December 21, 2017


News and Views


THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS TICKED OFF, MR. PRESIDENT. WE NEED THOSE PEOPLE TO BACK US UP AGAINST AGGRESSION FROM OTHER NATIONS. OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN NATO ARE THE SAME SITUATION. BESIDES, THOSE WHO ARE NOT COWARDLY, BUT WISE, SAY THAT THE WHOLE ISLAMIC WORLD WILL BE OUR ENEMIES -- NOT JUST MOST OF THEM -- IF WE DO NOT WORK RESPECTFULLY AND COOPERATIVELY WITH BOTH PALESTINE AND ISRAEL. OR, TO USE ONE OF MY FAVORITE OLD SAYINGS, "DON'T THROW AWAY THE BABY WITH THE BATHWATER."

https://mic.com/articles/187014/un-condemns-us-decision-to-recognize-jerusalem-as-israels-capital-defying-trump-and-haley#.Gd7qmmCER
UN condemns US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, defying Trump and Haley

The United Nations during an emergency session Thursday condemned the White House’s decision earlier this month to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — despite threats of funding cuts by President Donald Trump and his U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley.

In a 128-to-9 vote, with 35 abstentions, the U.N. passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the United States to reverse its controversial move on Jerusalem — defying the president’s threats to slash aid to countries who vote against the U.S. and Haley’s suggestion that the U.S. may pull its funding from the U.N. over the measure.

“Any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council,” according to the resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly Thursday.

The U.S. and Israel were among the nine countries to vote against the measure.

Canada, Australia and Mexico were among the 35 member nations to abstain from the vote.

The vote came a day after Trump said the U.S. would be “watching those votes” — and following a speech Thursday in which Haley implied the U.S. would not only cut aid to countries that voted in favor of the resolution, but that it could pull its funding from the U.N. as a whole.

“Let them vote against us,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

Haley doubled down on the president’s comments in statements on Twitter and in a scolding speech before the U.N. General Assembly ahead of the vote Thursday.

“America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that,” Haley said. “But this vote will make a difference in how Americans look at the U.N., and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the U.N.”


Department of State
✔
@StateDept
.@USUN Ambassador Nikki Haley: The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the @UN General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation...America will put our embassy in Jerusalem…This vote will be remembered.

11:09 AM - Dec 21, 2017
1,502 1,502 Replies 3,828 3,828 Retweets 8,370 8,370 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

“We have an obligation to demand more for our investment,” she said. “And if our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our resources in more productive ways.”

128 nations defy Trump threats over UN resolution

President Donald Trump suggests the U.S. would cut off aid to countries that vote to condemn his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

President Donald Trump suggests the U.S. would cut off aid to countries that vote to condemn his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Evan Vucci/AP

But those threats weren’t enough to deter an overwhelming majority of U.N. members from voting for the measure.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Jordan — which are among the countries that receive the most aid from the U.S. — each voted in favor of the resolution.

Pakistan, which also receives significant aid from the U.S., co-sponsored the measure.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who voted in favor of the resolution, slammed the U.S. for “bullying” other nations ahead of the decision on the measure.


NBC News
✔
@NBCNews
Turkish FM references Trump's warning before UN vote on resolution calling on the president to rescind his Jerusalem decision:

"Before this meeting, a UN member state threatened all the other members, we were all asked to vote "no" or face the consequences... This is bullying."

11:15 AM - Dec 21, 2017
201 201 Replies 847 847 Retweets 1,274 1,274 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

The White House declined to comment on any potential cuts to aid or U.N. funding in the wake of the vote, referring Mic’s questions to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond to Mic’s request for comment.

But Dan Arbell, the former deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington, told Mic in a phone interview before the vote that such threats would be tough for the president to follow through on in any meaningful way.

“It will be very difficult to carry this out,” said Arbell, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. “It’s not impossible, but if he does, I think it will be more symbolic than anything else.”

As Arbell noted, the president would need the backing of Congress to take drastic action on foreign aid — and taking such a measure could impact America’s relationship with important strategic partners in the region.

“I’m not ruling out that he will take some stand or at least go through the motions and try to demonstrate that he’s not just all talk,” Arbell said. “But it’s hard to see how many members of Congress would be supporting such a move.”

Trump on Dec. 6 announced that he was planning to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the future of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Trump said.

The announcement was met with protests around the world and warnings from international leaders.

The U.S. vetoed a similar resolution condemning the move at the U.N. Security Council earlier this week.

Haley said ahead of the vote Thursday that the outcome would not change U.S. policy in Israel and that Washington would “remember” the vote in its future dealings with the U.N. and the countries that voted for the resolution.

“When we make generous contributions to the United Nations, we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognized and respected,” Haley said. “When a nation is singled out for attack in this organization, that nation is disrespected. What’s more, that nation is expected to pay for the privilege of being disrespected. In the case of the U.S., we are expected to pay more than anyone else for the dubious privilege.”

Correction: Dec. 21, 2017
A previous version of this article misstated how an overwhelming majority of United Nations members voted on a measure condemning U.S. actions recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The majority of members voted in favor of the measure.

Eric Lutz
By
Eric Lutz
Eric Lutz is a staff writer at Mic. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at ericlutz@mic.com.


THE FOLLOWING IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF SENTENCING THAT I STRONGLY BELIEVE SHOULD BE DONE IN THE CASE OF KILLINGS OR WORSE – SUCH AS RAPE OR OTHER SADISTIC ACTS -- BY AN INSANE OR OTHERWISE MENTALLY DISABLED PERSON. TOO OFTEN THE LAW APPEARS NOT TO RECOGNIZE INSANITY AS BEING A REAL THING THAT IS SEPARABLE FROM “SIN” OR ORDINARY “CRIME,” OR MY FAVORITE OF ALL THOSE PHRASES, “NOT KNOWING RIGHT FROM WRONG.” WE TEND TO FORGET OBSESSION AND COMPULSION, AND BEING TOTALLY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY. A JUDGE AND JURY ARE NOT PSYCHIATRISTS, AND SHOULDN’T BEING DOING THE DIAGNOSING.

