March 1, 2012
1. Schwartz: Personnel cuts necessary to meet budget demands.
2. US military and diplomatic officials discuss way ahead in Europe.
3. Corruption, mismanagement handicap Afghan Police.
4. Heery International Wins VA Commissioning Project.
5. California Miramar University Honors United States Military Veterans.
6. VA aims to get better data on vet suicide rates.
7. Veteran enlists commissioners court's help for PTSD services.
8. NJ lawmakers try again on set-asides for veteran-owned businesses.
9. Assemblywoman hosts free veteran benefit forums.
10. Stent Benefit Questioned In Stable Disease.
11. Training Can Improve Memory And Increase Brain Activity In Mild Cognitive
Impairment.
12. Modern Wars Influence Psychiatric Thought.
13. Son Who Hears Voices Finds Health Care Fatally Dysfunctional.
14. Pentagon To Review How Military Handles PTSD Cases.
15. Deal Avoids Prosecution For Former Sailor Who Threatened Suicide With
Homemade Gun.
16. Mental Health Care Assessed At All VA Hospitals.
17. Overlapping Government Programs Cost Billions.
18. GAO Questions VA Cost-saving Methodology.
19. GAO Urges VA And DOD To Improve Care Coordination.
20. VA Aims To Get Better Data On Vet Suicide Rates.
21. Panetta, Shinseki Discuss Issues Of Common Concern.
22. System Was Topic Of Panel Discussion.
23. US Pushes Target For Hiring The Disabled.
24. Business Boot Camp Gives Veterans A New Start.
25. Legion, USDA Team Up To Offer Vets Opportunities In Agriculture.
26. Wong, President Meet In Oval Office.
27. Veterans' Affairs Claim Backlog At 800,000.
28. Bradford Man Pleads Guilty To Benefits Fraud.
March 1, 2012
29. Pair Of Vets Take On Grueling Challenge To Call Attention To Health
Issues.
30. N.C. Investigates License Of "Extreme Makeover" Home.
31. Hampton VA Medical Center Will Hold A Seminar Regarding Agent Orange
Seminar In Smithfield.
32. Feds Investigating Accidental Shooting At Jefferson Barracks.
33. More Than 1,000 Participate In "Welcome Home" Ride.
34. Veterans Affairs To Open $6 Million Homeless Center In N.O.
35. VAMC Sets Plans For "Welcome Home" Event.
36. Veterans Showcase Art That Helped Them Heal.
37. Time For A Federal Veterans Court.
38. Being A Veteran Can Be Hazardous To Your Health.
39. A Spouse Who Predeceases A Veteran Can Be Buried In A National
Cemetery.
40. Minnesota Employers Deploying To Help Soldiers Overseas Find Jobs
Back Home.
41. For Wounded Walter Reed Vets, American Legion Dinner Means Time With
Family.
42. Mason Veteran Up For National Award.
43. Veteran Enlists Commissioners Court's Help For PTSD Services.
44. Retired Teachers Hear About Women Of War.
45. Former Marine Helps Fellow Vets.
46. License Plate For Veterans Stirs Controversy.
47. VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as March 1, 2012:
48. Today in History:
March 1, 2012
1. Schwartz: Personnel cuts necessary to meet budget demands. Air Force
chief of staff says he is "100 percent on board with the strategy."
2. US military and diplomatic officials discuss way ahead in Europe. More
than 500 U.S. military representatives and diplomatic officials posted at
embassies and government agencies throughout Europe met for a series of
conferences here this week to discuss force posture, strategy and the way ahead
in light of the Pentagon’s new defense guidance.
3. Corruption, mismanagement handicap Afghan Police. Inadequate medical
support for Border Police along a volatile stretch of Afghanistan’s mountainous
eastern edge could erode the force’s willingness to risk clashes with militants,
according to Afghan and coalition officers.
4. Heery International Wins VA Commissioning Project. Contracting Business The
US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a contract to Heery
International for building commissioning services for the VA's new 100000square-foot research office building at the Veterans Administration Pittsburgh
Healthcare System's ...
5. California Miramar University Honors United States Military Veterans. PR Web
California Miramar University (CalMU) is approved by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs and offers many benefits from the GI Bill,
including accepting Tuition Assistance. California Miramar University, ranked one
of the Top 10 MBA ...
