Military pay raise assured at a minimum of 1.4% effective in January. And, who do Americans see as the greatest threat to security; Al Qaeda or North Korea?

Senate could vote soon on DADT

WASHINGTON — Senate lawmakers may be just hours away from advancing a repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” law — or just hours from a bitter defeat for gay rights advocates who may have to wait years for another chance.

Profits and Scrutiny for Colleges Courting Veterans

WASHINGTON — When Congress moved in 2008 to sweeten tuition payments for veterans, it was celebrated as a way to ensure that military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could go to college at no cost and to replicate the historic benefits society gained from the G.I. Bill after World War II.

Analysts: N. Korea meeting can’t be viewed as China caving to U.S.

SEOUL — A senior Chinese official met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Thursday, following days of increasingly sharp criticism from the U.S. over China’s perceived unwillingness to curb provocations from the North.

Al Qaeda? North Korea? Who Americans see as greatest security threat

Nearly two-thirds of Americans consider Al Qaeda and its affiliates to pose the most serious security threat the US faces, well above that from a saber-rattling North Korea or a fiery-tongued Iran.

Pay Raise: 1.4% Assured; 1.9% Unlikely

Military members are guaranteed at least a 1.4 percent pay raise effective Jan. 1, even if a bitterly divided Congress can’t pass a defense authorization bill.

South Korea has a right to defend itself, Mullen says

SEOUL — The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday the U.S. would not stand in the way of a strong South Korean response to further North Korean aggression, and had not asked the South to rule out airstrikes — an action that could dramatically escalate the simmering conflict between the two Koreas.

Taliban video shows US soldier held in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A new video released by the Taliban shows Spc. Bowe Bergdahl, the only known U.S. serviceman held captive in Afghanistan, with bags under his eyes and what appears to be an abrasion on his left cheek.

Handover to Afghan troops will start in few months

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Senior U.S. military commanders say the transition of security responsibilities from U.S. to Afghan troops will begin in the next several months.

Petraeus’ Tone at Odds With Obama’s Optimism

WASHINGTON — Gen. David Petraeus’ lukewarm assessment of the path ahead in Afghanistan puts the war commander’s tone at odds with a more optimistic message coming from the White House.

Vet in Westboro Stalking Case Released

After spending a week in the Sedgwick County Jail, charged with stalking and conspiring to harm members of a controversial Topeka church, Ryan Newell was released Tuesday.