THE SENTENCE HERE IS GOOD IN TWO WAYS, FIRST, SHE WILL NOT WALK THE STREETS AGAIN FOR SOMETHING APPROACHING THE 25 YEARS TO WHICH SHE WAS SENTENCED (HOPEFULLY); AND SECOND, SHE WILL BE HUMANELY HOUSED AND PROPERLY TREATED FOR HER DELUSIONS AND OTHER SYMPTOMS.

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL “CONSERVATIVES” WILL PROBABLY CALL THIS “LENIENT” SENTENCING. OF COURSE, TO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE, INSANITY IS “POSSESSION BY THE DEVIL.” IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THEIR THINKING IS BASED ON PHILOSOPHY, WHEREAS MINE, IN MY LESS THAN HUMBLE VIEW, IS BASED ON SCIENTIFIC LOGIC. (IT’S A GOOD THING THAT NOBODY CAN TAP INTO MY BLOG SITE HERE AND COVER ME UP WITH ANGRY PERSONAL COMMENTS.)

BY THE WAY, THE “SOMETHING AWFUL” SITE WHICH HOUSES THE SLENDER MAN IS STILL UP AND RUNNING. GO TO WWW.SOMETHINGAWFUL.COM/, WHERE YOU WILL SEE YET ANOTHER STAR OF THE DEMONIC SHOW, WHO IS CALLED “EVIL HEAD.”

HTTPS://WWW.CBSNEWS.COM/PICTURES/THE-SLENDERMAN-LEGEND-EVERYTHING-YOU-NEED-TO-KNOW/. TO UNDERSTAND THIS MATERIAL YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT IT. THERE ARE 24 OF THESE ART AND PHOTO SEGMENTS ON A SLIDE SHOW FORMAT HERE ON CBS. THERE IS A NEED FOR THE FCC, IF THEY ARE GOING TO TAMPER WITH INTERNET CONTENTS, TO GET RID OF THESE KINDS OF THINGS. THE MINDS OF OUR CHILDREN ARE DAILY BEING “DUMBED DOWN” IN HUNDREDS OF WAYS, AND THEY DON’T NEED TO BE MADE INTO MANIACS AS WELL.

I WILL QUOTE FROM THE SLENDERMAN WEBSITE:

“An internet phenomenon

The “Slenderman” has been an urban legend since it was born in June 2009. The creator: artist Eric Knudsen, going under the nom de plume Victor Surge, on an online forum called Something Awful.

The story has since influenced everything from Halloween costumes to video games to documentaries. It also, allegedly, inspired a pair of very real pre-teen girls to stab their classmate. Their trials are set to start this year.

Here’s everything you need to know about the creepy cultural touchstone.

CREDIT: HBO”


“Marble Hornets"
Meanwhile, the popularity of Slenderman continues to grow.

As of March 2017, the YouTube page for “Marble Hornets” — a Slenderman-inspired drama series— had more than 448,000 subscribers and 92 episodes.

CREDIT: YouTube/Marble Hornets”


“WEIER'S FAMILY SPOKE VIA A VIDEO PLAYED TO THE COURT, SAYING DOCTORS FOUND THAT HER RISK OF OFFENDING AGAIN IS "NIL.’” SUCH IRRESPONSIBLE COMMENTS BY PSYCHIATRISTS CAUSE FAMILIES TO BELIEVE THAT “INSANITY ISN’T REAL,” OR THAT INSANITY OF THIS TYPE AND DEGREE SHOULD EVER BE VIEWED AS “SAFE” OR “TEMPORARY.”

THIS IS THE NEWS STORY WHICH FIRST STARTED ME OFF ON THE SUBJECT. I REMEMBER THE WAY I FELT WHEN I FIRST READ ABOUT IT IN 2014, AND I STILL FEEL THE SAME WAY. WE NEED TO GET SMART IN THIS COUNTRY ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH (AND ADDICTION) ISSUES. TOO OFTEN, WE JUST THROW THEM IN JAIL AND FORGET ABOUT THEM. JUDGE MICHAEL BOHREN DIDN’T MAKE THAT MISTAKE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anissa-weier-sentenced-in-slender-man-stabbing-case/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP December 21, 2017, 4:10 PM
Anissa Weier sentenced in Slender Man stabbing case

Photograph -- Anissa Weier, left, sits in a Wisconsin court before she is sentenced to 25 years in a mental institution for the attempted murder of a classmate in 2014 WCCO

WAUKESHA, Wis. -- One of two Wisconsin girls who attempted to kill a classmate to win favor with a fictional horror character named Slender Man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in a mental hospital, the maximum punishment possible, with credit for time served in juvenile detention.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren on Thursday sentenced Weier to 25 years in a psychiatric institution, retroactive to the date of the 2014 crime.

Anissa Weier, 16, pleaded guilty in August to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, but she claimed she wasn't responsible for her actions because she was mentally ill. In September, a jury agreed.

1aanissa.jpg
Anissa Weier appears in court Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, in Waukesha, Wis. MICHAEL SEARS/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL VIA AP, POOL

Weier and Morgan Geyser lured Payton Leutner into a wooded park in Waukesha, a Milwaukee suburb, in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators. Leutner survived after she crawled out of the woods to a path where a passing bicyclist found her.

Both Weier and Geyser told detectives they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man's "proxies," or servants, and protect their families from him. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.

Weier spoke to the court Thursday and apologized for her actions.

"I want everyone involved to know I deeply regret everything that happened that day," Weier said. "I know nothing I say is going to make this right, nothing I say is going to fix what I broke."

Weier said she holds herself accountable and said, "I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Leutner's mother, Stacie Leutner, sent the judge a letter this week in which she wrote that the trauma of the attack "has defined our lives" and that her daughter still fears for her life. For months, Payton slept with scissors under her pillow for protection, and she still keeps her bedroom windows closed and locked.

