The new legislative rule, pushed through with little notice last week, would prohibit a routine transfer to the Social Security Disability Trust Fund, which is expected to be depleted by late 2016.

Without an injection from the main Social Security retirement fund, the disability program would have to cut benefits by some 20 percent, only paying out what it can collect from payroll taxes.

Republicans say they passed the rule change to force reforms to the disability program, which they claim is rife with fraud and mismanagement. Democrats, unable to stop the shift, have called it a "stealth" move to cut benefits.

On Monday, Senate Democrats issued a plea to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to oppose an "audacious" rule change that would "hold hostage" benefits for some 9 million disabled Americans.

"It only increases the chances of yet another unnecessary manufactured crisis, akin to shutting down the government or threatening the full faith and credit of the United States," Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, and seven others wrote in a letter to McConnell. They asked him to "forcibly reject" the change.

A Democratic aide on the House Ways and Means Committee acknowledged that not much can be done about the rule change until 2016, when the disability fund is close to depletion and an election-year showdown over benefit cuts could occur.

Republican Representative Sam Johnson, of Texas, who authored the rule change, said it was meant to protect Social Security retirement benefits from being "raided" by the "fraud-plagued disability program" and to encourage reforms.

When World War II broke out, they enlisted in the Army and jumped at the chance to join the all-black group of soldiers known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

After the war, they came back home together, married their respective sweethearts and rarely let a month pass without getting together or talking by phone.

So it was ironic but perhaps not all that surprising when both died on Jan. 5 at 91.

"As soon as I got the word that my uncle had died," he said, "one of the first people I began calling was Joe. And I got no answer."

After their enlistment in 1942, both men quickly set out to be part of what was then called the Tuskegee Experiment — the formation of the U.S. military's first all-black squadron of pilots. The group went on to take part in more than 15,000 combat missions, earning over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

As Tuskegee Airmen mechanics, Huntley and Shambrey did what they could to make sure the planes stayed in the air until the mission was over.

"When a pilot would go out, he would say, 'This is my plane. You bring my plane back, please,'" Ron Brewington said with a chuckle as he remembered Huntley.

Counting pilots and ground personnel, there were perhaps as many as 19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Brewington said, but there are no accurate figures on how many are still alive.

Craig Huntly said his uncle and Shambrey weren't looking to be pioneers or heroes when they enlisted. They were simply serving their country in a war abroad against fascism and one at home against racism.

"At that time black servicemen were pretty much relegated to menial type work and my uncle didn't want to do that," Huntly said. "But he was aware of the Tuskegee Experiment and how important it was."

Not that it would bring a change in race relations immediately.

"When he and his buddies came off, dressed in their uniforms, of course they didn't get any congratulations," said Shambrey's son, Tim. They even had to pay for their coffee.

By coincidence, Shambrey and Huntley were dispatched to Italy together in 1944 and came back home together.

As the years passed, neither man talked much about his military service, which isn't unusual for Tuskegee Airmen, Brewington said.

Shambrey would throw barbeques from time to time and invite his old military buddies. As many as 150 people would attend.

Huntley's daughter Sheila McGee said he had a ready answer when people asked about his service: "I was doing what I was supposed to do, and that was to serve my country."

Both men served again during the Korean War, as combat engineers.

After their military years, Shambrey worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Huntley worked as a skycap at airports in Los Angeles and Burbank, a job he held until his late 80s.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller in Sacramento held a five-day fact-finding hearing on the classification question late last year, and final arguments are scheduled for next month, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. Her ruling is expected later this year.

The case marks the first time in decades that a judge has agreed to consider marijuana's designation as a Schedule 1 drug under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, the newspaper said. Under the act, Schedule 1 drugs have no medicinal purpose, are unsafe even under medical supervision and contain a high potential for abuse.

A ruling against federal cannabis law would apply only to the defendants in the case and almost certainly would be appealed, the newspaper said. If the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the law was unconstitutional, all the Western states would be affected.

Attorneys for the defendants have argued that the federal marijuana law violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. They contend the government enforces marijuana law unevenly — allowing distribution of cannabis in states where it is legal and cracking down elsewhere.

The prosecution countered that Congress legally placed pot in Schedule 1.

Prosecutors said in a brief filed Jan. 7 that the evidence presented in the hearing at most "established that there is some dispute among doctors as to whether marijuana is medicine."

Memphis acquired forward Green from the Boston Celtics and guard Smith from the New Orleans Pelicans in the swap, while the Celtics pick up forward Tayshaun Prince and a future first-round draft selection from Memphis and guard Austin Rivers from New Orleans.

The Pelicans acquired forward Quincy Pondexter and a future second-round draft pick from the Grizzlies.

The 28-year-old Georgetown product has averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 511 games (395 starts) with Seattle/Oklahoma City and Boston.

Smith played in just six games for New Orleans this season. Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, Smith was traded to New Orleans on draft night for Pierre Jackson.

Prince averaged 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26 games with Memphis this season. The 34-year-old veteran holds career averages of 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 908 games (851 starts) for the Pistons and Grizzlies.

Rivers appeared in 35 games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He was selected as the 10th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by New Orleans.

Pondexter averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 30 games with Memphis this season.