A major bill expanding health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic military burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan passed the US Senate, as senators praised their bipartisan work on one of the few issues on which they can find common ground.
The bill eases and expands access to health services and disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic smoke from the US military's use of burn pits on foreign bases until the mid-2010s.
If enacted into law, the bill would cost an estimated $180 billion over the first four years. It would benefit nearly 3.5 million veterans who developed cancer and other illnesses after being exposed to fumes from pits that sometimes were as large as a football field. The pits were used to burn waste including plastic tyres, batteries, explosives, human faeces and chemicals.
"For too long, our nation’s veterans have faced an absurd indignity: They enlisted to serve our country, went abroad in good health, and came back home only to get sick from toxic exposure endured while in the line of duty," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Senate speech.
He noted that around 80 per cent of disability claims related to burn pits have been rejected by the Veterans Administration. The issue is personal for President Joe Biden, who believes his late son Beau's fatal brain cancer could have been caused by such a pit from when he served in Iraq.
Servicemembers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq suffered from fatal respiratory illnesses and rare cancers caused by exposure to the open-air pits, but were frequently denied coverage or put through protracted self-funded legal battles in order to prove their eligibility.
Comedian Jon Stewart has campaigned for the bill to be passed, with social media postings and appearances at the US Capitol in Washington.
"The cost of war is not fully paid when the war is over. We are now on the verge of honouring that commitment to American veterans and their families," Republican Senator Jerry Moran said ahead of the vote on Thursday.
"This is a day of our democracy actually working," Democratic Senator Kyrsten Gillibrand, who championed the bill in the Senate, said at a press conference after the vote.
The bill will also expand coverage for servicemembers exposed to Agent Orange, an herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam War.
The measure will now go to the House of Representatives for a vote before being sent to Mr Biden's desk for signature into law.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
CREW
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