CBS News
“Do not ignore ability”: ER nurse fights for the right of amputees to join the Armed Forces
Spokane, Washington — Hannah Cvancara is motivated, physically fit and patriotic, everything the U.S. military desires. Except for a condition the military considers disqualifying: an amputated left foot, which occurred when she was just 10 months old, the result of a rare birth defect.
“I’ve never counted it as part of my identity,” Cvancara told CBS News. “I’m just Hannah, who happens to be missing a leg.”
However, she hasn’t slowed down since. She rock climbs, snowboards, surfs and hikes, and took part in swim team, track and volleyball in school.
But while her amputation hasn’t stopped her at all, the military has, rejecting her from the Navy.
“The subject applicant does not meet established physical standards,” the Navy’s rejection letter to Cvancara in March 2022 read.
Active-duty troops who lose limbs are still eligible to serve. But for those seeking to enlist, the “current absence of a foot” is automatically disqualifying, according to the Defense Department’s Medical Standards for Military Service
When contacted by CBS News about the policy, a Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement Monday that, “At this time, there are no changes to policy, and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the future. We have no additional information to provide.”
Cvancara’s desire to get into the military comes at a time when recruitment numbers have reached their lowest levels since the Vietnam War.
“Our recruitment is suffering, and there are plenty of people with the right heart to serve that can’t,” Cvancara argues.
Cvancara is in training to try and enlist again by seeking a medical waiver to join the Washington Air National Guard. She is also a full-time ER nurse — often on her feet for 12-hour shifts — and wants to continue doing her job while in uniform.
“She adds a joy,” Cvancara’s father, Lt. Col. Joseph Cvancara, a retired Air Force flight surgeon, said of his daughter. “Her middle name is Joy. And she fits it. She perseveres.”
Alex Gates, Cvancara’s prosthetist, says medical progress has been met by antiquated thinking.
“The rule was written back when prosthetics were made out of wood and leather,” said Gates, adding that he believes Hannah is “more able-bodied than most people that we come in contact with every day.”
Hannah has also taken her challenge to Congress, lending her name to a House bill — the “Hannah Cvancara Service Act” — that would change the U.S. military’s policy on the issue.
Hannah says she understands the policy, and acknowledges the concern that an amputee could be viewed as someone unable to deploy easily. But the waiver she’s seeking would apply to a medical position. And that advancements in prosthetics have allowed amputees to take a far more active role than what may have been possible in the past.
“I’m not asking that we ignore disability and pretend it doesn’t exist,” Hannah said. “Rather, that we do not ignore ability.”
CBS News
North Carolina governor’s race rocked by CNN report on Mark Robinson’s alleged incendiary comments
Editor’s note: This story contains highly offensive language.
Washington — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, posted a slew of incendiary, explicit and racist comments on a pornographic website more than a decade ago, according to a CNN investigation released Thursday that has shaken the state’s gubernatorial race.
The report focused on comments made by an account with the name “minisoldr” on a pornographic website called Nude Africa between 2008 and 2012. The account used the name “mark robinson” in its profile and a number of biographical details posted by the account line up with Robinson’s own history, according to CNN. The network reported that Robinson appeared to use the account name on other platforms over the years, including YouTube and Pinterest, and that the email address associated with the account belonged to Robinson.
On the Nude Africa forum, the user expressed a desire to “bring [slavery] back” and “buy a few” slaves, while identifying himself as a “black NAZI,” according to CNN.
“Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” the account wrote in a discussion about Black Republicans in 2010, according to CNN.
“I like watching tranny on girl porn!” the minisoldr account also posted on Nude Africa, according to CNN. “That’s f****** hot! It takes the man out while leaving the man in! And yeah I’m a ‘perv’ too!”
In March 2012, minisoldr posted a preference for Hitler over former President Barack Obama’s administration: “I’d take Hitler over any of the s*** that’s in Washington right now!”
Minisoldr also used racist language to vilify civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr.
“I’m not in the KKK. They don’t let blacks join. If I was in the KKK I would have called him Martin Lucifer Koon!” the account posted in October 2011, according to CNN.
Reports emerged earlier Thursday that CNN was planning to publish a damaging story that could lead other Republicans to call on Robinson to drop out of the race. In a video posted to X before the CNN story was published, Robinson flatly denied that he said anything in the CNN report and insisted he won’t drop out. North Carolina will begin mailing ballots to members of the military and voters outside the U.S. on Friday.
