The nation in brief

Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Robert McDonald of Ohio testifies before a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearings to examine his nomination to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 22, 2014.  (AP Photo)
Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Robert McDonald of Ohio testifies before a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearings to examine his nomination to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo)

VA nominee vows to transform agency

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs pledged Tuesday to transform the beleaguered agency, saying that "systematic failures" must be addressed.

Robert McDonald cited problems with patient access to health care, transparency, accountability and integrity, among other issues.

"The seriousness of the moment demands urgent action," McDonald told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "There is a lot of work to do to transform the department and it will not be easy, but it is essential and can be achieved."

McDonald, 61, a former Procter & Gamble CEO and an Army veteran, said taking care of veterans is personal for him. His father served in the Army Air Corps after World War II, and his wife's father was shot down over Europe and survived harsh treatment as a prisoner of war. Another relative was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and receives care from the VA, McDonald said, and a nephew is in the Air Force, deployed in the Middle East.

Perdue wins GOP runoff in Senate race

ATLANTA -- Businessman David Perdue defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston in a Republican runoff for Georgia's U.S. Senate nomination Tuesday night, setting up a general election matchup against Democrat Michelle Nunn and Libertarian Amanda Swafford.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Perdue led Kingston by about 8,000 votes -- enough for 50.9 percent of the vote. Perdue also led Kingston in the initial May primary.

Perdue is a former corporate executive making his first bid for public office. He campaigned as an outsider and called Kingston a career politician who has done little to solve the nation's problems.

Kingston has represented Georgia's 1st Congressional District since 1993. In his home of Chatham County, he won 86 percent, with about 12,500 more votes than Perdue.

Republicans would have to gain six seats in the November general elections to win Senate control for the final two years of President Barack Obama's administration.

Montana rape-case judge is censured

HELENA, Mont. -- The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday publicly reprimanded a judge who gave a lenient sentence to a rapist after suggesting the 14-year-old victim shared some of the responsibility for the crime.

District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Billings appeared before the court in Helena, where Chief Justice Mike McGrath read the prepared censure statement. A censure is a rarely used public declaration by the high court that a judge is guilty of misconduct.

Baugh sent Stacey Dean Rambold to prison for 30 days last year after he pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.

Rambold was a 47-year-old business teacher at Billings Senior High School at the time of the 2007 rape. The victim was one of his students. She committed suicide while the case was pending trial.

Baugh said during Rambold's sentencing in August that the teenager was "probably as much in control of the situation as the defendant" and that she "appeared older than her chronological age."

After public outcry, Baugh apologized for the comments and acknowledged that the short prison sentence violated state law.

Common Core supporters sue Jindal

BATON ROUGE -- Parents and teachers who support the Common Core education standards are suing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, accusing him of illegally meddling in education policy.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday says the Republican governor and his Administration Division "have sown chaos in the education system" and violated the Louisiana Constitution by issuing a series of executive orders aimed at undermining Common Core.

Jindal said in a statement that the lawsuit has no merit and cited a law that gives his administration the authority to oversee contracts.

In June, Jindal suspended testing contracts that the state education department planned to use to buy testing material aligned with Common Core for the coming school year.

Jindal was a one-time Common Core supporter and is a potential presidential candidate in 2016. He now opposes the standards as a federal intrusion into local education, echoing criticism levied by Tea Party supporters around the country.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 07/23/2014

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