6. VA aims to get better data on vet suicide rates. Marine Corps Times Better data
on suicide rates among veterans could be available by summer under an
agreement forged between Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and 49
states. The figure often noted in press reports and analyses ...
7. Veteran enlists commissioners court's help for PTSD services. Victoria Advocate
Through the outpatient Department of Veterans Affairs clinic, he started meeting
with a social worker and joined a weekly therapy group. Therapy "has been the
most beneficial thing I've received from the VA," O'Neill said. In therapy, he is
learning ...
March 1, 2012
8. NJ lawmakers try again on set-asides for veteran-owned businesses. Asbury
Park Press This latest effort would give municipal and county governments
permission to create set-aside programs for veteran-owned businesses. The
Senate version of the bill recently was approved by that chamber's Military and
Veterans' Affairs Committee.
9. Assemblywoman hosts free veteran benefit forums. Daily Democrat At each
forum, representatives from the California and United States Department of
Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, Sacramento Valley National
Cemetery, other agencies, and local veterans groups will be on hand to discuss
benefits ...
10.
Stent Benefit Questioned In Stable Disease. MedPage Today "For
patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), stent placement offered no
more benefit than optimal medical therapy, according to a new meta-analysis"
that was "reported in the Feb. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine." In
an "accompanying comment article," Dr. William Boden of the Samuel S. Stratton
VA Medical Center in Albany, New York, asked, "What more will it take to turn
the tide of treatment?" But some outside experts commenting on the analysis
"said it adds nothing to current understanding of the issue."
11.
Training Can Improve Memory And Increase Brain Activity In Mild
Cognitive Impairment. Health News Digest "If someone has trouble
remembering where the car keys or the cheese grater are, new research shows
that a memory training strategy can help. Memory training can even re-engage
the hippocampus, part of the brain critical for memory formation, the results
suggest." The study, conducted by researchers at Emory University School of
Medicine and the Veterans Affairs hospital in Atlanta, "are published online in the
journal Hippocampus."
March 1, 2012
12.
Modern Wars Influence Psychiatric Thought. USA Today
"Psychiatrists studying the feelings of guilt or shame associated with close
combat say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are influencing changes" in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the "'bible' of
psychiatry" in the US. The "section of the American Psychiatric Association's
manual for diagnosing mental illnesses that outlines the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- an illness afflicting 15% to 20% of returning
combat veterans -- is being expanded to include symptoms of persistent and
reoccurring guilt or shame." Matthew Friedman, "executive director of the VA's
National Center for PTSD, who worked on the revisions, says the war influenced
the changes, but rape and other traumatic events that cause the illness also
played a role."
13.
Son Who Hears Voices Finds Health Care Fatally Dysfunctional.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek Statistics show there has been "diminishment of
acute care for the mentally ill -- the kind of hospitalizations sought during times of
crisis." Bloomberg BusinessWeek adds, "The result: greater relapse and more
patients released prematurely doing harm to themselves and others, according to
20 psychiatric experts interviewed by Bloomberg News. A 2008 Canadian report
linked shorter stays to higher rates of readmission for schizophrenics, and a 2005
study of US Department of Veteran Affairs hospital psychiatric patients
connected them to higher suicide rates."
14.
Pentagon To Review How Military Handles PTSD Cases. Seattle
Times "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has asked for a Pentagon review of
how the military diagnoses post-traumatic stress disorder, a request triggered by
controversy surrounding a Madigan Army Medical Center forensic psychiatric
team that screened soldiers for PTSD. Soldiers at Madigan complained that they
were improperly stripped of the PTSD diagnoses that would have qualified them
for a medical retirement benefit." Panetta's comments, made before the Senate
Budget Committee on Tuesday, "came in response to questions from Sen. Patty
Murray. D-Wa, who said she is concerned about allegations that Madigan's
forensic team allowed the costs of providing benefits for those with PTSD to
influence evaluations of patients."
March 1, 2012
15.