"She will struggle with the events of that day and physical and emotional scars it left for the rest of her life," her mother wrote.

In her letter, Leutner did not ask the judge to sentence Weier to a specific length of time in the mental hospital, but she said her daughter wouldn't feel safe if either of her attackers is released back into the community unsupervised.

"Payton has a lifetime of healing ahead of her and she deserves to be allowed to heal in an environment where she feels safe," her mother wrote.

In a deal with prosecutors, Geyser, who did the stabbing, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide with the agreement that she isn't criminally responsible and shouldn't go to prison.

Prosecutors said Thursday they agreed that Weier should be committed to a mental health facility rather than spend time in prison, but they asked for a term of 25 years from the date of the crime, when Weier will be 37. The term "pales in comparison" to the lifetime of suffering the victim will face, said Assistant District Attorney Kevin Osborne.

6250806g.jpg
Anissa Weier, left, and Morgan Geyser CBS AFFILIATE WDJT

Weier's defense attorney Maura McMahon argued that she was very young at the time of the crime and asked the judge that she be committed until she is 25. Weier's family spoke via a video played to the court, saying doctors found that her risk of offending again is "nil."

"There were times when she said, 'I don't know why I would have done this,'" her grandmother Melody Weier said in the video. "She couldn't figure it out, and that would bother her a lot."

Weier's father spoke in the video and asked for forgiveness from the Leutner family.

"She's grown mentally and physically," her father William Weier said. "She knows what she did was wrong."

Bohren read from the victim's mother's statement in court and said it outlined the devastating impact of the crime, which created "longstanding, deep wounds I doubt will ever heal."

Bohren said Weier appears to be mature in court and is remorseful for her actions, but said he took into account that the crime was planned and that the intent was to kill the victim. He also noted that doctors have reported as recently as July that she still shows some of the delusional characteristics that factored into the crime, including that she believed an "evil spirit" had escaped a homemade ouija board she was playing with and was "pushing down on her bed."

Bohren said he factored in the safety of the community into his sentence and said it appears Weier still has mental health issues.

"As much as we can say 'I will never do it again' – and I think it's sincere – we don't know," Bohren said.

Slender Man started with an online post in 2009, as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play. He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He was regarded by his devotees as alternately a sinister force and an avenging angel.

The Slenderman legend: Everything you need to know

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

*BOHREN IS THE JUDGE IN WEIER’S TRIAL.



WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYBODY NEED THEIR BAG TO BE “SMART?” TO WALK ITSELF DOWN TO THE BOARDING GATE, PERHAPS? YES, I DETEST MUCH OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY. IT’S EXPENSIVE IN THE VERY BEGINNING; THEN THE COMPANY WILL ISSUE A NEW MODEL EVERY YEAR SO THAT THE SOCIALLY INSECURE MIDDLE CLASS FEEL THAT THEY MUST HAVE THAT ONE ALSO. IN THE SPIRIT OF THAT LAST SENTENCE, LISTEN TO THE GOOD OLD SONG BY THE ONE AND ONLY JANIS JOPLIN: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=7TGUJ34062S.

ABOUT THOSE BATTERIES, A LAPTOP COMPUTER AND A CELL PHONE IN THE PAST HAVE BEEN BLAMED FOR IGNITING SPONTANEOUSLY ALSO. I JUST GOT RID OF MY CELL PHONE BECAUSE I CAN’T HEAR A BLESSED THING ON IT; AND NO MATTER WHAT I DID, IT WOULDN’T STOP REMINDING ME ALOUD EVER FIVE MINUTES TO ADD MORE MINUTES, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT NEVER USES UP THE MINUTES I PUT ON IT, SINCE I DON’T SIT AROUND AND PLAY WITH IT CONSTANTLY THE WAY SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE DO. THAT, I UNDERSTAND USES UP MINUTES AS MUCH AS MAKING CALLS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airlines-ban-nonremovable-smart-bags-lithium-ion-battery-fire/
CBS NEWS December 21, 2017, 7:45 AM
Growing number of airlines ban "smart bags" amid fire risk concerns

A growing number of airlines are banning luggage with built-in phone chargers or tracking devices due to concerns that lithium ion batteries in so-called "smart bags" could cause a fire. United and Hawaiian Airlines said Wednesday they will start banning smart bags with non-removable batteries Jan. 15, 2018. At least four other airlines including Delta and Southwest announced similar restrictions this month.

American Airlines, the world's largest airline, was first to ban the bags, reports CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave.

"If the bag has to be checked, you must remove that battery and bring it into the cabin of the aircraft with you. If the bag has to be checked and the battery is not removable we're not going to be able to accept that bag," Ross Feinstein of American Airlines said.

Earlier this year the FAA urged international regulators to ban large electronics with lithium ion batteries from checked bags. New testing revealed the potential for a catastrophic fire – so intense the plane's extinguishers wouldn't put it out.

Smart bags use their batteries to power onboard GPS, sync with an app, weigh and lock themselves plus charge your phone. Some can even "propel themselves," putting them on many holiday wish lists.

Bags with the batteries removed will be allowed on board but expensive features – like the ability to track it – won't work.

"The manufacturers have to adapt, or they've manufactured essentially useless bags," CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg said. "It's sort of like bringing your bottle of water through the security checkpoint. You're going to get there and they're going to tell you your bag can't fly, now what do you do?"

