Five Things to Know, Jan. 17, 2023

1.   Starting Jan. 17, veterans in acute suicidal crisis will be able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days. Veterans do not need to be enrolled in the VA system to use this benefit. This expansion of care will help prevent veteran suicide by guaranteeing no cost, world-class care to veterans in times of crisis. It will also increase access to acute suicide care for up to 9 million veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA.

2.   The U.S. military’s new, expanded combat training of Ukrainian forces began in Germany on Sunday, with a goal of getting a battalion of about 500 troops back on the battlefield to fight the Russians in the next five to eight weeks, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

3.   The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 37, authorities said Monday, as Western analysts pointed to signs indicating the Kremlin was preparing for a drawn-out war in Ukraine after almost 11 months of fighting.

4.   Feb. 1 benefits checks won’t have the so-called “widow's tax” reducing income for the surviving spouses of military retirees who participate in two programs. Until 2020, survivors couldn't receive the full amount of two survivor benefits at the same time. Under the rule known as the Survivor Benefit Plan "offset," the government reduced payments that were part of that program by the amount of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation that beneficiaries received from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

5.   A portion of staff at Norfolk Naval Shipyard will be required to wear masks indoors on federal facilities again today — for at least a week. The mandate was issued Saturday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rated Portsmouth as an area with high community transmission of COVID. The shipyard said masks will be provided for those who need any.