“The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” Robinson said in his video. “You know my words, you know my character and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before.”
Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Robinson echoed those comments in an interview with CNN. “This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me,” Robinson said, adding that he wouldn’t “get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies” when presented with evidence that the account belonged to him.
Robinson, who is 56 and married with two children, has a history of inflammatory remarks that have widely circulated since he won the state’s Republican primary in March. Serving as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor since 2021, he gained prominence in Republican circles after he delivered a pro-gun rights speech that went viral and kickstarted his political career. He’s made inflammatory comments across a number of topics — from Islam to abortion to feminism — but he’s been especially vocal on LGBTQ+ issues.
If elected, Robinson would become the first Black governor of North Carolina. Former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Robinson for governor, has referred to him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
The lieutenant governor blamed the CNN report on his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
“You all have seen the half truths and outright lies of Josh Stein,” Robinson said, claiming that Stein leaked the story to CNN.
The report’s release has spurred concern among Republicans about their nominee’s prospects in the coming election. Sen. Ted Budd, a North Carolina Republican, told reporters ahead of its release on Thursday that “North Carolinian voters are smart, and they know how to pick each and every candidate based on their own merits.”
When asked whether Robinson should step down, Budd said he didn’t have enough information.
“They’ve been assaulting him for years,” Budd said before the article was published. “We’re going to gather our facts through the weekend.”
contributed to this report.
Certain boxes of waffles sold at Costco Wholesale stores in the Midwest are being recalled because they may contain plastic, according to a notice by supplier Kodiak Cakes.
The recall involves Kodiak Power Waffles Buttermilk & Vanilla 40 count with the UPC code 705599019203 and a use-by date of Jan. 10, 2026, and only impacts products with the lot code 24193-WL4 and a time stamp of 12:00-23:00, according to the Park City, Utah-based company.
The recalled products were sold at Costco warehouses in 13 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The action was initiated “due to the potential presence of soft plastic film,” according to Kodiak, which noted that no injuries or illnesses had been reported.
Those who purchased the recalled product can return it to their local Costco for a refund.
People with questions can email Kodiak at: flapjacks@kodiakcakes.com or call 801-328-4067. Messages will be returned between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mountain time, Monday through Friday.
Tyson Foods is misleading shoppers and investors over its ability to reach “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050 as well take other steps aimed at protecting the environment.
Tyson, the world’s second-biggest meat processor, should have to curtail its climate claims or release a substantial plan to support its claims, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by the Environmental Working Group. The complaint is part of an effort to “hold the biggest, most powerful contributors to the climate crisis — across industries — accountable for greenwashing,” EWG stated.
Tyson Foods has said since 2021 that it would hit net-zero emissions — the point at which the amount of greenhouse gases a company emits is offset by the emissions that are removed from the atmosphere — by 2050 by using more renewable energy and no longer contributing to deforestation.
The Arkansas-based meat company also sells a brand of “climate-friendly” beef that Tyson says is made with 10% fewer emissions than conventional meat.
A spokesperson said Tyson does not comment on litigation, but defended the company’s “long history of sustainable practices.”
The suit against Tyson was filed in Washington, D.C., which has a consumer protection law in place that lets consumer groups sue companies for false advertising.
The same claim of greenwashing — a term attributed to environmentalist Jay Westerveld that refers to making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or service — was made in February in a suit filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James against JBS, the world’s largest beef producer, over its claim it would reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
James’ suit against the Brazilian meat conglomerate came after Earthjustice successfully challenged JBS’ environmental messaging before an ad industry self-regulatory organization in 2023.
Livestock production accounts for 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally, with cattle responsible for two-thirds of the total, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
The Science-Based Targets Initiative, a UN-backed agency that reviews net-zero goals, is calling for the food and agricultural sector to reduce its emissions by 3% annually between 2020 and 2030.
Delta Air Lines last year dismissed as “without legal merit” a suit filed by a passenger that alleged the airline’s claim to be “the world’s first carbon-neutral airline” to be marketing spin. Coca-Cola is currently defending itself in a similar case in which the beverage make is accused of overstating its recycling efforts.
North Carolina governor’s race rocked by CNN report on Mark Robinson’s alleged incendiary comments
Costco supplier recalls waffles sold at warehouse stores in 13 states
Tyson Foods misleads shoppers about its carbon emissions, climate group says
North Carolina governor’s race rocked by CNN report on Mark Robinson’s alleged incendiary comments
Costco supplier recalls waffles sold at warehouse stores in 13 states