In a statement Bluesmart, a leading maker of smart bags, said: "We did our due diligence to make sure that we complied with all international regulations defined by DOT and FAA... It is a step back not only for travel technology but it also presents an obstacle to streamlining and improving the way we all travel." It's worth noting DOT and FAA do not certify batteries.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


SEE THIS FASCINATING ARTICLE BELOW ON AN EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOL. NOW THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO FOR POOR OR LOW ACHIEVING KIDS. IT ISN’T EXPENSIVE, IT’S AT THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEREFORE EASY TO REACH BY BUS OR ON FOOT, AND IT CONSISTS OF ONE TO ONE ATTENTION AND FLEXIBLE ATTENDANCE SCHEDULES. THERE ARE NO TEXTBOOKS. IT IS ALSO, COMPARED TO ALMOST ANY OTHER KIND OF SCHOOL, SMALL. FOR BEST LEARNING, QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ASKED AND ANSWERED INDIVIDUALLY OR IN SMALL GROUPS, AND MATERIAL SHOULD BE INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE. THE STUDENTS ARE TOLD TO “GO BIG, OR GO HOME.” THAT’S CLEARLY “TOUGH LOVE,” BUT WARM LOVE AS WELL.

NOT ONLY IS IT TRUE THAT “SEE SAY” IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN, BUT IT’S NOT THE BEST WAY EITHER. A CLASSROOM TEACHER CAN BEST HELP A GROUP OF KIDS BY IMPROVING THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD. IT’S HARD FOR A KID TO INCORPORATE A PIECE OF INFORMATION INTO THEIR MIND WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT A WORD OR A DATE MEANS. I’LL NEVER FORGET THE STATEMENT I HEARD SOME 30 YEARS AGO, THAT SOME INNER-CITY KIDS WERE ASKED THE QUESTION, “WHERE DOES MILK COME FROM?” THEY DIDN’T KNOW. WE MAKE A MISTAKE WITH OUR KIDS BY TEACHING THEM TOO LITTLE. THEY DON’T NEED THINGS SIMPLIFIED, SO MUCH AS EXPLAINED AND BROADENED.

MY FAVORITE TEACHERS SPOKE ABOUT INTERESTING SUBJECTS AS WELL AS THE TEXTBOOK, AND EVEN PERFORMED SOME CREATIVE HOME SCIENCE – ONE KID HAD BROUGHT IN A CHRYSALIS ATTACHED TO A PLANT STEM, AND MY 4TH GRADE TEACHER PUT IT INTO A SMALL JAR FOR US TO WATCH. WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO KEEP TRACK IN WRITING ON THE PROGRESS. ONE DAY A HOLE APPEARED IN IT AND A WET, SHRUNKEN CREATURE CRAWLED OUT AND BEGAN TO LIFT UP IT’S FOLDED WINGS. WHEN IT WAS DRY AND FULLY EXPANDED, IT WAS CLEARLY A MAGNIFICENT BUTTERFLY.

WE NEED TO DO MORE OF THAT KIND OF TEACHING. THAT CREATES A MENTAL IMAGE THAT A CHILD WILL NOT FORGET, AND HE WILL BE MOVED TO ASK AND ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM HIS DAILY LIFE EXPERIENCE. IN ORDER TO LEARN MUCH AT ALL, PEOPLE NEED TO CULTIVATE CURIOSITY. WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, A TEACHER TOLD US TO “ASK QUESTIONS OF OUR READING MATERIAL.” THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE SILLY, BUT IT DOES CHANGE THE DEGREE TO WHICH I UNDERSTAND WHAT I’VE READ. ALL THIS SPEED READING TENDS TO PREVENT A FULL UNDERSTANDING, AND LEARNING REQUIRES THOUGHT. TO LEARN WE HAVE TO ORGANIZE THE NEW MATERIAL AND INCORPORATE IT INTO THE INFORMATION FRAMEWORK THAT WE ALREADY HAVE. THAT SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY GOAL. SO, IN MY IDEAL AND IMAGINARY SCHOOL I WOULD NOT ALLOW A SPEED READING COURSE TO BE TAUGHT UNTIL AT LEAST THE 8TH GRADE, AND THEN ONLY FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE DOING WELL WITH THEIR VOCABULARY UP TO THAT POINT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-more-perfect-union-tm-landry-college-preparatory-school/
CBS NEWS December 21, 2017, 10:30 AM
The Louisiana prep school behind viral Harvard acceptance video

In our continuing series, "A More Perfect Union," we aim to show that what unites us as Americans is greater than what divides us. This week we go to a school where a video of one of its student's learning he was accepted into Harvard University went viral. As it turns out, celebrations like that are commonplace there.

At T.M. Landry College Prep in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the holiday celebrations started early. One student learned he had been accepted to Stanford, another to Harvard. Then Wesleyan, Dartmouth, and Brown. Ten students accepted to top tier schools -- all in one week, reports CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.

"My fingers were shaking," said James Dennis, of learning he was accepted to Yale. "Just completely indescribable, like the overall feeling of joy -- it can't even be expressed in words."

ctm-122117-mpucollegeprep.jpg
T.M. Landry College Prep students CBS NEWS

Kayla Amos cried when she got accepted to Columbia, but the future business major says she shares her success.

"The whole team puts in the work throughout the years to get that one person to the school, so the whole team feels relieved," she said. "T.M. Landry is just a family, that's the way to sum it up."

ctm-122117-mpu.jpg
James Dennis CBS NEWS

It's a family under the guidance of Michael and Tracey Landry, who founded the school 12 years ago.

"When my wife and I started the school people laughed at us," Michael said.

The skepticism is because T.M. Landry is a no-frills school located in an old fabrication shop in a low-income area near Lafayette. Though it's a college prep school, it's not the kind that's filled with rich kids.

"Their parents have made sacrifices to send them here. We make sacrifices to make sure that they can stay," Tracey said. "The average income is $32,000."

Tuition costs up to $675 a month. There are teachers, but no textbooks, no homework and no specific class schedule. Students from kindergarten to high school help tutor and encourage each other to learn.

"Because you're with all these other people that are all striving towards greatness just like you are, it's almost like you have no choice but to conform to it," Dennis said.

"Go big or go home. If you don't go big in regards to being the best student that you possible can be, one day you can end up still being that kid who goes to jail or who dies early because you went out the wrong way and you went into the streets," Michael said.

ctm-122117-mpu-1.jpg
Michael and Tracey Landry CBS NEWS

Londe Dennis, James Dennis's mother, says it's not about being smart, it's about "working very hard." She works part-time at the school to help pay tuition. She was there when James learned he was accepted at Yale.

