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Rieckhoff, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
• A year after he was forced out as P&G's CEO, McDonald, 61, was tapped by Obama this week to overhaul an agency reeling from revelations of widespread treatment delays and falsified records to cover up months-long waits for appointments.
• The White House released a scathing report last week, saying the VA was battling a "corrosive culture" of distrust, lacks resources and was ill-prepared to deal with an influx of new and older veterans with a range of medical and mental health needs. The agency serves nearly 9 million veterans with an annual budget of $154 billion, one of the largest in the federal government.
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Police arrest more than 500 at sit-in after Hong Kong stages anti-China pro-democracy rally
• HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong police arrested more than 500 people who refused to leave a street in the city's financial district Wednesday, a day after tens of thousands of people joined a massive march to demand democracy that's free from China's interference.
• The march has become an annual affair held on the anniversary of the day China took over Hong Kong from Britain on June 1, 1997 with the promise to give the city a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. But there is growing unease among its residents -- especially the youth -- that the Western-style civil liberties they've know all their lives are being eroded as Beijing has increasingly tried to impose its authority over the freewheeling capitalist enclave.
• The fears are only going to be heightened following the pre-dawn crackdown by the Hong Kong police, who normally do not have an antagonistic relationship with the people, unlike the security forces in mainland China.
• Police said 511 people were arrested for unlawful assembly in the Central business district and preventing police from carrying out their duties. After warnings failed to dislodge them, the police moved in to remove the protesters, who lay down on the street with arms locked, taking them away one by one. The protesters had vowed to stay until 8 a.m., just before the height of rush hour begins, but the police started moving in to evict them at about 3 a.m.
• Some left willingly but others were forcibly removed, taken away by officers on both arms or carried away off the ground. One officer stood behind a protester and put an arm around the man's neck as he and other officers tried to pull his hands (Continued on page 23)
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