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ByKevinFreking The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest mil- itary honor to a Vietnam War veteran on Monday, stressing that the story of retired Lt. Col. Charles Ket- tles' bravery nearly 50 years ago serves as great inspira- tion at a time when Ameri- cans could use some. Kettles led helicopter flights carrying reinforce- ments to U.S. soldiers and evacuated the wounded af- ter they were ambushed in combat operations near Duc Pho in May 1967. Ket- tles, now 86, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, helped rescue more than 40 soldiers. Obama said the story that led to the Medal of Honor was quintessentially American because Kettles showed the importance of looking out for others and how nobody should be left behind. "This shouldn't just be a creed for our soldiers. This should be a creed for all of us," Obama said. Obama noted during the ceremony that after the shooting deaths of police officers in Dallas and Ba- ton Rouge, the nation has had "let's face it, a couple of tough weeks." "For us to remember the goodness and decency of the American people in a way that we can all look out for each other even when times are tough, even when the odds are against us, what a wonderful in- spiration, what a great gift for us to be able to cele- brate something like this," Obama said. Obama told how Kettles repeatedly returned to a landing zone under heavy fire. During the final evac- uation effort, he was ad- vised that eight soldiers who were providing cover for others had been unable to reach the helicopters, so he returned without benefit of artillery or tactical air- craft support. Obama recounted how Kettles' helicopter at that point was the only tar- get the enemy had to ac- count for, and as it landed, mortar rounds shattered the windshield and dam- aged the main rotor blade. Small arms and machine gun fire also raked the he- licopter. Badly damaged, and now 600 pounds over- weight from carrying 13 people, Kettles hopped and skipped the craft across the ground to pick up enough speed for takeoff. Obama said the instant the helicopter became air- borne another mortar round hit the tail, causing it to fishtail violently and knocking a solider over- board. That soldier man- aged to hold onto a skid as Kettles flew them all to safety. "I couldn't make this stuff up," Obama joked as he recalled the event with amazement. "This is like a bad Rambo movie. You're listening to this, you can't believe it." Kettles had already re- ceived a Distinguished Ser- vice Cross for his actions that day, but a retired so- cial worker, Bill Vollano, interviewed him for a his- tory project sponsored by the local Rotary Club. Vol- lano came away believing that an upgrade was war- ranted. After a five-year ef- fort, the Pentagon agreed and Congress subsequently passed legislation waiving a time limitation for the award, and paving the way for Obama's action. Obama called Kettles humble, describing how the Army veteran had noted there were some 74 pilots and crew members serv- ing in that mission. Obama said that Kettles had called the attention "a lot of hub- bub, but I'll survive." "Let me say this hubbub is richly and roundly de- served," Obama said. WASHINGTON VietnamWarvetpresentedwithMedalofHonor SUSANWALSH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Kettles of Michigan during a ceremony at the White House in Washington Monday. PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE House and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. By Joan Lowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON Days before Hillary Clinton is sched- uled to accept the Demo- cratic Party's presidential nomination, a government watchdog says the nation's housing secretary violated a law prohibiting govern- ment officials from using their office for partisan pol- itics when he promoted her candidacy during a media interview. Julian Castro "impermis- sibly mixed his personal views with official govern- ment agency business" in violation of the Hatch Act during an interview with Yahoo Global News anchor Katie Couric at the Depart- ment of Housing and Ur- ban Development's broad- cast studio earlier this year, Carolyn Lerner, head of the Office of the Special Coun- sel, said in a report. The re- port was sent to President Barack Obama on Monday. Castro has endorsed Clinton and is a surrogate speaker for her campaign, which is permitted as long as he presents his views as personal and doesn't use the trappings of his office. In the interview, Castro discussed HUD programs for about 7 minutes before Couric asked him about his endorsement. "Now taking off my HUD hat for a second and just speaking individually, it is very clear that Hillary Clinton is the most experi- enced, thoughtful and pre- pared candidate for pres- ident we have this year," Castro told Couric, accord- ing to the report. He went on to offer further praise of Clinton. Asked about Don- ald Trump, now the pre- sumptive Republican pres- idential nominee, Castro said Trump wasn't pre- pared for the office of presi- dent and didn't understand what leadership or being president is all about. Lerner said Castro's at- tempt to separate his offi- cial position from his polit- ical views during the inter- view didn't go far enough. The HUD seal behind him, Castro was introduced as the HUD secretary by Cou- ric, who repeatedly referred to him as secretary. Castro acknowledged the mistake in a letter to Le- rner released Monday, say- ing that at the time he be- lieved his disclaimer that he was speaking "individually" was "what was required by the Hatch Act." Wa tc hd og : Se cr et ar y of HUD violates Hatch Act WASHINGTON By Phuong Le The Associated Press SEATTLE The Justice De- partment and the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency on Monday an- nounced a $425 million settlement with two com- panies to reduce air pollu- tion at six petroleum refin- eries in the West. The agreement with Tes- oro Corp. and Par Hawaii Refining resolves alleged vi- olations of the federal Clean Air Act and requires install- ment of new equipment to control emissions. It covers five refiner- ies that Tesoro operates in Kenai, Alaska; Anacortes, Washington; Salt Lake City, Utah; Mandan, North Da- kota; and Martinez, Califor- nia. It also covers Par Ha- waii's refinery in Kapolei, Hawaii. Under the consent de- cree, the companies will spend about $403 mil- lion to install equipment to control carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other emissions at the refineries that process crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and other products. Federal officials say the settlement will improve air quality for people and the environment because the installed equipment will reduce pollutants, includ- ing an estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide an- nually. Leaks, flares and excess emissions from the refiner- ies emit dangerous air pol- lutants known or suspected to cause cancer, birth de- fects, and seriously harm the environment, the offi- cials said. Tesoro will also spend about $12 million on three environmental improve- ment projects, including $1 million to replace old die- sel school buses with new buses powered by natural gas in Contra Costa County, California. The San Anto- nio, Texas, company will also pay a $10.5 million civil penalty. The settlement "pro- vides important reduc- tions of harmful air pollu- tion in communities facing environmental and health challenges," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice De- partment's Environment and Natural Resources Di- vision. Tesoro said in a state- ment Monday that it agreed to settle the case by mak- ing the investments to re- duce emissions but did not admit any violations. The company added that most of the projects to reduce emissions have been com- pleted or are in progress, with about $75 million of work left to do after the end of this year. "We are dedicated to op- erating in a safe and re- sponsible manner that re- duces the impact on the environment," said Keith Casey, Tesoro's executive vice president of operations. Phone and email mes- sages left with Par Hawaii Refining were not imme- diately returned. The com- pany bought the Kapolei re- finery from Tesoro in 2013. The agreement was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western Dis- trict of Texas, along with the complaint filed by the federal government, the states of Hawaii and Alaska and the Northwest Clean Air Agency that regulates air quality in northwestern Washington state. The states will get $2.4 million of the $10.5 million penalty, with the rest going to the federal government. In addition to the new school buses, Tesoro will also install infrared cam- eras at four refineries to de- tect leaks and spend about $11 million to install equip- ment on a furnace at its Salt Lake City refinery to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. EMISSIONS Pollution reduction settlement reached for 6 refineries TED S. 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