"I was grateful, I was thankful and I was proud," Londe said through tears. "I never thought this was possible."

But there is disappointment. One senior received news this month that he is on a waiting list. The Landrys also sometimes struggle to make payroll. All that makes the payoff even more rewarding when a student is accepted into college.

"We have no sports, we don't have homecoming, proms ... so for me, that's like seeing your child just win the game," Michael said.

"That's my lottery. That tells me that we're changing people, we're changing society, we're giving hope," Tracey said.

With more admissions decisions coming in the spring, the school expects more celebrations for education.

ctm-122117-mpu-2.jpg
T.M. Landry College Prep students CBS NEWS
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



NOW, FOR A SAD AND DISCOURAGING STORY. THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN IN TROUBLE SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST 10 PLUS YEARS, BUT THIS IS THE VERY WORST I’VE SEEN YET, BECAUSE IT’S AN INTENTIONAL FLAW. THE MOST LIKELY REASON IS MONEY. CONGRESS IS LOOKING INTO IT, I UNDERSTAND FROM ANOTHER ARTICLE. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD BE ILLEGAL, BUT MAYBE NOT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THAT POLICY WAS PUT INTO FORCE AND UNDER WHOSE AUTHORITY. BUT NO FEARS. USA TODAY IS ON THEIR TRAIL. THANK GOD FOR THE FREE PRESS. DESPITE THE FACT THAT USA TODAY HAS CONFUSINGLY ISSUED TWO QUITE DIFFERENT ARTICLES UNDER THE SAME TITLE, DATE AND TIME, BOTH OF THEM HAVE VARYING BUT USEFUL INFORMATION IN THEM, SO I AM PRESENTING BOTH.

HOORAY FOR DR. SHULKIN, AND FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR ELEVATING HIM FROM DEPUTY TO THE HEAD POSITION AT THE VA. FOR HIS IMPRESSIVE CREDENTIALS, GO TO THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE -- HTTPS://WWW.VA.GOV/OPA/BIOS/SECVA.ASP.

THE 1999 LAW ON VA OPERATION WAS SIGNED BY BILL CLINTON. THIS CASE IS CLEARLY ABOUT MALFEASANCE ON THE HIRING, AND EVEN ACTUAL PROTECTION OF INCOMPETENT OR UNETHICAL DOCTORS -- MUCH AS LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS SOMETIMES DO WITH TEACHERS WHO MOLEST CHILDREN. THEY ARE SENT ON THEIR WAY WITH A GOOD RECOMMENDATION. THAT HAPPENED IN THIS CASE BECAUSE THE VA UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOLLOWED A DISCRETIONARY CLAUSE THAT EFFECTIVELY DEFANGED THE 1999 LAW, ON THE MATTER OF WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE VA OPERATION.

AN AGENCY LIKE THE VA SHOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO ISSUE A RULING THAT DIRECTLY OR BY IMPLICATION CONTRADICTS OR WEAKENS A FEDERAL LAW, NOR TO OPERATE WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. THIS COULD BE ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS BEHIND THE FLAWS WHICH CONSERVATIVES TEND TO TALK ABOUT, THAT AGENCIES HAVE TOO MUCH AUTONOMY.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VA AND THE SCHOOLS ARE TOO SERIOUS A MATTER FOR THAT TO BE ALLOWED. IT’S JUST EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE AS THE STATES RIGHTS DEBATE. FEDERAL ACTIONS SUPERSEDE ANY LOWER LEVEL LAWS. THANK GOODNESS DR. SHULKIN TOOK THE BULL BY THE HORNS HERE AND HAS DEMANDED A REWRITE OF THE VA RULES OF OPERATION TO DEMAND HIGH STANDARDS. “PERSONAL DISCRETION” SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN HOW A JOB AS IMPORTANT AS THIS IS DONE. OH, YES, I FORGOT TO SPECIFY THAT THIS IS MY OWN NON-PROFESSIONAL, BUT HOPEFULLY RATIONAL, PERSONAL OPINION. SO READ ON TO ARTICLES FROM THE HILL AND THE USA TODAY NEWS SITES BELOW.

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/365969-va-policy-allowed-hiring-of-workers-with-revoked-licenses
VA policy allowed hiring of workers with revoked medical licenses
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 12/21/17 10:03 AM EST

Photograph -- VA policy allowed hiring of workers with revoked medical licenses
© Getty Images

A Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy at odds with a federal law has allowed veterans’ hospitals for the last 15 years to hire health care providers with revoked medical licenses, USA Today reported Thursday.

A federal law passed in 1999 prevents the VA from hiring any health care worker whose license has been revoked by the state, but the VA issued national guidelines in 2002 giving local hospitals discretion to consider “all relevant facts” surrounding revoked licenses.

As a result, the VA hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, hired neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider, even though Schneider had numerous malpractice claims and had his license revoked in Wyoming. Schneider still had a license in Montana, USA Today reported.

After the VA moved to fire the doctor, he resigned. The VA said it received “incorrect guidance” in hiring him.

Schneider defended the medical care he provided to USA Today and said poor patient outcomes resulted from complications during surgey [sic] and mistakes by other providers.

VA Secretary David Shulkin said he has ordered the department to re-write its own guidelines, and launched a national review to identify and remove other workers with revoked licenses.

Providers with prior sanctions less significant than revocation will also be reviwed [sic], Shulkin told USA Today.

