Vermont, state officials honor fallen veterans for Memorial Day
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – After the Civil War, according to the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, a group of Union Army veterans established late May as the time of year when American would come together to honor the memories of our fallen service members, a time when flowers would be in bloom across the country.
Governor Phil Scott, who joined the Vermont National Guard at a ceremony on Friday, wrote Monday morning: 'From the very beginning, Vermonters have taken on more than their fair share in the ongoing fight for freedom. From Ticonderoga to the streets of Baghdad and Kabul, the battlefields of American history are filled with Vermont heroes who left home to defend freedom and liberty, including those who made it home and those who didn't.
'On Memorial Day, we honor the men and women who represent the very best of what it means to be an American. Those whose lives were cut short protecting us and defending the rights and independence of this great country. Our world is a better place because of the sacrifices they all made.'
Vermont Chamber of Commerce honors National Guard general as Citizen of the Year
Across the valley in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul honored the day by announcing that state landmarks including Grand Central Terminal, Niagara Falls, and the Lake Placid Olympic Center would be illuminated in red, white, and blue the night of Memorial Day. In New Hampshire, Governor Kelly Ayotte asked citizens to 'pause to remember the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who gave their lives defending our freedom.'
In 2000, Congress first recognized the National Moment of Remembrance, which asks Americans to pause for one minute at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day to 'remember and renew the legacy of Memorial Day'.
American flags flew at half-staff on Monday until noon as a traditional sign of respect for those who died in military service.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Time Magazine
31 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
5 Things To Watch As the Trump-Musk Meltdown Proceeds
This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME's politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Like so many pieces of President Donald Trump's self-created reality, the key he handed to fellow billionaire and government hater Elon Musk was oversized and appeared to be coated with gold coloration. That Potemkin moment was merely one week ago today. Indeed, last Friday, Trump held the unusual send-off party for an adviser tasked with helping him destroy the spine of the federal workforce and a patron to his rise to power. Fast forward a week, and Trump has all but declared war on his one-time ally, lobbing threats to cancel federal contracts for everything from clean-energy cars, shuttles into the heavens, and access to satellite orbits. In turn, Musk kept pushing Republicans on the Hill to reject Trump's ambitious domestic policy agenda while throwing open the doors to conspiracy theories. The back-and-forth brinksmanship captivated Washington as the week headed toward its end. Both parties seemed to understand their ownership of the news cycle, and it's entirely possible that most of this spat was as scripted as a professional-wrestling beef. 'One thing's for sure,' Musk posted on X, 'it ain't boring!' That doesn't make it any less reckless. Here are five things to watch as this story unfolds. Does Trump Turn the Page? As catty as this feud has been, it is ultimately a huge distraction from Trump's agenda. The more time spent on a personality clash between this pair of mercurial iconoclasts, the less time is being dedicated to getting Trump's pending domestic agenda across the finish line. This is, to be clear, a fight that could leave both men empty handed. Trump is heading to his country club in New Jersey for the weekend, away from the White House and the churn of that campus. 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Newsweek
an hour ago
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday issued a plea to Senate Republicans to reject the House-passed "big beautiful bill" because of concerns that it could severely impact the most vulnerable Americans as a result of changes and cuts to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation's largest nutrition aid program. Why It Matters The House budget proposal, which is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump's economic agenda nicknamed "One Big Beautiful Bill," aims to trim federal spending while offering significant tax cuts. The bill calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid reductions, expanded work requirements for health and nutrition programs, and cost shifts to states. With nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers potentially losing health coverage, safety net hospital closures on the horizon and millions at risk of increased food insecurity, the bill's fate in the Senate holds high stakes for New Yorkers and recipients of these services nationwide. The bill advanced to the Senate after passing in the House 215-214, with two Republicans siding with Democrats in voting against the bill while two others didn't vote at all and one voted "present." New York Governor Kathy Hochul holds a press conference following a roundtable discussion about federal DOGE layoffs on March 3, 2025, in New York City. 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New York's seven GOP representatives turned their backs on their constituents by passing a budget that guts Medicaid and takes a sledgehammer to our health care system. I've worked hard to expand health care access, and I'm not backing down — Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) June 2, 2025 Hochul also hit out at the decision to merely increase the State and Local Tax (SALT) cap rather than entirely scrap it. She said it hurts higher-income states that end up benefitting relatively less than smaller states across the country. She criticized New York Republicans in the House who voted in support of Trump's bill, saying they refused to "advocate for the best interests of their state." Among the seven Republican representatives from New York, only Andrew Garbarino did not support the bill, choosing not to vote. The bill would slash $13.5 billion annually from New York's health care sector, primarily through reductions in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplace funding, according to official state figures. Nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers face the loss of health insurance, and rural and safety net hospitals may be forced to close as a result of the cuts. Representative Andrew Garbarino, a New York Republican, leaves a House Ethics Committee closed-door meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on November 20, 2024, in Washington. Representative Andrew Garbarino, a New York Republican, leaves a House Ethics Committee closed-door meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on November 20, 2024, in bill also seeks to shrink SNAP benefits by $267 billion over a decade, tightening eligibility and shifting more costs to states beginning in 2028. Nearly 3 million New Yorkers could see reduced food aid, and the administrative burden on the state could exceed $2.1 billion per year. New requirements would mandate that parents of children age 7 and older work to maintain benefits, a significant change from the previous exemption for parents of children under 18. These are also just some of the concerns a handful of Republican senators have raised as the chamber prepares to vote on the House-passed version of the bill. Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri have voiced opposition to Medicaid cuts. Other skeptical Republicans, such as Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have voiced concerns about economic aspects of the bill, including the potential to increase the country's debt limit by $5 trillion, which also set off Elon Musk and inspired the tech mogul to initiate a war of words with the president on Thursday. What People Are Saying New York Governor Kathy Hochul, in a letter to Senate Republicans: "As Governor of New York, I am writing to you ahead of the Senate's consideration of the House reconciliation legislative package to underscore the detrimental impact this bill would have on my state. If enacted, the proposed bill would gut New York's healthcare system, strip families of crucial nutrition benefits, trigger billions in economic losses through the removal of clean energy tax credits, stagnate growth in education and critical technology sectors, and continue to unfairly tax hard-working New Yorkers by failing to fully repeal the SALT cap. Passage of this legislation would worsen the affordability crisis and inject further instability into an already fragile economy. "If New York Republicans in the House refuse to advocate for the best interests of their state, I will. As Governor, I must stand up for middle-class New Yorkers who cannot afford the consequences of this budget. I urge you to reject the House proposal and instead work with Leader Schumer on a bipartisan reconciliation package that delivers for working families, invests in the future, and reflects the real needs of the people we serve." Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, in an op-ed for The New York Times: "If Congress cuts funding for Medicaid benefits, Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care. And hospitals will close. It's that simple. And that pattern will replicate in states across the country." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat: [The bill is a] "reckless, regressive and reprehensible GOP tax scam." House Speaker Mike Johnson, on the passage of the bill: "Today, the House has passed generational, nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans." What Happens Next The Senate is scheduled to debate the bill before July 4, aiming to meet that deadline at the president's insistence despite having until the end of September to pass the bill. The final legislation is expected to reflect alterations from ongoing negotiations.
