Sentence:  The Providence Sunday Journal article ( Jan. 29 ) asking whether American taxpayers are being victimized by a gigantic giveaway to pay for the care of war veterans who have non-service-connected disabilities sounds as though The Providence Journal <WSD>is</WSD> desperate for news . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)