USA Today previously found the VA hired doctors with a history of malpractice and legal complaints.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/21/va-policy-years-allows-hiring-medical-workers-revoked-licenses-violatiohiring-policy-breaks-breaks-l/971058001/
Illegal VA policy allows hiring since 2002 of medical workers with revoked licenses
Donovan Slack, USA TODAY Published 7:43 a.m. ET Dec. 21, 2017 | Updated 8:05 a.m. ET Dec. 21, 2017

VIDEO -- A USA TODAY investigation finds the Department of Veterans Affairs has repeatedly hired healthcare workers with problem pasts, like neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider, whose license had been revoked after a patient death. USA TODAY

Neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider racked up more than a dozen malpractice claims and settlements in two states, including cases alleging he made surgical mistakes that left patients maimed, paralyzed or dead.

He was accused of costing one patient bladder and bowel control after placing spinal screws incorrectly, he allegedly left another paralyzed from the waist down after placing a device improperly in his spinal canal. The state of Wyoming revoked his medical license after another surgical patient died.

Schneider then applied for a job earlier this year at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. He was forthright in his application about the license revocation and other malpractice troubles.

But the VA hired him anyway.

He started work in April at a hospital that serves 184,000 veterans in 50 counties in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Some of his patients already have suffered complications. Schneider performed four brain surgeries in a span of four weeks on one 65-year-old veteran who died in August, according to interviews with Schneider and family members. He has performed three spine surgeries on a 77-year-old Army veteran since July — the last two to try and clean up a lumbar infection from the first, the patient said.

Schneider’s hiring is not an isolated case.

A VA hospital in Oklahoma knowingly hired a psychiatrist previously sanctioned for sexual misconduct who went on to sleep with a VA patient, according to internal documents. A Louisiana VA clinic hired a psychologist with felony convictions. The VA ended up firing him after they determined he was a “direct threat to others” and the VA’s mission.

As a result of USA TODAY’s investigation of Schneider, VA officials determined his hiring — and potentially that of an unknown number of other doctors — was illegal.

The VA Medical Center in Iowa City is pictured in 2014.(Photo:
The VA Medical Center in Iowa City is pictured in 2014.(Photo: Press-Citizen file photo) (Photo: Press-Citizen)

Federal law bars the agency from hiring physicians whose license has been revoked by a state board, even if they still hold an active license in another state. Schneider still has a license in Montana, even though his Wyoming license was revoked.

VA spokesman Curt Cashour said agency officials provided hospital officials in Iowa City with “incorrect guidance” green-lighting Schneider’s hire. The VA moved to fire Schneider last Wednesday. He resigned instead.

Cashour also said the VA would look into whether other doctors had been improperly hired.

“We will take the same prompt removal action with any other improper hires we discover,” he said.

STORY FROM DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
New technology saves lives in some of the harshest places

A USA TODAY investigation in October revealed how the VA has for years concealed shoddy care and mistakes by medical workers when they leave the agency, allowing them to escape their pasts and potentially endanger patients elsewhere.

The results of the investigation of Schneider and other VA practitioners with problem pasts reveal potentially dangerous shortfalls when they join the agency as well.

More: VA conceals shoddy care and health workers' mistakes
More: Exclusive: Botched surgery, delayed diagnosis at a one-star 'house of horrors' VA hospital

In response to the findings, Cashour said the agency is also initiating an “independent, third-party clinical review” of the care Schneider provided with complications in Iowa City relayed to USA TODAY by patients or family members.

In an interview, Schneider maintained that he has not provided substandard care. He blamed poor outcomes for patients on other providers involved in their treatment or on unfortunate complications not caused by his care.

Schneider said his insurance company decided to settle some of his prior cases regardless of their merit, and he filed an appeal of the Wyoming revocation, a case that's still pending.

"I'm a neurosurgeon; neurosurgeons across the country get litigation because of complications related to surgery," he said.

Of 15 malpractice complaints identified by USA TODAY, four were settled, and two were dropped by plaintiffs. Six others were deemed valid by a trustee after Schneider filed bankruptcy in 2014, court records show. The trustee rejected the other claims.

More: VA still in critical condition, Secretary David Shulkin says

More: Lawmakers rip VA on failure to report potentially dangerous medical providers – USA TODAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017

One malpractice lawyer and neurosurgeon who is not familiar with Schneider’s case said that in general, having a dozen malpractice claims in as many years raises red flags.

“That’s certainly not usual. It’s definitely an outlier.” said Larry Schlachter, author of Malpractice: A Neurosurgeon Reveals How Our Health Care System Puts Patients at Risk.

For Schneider’s former patients and their family members, news of his hiring at the VA and return to the operating room after his Wyoming license was revoked came as a shock.

“What in the world?” said Scherry Lee, who is awaiting payment for a malpractice complaint against Schneider after a failed neck surgery in Wyoming in 2012. She says it left her in debilitating pain with difficulty speaking and swallowing. “How does this happen, especially with a neurosurgeon?”

A trail of malpractice claims
Less than two months after Montana issued Schneider a medical license in 1997, Jason Zimmerman was rushed to the emergency room at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.

He had excess fluid building up around his brain that was creating dangerous intracranial pressure, according to court records. A tube and valve system that had been implanted to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid had malfunctioned.

His family sued Schneider and a practice partner alleging they provided substandard care and Zimmerman suffered “profound neurological injury” that left him permanently impaired, the complaint says.

He and his family members ultimately dropped their malpractice suit because they worried Zimmerman’s prior substance abuse would impede the case, his sister Wendy Conaway told USA TODAY. Schneider blamed his partner for the injuries.

But it was only the first of four malpractice claims he would face over the next five years from surgical patients at St. Vincent hospital. The others settled for undisclosed amounts, court records show.

Online biography for John Henry Schneider.
Online biography for John Henry Schneider. (Photo: ww.udemy.com/user/dr-schneider/)

They included the case of Lloyd Hickey, who was paralyzed from the waist down after Schneider allegedly implanted a device improperly in his spinal canal, and Carmen Riddle, who lost bladder and bowel control after three spine surgeries by Schneider. The wife of Thomas Deiling settled her wrongful death claim against Schneider after her husband died from complications after four surgeries.

