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Remembrance, politics take stage Washington Memorial Day

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Remembrance, politics take stage Washington Memorial Day


Washington Veteran Tod Crone watches as American Legion Post 29 Commander Michael York concludes the May 27, 2024 Memorial Day service. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

WASHINGTON — A Memorial Day service in Washington’s central park Monday morning opened with many of the typical traditions for the solemn holiday.

American Legion Post 29 members posted the colors, and Pastor Anthony DeVaughn gave an invocation. Speakers offered words of remembrance for prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, while other recited Logan’s Order and the Gettysburg Address.

Veterans at the event stood for recognition — whether in dress uniforms or T-shirts and shorts — and were met with applause. Guests pledged allegiance to the flag, and heard Robin Flattery Timmins’ rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

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“I want to thank you for continuing to honor the memory of those who have gone on before us, and given their all,” Legion Post Commander Michael York said to the crowd, before paraphrasing a quote from Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Those who’ve long enjoyed such privileges as we do, forget in time that men and women have died to win these privileges.”

But in another address at the event, keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson set a more partisan tone.

Keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson took a partisan tone in his Memorial Day address in Washington. Peterson argued that what he called "social and moral decay" had created a nation fallen service members would no longer recognize. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Keynote speaker and retired Lt. Col. Darwin Peterson took a partisan tone in his Memorial Day address in Washington. Peterson argued that what he called “social and moral decay” had created a nation fallen service members would no longer recognize. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Peterson said he prepared his speech by thinking about what questions a soldier killed in action might ask, if they could reach through time and inquire Americans today. The only such question, Peterson concluded, would be whether their sacrifice had been worth it, and created a decisively better country.

The answer, the retired military official argued, was no. He lamented the state of several hot-button issues — referencing roughly 600,000 abortion procedures performed in 2021, record-breaking levels of illegal immigration in 2024, federal support of electric vehicles, transgender students’ rights in school and criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, to name a few — and cited them as proof the nation was “not doing enough” to honor the service members memorialized on May 27.

Later in the speech, Peterson called on audience members to “elect leaders” that would “stop the social and moral decay that we see all around us,” referencing the same list of grievances.

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“At this point, I imagine that some of you are somewhat annoyed with me,” he said. “Many of you may feel that a Memorial Day observance is not really a place for politics. I agree with you … I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking about honoring the great American patriots who gave their lives for their countrymen and their country. A country they would no longer recognize.”

The address drew a standing ovation from some in the audience, while others remained seated on lawn chairs and benches, declining to clap at all.

The ceremonies continued as normal after Peterson’s speech, returning somewhat seamlessly to less contentious traditions of years past.

Silhouetted by a clear, sunny sky and the shade of a tree in Washington's central park, an American Legion Post 29 member plays taps on Memorial Day, 2024. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Silhouetted by a clear, sunny sky and the shade of a tree in Washington’s central park, an American Legion Post 29 member plays taps on Memorial Day, 2024. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Another speaker read off the names of area veterans who died since last Memorial Day, each accompanied by the chime of a bell. Volunteers ceremoniously folded the American flag, previously draped over a casket. A rifle salute rang out across the square, followed by the somber bugle call of taps, before Timmins and audience members sang “God Bless America.”

DeVaughn gave a short benediction, and the colors were retired.

“May we never forget those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, and may we continue to thank God,” said York, before dismissing the assembled crowd.

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Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com





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Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City

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Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City


Verizon said on Wednesday that its wireless service was suffering an outage impacting cellular data and voice services.

The nation’s largest wireless carrier said that its “engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly.”

Verizon’s statement came after a swath of social media comments directed at Verizon, with users saying that their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or “SOS,” indicating a lack of connection.

Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X.

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Two hours later, Verizon posted an update on social media, saying that its engineers were “continuing to address today’s service interruptions,” but did not say if a specific reason for the outage had been identified or when it could be resolved.

“We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible,” the company said.

