Department Of Veterans Affairs

He killed her, Joshua Stepp admitted. He slammed the face of his 10-month-old stepdaughter into a carpeted floor, roughed her up as he changed her diaper, stuffed wet toilet paper down her throat, and soon she was dead. But Stepp, a 28-year-old former Army infantryman who saw combat in Iraq, insists that he is not guilty of first-degree murder. His post-traumatic stress disorder left him incapable of premeditating the killing of tiny Cheyenne Yarley in November 2009, he and his lawyers say. Because of his severe PTSD, Stepp was not able to "form the specific intent to kill," his attorney Thomas Manning said.

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs plans to begin work Jan. 25 to renovate a little-used building at its West Los Angeles campus into a home for 65 chronically homeless veterans. Westport Construction Inc. of Arcadia has been chosen as the contractor on the $17.6-million project, scheduled to be completed in spring 2014. The idea of refurbishing the historic 1945 building was proposed nine years ago by Santa Monica Councilman Bobby Shriver. Veteran activists and elected officials have complained about the length of time it took to secure funding and put the job out to bid. Westport's website said the project would include seismic upgrades to the three-story structure, which recently housed a workshop where veterans learned silk screening and print-making skills.

After Moses Maddox left the Marine Corps in 2006, he took a sales job with the for-profit University of Phoenix, making up to 100 calls a day to persuade veterans to enroll using their GI Bill benefits. Only after he enrolled himself did the former corporal discover that the state university he wanted to attend didn't accept the nine course credits he'd earned at Phoenix. "Basically, I wasted my GI Bill benefits -- just like a lot of other veterans I talk to," said Maddox, who until recently was a veterans benefits counselor at Palomar College in San Diego County.

Army Staff Sgt. Matt Kiel was shot while on patrol in Iraq just six weeks after his wedding. Doctors said he would be on a ventilator for the rest of his life and would never again move his arms or legs - dashing his hopes of raising a family. But within months of his injuries five years ago, Kiel was breathing on his own and had regained enough function in his left arm to operate a motorized wheelchair. Doctors said he and his wife, Tracy, could start a family through in vitro fertilization.

SAN DIEGO - Todd Vance - Iraq combat veteran, bar bouncer, and social-work major at a local university - is lecturing two dozen of his fellow veterans on the techniques and joys of the chokehold. "You want the blade of your forearm on their windpipe or carotid artery," Vance says in a commanding voice. "Push your opponent into the fence.…Let's have some fun with this drill!" It's Saturday morning in North Park, and the veterans have come to a steamy, noisy gym for Vance's mixed martial arts class.

Federal agents in Seattle arrested a man who allegedly threatened to blow up the downtown office of the Department of Veterans Affairs because the agency had denied his claim for benefits. Charles M. Whitaker, 53, was being held for investigation of threatening to bomb or damage property.

The Department of Veterans Affairs recommends that veterans experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder contact their local VA hospital for help. Symptoms can include sleeplessness, anxiety, crying spells, flashbacks, nightmares, depression and heavy drinking. Veterans who don't know the location of the nearest VA hospital should call the VA at 1-800-827-4833. For the hearing-impaired with TDD access, the number is 1-800-829-4833.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward J. Derwinski asked Congress to create a commission to conduct the first review of veterans health care in 25 years and make a "take-it-or-leave-it" recommendation. Derwinski carefully excluded the possibility of hospital closings, talking only of "changing missions" and the like.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that it will cut some veterans health care services because "urgently needed" funds are tied up in a congressional battle over an emergency spending bill. VA Secretary Edward J. Derwinski called the cutbacks "temporary" and said they will be closely monitored. But he warned that unless the urgently needed new funds reach the department soon, more drastic cutbacks will follow. The department said the immediate steps being taken to save health care funds include a freeze on accepting new patients whose eligibility depends on available VA resources.

VA Suspends Mortgage-Rate Ceiling: The Department of Veterans Affairs said it would no longer limit interest rates under its popular VA loan program and will instead allow veterans to negotiate their own rates. In the past, the VA has always set a ceiling on the rates of the loans it would guarantee.

