WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is presenting the Medal of Honor to a veteran who took the blow from a grenade to protect a fellow Marine in Afghanistan, sustaining major wounds, including the loss of his right eye.

Retired Cpl. William “Kyle” Carpenter will receive the medal during a ceremony today in the East Room of the White House. He's the eighth living recipient to be chosen for the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Carpenter, now 24, was wounded Nov. 21, 2010, while guarding a patrol base in a small village in Helmand province.

According to the Marine Corps, Carpenter and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio were assigned to provide security from a rooftop post, their presence concealed only by a circle of sandbags piled three to four high.

Enemy forces, which had moved in while hidden by walls from a compound across the street, lobbed three grenades into the patrol base. One injured an Afghan National Army soldier. The second did not detonate.

The third landed close to Carpenter and Eufrazio.

Carpenter placed himself between the grenade and Eufrazio to shield him. The blast deflected down, with Carpenter absorbing most of the explosion.

Eufrazio received a head injury from shrapnel. But Carpenter was severely wounded, sustaining a depressed skull, a collapsed right lung, multiple facial fractures, the loss of a third of his lower jaw and fragment injuries to his arms and legs.

He was immediately evacuated and required brain surgery. He lost his right eye due to his injuries.

WASHINGTON — From an immediate, practical viewpoint, the ruling by a trademark board that the Washington Redskins have a “disparaging” nickname doesn't mean much. The team doesn't have to change a thing, and the matter will likely be tied up in courts for years.From an emotional, intangible standpoint, however, the decision issued Wednesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is another boost for those who have been advocating change, increasing the financial and political pressure for a movement that has gained significant momentum over the last year and a half.“I am a huge fan of the Washington football team, and I am also a huge fan of changing the name of the Washington football team,” D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said.“This is yet another step in that direction.”By a 2-1 vote, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sided with five Native Americans in a dispute that has been working its way through legal channels for more than two decades. It's a cascade in what has become a steady, almost daily, stream of developments that have called the name into question, with political, religious and sports figures — including President Barack Obama — weighing in on the topic.“Even though it doesn't have a practical effect right now for the team, the timing is right in the middle of when this tide of different players and Senators and people are talking about it,” said Brad Newberg, a copyright law expert in Virginia.“It's probably not the best timing from the team's perspective.”