Ben Finley, Author at The Rapid City Post

Jennifer Bittner holds her 6-year-old daughter Amelia at their home on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Pflugerville, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)

Last-minute scramble over pay takes a toll on military families during the shutdown

October 30, 2025

The government shutdown is taking a toll on military families as they live without the guarantee of a paycheck. Alicia Blevins is married to a Marine stationed in North Carolina. She’s going to see a therapist because of the grinding uncertainty. The Trump administration has found ways to pay the troops twice during the shutdown. But the process has been fraught with anxiety for many Americans in uniform. The White House said it found the money just days before paychecks were supposed to go out Friday. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said money may be unavailable for the troop’s next paycheck on Nov. 15.

VA hospitals are finding it harder to fill jobs, watchdog says

August 12, 2025

An independent watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs says VA hospitals have reported an increase in severe staffing shortages. Many are having trouble filling jobs for doctors, nurses and psychologists. The term staffing shortage refers to specific jobs that have become hard to fill, not necessarily vacancies. The VA’s Office of Inspector General surveyed 139 VA facilities following reports that 80,000 VA jobs would be cut. That figure was later reduced to 30,000 jobs. The Trump administration said the surveys don’t reflect actual job vacancies. But Democratic lawmakers said the growing challenge of filling VA jobs will ultimately hurt care for veterans.

FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks Feb. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Justice Department targets New York attorney general, a Trump foe. Here’s what to know

August 9, 2025

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is zeroing in on New York Attorney General Letitia James. A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that James has been subpoenaed for records related to the lawsuit she won against Trump for lying about his wealth. Another person said the subpoena is part of an investigation into whether James violated Trump’s civil rights. The people could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Democratic attorney general for New York has denied any wrongdoing. Her lawyer has accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the Justice Department.

FILE - This image provided by U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia shows a stockpile of homemade explosives Federal agents seized when they arrested Brad Spafford, a Virginia man on a firearms charge in Dec. 2024. (U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)

Man accused of stockpiling bombs, using Biden photo for target practice, pleads guilty

July 18, 2025

A Virginia man has pleaded guilty in a federal case that accused him of stockpiling the largest number of finished explosives in FBI history. He was also accused of using then-President Joe Biden’s photo for target practice. Brad Spafford pleaded guilty in federal court in Norfolk to possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Federal authorities said they seized about 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices at Spafford’s home in Isle of Wight County. His sentencing is scheduled for December. He remains in jail.

US carrier strike group embarks on a scheduled deployment amid Middle East tensions

June 24, 2025

The United States’ most advanced aircraft carrier has left its base in Virginia for a regularly scheduled deployment that could put it near Israel. The U.S. was already planning to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford when American warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday. The bombings supported Israel’s goals of eliminating Iran’s nuclear threats. President Donald Trump has said Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, although he has since expressed frustration that both sides violated the truce. The Ford is sailing for the European theater of command, which includes the Mediterranean Sea. Nearly 4,500 American sailors departed Tuesday from the nation’s largest Navy base in Norfolk.

Casket-shaped stones mark the 62 graves identified at the original site of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., on May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Rebuilding one of the nation’s oldest Black churches to begin at Juneteenth ceremony

June 18, 2025

A groundbreaking is scheduled in Virginia for the rebuilding of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches. The Juneteenth ceremony will be held Thursday at Colonial Williamsburg, a museum that owns the land where the church stood. First Baptist Church of Williamsburg officially established itself in 1776. Its free and enslaved congregants erected their first meetinghouse around 1805. The wooden building was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. The museum uncovered the brick foundation in 2020. The church will be rebuilt using pine, poplar and oak woods, which were common in the 1800s. The reconstructed church will open next year.

Archaeologist Jack Gary holds up a photo of a church that once stood beside the gunpowder magazine at Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., on Thursday, My 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

A Virginia museum found 4 Confederate soldiers’ remains. It’s trying to identify them

June 4, 2025

Archaeologists in Virginia are trying to identify the remains of four Confederate soldiers who were killed in the Civil War. The skeletons were found on the grounds of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The museum’s archaeologists were excavating a building from the American Revolution when it discovered the remains. They believe the men died at a field hospital that operated during a Civil War battle in 1862. The soldiers were reinterred this week at a Williamsburg cemetery. The museum’s effort to identify them will continue for several months. It will include trying to find living descendants and matching their DNA to the remains.

Ben Finley.