Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, November 17, 2025…
When Charlie Service came home from Vietnam, he tried to leave the war behind. But it never really let him go. “In Vietnam, it was definitely combat,” he said. “And there was a lot of things in there that we did that we shouldn’t do, or things that I don’t even talk about today.” The retired Army veteran earned three Purple Hearts for his service. But medals didn’t ease the invisible wounds he carried — flashbacks, anger and sleepless nights that would last decades. “You come back with severe PTSD,” he said. “That’s what I have.”
A psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs eventually suggested a service dog. That’s how Service met Chance, a yellow Labrador retriever who would become his constant companion. “Initially, you don’t know anything or what you’re going to do,” he said. “You’re coming in, you’re going to train with a dog, but you don’t have any idea what the outcome is.” Service and Chance trained at Freedom Dogs, a San Diego nonprofit that pairs specially trained service dogs with veterans and active-duty service members coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. At a training center in Oceanside, veterans practice real-world situations — like going to restaurants and visiting public spaces — with their dogs by their side. For many, it’s the first time they’ve felt safe enough to rejoin the world outside.
But, the organization may soon lose its largest source of funding. “We had a grant this past year for about $247,000. That was 42% of our operating budget,” said Peggy Poore, the nonprofit’s executive director. “So it’s a significant impact.” The grant comes from the Department of Defense, which funds similar service-dog programs across the country. But this year, that funding is stuck in Congress’s annual defense bill negotiations.
Freedom Dogs currently supports about 25 veterans and service members. Without new funding, that number could drop by half. “We will receive our final payment in December this year,” Poore said. “And then we’re done.” At a time when more than 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year, Poore said losing this support could be devastating. A 2022 study found that veterans paired with service dogs experienced fewer PTSD symptoms, less suicidal ideation and better social functioning than those without them.
The Trump administration cannot fine the University of California or summarily cut the school system’s federal funding over claims it allows antisemitism or other forms of discrimination, a federal judge ruled late Friday in a sharply worded decision.
