Quill Lawrence

The lead Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Richard Blumenthal, said continued cuts to VA's workforce are incomprehensible and inexcusable, and that unfilled doesn't mean unnecessary.

An inspector general report in August found VA faces severe staffing shortages for medical officers and nurses.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News.

The V-22 Osprey looks futuristic with massive propellers on the ends of two wings.

It lifts off the ground vertically like a helicopter and then jerks in midair as the propellers lurch forward to fly like a plane.

That gives the Osprey unique capabilities, but also engineering challenges.

Reports this week from the Navy and the Government Accountability Office noted four fatal accidents with the aircraft since 2022 that killed 20 service members.

The reports blame a shortage of personnel to do maintenance on the Osprey and found that the Navy, Marines and Air Force have done a poor job sharing relevant safety information.

The reports also say it's not clear who is in charge of fixing the potentially fatal issues with the aircraft.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News.

Kelly is a former Navy combat pilot.

After he and five other Democrats made the video, President Trump accused them of sedition punishable by death.

Now a defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that the Navy sent recommendations to the Department of Defense's General Counsel about the highly unusual possibility of recalling Kelly to active duty in order to punish him.

The official offered no further details.

Senator Kelly's office told NPR that Kelly won't be intimidated and said, quote, Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump could do themselves a favor and learn about the country's history, the Constitution, and the rule of law.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News.

I wasn't working on it very hard.

It would have been nice.

I think we would have picked up two seats if we did that.

Kelly is a former Navy combat pilot.