PALM SPRINGS — Funeral services for former first lady Betty Ford will begin Tuesday in Palm Springs and end with her burial in Grand Rapids, Mich., representatives of the Ford family said.

Ford, wife of the late former President Gerald R. Ford, died Friday at age 93.

A spokesman for the family said her casket will be taken Tuesday to St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert and after a private visitation at 11 a.m. PT, the funeral would begin.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. on Sunday claimed initial success two days into an assault on Libya that included some of the heaviest firepower in the American arsenal — long-range bombers designed for the Cold War — but American officials said Sunday it was too early to define the international military campaign’s endgame.

Washington (CNN) — The last American veteran of World War I to die should lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol, his daughter said after lawmakers appeared to block the suggestion.

“While Papa was still living, it was suggested that he lie in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol as a final, formal tribute to all the veterans of World War I. Papa consented to this because he understood that, as the last living World War I veteran, he was expected to represent all of the World War I veterans,” Frank Buckles’ daughter Susannah Buckles Flanagan said in a statement.

NEW YORK – It was called a “Christmas miracle,” but a last-minute compromise by Congress will provide a smaller aid package than originally envisioned to help victims of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the responders sickened as they worked in its smoldering ruins.

The measure passed by Congress and sent to President Barack Obama on Wednesday would provide up to $4.2 billion in new aid to survivors and responders, $2 million less than originally proposed. Obama said he is eager to sign it.

SPOKANE, Wash. — The White House apologized Thursday for turning the family of a Medal of Honor recipient away from an exclusive tour last week because the late veteran’s 10-year-old grandson was wearing shorts.

Vernon Baker, the last surviving black Medal of Honor winner from World War II, was buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery after dying in July from complications of brain cancer at age 90. He belatedly received the military’s top award from President Bill Clinton in 1997, after historians concluded he’d been wrongly denied because of his race.

Washington (CNN) — Medals of Honor have been rare since the end of the Vietnam war. And not one of the recipients from the Somalia, Iraq or Afghanistan deployments have been alive to have the iconic blue ribbon with the gold star draped around his neck. Until now.

The White House Friday announced that Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, 25, of Hiawatha, Iowa, will be awarded the nation’s highest medal for valor for his actions in Afghanistan, and he will come to the White House to receive the medal himself.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina (CNN) — It’s been clear for months that the fighting in Afghanistan is more intense than it’s been since the war there started nearly nine years ago. Yet, from the midst of those increasingly violent firefights come some amazing stories of heroism.

On Monday, seven soldiers will receive public recognition for their actions during a Silver Star ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The medals — the third-highest award for valor in the Army — are being awarded for five separate battles over a span of more than two years.

Washington (CNN) — Mike McLaughlin knew he buried his father, a veteran of World War I, World War II and the Korean War, at Arlington National Cemetery.

So when he opened the newspaper recently and saw his father’s tombstone sunk in the bottom of a shallow, muddy stream, he was stunned.

“At this point, I have somewhere between zero and less than zero confidence in the cemetery’s management,” said McLaughlin.

As many as 6,600 graves at Arlington Cemetery, the historic and hallowed burial place for fallen U.S. soldiers, may be “unmarked, improperly marked or mislabeled,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said Thursday.

President Barack Obama carried out the traditional Veterans Day role Wednesday, then made a surprise visit to a part of Arlington National Cemetery reserved for troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, walking among the grave sites and talking to mourners.

In his brief speech after a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Obama paid fond tribute to the determination of the U.S. military, from those who served generations ago to today’s troops fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and missions around the world.

“To all of them — to our veterans, to the fallen and to their families — there is no tribute, no commemoration, no praise that can truly match the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice,” he said.

And if you don’t look too closely, you’re likely to zip right past the focus of a hotly contested Supreme Court battle.

A federal judge has ordered the Mojave Cross, a war memorial erected by a veterans group 75 years ago, to be covered. It’s boxed in plywood.

The issue is less about what the cross symbolizes and more about where it sits: In the middle of the Mojave National Preserve, which is government land.

The high court on Wednesday will consider whether the display violates the First Amendment’s provision for a separation of church and state. Video Watch details of the cross case »