NEW YORK (AP) — An official at the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund say it has paid out $551 million over the last year.
The fund’s special master, Sheila Birnbaum, released a letter Friday saying the fund had made 2,042 compensation decisions over the 12 months that ended Sept. 30.
Birnbaum says the fund had made 112 decisions totaling $27 million in the previous year.
She says the fund was able to process far more decisions because of an increase in staffing and better communication with those making claims.
The fund was established in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks to provide compensation for those affected.
Sunday was the deadline to apply for compensation for those who developed cancer after working at ground zero.
As the 2014 election races toward the finish line on Nov.4, candidates from both parties have stooped to their old tricks of slinging mud, name calling and finger pointing at one another. Why can’t candidates do what’s right for this nation and focus on issues?
Instead we are forced to put up with elected officials who grow the government, do-nothing and engage in gridlock.
What Kansas and this nation sorely needs is leadership and a willingness among all elected officials to work together for the good of this country.
What do you think the framers of our constitution and this republic would say about what’s going on in all three branches of government today?
What would Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson think about our way of conducting the nation’s business?
What would Kansas’s own favorite son, Dwight D. Eisenhower say about the way we’re conducting this state and country’s business today?
What would Ike, Alf Landon, Andy Schoeppel and other Kansas leaders of yesteryear think?
Profound?
Enlightening?
Telling?
Where are the ideas for leading this great state and nation?
Isn’t that what they’re supposed to be doing?
Farmers, ranchers and businessmen cannot, and do not want to engage in the same game of blaming one party for the charade going on in Washington and among some of our own state leaders. This is a shared shame and a weakness that is ruining our state and nation.
In spite of claims to the contrary, taxes continue to increase. The only way for the tax-and-spend cycle to be broken is to hold candidates accountable. The citizenry of Kansas and this country must demand candidates clearly state their positions on the issues.
Today’s politicians and the majority of the candidates have become so adept at ducking the issues. They rival a young Muhammad Ali’s ability to float like a butterfly, always out of reach and accountability.
Not only do voters rarely have a chance to ask candidates questions, they have even less chance of receiving a worthwhile answer.
Some candidates also talk out of both sides of their mouth. They tell one gathering of voters one thing and others just the opposite.
They also barrage voters with wave after wave of rhetoric, hoping to obscure their real views. They’re not called politicians for nothing.
At the end of the day, this year’s election is just around the corner. Whether we like what’s been happening in government or not, the mess we’re in remains our own.
It’s our system, and while it may appear broken, we still must vote. Past elections demonstrate rural voters can make a difference by their willingness to go to the polls.
Fiscal responsibility, a reduction in the size of government and increased productivity remain a sound prescription for this country’s economic troubles. The bigger problem of cooperation and compromise while working together for the good of this country must be addressed as well if these remedies are to work.
Urge your friends, family and neighbors to cast their votes Nov. 4
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A North Carolina drugmaker plans to test its experimental antiviral drug in patients who have Ebola, after getting authorization from regulators at the Food and Drug Administration.
Chimerix Inc. said Thursday that it has received FDA clearance to proceed with a trial examining the safety and effectiveness of its brincidofovir tablets in patients who have the virus. The company said in a statement that the drug is available for immediate use in testing.
With FDA’s permission, the Durham, North Carolina, drugmaker previously made the drug available to the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S., who died in Dallas last week.
The FDA does not publicly confirm when it has granted companies permission to begin testing. The agency has not approved any drugs or vaccines to treat Ebola.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas National Guard member will be honored next week for helping save a woman from a burning house in Wichita two years ago.
Tech. Sgt. Shawn A. Rucker will receive the Airman’s Medal from Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas adjutant general. The ceremony will take place Monday at McConnell Air Force Base.
Rucker serves with the Guard’s 184th Intelligence Wing. Officials say he was driving home the night of Nov. 24, 2012, when he noticed a large plume of smoke and followed it to a house partly engulfed in flames.
Two people were on the porch, but a woman was still inside. Rucker and one of the homeowners found her asleep in the basement and carried her to safety.
The Airman’s Medal is awarded for heroic, dangerous actions that don’t involve combat.
KANSAS CITY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 4 p.m. on Friday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Yamaha driven by Aaron R. Haehn, 45, Olathe, was northbound on Interstate 35 at Quivira.
A northbound 2012 Chrysler passenger car driven by Christopher J. Camacho, 45, Kansas City, slowed down and traveled onto the inside shoulder along with the Yamaha. The motorcycle collided with the rear of the Chrysler.
Haehn was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Democratic nominee for Kansas insurance commissioner is deriding a proposed multi-state health care compact that would give the state control of Medicare within its borders.