Deal Avoids Prosecution For Former Sailor Who Threatened Suicide
With Homemade Gun. Military Times A "welcome compromise was reached
Monday in federal court in Roanoke, Va., when prosecutors agreed that a Navy
veteran of the Persian Gulf War who called a suicide hotline last year and
threatened to kill himself with a homemade gun would not be prosecuted if he
completes mandatory counseling." Under the "agreement, Sean Duvall will be
admitted to a state Veterans Treatment Court. The concept, akin to drug
treatment courts, offers vets with war-related mental health conditions counseling
and treatment alternatives in the context of a highly disciplined environment."
16.
Mental Health Care Assessed At All VA Hospitals. Army Times "The
Department of Veterans Affairs is auditing its 152 medical centers to see whether
they meet the mental health care needs of veterans, VA Undersecretary of
Health Dr. Robert Petzel said Monday," while speaking at the 2012 American
Legion National Conference. Petzel "said VA expects to report its findings on the
overall state of mental health care within the system to Congress in April. He
added that VA is making headway in changing its overall approach to health care
from a treatment model centered on individual illnesses to a total health
approach, focusing on preventive medicine and patient education." Petzel added,
"We're good, but we aren't as good as we could be. We're not where we want to
be."
17.
Overlapping Government Programs Cost Billions. Washington Post
"The federal government is doing a poor job of coordinating its responsibilities in
dozens of areas, including food safety, breast cancer research, assistance to
small business owners and home buyers and background investigations for
federal job applicants - a disorganization that could be costing taxpayers tens of
billions of dollars annually, according to a new report" by the Government
Accountability Office. The report "details several significant cases of duplication,
overlap or lack of coordination between agencies and programs," including at
Veterans Affairs. The Post adds, "The lack of a coordinated reporting system
makes it difficult for the National Institutes of Health, Defense Department and
Department of Veterans Affairs to track health research funded by other federal
agencies, GAO said, meaning agencies may issue duplicative grants to different
research projects on the same topic."
March 1, 2012
18.
GAO Questions VA Cost-saving Methodology. Fierce Government
"The Veterans Affairs Department is planning to fund healthcare programs in
fiscal 2012 and 2013 in part through cost-savings estimates backed by faulty
methodology, says" the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report
released on Monday. The GAO says two of six VA improvement initiatives "lack
analytical support for savings estimates and one uses flawed methodology." The
"report commends VA for its efficiency strategies but says if they're incorporated
into future budget requests they should be backed by sound, detailed estimates
and tracking procedures."
19.
GAO Urges VA And DOD To Improve Care Coordination. Fierce
Government The GAO "says DoD and the Veterans Affairs Department should
improve care coordination. As an example of uncoordinated care, the GAO cites
a case of a service member with multiple amputations who was advised by a VA
care coordinator to leave the military in order to receive needed services from the
VA, but was being told to remain in the military by a DoD recovery coordinator."
The GAO states, "These conflicting goals caused considerable confusion for this
service member and his family."
20.
VA Aims To Get Better Data On Vet Suicide Rates. Army Times
"Better data on suicide rates among veterans could be available by summer
under an agreement forged between" Secretary Shinseki "and 49 states." The
rate "often noted in press reports and analyses - an average of 18 veteran
suicides each day - is derived from information available from the Centers for
Disease Control's National Violent Death Reporting System, which receives input
from 18 states, and other sources. VA now has a commitment from 49 state
governments to furnish statistics on veterans' deaths in their states to the
department, said Jan Kemp, VA's National Mental Health Program Director for
Suicide Prevention," who added that VA is in talks with Colorado's governor to
provide the information. While speaking at the American Legion convention in
Washington, DC, on Monday, Kemp stated, "By April, hopefully, we'll have a
more realistic view of the scope" of suicides committed by veterans.
March 1, 2012
21.
Panetta, Shinseki Discuss Issues Of Common Concern. American
Forces Press Service Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
welcomed Secretary Shinseki "to the Pentagon...for the latest in a series of
regular meetings the two secretaries have held on issues of common interest to
both departments." Shinseki "said he and Panetta are committed to continuing
the progress DOD and VA have made. 'The vision Secretary Panetta and I share
is to provide an integrated, seamless experience to our people across their
lifetime -- from when they raise their hand to take the oath, to when they leave
active service and join the veteran ranks, to when they are laid to rest with final
honors,' he said," adding, "Over the past three years, VA and DOD have made
significant progress, but more work remains."
22.