Despite those efforts, shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET, Verizon issued a third statement that contained little new information. The company said teams were “on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue.”

Users had initially reported problems with Verizon’s competitors, T-Mobile and AT&T, as well. But both companies said they were not experiencing any service problems.

“T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected,” a spokesperson told NBC News. “However, due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time.”

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A spokeswoman for AT&T also said the company’s network was “operating normally.”

A Verizon store in New York City on Jan. 12, 2024.Angus Mordant / Bloomberg via Getty Images

In Washington, D.C., the District’s official emergency notification system sent out a message to residents saying that the Verizon outage was “nationwide.”

“If you have an emergency and can not connect using your Verizon Wireless device, please connect using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police district or fire station to report the emergency,” the AlertDC system told recipients.

New York City’s Office of Emergency Management also said it was aware of the outage without mentioning Verizon by name. The city said it was “working closely with our partners” to review the outage and “assess any potential effects on city agencies & essential services.”



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Vance to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday

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Vance to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday


People walk along a street in downtown of Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP


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Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

NUUK, Greenland — Along the narrow, snow-covered main street in Greenland’s capital, international journalists and camera crews stop passersby every few meters (feet) asking them for their thoughts on a crisis which Denmark’s prime minister has warned could potentially trigger the end of NATO.

Greenland is at the center of a geopolitical storm as U.S. President Donald Trump is insisting he wants to own the island — and the residents of its capital Nuuk say it is not for sale. Trump said he wants to control Greenland at any cost and the White House has not ruled out taking the island by force.

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U.S. Vice President JD Vance will meet Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Arctic island, which is a semiautonomous territory of the United States’ NATO ally Denmark.

Tuuta Mikaelsen, a 22-year-old student, told The Associated Press in Nuuk that she hoped American officials would get the message to “back off.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a news conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen on Tuesday that, “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”

Greenland is strategically important because as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport untapped deposits of critical minerals which are needed for computers and phones.

Trump also said he wants the island to expand America’s security and has cited what he says is the threat from Russian and Chinese ships as a reason to control it.

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But both experts and Greenlanders question that claim.

“The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market,” Lars Vintner, a heating engineer told AP. He said he frequently goes sailing and hunting and has never seen Russian or Chinese ships.

His friend, Hans Nørgaard, agreed, adding “what has come out of the mouth of Donald Trump about all these ships is just fantasy.”

Denmark has said the U.S. — which already has a military presence — can boost its bases on Greenland. For that reason, “security is just a cover,” Vintner said, suggesting Trump actually wants to own the island to make money from its untapped natural resources.

Nørgaard told AP he filed a police complaint in Nuuk against Trump’s “aggressive” behavior because, he said, American officials are threatening the people of Greenland and NATO. He suggested Trump was using the ships as a pretext to further American expansion.

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“Donald Trump would like to have Greenland, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would like Ukraine and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping would like to have Taiwan,” Nørgaard said.

Mikaelsen, the student, said Greenlanders benefit from being part of Denmark which provides free health care, education and payments during study.

“I don’t want the U.S. to take that away from us,” she said.

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources said it’s “unfathomable” that the United States is discussing taking over a NATO ally and urged the Trump administration to listen to voices from the Arctic island’s people.



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HIGHLIGHT | Lawrence Dots a Pass to Washington for a 6-Yard TD

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HIGHLIGHT | Lawrence Dots a Pass to Washington for a 6-Yard TD


DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Foyesade Oluokun, TE Brenton Strange, S Eric Murray, and S Antonio Johnson  speak with the media after practice on Thursday ahead of the Wild Card Matchup vs. Bills.

0:00 – 2:28 – DE Dawuane Smoot

2:29 – 6:24 – LB Foyesade Oluokun

6:25 – 9:25 – TE Brenton Strange

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9:26 – 11:32 – S Eric Murray

11:33 – 13:46 – S Antonio Johnson



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