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A specialized laboratory examining the brain of the gunman who committed Maine’s deadliest mass shooting found profound brain damage of the kind that has been seen in veterans exposed to repeated blasts from weapons use. The lab’s findings were included in an autopsy report that was compiled by the Maine chief medical examiner’s office and released by the gunman’s family. The gunman, Robert Card, was a grenade instructor in the Army Reserve. (Philipps, 3/6)

The early expansion of VA health care benefits is a major win for Pennsylvania veterans who often have to deal with life-altering conditions following deployment. "I didn't really think about it at the time, but everything kind of hit me when I came back that I kind of had to take it seriously," Jack Stonesifer. ... All veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military are now eligible to enroll in VA health care. This went into effect under the PACT Act on Tuesday, nearly eight years earlier than originally planned. (Guay, 3/6)

Danny Sebeck was shaving on an August day in 2022, when he spotted a lump on his neck he hadn't noticed before. It was probably nothing, he thought. Later that month, he was talking with a close friend who said he had noticed a similar bump, too. The two had served together at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, as missileers -- a high-stress job in which young officers are stationed below ground in launch control centers to keep careful watch over and, if called upon, fire America's nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. (Novelly, 3/7)

The Department of Veterans Affairs is notifying thousands of veterans about a disclosure of personal information in the service network that includes most of Florida. The department said the disclosure was caused by a former Orlando VA health care system employee. The VA said the person emailed documents to a personal account on the last day of employment, but there’s no evidence the information went farther than that. (Byrnes, 3/6)