Thursday Morning Joe: Veterans bill showdown, searching for Sgt. Bergdahl, Oscars primer...

By Northwest Military News Team on February 27, 2014

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 2.27.14 >>>

Armed men seized the regional government headquarters and parliament in Ukraine's Crimea and raised the Russian flag.

A Democratic bill enhancing health care, education and job-training benefits for veterans faces an uphill climb as the Senate approaches a showdown vote on the $21 billion legislation.

The Pentagon has named acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michael Lumpkin as the point person for efforts to bring home prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

People in the United States remain divided on how to handle military spending, according to a new poll

The U.S. Air Force intends to issue a request for proposal on its new long-range strike bomber this fall.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed cloture on legislation that would expand veterans healthcare programs and provide them with tuition assistance, a move that signals he will not allow any GOP amendments to be considered.

The Marine Corps' senior enlisted adviser told lawmakers he believes focusing on the commissary benefit as a potential source of defense budget savings is a mistake.

The U.S. Army will request money to buy 100 new UH-72 Lakota Light Utility Helicopters in the fiscal 2015 budget.

The proposed drone replacement for the U-2 spy plane is still years away from being as effective despite retirement proposal.

The Pentagon has a detailed five-year spending plan that adheres to federal defense spending caps should sequestration return in 2016. Just don't expect to see it anytime soon.

U.S. Sen. John McCain says he wants to block two nominees for high-level Pentagon jobs - but the Senate's "maverick" is about to find out a hold isn't what it used to be.

The Army has disqualified 588 soldiers as sexual assault counselors, recruiters and drill sergeants for infractions ranging from sexual assault to child abuse to drunken driving.

Despite "daunting fiscal challenges and strategic uncertainty," the Army will continue to be the best in the world, says Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III.

The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO, is still relevant and is needed for future conflicts, but its size is expected to shrink significantly.

President Barack Obama announced that retired Army Master Sgt. Jose Rodela will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor, during a March 18 ceremony at the White House.

Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts are the key for Airmen involved with the multilateral exercise Cope North.

Army introduces four new mountaineering, climbing kits.

Lobbying isn't decreasing at all, and instead it's simply going underground.

How wolves change rivers.

A new app will prevent your distracted ass for getting hit by a car.

Every state's favorite music.

Oscars primer so that you don't have to spend every day until the ceremony airs at the movie theater.

Oscar snubs get particularly brutal when you start tallying how many phenomenal directors never won a Best Director prize.

Let's watch a prank.