System Was Topic Of Panel Discussion. Government Health IT "The
closest thing to a stampede at HIMSS12 occurred as soon as they opened the
doors for the joint DoD/VA iEHR panel discussion – as people poured in faster
than previous session attendees could swim upstream and out of the room."
David Wennergren, "assistant deputy chief management officer at the
Department of Defense said during 'A new era in DoD/VA health IT'" that the two
agencies "account for 18 million patients" and that is a "force that can move
markets." Government Health IT added, "'Imagine a common platform with a
common data model and architecture, with a common look and feel,' Wennergren
said," describing the goal of the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, which seeks
to have an integrated electronic health record system that is shared by VA and
the DOD.
23.
US Pushes Target For Hiring The Disabled. Wall Street Journal An
Obama Administration proposal that would push Federal contractors to hire more
disabled workers is drawing opposition from the targeted firms. Under the plan,
the Labor Department would ask that disabled people compose seven percent of
a contractor's workforce. The proposal is part of a larger Federal effort to make it
easier for disabled people, including injured war veterans, to get jobs. On
Tuesday, according to the Journal, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission released updated guidelines for ensuring that war-injured vets
qualify for Federal disability protections.
24.
Business Boot Camp Gives Veterans A New Start. NPR "While there
is a new law that offers incentives to employers who hire" Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans, "many veterans across the country are trying to start their own
businesses. A rigorous, free program started at Syracuse University is giving
them the tools to be their own boss." The program is called the
"Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities," or EBV.
March 1, 2012
25.
Legion, USDA Team Up To Offer Vets Opportunities In Agriculture.
Stars And Stripes The American Legion and the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) "signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday to work together,
without spending additional money, to share information and promote
opportunities for veterans" in the farming industry. The "focus will be on making
veterans aware of job opportunities within the USDA, programs designed to help
them start businesses or farms, and contracting preferences for veteran-owned
companies that want to do business with the department." Stars And Stripes
adds, "Within government, the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and
Homeland Security account for 80 percent of veterans hired."
26.
Wong, President Meet In Oval Office. American Legion "Veterans
employment is a priority of President Barack Obama, American Legion National
Commander Fang A. Wong said after an Oval Office meeting" with Obama on
Tuesday. During the meeting, Wong "said the pair also discussed the
Department of Veterans Affairs budget and how defense cuts will affect military
retirement pay and medical benefits." Wong "said Obama pledged that there
would be no VA budget cuts included in across-the-board federal budget cuts."
27.
Veterans' Affairs Claim Backlog At 800,000. UPI Donald L. Samuels,
national commander of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), "testified
Tuesday in Washington that the Veterans' Affairs claims backlog has grown to
800,000 pending cases." Speaking before a "joint hearing of the House and
Senate Veterans' Affairs committees," Samuels said his organization urges the
"committees to carefully examine the growth of Veterans Integrated Service
Networks and the increasing share of the budget that they currently consume,
versus the value they add to the delivery of VA healthcare." Also during
Tuesday's hearing, US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), who chairs the House VA
Committee, thanked "all members of the DAV, for joining other veterans groups
in pleading with the president to direct the Office of Management and Budget to
give us, and the nation, the administration's interpretation" of whether VA will be
protected from automatic deficit reduction budget cuts.
28.
Bradford Man Pleads Guilty To Benefits Fraud. AP Angus Brasslett
Jr. "has been sentenced to two years of probation for lying about other sources of
income while collecting benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs."
Brasslett "also was ordered by US District Judge John Woodcock on Monday to
pay a $500 fine and nearly $7,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say the 64-year-old
Brasslett earned extra money selling scrap metal to at least five different
recycling businesses but did not report it to VA officials."
March 1, 2012
29.
Pair Of Vets Take On Grueling Challenge To Call Attention To Health
Issues. Las Vegas Review-Journal Disabled Iraq veteran Wesley Barrientos
and his friend and fellow Iraq vet Jeremy Staat are riding bicycles from the Wall
of Valor in Bakersfield, California, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in
Washington, DC. The vets are riding to raise awareness about issues affecting
veterans, including what Barrientos says his poor VA care. Barrientos says that
care "just sucks. We need to fix that. Fire everybody. The people there right now,
90 percent don't care about the veterans. They're just there to get a paycheck
and that's it."
