Camp LeJeune

Federal lawyers defending the U.S. Government in hundreds of lawsuits connected to decades of contaminated drinking water aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune attempted to halt all deadlines connected to the case until two weeks after the government shutdown ends.

Hearings continue as the fight for compensation for victims of decades of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune slowly plods forward.

Eric Flynn is a partner with the Bell Legal Group, which is handling hundreds of the toxic water cases, and he said more than 2,500 lawsuits have been filed, and 411,000 claims remain pending with the Department of the Navy after the Camp Lejeune Justice Act opened a two-year-window to sue for damages related to illnesses that may have been caused by toxic water aboard the base. That window closed just over a year ago.

The Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act has strong bipartisan support in both chambers. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the Senate.

Attorneys with Zois and Miller, one of the firms representing victims who are suing the federal government and the Department of the Navy for damages connected to illnesses cause by toxic water aboard the base, said the federal court has ruled that experts can use established science to explain why contaminated water likely caused a claimant’s illness, but if a report tries to introduce new studies or exposure models that weren’t disclosed before last December, they’ll be excluded.

The U.S. Marine Corps plans a $22 million dollar electricity microgrid at Camp Lejeune, to keep a key section of the base running during major outages.

Authorities say two U.S. Marines were killed and 17 others injured when the 7-ton truck they were riding in overturned near their North Carolina base. The State Highway Patrol said the truck was making a right turn onto a highway Wednesday afternoon when it lost control and overturned.

Some active military members are resistant to inoculation while VA hospitals provide another avenue for the shot as demand outstrips supply.

The U.S. military and conservation groups forged an unusual alliance to help save the red-cockaded woodpecker, but a Trump-era move to take it off the endangered list could threaten the bird.

RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Defense identified two service members killed in Iraq on Sunday as members of a Marine special forces unit based in North…