“I continued the lawsuit hoping I could force him out of practice, but I couldn’t because of the cap on medical negligence lawsuits,” Jeanine Deiling said in a recent interview. She said Schneider failed to properly diagnose and quickly treat a pervasive infection that ended up eating away at her husband's spine.

Her best hope, Deiling said, was to add hers to the list of malpractice claims, and “if enough lawsuits added up, he’d never be able to get malpractice insurance and he’d have to quit practicing.”

Schneider did stop performing surgeries in Montana, but he started performing them in Wyoming instead. And he formed a company, Northern Rockies Insurance Company, that provided his own malpractice insurance, a move that eventually helped land him in bankruptcy and unable to pay off all his claims.

At hospitals in Cody and Powell, Wyo., and a surgical center in Sheridan, Wyo., Schneider performed operations between 2006 and 2012 that eventually prompted at least eight more malpractice complaints.


The case that captured the attention of Wyoming Board of Medicine officials was Russell Monaco, a father of two who went under Schneider’s knife in 2011 for a procedure to decrease pressure on nerves in his lower back, according to a wrongful death suit filed by his wife, Kathy.

After the operation, he was prescribed a litany of narcotics that can depress breathing, including fentanyl, oxycodone, valium, and Demerol. Monaco’s oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, but Schneider discharged him anyway, medical board records show.

He went home and took the medications as prescribed, the lawsuit says, but his family found him dead the next morning. The coroner determined the cause of death was “mixed drug overdose.”

“I tried to wake him up and yelled and the girls came down screaming,” his wife, Kathy Monaco, told USA TODAY. “It was horrible, I mean, I live that day over every day.”

The Wyoming Board swiftly placed restrictions on Schneider’s license and ultimately revoked it in 2014.

Schneider filed bankruptcy in December that year, leaving malpractice claimants hanging without payment even now, including the Monaco family.

In an interview, Schneider laid blame for Monaco's death on a physician assistant who prescribed the medications. He said an aide in the operating room caused Hickey's paralysis, and he blamed Riddle's injury on a hematoma caused by medications prescribed by another provider. In Deiling's case, Schneider asserted standard tests didn't initially pick up the infection or indicate he needed more timely treatment.

Vetting revelations
The VA hiring process is seemingly rigorous.

Applications are vetted, education and licenses verified, references checked, and interviews conducted. For clinical hires, a review and approval by a professional standards board also is required.

But when applicants disclose prior problems with medical licensing short of revocation, malpractice or criminal histories, VA hospital officials have discretion to weigh the providers’ explanations and approve their hiring anyway.

The VA hospital in Muskogee, Okla., hired a psychiatrist in 2013 with multiple disciplinary actions against his Oklahoma license, including for sexual misconduct, according to internal documents obtained by USA TODAY.

Hospital officials knew about his past, but approved his hiring anyway with the condition he be closely monitored during his probation period, the documents show.

And yet the psychiatrist, Stephen Lester Greer, went on to have a sexual relationship with a VA patient and ended up pleading guilty in August to witness tampering for trying to persuade the patient to lie about it to federal investigators.

More: Candid Veterans Affairs nominee faces big challenges to fix entrenched bureaucracy

More: VA vows changes on bad health care providers, lawmakers take action after USA TODAY investigation

The VA hired a psychologist to work at a clinic in Lafayette, La., in 2004, despite his revealing previous felony convictions on his application, according to the internal documents, which don’t identify the provider by name. The VA didn’t run a criminal background check until a year after he started work. It showed eight arrests, including for burglary, drug dealing and reckless driving resulting in death.

Still the VA allowed him to continue practicing until two years ago. By that time, the VA had received multiple complaints about patient mistreatment by the psychologist. An internal investigation found he was a “direct threat to others, (and) to the Department’s mission.” The VA fired him earlier this year.

The VA hospital in Jackson, Miss., hired ophthalmologist Daniel K. Kim, despite his being sanctioned by licensing authorities in Georgia. During his subsequent surgeries at the VA, a World War II veteran was blinded in 2006 and he allegedly implanted the wrong lens in another patient’s eye in 2012. Kim has denied any wrongdoing, and a VA investigation suggested a nurse assisting Kim caused the blinding.

More: Veteran patients in imminent danger at VA hospital in D.C., investigation finds

More: Senators author bill forcing VA to report more problem medical providers, faster

Psychiatrist David Houlihan landed a job at a VA hospital in Wisconsin in 2002 and was promoted to chief of staff two years later, even though the Iowa Board of Medicine had charged him with engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a patient and taking patient medications home.

He went on to earn the nickname “candy man” at the Tomah, Wis., VA because of the prolific amounts of narcotics he prescribed. The VA fired Houlihan in 2015 after revelations a 35-year-old veteran patient had died from mixed drug toxicity at the facility. He has denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to surrender his medical license in Wisconsin earlier this year.

Some of the VA’s policies can attract medical workers with past malpractice or licensing problems. Agency clinicians aren’t required to have malpractice insurance — the federal government pays out claims using taxpayer dollars — making the VA a good fit for providers who may have difficulties securing malpractice insurance in the private sector if past issues have rendered them too risky.

The Iowa City VA had been looking for a full-time neurosurgeon for nearly a year when Schneider came along.

In his job application, Schneider disclosed “all the issues” and the VA hired him after a “group of his medical peers thoroughly reviewed” his file and “approved his competency,” the VA said in a prepared statement provided to USA TODAY.

Schneider began work in April at an annual salary of $385,000.

Complicated surgeries
Complications soon began cropping up.

Schneider, who describes himself as a spinal specialist, performed surgery in July to remove a benign tumor from a 65-year-old patient's brain.

Richard Joseph Hopkins survived three more brain surgeries for ensuing complications before dying Aug. 23 from infection.

“Rick was strong, he was a bull,” his sister Annette Rainsford said. “Why would you go into someone’s head four times?”

