VA doctors now can recommend cannabis to patients in states where it is legal; Trump, Netanyahu to meet at White House; Texas National Guard drone assisting with flood rescue and recovery.
1. Doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs for the first time would be allowed to recommend cannabis to patients in states where it is legal, according to an amendment in the House-approved VA budget bill for fiscal 2026. While VA doctors cannot prescribe cannabis, which is banned under federal law, a measure in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act would let them discuss it as an alternative health care treatment in states that have legalized medical marijuana. The amendment comes from the Veterans Equal Access Act, led by Rep. Brian Mast, R.-Fla., a medically retired Army veteran who served for more than 12 years as a bomb disposal expert.
2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, while Israeli officials hold indirect talks with Hamas, aimed at a U.S.-brokered Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal. Trump said on Sunday there was a good chance such a deal could be reached this week. The right-wing Israeli leader said he believed his discussions with Trump would help advance talks underway in Qatar. It will be Netanyahu's third White House visit since Trump returned to office in January, and follows Trump's order last month for U.S. air strikes against Iran and a subsequent ceasefire halting the 12-day Israel-Iran war.
3. The skies have proved to be an important piece of the rescue efforts in Kerrville and along the Guadalupe River after catastrophic floods left 68 people dead and dozens missing as of Sunday afternoon. Major General Thomas M. Suelzer with the Texas National Guard said a remotely piloted aircraft, or drone, was launched out of Houston Sunday to help with rescue and recovery. The MQ-9 Reaper provides reconnaissance to the search and rescue teams. Gen. Suelzer said the drone took off out of Houston, flew over the Gulf of America and reached 18,000 feet to get to Kerr County. The general thanked the Federal Aviation Administration for a special temporary flight restriction that allowed the drone to get straight to work.
4. At least three children were among 27 people wounded as a result of a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight that damaged apartments and a kindergarten, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. Kharkiv, which lies in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. A fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in Kharkiv as a result of the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said that most of the injuries occurred in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district.
5. Matthew “Moose” Musquiz was working as a diesel mechanic in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when his physical therapist told him about a bar in Nashville, Tennessee, that he might like. Musquiz loves the Texas dance hall style of venues popular there, but he hadn’t really found a good one in Nashville, which is about an hour south of the U.S. Army installation. Over beers and bluegrass, the American Legion Post 82 breaks down barriers between veterans and civilians and provides a sense of community for those who served. Post 82 has gained a reputation for hosting big-name acts on its tiny stage, which puts a spotlight on the veterans’ service organization.
- Veterans Healthcare