Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) is blocking the nomination of former astronaut Susan Helms to become commander of the Air Force Space Command.
McCaskill says she is doing so to further her efforts to put an end to sexual assault in the military. She’s investigating Helms’ dismissal last year of an Air Force captain’s conviction for aggravated sexual assault. A recent report says 26,000 people in the military were sexually assaulted last year … that’s more than 70 each day.