30.
N.C. Investigates License Of "Extreme Makeover" Home. AP "North
Carolina officials are looking into whether a Fayetteville charity that appeared on
the 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' television show has a license to solicit
donations." North Carolina's "Secretary of State's office can find no license for
the charity that operates the Jubilee House," a shelter for homeless female
veterans. Barbara Marshall, who runs the charity, is a Navy veteran. Fayetteville
(NC) Observer Marshall "said Tuesday she plans to make her charity for
homeless women stronger and more transparent." She "met with her advisory
board Tuesday, then spoke briefly to reporters about the changes in store for her
transitional shelter, the Jubilee House. Those changes include finding volunteers
for a formal board of directors, publicly accounting for donations and
expenditures, making policies clearer and trying to build relationships with other
organizations in Fayetteville."
31.
Hampton VA Medical Center Will Hold A Seminar Regarding Agent
Orange Seminar In Smithfield. Newport News (VA) Daily Press "The Hampton
VA Medical Center will hold an Agent Orange seminar for Vietnam veterans"
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. "on Wednesday in Smithfield." During the seminar, a
"team from the center will meet with veterans and their families who would like
information about medical conditions potentially related to Agent Orange and
how to apply for health care benefits at the new VA Albemarle Primary Outpatient
Clinic. The seminar will be held at the American Legion George F. Dashiell Post
49."
March 1, 2012
32.
Feds Investigating Accidental Shooting At Jefferson Barracks. St.
Louis Post-Dispatch "No one was injured when a veteran outpatient dropped a
small caliber gun inside the mental health outpatient center" at the Jefferson
Barracks VA Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Federal "law enforcement officials
now are investigating the accidental shooting. St. Louis County police have since
backed away from the investigation after hospital officials told them the incident
was an accidental discharge involving a man known to hospital staff, said Officer
Rick Eckhard." KSDK-TV St. Louis "A VA spokesperson said a small caliber
weapon belonging to an outpatient accidentally discharged. Weapons are
prohibited at the facility.
33.
More Than 1,000 Participate In "Welcome Home" Ride. Hot Springs
(SD) Star "The keynote speaker at Saturday's 'Welcome Home Veterans' event
at the VA Black Hills Health Care Systems campus in Hot Springs brought the
crowd to its feet with applause, as he vowed to, 'return to Washington, D.C. and
start knocking on doors, telling everyone to save this and every VA!' Those
words, from American Federation of Government Employees secretary/treasurer
J. David Cox, closed the ceremony directly outside the west side of the
Domiciliary on the VA grounds." The Star added, "The ceremony at the VA
wrapped up a full day of what was billed as 'a joint effort by veterans, for
veterans, to halt the proposed closing of the Hot Springs VA facility,' by the Save
the VA Campaign committees, which organized the event."
34.
Veterans Affairs To Open $6 Million Homeless Center In N.O. WWLTV Veterans Affairs has "announced that it will spend $6 million to open a new
homeless center" on the first floor of its new hospital in downtown New Orleans.
The "center will be a place where veterans and homeless citizens can get help
finding housing" and healthcare services.
35.
VAMC Sets Plans For "Welcome Home" Event. Iron County (MI)
Reporter "The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center will host a Welcome Home
event...from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, for veterans
of Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF), Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and New Dawn
(OND)." The event will be held at the hospital. The Reporter adds, "'We are
pleased to welcome home our combat veterans and help them reintegrate into
their communities and civilian life,' said Kathy Truax, OEF/OIF/OND program
manager at the VA Medical Center."
March 1, 2012
36.
Veterans Showcase Art That Helped Them Heal. Denver Post On
Tuesday, over 100 pieces of art were to be displayed at the Denver Veterans
Affairs Medical Center. Winners of a competition at the Denver VA will compete
against other entries at VA facilities in other parts of the country.
37.
Time For A Federal Veterans Court. Huffington Post
38.
Being A Veteran Can Be Hazardous To Your Health. Huffington Post
Veteran E.C. Hurley, who says that "after every war a number of veterans
experience what is known as medically unexplained physical symptoms
(MUPS)." Hurley says eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
can help such vets.
39.
