an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to incorporate the following:

a.       H.R. 4057, as amended: Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012.

b.      H.R. 4115 (Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio): Helping Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Return to Employment at Home Act.

c.       H.R. 4079, as amended (Rep. David McKinely of West Virginia): The Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act.

d.      H.R. 3337, as amended (Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri): The Open Burn Pit Registry Act.

 

H.R. 5747, as amended: Military Family Home Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, with an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to incorporate the following:

a.       H.R. 5747, as amended: Military Family Home Protection Act.

b.      H.R. 4740, as amended (Rep. Duncan Hunter of California): Fairness for Military Homeowners Act of 2012.

c.       H.R. 3524, as amended (Rep. Bruce Braley of Iowa): Disabled Veterans Employment Protection Act.

 

H.R. 5948, as amended: The Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012, introduced by Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio, with an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to incorporate the following:

a.       H.R. 5948, as amended: The Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012.

b.      H.R. 5735, as amended (Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio):

                                                              i.      H.R. 5735, as amended (Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio): To provide for the establishment of a Place of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery for interment of cremated fragments of the remains of members of the Armed Forces killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, or a subsequent conflict when the fragments are unidentifiable by use of DNA testing or other means because of the condition of the fragments, are unclaimed, or are identified and authorized by the person designated to direct disposition of the remains for interment in such memorial.

                                                            ii.      H.R. 2355 (Rep. Vicki Hartlzer of Missouri): Hallowed Grounds Act.

                                                          iii.      H.R. 2720 (Rep. John Culberson of Texas): To clarify the role of the Department of Veterans Affairs in providing a benefit or service related to the interment or funeral of a veteran, and for other purposes.

c.   H.R. 5880 (Rep. Jon Runyan of New Jersey): Veterans Disability Examination Access Improvement Act.

d.      H.R. 5881, as amended (Rep. Jon Runyan of New Jersey): Access to Veterans Benefits Improvement Act.

e.       H.R. 3730, as amended (Rep. Joe Donnelly of Indiana): The Veterans Data Breach Timely Notification Act.

f.       H.R. 4481, as amended (Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee): Veterans Affairs Employee Accountability Act.

g.      H. Res. 669 (Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia): Commending the Patriot Guard Riders for their mission to show sincere respect for fallen members of the Armed Forces by attending the funeral services of a fallen member as invited guests of the family of the member.

h.      H. Res. 618 (Rep. Charles Rangel of New York): Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

i.        Free Standing Provision: Authorization cap of VA bonus and incentive payments.

 

For more news from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, please visit:

 

Veterans.House.Gov 

Find us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HouseVetsAffairs or follow us on Twitter at:

@HouseVetAffairs