MST Restitution Bill Raises Questions About Veterans Falsely Accused, Wrongfully Convicted of Sexual Assault

H.R. 7976 would expand retroactive disability compensation for qualifying military sexual trauma survivors, but the proposal offers no new restitution, record-clearing process or compensation for service members whose lives and careers were damaged by demonstrably false accusations or wrongful convictions.

WASHINGTON | A congressional proposal intended to provide financial restitution to veterans affected by military sexual trauma is raising broader questions about fairness in the military justice system, particularly for service members who have been falsely accused or wrongfully convicted of sexual misconduct.

The Moral Injury Recognition and Restitution Act, H.R. 7976, would allow qualifying veterans whose disability compensation claims are approved for conditions resulting from military sexual trauma, or MST, to receive retroactive benefits dating to the day after their discharge.

Supporters see the measure as a way to address years of delayed compensation for survivors who may have struggled to report sexual assault, seek treatment or navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs' disability claims system.

But the legislation leaves a separate category of military injustice unaddressed: service members who were accused of sexual offenses they did not commit, including those who were wrongfully convicted by military courts.

The distinction exposes a larger policy debate over whether Congress should pursue a broader approach to military justice restitution — one that protects legitimate survivors while also providing meaningful remedies for veterans whose careers, reputations and freedom were damaged by proven wrongful allegations or convictions.

New Hampshire Senate ad distorts Chris Pappas' wealth, voting record in race against John Sununu

A Republican super PAC claims the Democratic congressman's net worth surged more than 1,000% and links his votes to his husband's technology industry career. Financial disclosures and congressional voting records tell a more complicated story.

WASHINGTON | An ad airing in the New Hampshire Senate race tells viewers that Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas is “out for himself,” using cherry-picked figures to falsely claim that his net worth has skyrocketed while in office.

The ad also suggests that he voted for certain bills to benefit his husband, a former Amazon lobbyist who now works for Uber. But the ad misrepresents Pappas’ position on one of those measures, and omits key context on the others.

Pappas, who has served in the House since 2019, is running against Republican John E. Sununu, a former U.S. senator from one of the state’s most prominent political families. The Cook Political Report rates the race as leaning Democratic; it was a toss-up as early as last month.

Data centers and electricity prices: What voters should know as AI boom fuels political debate

As Democrats and Republicans battle over rising utility bills ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, new research reveals a complicated reality: Data centers can increase electricity costs, but their impact depends on energy demand, grid capacity and who pays for infrastructure upgrades.

WASHINGTON | It’s now taken for granted that data centers across the U.S. are driving up electricity prices. As many Americans have soured on the energy-consuming facilities powering digital life and the AI boom, the issue has become central to the midterm elections.

Ad after political ad targets data centers, with many stating as fact that electricity prices have gone up as a result.

“No one asked for that data center to be built here, and no one here is getting a damn thing from it except higher electric bills,” one ad in Ohio, paid for by Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, says. 

Another ad in Texas, from Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, alleges that his Republican opponent’s support for data centers led to “skyrocketing utility bills.” 

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent airing ads that make claims about data centers and electricity prices this cycle, with heavy spending on races in states such as Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to the ad-tracking service AdImpact.

Recent surveys have found that a majority of Americans would not support a nearby data center, making opposition to the facilities a rare area of bipartisan agreement. The top reason to oppose data centers, according to one poll, is rising electricity prices.

At the same time, Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly claimed that data centers have beneficial effects on electricity prices.

'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' FactChecking Claims from Trump’s Midterm Rallies

Throughout October, President Donald Trump has traveled across the country, holding campaign rallies supporting Republican candidates in the 2026 midterms. He has several more rallies scheduled before Election Day on Nov. 3. 

In his remarks, which tend to last more than an hour, he has mostly boasted about his and Republican policies, while attacking some Democrats running for office and others who are not. Along the way, the president has made a number of false, misleading or exaggerated claims, many of which will be familiar to our readers.

Here are more than a dozen of his rally claims that we flagged, including statements about the economy, crime and immigration. He repeated nearly all of these claims during multiple campaign stops.

Alaska Ad Missing Context in Attacking Peltola’s Border Votes

The Alaska Republican's campaign links fentanyl deaths to immigration policies and accuses Democrat Mary Peltola of opposing border enforcement. Congressional records show she repeatedly broke with her party to support tougher security measures.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | An ad from the campaign of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska features a mother whose 22-year-old son died from fentanyl and who claims Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola took contributions from “liberals [who] opened our borders to the drug cartels” and then “voted with them against securing our border.”

But the ad leaves out several important points of context.

After saying that her son died from fentanyl, the mother, Sandy Snodgrass, says that “lower 48 liberals opened our borders to the drug cartels.” While the ad suggests a link between illegal immigration and her son’s death, experts — including government officials — say the vast majority of fentanyl coming into the U.S. is smuggled through legal ports of entry, mostly by American citizens.

As for Peltola voting with Democrats “against securing our border,” Peltola voted against a Republican bill in 2023 called the Secure the Border Act, which sought a return to many of the hardline border policies enacted by President Donald Trump during his first term. But the following year, Peltola was among a handful of Democrats who joined Republicans in support of a nearly identical bill. Setting aside the impact of either party’s border policies, Peltola often bucked her party when voting on immigration bills. 

Paxton ad distorts Talarico's tax record as Texas Senate race intensifies

Republican Ken Paxton's campaign uses selectively edited remarks to portray Democrat James Talarico as a supporter of sweeping tax increases, but legislative records and the candidates' full statements tell a more complicated story.

In late August, Democrat James Talarico said that he had told “every … wealthy person” that “if you are OK with getting taxed more, if you’re OK with me limiting your influence in politics, you are welcome to join this movement that we are building.” But an ad from his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, skips the part about wealthy people and influencing politics to brand Talarico as a proponent of raising all kinds of taxes.

Polling shows Talarico, a former Texas state representative, and Paxton, the state’s attorney general, locked in a tight battle for the open Texas Senate seat.

The Paxton ad, which has primarily aired on broadcast television over the past week, according to the ad tracking service AdImpact, takes other quotes from Talarico out of context and claims he “voted for an income tax” in the state and is “pushing higher property taxes.” It ends by saying, “Texans can’t afford Talarico’s radical agenda.”