Dennis Anderson spoke Friday at a candidate forum in Wichita with Republican nominee Ken Selzer, who is backing the plan as a way to get Medicare out of the federal government.
Anderson says he hasn’t found any senior citizens who are unhappy with the way their Medicare is handled now.
Selzer says the proposed compact has built-in safeguards and would bring decision-making closer to home.
Anderson and Selzer are vying to succeed incumbent Republican insurance commissioner Sandy Praeger, who is not seeking re-election. Friday’s forum was hosted by the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents.
FULTON, Mo. (AP) – A hiker who was found dead several hours after calling 911 saying he was injured has been identified as a 53-year-old Columbia man.
The search for Randall Fennewald ended just before 7 p.m. Thursday after a Highway Patrol helicopter crew spotted his body at Cedar Creek in central Missouri’s Three Creeks Conservation Area.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports two troopers rappelled about 100 to 150 feet down a bluff and found Fennewald beside the creek in Callaway County.
Fennewald had called Boone County dispatchers around 1:30 p.m. saying he had fallen and hit his head. The call disconnected after about 90 seconds.
Searchers covered about 1,500 acres of rugged terrain by ATV and on horseback. The cause of death had not been released Friday.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ chief lawyer Michael Millikin, who withstood withering criticism from lawmakers for his department’s handling of an ignition switch recall, is retiring early next year.
GM says in a statement that the 66-year-old Millikin will stay on until a replacement is on the job.
During a July Senate hearing on the delayed recall of small cars with faulty switches, lawmakers demanded that Millikin be fired. One senator called the failure of GM’s legal department “stunning.” Millikin said he didn’t learn of the problem until this year.
At least 27 people died in crashes linked to the switches. GM has admitted knowing about them a decade ago, yet it didn’t recall the cars until this year.
CEO Mary Barra praised Millikin as a man of impeccable integrity and unwavering loyalty.
Jefferson City, MO- Gov. Jay Nixon and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Gail Vasterling today announced that the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory has been designated as an Ebola Virus Disease testing laboratory as part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Response Network. The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, located in Jefferson City, will now be able to provide presumptive testing of Ebola samples prior to confirmation testing at the CDC in Atlanta.
“We stand ready to respond to suspected cases of Ebola should one ever occur in Missouri. This designation will give us the ability to quickly assist health professionals by performing the presumptive test here in Missouri,” Gov. Nixon said. “Missouri’s public health workers, health care providers and first responders have been training and preparing for potential Ebola cases and this will strengthen their ability to protect the health and well-being of Missourians.”
“Assisting with the testing of specimens is part of the important work we do with federal and local public health partners to identify diseases and protect the public health,” said Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Gail Vasterling. “Receiving this designation means we can help test and respond to any suspected Ebola cases in a timely and accurate manner.”
Earlier this month, the Governor directed DHSS to seek the designation in order to enhance the state’s ability to quickly confirm or rule out potential cases of Ebola, should such a case occur in Missouri. Because of the designation as an Ebola testing laboratory, the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory may receive laboratory specimens as a part of the coordinated CDC and public health investigation and control of the disease. All specimens must have prior approval before being submitted to the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory.
“This is a positive step, because when it comes to detecting infectious diseases, hours – and even minutes – can be crucial,” said Gov. Nixon. “The faster we can confirm – or rule out – a potential case of Ebola here in Missouri, the more effectively our health providers can respond to protect the public.”
The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory has been a designated CDC Laboratory Response Network (LRN) laboratory since the inception of the national program in 1999. The LRN is an integrated network of state and local public health, federal, military, and international laboratories that can respond to bioterrorism, chemical terrorism and other public health emergencies through training, rapid testing, timely notification and secure messaging of laboratory results.
Additionally, the Governor today made available $3.3 million in funding for local public health agencies.
“Throughout the year, and especially now during flu season, our local public health agencies provide essential services that keep their communities healthy and strong,” Gov. Nixon said. “That is why my administration is releasing 3.3 million dollars to help local public health agencies carry out their responsibilities at the local level. Revenue is limited, but with more than 8,000 jobs added last month, it’s clear that our economy is moving forward and I’m pleased we’re able to make these resources available.”
x37B when it launched in December 2012- NASA photo
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A top-secret space plane has landed safely on the Southern California coast.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said the plane, which spent nearly two years orbiting Earth on a classified mission, touched down Friday morning.
The plane, known as the X-37B, resembles a mini space shuttle.
Just what the plane was doing has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.
Several experts have theorized it carried a payload of spy gear in its cargo bay.
Other theories sound straight out of a James Bond film, including that the spacecraft would be able to capture the satellites of other nations or shadow China’s space lab.
The military isn’t saying.
The X-37B program has bounced between several federal agencies, NASA among them, since 1999.
