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Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA. Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking? Follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom or subscribe to receive the brief in your inbox each morning at www.iava.org/dailynewsbrief.

MUST READS

1) Report: Military to seek death penalty against Hasan

Military prosecutors sent a notice Wednesday indicating they plan to seek the death penalty against the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a defense attorney said.

2) Post-9/11 GI Bill scholarship program begins

Applications will be accepted beginning May 1 for a new scholarship program that lets the children of some deceased service members tap into Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. VA officials anticipate about 1,500 children and young adults will use the benefit in the first year.

3) Women to begin serving on Navy subs in 2011

The first women to serve on U.S. Navy submarines are expected to be on the job by fall of 2011, Navy officials said Thursday, ushering in a policy change to what has been an elite service open only to men since the start of the modern Navy's submarine program.

AFGHANISTAN

A Pentagon report presented a sobering new assessment of the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, saying that its abilities are expanding and its operations are increasing in sophistication, despite recent major offensives by U.S. forces.

Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is now believed to have survived a U.S. missile strike earlier this year, but has lost clout within the militant network, a senior intelligence officials said Thursday.

IRAQ

Iraqi doctors faced with a shortage of anesthetic drugs in a capital city hit by years of conflict have successfully used acupuncture to treat mothers during caesarean section births.

Iraq said it will step up efforts to be released from the payment of war reparations to Kuwait, imposed by the United Nations Security Council in 1991 in response to the Iraqi invasion of the neighboring country.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The U.S. military may be called on to assist authorities scrambling to mitigate a potential environmental disaster posed by an oil spill expanding toward the Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

A U.S. military official says the Navy had a close encounter with an Iranian surveillance jet last week in the Gulf of Oman.

Chiropractic care would have to be available at a minimum of 75 veterans’ medical centers by the end of 2011 and at all 153 medical centers by the end of 2013, under a bill passed Thursday by a House subcommittee.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

Citing a looming budget crisis, the House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday designed to force the military to be more cost-conscious when it buys a vast range of goods and services — from computers and software to lawn mowing services.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m.

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

No issues today

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

No issues

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

May 5, 2010: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing: VA Disability

May 19 2010 Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing: Pending Legislation 9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES 



The House is not in session.

HOUSE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

No issues today

HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



No issues

FUTURE HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



May 5, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing: Status Update on the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study 10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon House Office Building

May 6, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Hearing: Quality vs. Quantity: Examining the Veterans Benefits Administration‚s Employee Work Credit and Management Systems

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