A Spouse Who Predeceases A Veteran Can Be Buried In A National
Cemetery. The "Sgt. Shaft" column for the Washington Times
40.
Minnesota Employers Deploying To Help Soldiers Overseas Find
Jobs Back Home. St. Paul (MN) Pioneer-Press
41.
For Wounded Walter Reed Vets, American Legion Dinner Means
Time With Family. Gaithersburg (MD) Gazette
42.
Mason Veteran Up For National Award. Charleston (WV) Gazette
43.
Veteran Enlists Commissioners Court's Help For PTSD Services.
Victoria (TX) Advocate
44.
Retired Teachers Hear About Women Of War. Butte County (SD) Post
45.
Former Marine Helps Fellow Vets. WWBT-TV
March 1, 2012
46.
License Plate For Veterans Stirs Controversy. WBAL-TV
47.
VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as March 1, 2012:
March 7, 2012. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Senate Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a series of joint hearings to receive the legislative
presentations of the VFW. 10:00 A.M.; G-50 Dirksen
March 14, 2012. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a hearing
entitled “Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: VA’s Progress on its Five Year Plan.”
10:00 A.M.; 418 Russell
March 15, 2012. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies will hold a FY13 VA Budget
hearing. 10 A.M.; 124 Dirksen
March 21, 2012. Joint Hearing: House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a joint hearing to receive the Legislative
Presentations of the Military Order of the Purple Heart; Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America; Non Commissioned Officers Association; American Ex-Prisoners of War;
Vietnam Veterans of America; Wounded Warrior Project; National Association of State
Directors of Veterans Affairs and Retired Enlisted Association. 10:00 A.M.; G-50
Dirksen
March 22, 2012. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Senate Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a series of joint hearings to receive the legislative
presentations of Legislative Presentation of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Air
Force Sergeants Association, Blinded Veterans Association, AMVETS, Gold Star
Wives, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Officers Association of America and the
Jewish War Veterans. 10:00 A.M.; 345 Cannon
March 28, 2012 (Formerly December 14th). SVAC will hold a hearing on the
nomination of Margaret Bartley, and Coral Wong Pietsch to be Judges of United States
Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans Claims. 10:00 A.M.; 418 Russell
48.
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Today in History:
752 BC – Romulus, legendary first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph
after his victory over the Caeninenses, following The Rape of the Sabine Women.
509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul, celebrates the first triumph of the
Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the
Battle of Silva Arsia.
86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens,
removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
1562 – 23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of
the French Wars of Religion.
March 1, 2012
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1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first
incorporated city in the United States.
1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in
Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch
trials.
1781 – The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S.
Senate.
1811 – Leaders of the Mameluke dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washingtonon-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
1845 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the
Republic of Texas.
1847 – The state of Michigan formally abolishes capital punishment.
1852 – Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton is appointed Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland.
1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his
remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln
and becomes the state capital.
1870 – Marshal F.S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of
the Paraguayan War.
1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical
typewriter.
1896 – Battle of Adowa: an Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending
the First Italo–Ethiopian War.
1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.
1901 – The Australian Army was formed.
1910 – The worst avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway
train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
1912 – Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
1917 – The U.S. government releases the unencrypted text of the Zimmermann Telegram
to the public.
1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea.
1932 – The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
1936 – A strike occurs aboard the S.S. California, leading to the demise of the
International Seamen's Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.
1939 – A Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan,
killing 94.
1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis
powers.
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1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing
top secret atomic bomb data.
1953 – Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
1954 – Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on
Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever
caused by the United States.
1954 – Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five
Representatives.
1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the
Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
1956 – Formation of the National People's Army
1961 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to
land on another planet's surface.
1966 – The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria.
1971 – A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather
Underground claims responsibility.
1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national
assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the
assassination of three Western hostages.
1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and
charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike
in HM Prison Maze.
1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the
later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
2002 – The peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced by the
euro (€).
2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret
Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
2004 – Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq.
2005 – US Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is
unconstitutional marking a change in "national standards,".
2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20; eight of
the deaths are at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama.
2007 – "Squatters" are evicted from Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, provoking
the March 2007 Denmark Riots.
2008 – The Armenian police clashed with peaceful opposition rally protesting against
allegedly fraudulent presidential elections 2008