The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, intends to test all cadets returning to graduate in June for the novel coronavirus using two new GeneXpert devices procured after the academy established a planning group in mid-March to determine how the process would work.

The return will be similar to how the Army has been bringing new recruits into basic training, according to a West Point spokesman. The planning group has also received input from Training and Doctrine Command on that process.

Cadets will return to campus in small, staggered groups. They’ll be paced in hard structures in the summer training area and wait there for tests results to come back, which should be the same day the swab is taken.

“If they come back clean, they’ll come on campus to their dorm room, and we’re calling it a soft quarantine,” said West Point spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt.

“They won’t be moving in big groups and having formations,” he added, saying that it’s still yet to be determined what that soft quarantine will entail because of constant updates to Center for Disease Control and Army guidance.

West Point also outfitted its hospital, which had an out-patient focus with an ER and elective surgeries before the pandemic, with a new intensive care unit that includes six ventilators if necessary. There were no ventilators there before.

President Donald Trump has been expected to speak at the graduation ceremony, though the pandemic left it unclear whether the ceremony would happen at all.

The New York Times reported Friday that the president’s announcement at a news conference that he was still attending the graduation caught West Point officials off-guard, though the Times noted that planning had already been underway even if it had not been announced. Cadets have also always known that returning to West Point would have to happen in some manner, said Ophardt.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs said stimulus checks will be sent automatically to veterans who receive VA benefits but don’t typically file tax returns. However, those veterans need to fill out an online form to get additional money for dependents.

The deadline for veterans to submit information to the Internal Revenue Service is May 5, the IRS announced Monday. Otherwise, they won’t receive the extra $500 per dependent that the government approved for most Americans.

Lawmakers learned last week that some veterans would be required to send information about dependents to the IRS. It applies to disabled or low-income veterans and surviving family members who receive monthly compensation from the VA but didn’t file tax returns for 2018 or 2019.

The IRS originally set a deadline of April 22 but extended it after receiving criticism about giving such little notice. Veterans are to go to the IRS website to submit the information.

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Welcome home NASA Astronaut, Colonel Andrew Morgan!

Morgan returned to Earth Friday April 17, 2020 after 272 days in space.

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As nearly 1,000 Air Force Academy cadets took part in their socially distanced graduation ceremony Saturday, swearing an oath to the United States, wearing face masks before and after, separated at all times by at least 6 feet and without family and friends there to cheer them on.

This year, in a historic first prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Air Force Academy Graduation went virtual.

Families said watching graduation on a computer screen is not exactly how they envisioned celebrating the completion of four years of hard work. But they’re taking it all in stride.

The Carlisi family had been looking forward to a big gathering in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 22 family members and guests from at least five states planning to attend before the pandemic struck.

“We rented a couple of houses, and we had some big parties planned and lots of family coming in, and it was going to be exciting,” Alison Carlisi told ABC News. “And, yeah. It’s different now.”

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