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A plucky teller foiled a robbery attempt at Key Bank in Seattle. But the story does not end happily. When a small man in a beanie cap, dark clothing, and sunglasses pushed a backpack across the counter and announced, "This is a ransom. Fill the bag with money," teller Jim Nicholson ignored his training and "instinct took over." He lunged across the counter and attempted to grab the thief by the throat or at least to pull his glasses off. The nonplussed would-be robber bolted for the door with Nicholson on his heels. A couple of blocks away, with the...

SEATTLE — A Seattle bank teller has lost his job because he ran down a would-be bank robber and held him until police arrived. Jim Nicholson, who worked at a Key Bank branch, says he understands the bank's policy that employees comply with robbery demands and avoid dangerous confrontations. But he tells The Seattle Times that his instincts took over when the man demanded money during the Tuesday incident. Nicholson says he tried to grab the man, then chased him several blocks before knocking him down with help from a passer-by. The man turned out to be unarmed. The 30-year-old...

SEATTLE – A Seattle bank teller has lost his job because he ran down a would-be bank robber and held him until police arrived. Jim Nicholson, 30, who had worked for more than two years at a Key Bank branch near the Seattle Center, says he understands the bank's strict policy that employees comply with robbery demands and avoid confrontations. But he told The Seattle Times that instinct took over when a thin man in a beanie cap, dark clothing and sunglasses pushed a black backpack across the bank counter on Tuesday and demanded money. Nicholson threw the bag to...

Jim Nicholson knew he should have just handed over the cash. But when the thin man in a beanie cap, dark clothing and sunglasses pushed a black backpack across the bank counter and demanded money, Nicholson says his instincts took over. After more than two years working as a teller at the Key Bank branch in Lower Queen Anne, Nicholson clearly understood the bank's strict policy of quickly complying with robbers' demands and avoiding confrontation. Instead, Nicholson threw the bag to the floor, lunged toward the robber and demanded to see a weapon. Surprised, the would-be bank robber backed up...

Friday, August 10, 2007 Navy Vets Die To Protect Corporate Profits! We have said it before on several occasions, and now it is even more on target than ever: "It is a stain on this nation's honor that the Department of Veterans Affairs has become a deadlier and more difficult adversary to the American veteran than any they have ever faced on a battlefield." On more than one occasion we have accused the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs [DVA] with protecting the chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange by prohibiting Blue Water Navy Veterans from receiving presumptive benefits...

Frustrated by delays in health care, a coalition of injured Iraq war veterans is accusing VA Secretary Jim Nicholson of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment. Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed warriors on several fronts — from providing prompt disability benefits, to adding staff to reduce wait times for medical care to boosting services for post-traumatic stress disorder. VA spokesman Matt Smith said Monday he could not comment on a pending lawsuit. But he said the agency is committed to meeting the special...

Choosing a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs:Well, Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson has bailed out for the dreaded 'Private Sector'. Did he jump, or was he pushed?I'd like to believe that he was forced to resign by the groundswell of criticism and complaint by veteran service organizations and veterans themselves. Instead, I suspect that he is deserting a sinking ship due to his consistently inept decisions and policies. His performance as Secretary has been so egregiously flawed that 'on his watch' the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has become an even 'deadlier and more difficult adversary to the American...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 17, 2007 Nicholson to leave VA and Return to the Private Sector Under his Leadership, VA Makes Strides in Health Care and IT Modernization WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Nicholson announced today he has tendered his resignation to President George W. Bush, effective no later than October 1, 2007. Under Nicholson’s leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continued its evolution as a leader in health care innovations, medical research, education services, home loan and other benefits to veterans. He transformed the VA health care system to meet the unique medical requirements of the...

Madison, Wisconsin—Since March 2007, Airman Keith Roberts has been imprisoned, serving the first few months of a four-year sentence for five counts of federal wire fraud. Keith Roberts filed for disability benefits in 1999 after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by private and public medical health professionals. Though not nearly as horrific as many, Roberts' Vietnam-era service (1968-74) affected him badly, and includes an incident in which he was assaulted by the Navy Shore Patrol in 1969, and he witnessed a fellow airman killed in a gruesome aircraft accident, also in 1969, at Naples, Italy where he was...

WASHINGTON, March 4 — As President Bush ordered an investigation of the military’s care of wounded soldiers and veterans last week, Jim Nicholson, secretary of veterans affairs, darted between events, seeking to put a positive public face on his beleaguered agency. ... On Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is to conduct a hearing at Walter Reed on the problems there, and the Senate Armed Services Committee has set a hearing for Tuesday. Mr. Nicholson’s agency is also likely to come under scrutiny at the hearings ... Critics say he has under-emphasized his agency’s budget needs to...

WASHINGTON -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson stayed away from the Capitol Tuesday night in case of a catastrophic attack or accident as President Bush delivered his State of the Union address. House and Senate leaders of both parties also asked four top lawmakers to skip the speech, which is given in the House chamber. By long-standing tradition, a member of the president's Cabinet misses the speech to Congress as a precaution against the entire administration being wiped out and to maintain the presidential line of succession. The last two years then-Commerce Secretary Donald Evans did not attend.

WASHINGTON -- Amid widespread criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Veterans Affairs secretary praised his department for an effective evacuation of about 1,200 veterans, staff and their families from the Gulf region. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson attributed the quick response to trained, prepared and dedicated employees who refused to abandon their duties, even when they had no knowledge of the condition of their own homes and families. "We had people on ventilators, we had liver patients, ambulatory patients, and every patient that we evacuated from every one of our facilities made it through this evacuation," Nicholson said...

President Bush welcomed members of the Jewish community today during a ceremony marking the beginning of Hanukkah. The President also met with members of the Social Security Trustees in the Oval Office, and later told the media that tax hikes on social security are not an option. Bush also announced the nomination of Ambassador Jim Nicholson as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya!

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The following is a copy of an e-mail sent to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on Dec. 16, 2003: ------------------------------- This is the title I gave to this e-mail: UNHOLY ALLIANCE - CARDINAL RENATO MARTINO AND SADDAM HUSSEIN. Contents: International News - December 16, 2003 Cardinal Backs Trial for Saddam Hussein December 16, 2003 02:51 PM EST VATICAN CITY - A top Vatican cardinal said Tuesday Saddam Hussein should face trial for his crimes, but stressed the Vatican's opposition to the death penalty and criticized the U.S. military for portraying him "like a cow" having his teeth checked....