Richard Joseph Hopkins died Aug. 23, 2017, after four
Richard Joseph Hopkins died Aug. 23, 2017, after four brain surgeries in four weeks at the VA hospital in Iowa City, Ia., family members said. (Photo: Courtesy Hopkins family)

James Wehmeyer, a 77-year-old Army veteran, said Schneider performed his first spinal procedure in July. The neurosurgeon subsequently did two more operations to try and clean up infection from the first, prompting concerns something might be amiss with his treatment.

“I thought that, but I didn’t know,” he said. “I’m not a doctor.”

Wehmeyer said it’s been a month since his last surgery, and a nurse still visits him at home every three days to clean out the wound, which he said hasn’t healed.

“There’s a big hole in there they’re trying to close up,” he said.

At least three other patients suffered infections after procedures Schneider conducted at the Iowa City VA — two deep-wound and one superficial — but they were cured with antibiotics, Schneider said.

In September, Schneider was arrested on federal criminal charges of lying and trying to conceal assets in his bankruptcy case in Montana.

His patients in Iowa City showed up for surgery but had to be rescheduled when he didn’t show up for work. Schneider told his VA bosses what happened when he got back to Iowa.

He continued practicing.

Online obituary for Richard J Hopkins.
Online obituary for Richard J Hopkins. (Photo: Handout)

Schneider, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, said in an interview that infections suffered by his VA patients were not his fault, but rather complications that can occur in neurosurgery.

He said Hopkins' case was a "tragic" example, where he developed two brain bleeds and then fluid buildup, each requiring another surgery.

"I've had a great run at the VA with zero issues," he said. "Have I had to take patients back (for surgery) for post-op infection? Yes. I mean, I can't prevent every infection."

One of Schneider’s patients from Wyoming said that whatever the case, the VA never should have hired him.

“Here the veterans, they went and served their country, and they’re messed up and everything,” said Michael Green, who is awaiting payment for a malpractice claim that alleged Schneider placed a screw incorrectly in his lower spine. “And then turn that guy loose on them, that’s what doesn’t make sense.



UNDERSECRETARY GERARD COX PROMISES "THREE MAJOR STEPS" TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING “INCREASING OVERSIGHT OF HOSPITALS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING, ENSURING THOSE REPORTS ARE MADE MORE QUICKLY, AND EXPANDING THE TYPES OF CLINICIANS THAT ARE REPORTED.”

“EXPANDING THE TYPES OF CLINICIANS THAT ARE REPORTED.” I DO HOPE THIS DOESN’T MEAN THAT PHYSICIANS IN POSITIONS OF POWER, OR WORKERS BENEATH A CERTAIN STATUS LEVEL FOR THAT MATTER, PURPOSELY HAVEN’T BEEN REPORTED IN THE PAST. ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO SHOWS UP DRUNK, SLIPS AND CUTS A VITAL ARTERY, ETC. SHOULD LOSE THEIR MEDICAL LICENSE OR AT LEAST BE FIRED, IN MY VIEW. IF YOU HAVE SEEN MY COMMENTS BEFORE, YOU WILL KNOW THAT POWER PLAYS AND UNDER THE TABLE DEALINGS OFFEND ME MASSIVELY, NOT TO MENTION THE OBVIOUS HARM THEY CAN DO TO THE PUBLIC.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/29/va-officials-face-grilling-failure-report-potentially-dangerous-medical-providers/903347001/
Lawmakers rip VA on failure to report potentially dangerous medical providers
Donovan Slack, USA TODAY Published 8:12 a.m. ET Nov. 29, 2017 | Updated 2:09 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2017

Video -- A months-long USA TODAY Network investigation reveals that for years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs concealed mistakes and misdeeds by staff members entrusted with caring for veterans. Walbert Castillo & Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers ripped into Department of Veterans Affairs officials Wednesday for failing for years to ensure potentially dangerous VA medical workers are reported to authorities who could stop them from endangering patients elsewhere.

House VA Committee Chairman Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., called it “astonishing,” Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said it was “shameful,” and Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, accused them of engaging in a deliberate cover up to conceal bad medical care provided to veterans.

“I think you’re protecting your butts; That’s what I think’s happening,” Poliquin said while grilling VA officials at a VA oversight committee hearing. “This mismanagement is breathtaking.”

The proceeding followed the release earlier this week of the results of a review by the Government Accountability Office that confirmed findings of a USA TODAY investigation published in October. That investigation found the VA for years has concealed mistakes and misconduct by medical workers entrusted with the care of veterans.

The GAO concluded the VA didn’t report 90% of problem providers to a national database designed to stop them from crossing state lines to escape their pasts and practice elsewhere. And the VA didn’t report any of them to state licensing authorities responsible for issuing, suspending or yanking medical licenses when warranted.

Poliquin recounted one of the cases profiled by USA TODAY, that of podiatrist Thomas Franchini, whom the VA found had harmed 88 veterans but didn't report him to state licensing boards or tell the veterans for years.

They included Iraq veteran Kenneth "Jake" Myrick, who endured years of debilitating pain after Franchini surgeries, and April Wood, who after two surgeries by the Maine VA podiatrist, chose to have her leg amputated rather then endure the ongoing pain.

"What do you tell April Wood who has one leg now?" Poliquin said. "You can't return that."

Gerard, Cox, a VA acting deputy under secretary for health, said he was "greatly troubled by the stories" and blamed VA officials in Maine for the delays in reporting Franchini and notifying his patients.

"The medical center didn't do the job they should have done," he said. "It took far too long.. and that's not acceptable.

He said the agency is taking "three major steps" to make improvements, including increasing oversight of hospitals responsible for reporting, ensuring those reports are made more quickly, and expanding the types of clinicians that are reported.

“Were doing this because we feel it is the right thing to do for veterans,” Cox said.

The VA made similar pledges in response to USA TODAY’s findings, and reiterated those intentions following the GAO report and said fixes would be implemented within a year.

More: VA conceals shoddy care and health workers' mistakes
More: VA vows changes on bad health care providers, lawmakers take action after USA TODAY investigation
More: VA failed to report 90% of potentially dangerous medical providers, GAO confirms