Veterans could play a key role in deciding whether Mitt Romney or Barack Obama is in the White House next year. The swing states - Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado and Ohio - have high concentrations of vets. And veterans as a group are twice as likely to vote as the rest of the electorate. No surprise, then, that both candidates are heavily courting their votes. Veterans have traditionally favored Republicans. In 2008, Sen. John McCain won the overall veterans vote 55% to 45%, and George W. Bush had a 16-point margin over John Kerry in 2004.

SAN DIEGO - Todd Vance - Iraq combat veteran, bar bouncer, and social-work major at a local university - is lecturing two dozen of his fellow veterans on the techniques and joys of the chokehold. "You want the blade of your forearm on their windpipe or carotid artery," Vance says in a commanding voice. "Push your opponent into the fence.…Let's have some fun with this drill!" It's Saturday morning in North Park, and the veterans have come to a steamy, noisy gym for Vance's mixed martial arts class.

After Moses Maddox left the Marine Corps in 2006, he took a sales job with the for-profit University of Phoenix, making up to 100 calls a day to persuade veterans to enroll using their GI Bill benefits. Only after he enrolled himself did the former corporal discover that the state university he wanted to attend didn't accept the nine course credits he'd earned at Phoenix. "Basically, I wasted my GI Bill benefits -- just like a lot of other veterans I talk to," said Maddox, who until recently was a veterans benefits counselor at Palomar College in San Diego County.

SAN DIEGO — Two dentists and two Navy dental corpsmen are working on the mouth of John Gardinier, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam and now lives in Tijuana near the clinic where he can get methadone for his drug addiction. "It's no good to have teeth that are rotten," Gardinier, 64, had said as he waited to be treated at the dental services area at the 25th annual Stand Down in San Diego for homeless and hard-luck military veterans. The relief effort brings together dozens of government agencies, nonprofits and volunteers to provide veterans with a variety of health and social services.

A federal appeals court Wednesday withdrew its May ruling that ordered sweeping reform of the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for those returning from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological injuries. The full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider the case brought by two veterans advocacy groups alleging systemic failures to treat mental health injuries and help lower a suicide rate that takes the lives of 6,500 former service members each year, according to court records.

Understandable sympathy for veterans traumatized by war is transforming the conduct of criminal trials. A recent story by Times staff writer David Zucchino reported that post-traumatic stress disorder is increasingly being cited by defense attorneys in arguing that a defendant lacked the intent necessary for conviction of most offenses. The implications for the criminal justice system are significant. Already, 170,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

President Reagan today endorsed the idea of creating a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs, saying, "It's time to give them the recognition they so rightly deserve." Reagan made his announcement in the Cabinet Room at the start of a meeting with leaders of veterans' groups and members of Congress, triggering a round of cheers and applause. One participant told Reagan: "This is the first time you've ever tricked me.

Monarch Bay resident Pat Broudy, whose husband died from lymphatic cancer nearly 20 years ago, continued her quest here Tuesday to help thousands of other military veterans who were exposed to nuclear radiation. She and other advocates lobbied Department of Veterans Affairs officials for regulatory changes that would help provide compensation to radiation victims.

He killed her, Joshua Stepp admitted. He slammed the face of his 10-month-old stepdaughter into a carpeted floor, roughed her up as he changed her diaper, stuffed wet toilet paper down her throat, and soon she was dead. But Stepp, a 28-year-old former Army infantryman who saw combat in Iraq, insists that he is not guilty of first-degree murder. His post-traumatic stress disorder left him incapable of premeditating the killing of tiny Cheyenne Yarley in November 2009, he and his lawyers say. Because of his severe PTSD, Stepp was not able to "form the specific intent to kill," his attorney Thomas Manning said.

Lori Moss wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived early Friday at Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach. A veteran of the Army Reserves, Moss, 30, has been living in transitional housing for months because she can't find work. She hoped she might get job tips from some of the dozens of government agencies, nonprofits and veterans groups setting up booths for a relief effort known as Stand Down. A few hours later, she was smiling as a stylist from the Career Academy of Beauty in Garden Grove primped and curled her hair.