News and Science

DOING RIGHT BY THE HEROES: THE FEDS FINALLY MAKE WHOLE THE FDNY WTC HEALTH CLINICS
NY Daily News | October 26, 2020

POLYGENIC PREDICTION OF PTSD TRAJECTORIES IN 9/11 RESPONDERS
NCBI | October 23, 2020
Genetics hold promise of predicting long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes following trauma.

STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY GETS $7.9M GRANT FOR COGNITIVE STUDY ON 9/11 RESPONDERS
Newsday | October 15, 2020
Stony Brook University researchers have received a $7.9 million federal grant to assess whether World Trade Center first responders who inhaled toxic dust after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks …

WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM: FIRST DECADE OF RESEARCH
NCBI | October 6, 2020
The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 placed nearly a half million people at increased risk of adverse health.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY HONORS THOSE WHO DIED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WITH VIRTUAL MEMORIAL CEREMONY AT “THE RISING”
www.westchestergov.com | September 11, 2020
Matthew McCauley and Peter Woods, Co-Chairs of the 9/11 Related Illnesses Memorial Committee, will also give remarks on the committee’s efforts.

COVID-19 A BIG THREAT TO 9/11 WORKERS, BUT LITTLE TRACKING OR TESTING SO FAR
The City | April 12, 2020
As the city’s coronavirus casualty count grows, 9/11 activists say the outbreak is exacting a heavy toll among first responders and survivors of the terrorist attacks.

PEOPLE WITH 9/11-RELATED ILLNESSES CAN REAPPLY FOR ASSISTANCE
NY Post | February 19, 2020
Thousands of sick people or family members of those who died of 9/11-related illnesses and missed the deadline to qualify for aid from the Sept. 11 Victims Compensation Fund will get extra time to reapply.

NYPD DETECTIVE WHO FOUGHT FOR 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER’S BENEFITS DIES FROM SUICIDE
4 NY | February 17, 2020
The detective vigorously fought to get necessary funding for an NYPD officer who was sick as a result of his time at Ground Zero on 9/11.

FORMER FIRST RESPONDERS LOOK FOR HELP AS THEY CONTINUE TO FEEL HEALTH IMPACTS OF 9/11
ABC 15 News | February 15, 2020
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, happened more than 18 years ago, but the death toll continues to grow this day.

WNY/WORLD TRADE CENTER 9/11 HEALTHCARE PROGRAM WORKSHOP SCHEDULED
February 12, 2020
A 9/11 Healthcare Program Workshop team will be conducting a workshop to explain the laws, rules, regulations, and benefits of the four primary programs comprising the WTC 9/11 Healthcare Program.

SOME 9/11 SURVIVORS STRUGGLE TO PROVE ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSATION FUND
Wall Street Journal | November 27, 2019

COUNTY PAUSES TO REMEMBER VICTIMS AND REFLECT DURING 9/11 CEREMONY
The Examiner News | Sep 12, 2019
Officials joined yesterday afternoon with the families of many of the county residents who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to remember their lives during Westchester’s annual 9/11 memorial ceremony.

TRUMP SIGNS 9/11 VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND BILL FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
ABC News | July 29, 2019
Surrounded by 9/11 first responders and their families, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan 9/11 Victim Compensation bill into law Monday morning at a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.

U.S. HOUSE APPROVES FUNDING FOR 9/11 RESPONDERS, SENDS TO SENATE
U.S. News & World Report | July 12, 2019
The House voted 402-12 to pass the “Never Forget the Heroes Act” that had been championed by Jon Stewart, the popular former host of the late-night comedy program The Daily Show, and highlighted by recent gripping testimony by a dying 9/11 New York police detective.

U.S. HOUSE APPROVES FUNDING FOR 9/11 RESPONDERS, SENDS TO SENATE
Reuters | July 12, 2019
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved legislation to permanently compensate first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center who have been suffering from cancers and other illnesses as a result of working at the contaminated site.

ZEROES FOR HEROES? LAWYERS CONTEND VCF GAVE SOME 9/11 VICTIMS NOTHING
The Chief-Leader | July 8, 2019
Even as the congressional support for renewal of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund builds, cutbacks in the existing program are hitting municipal workers and their families particularly hard, according to two attorneys with extensive World Trade Center-related practices.

LUIS ALVAREZ, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER WHO TESTIFIED ALONGSIDE JON STEWART, DIES
The Hill | June 29, 2019
Alvarez, 53, died in a hospice in Rockville Centre, N.Y., according to a statement by Matthew McCauley, a retired NYPD officer who is Alvarez’s lawyer and friend.

LUIS ALVAREZ FOUGHT FOR 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS UNTIL THE VERY END. HE HAS DIED AT 53
Washington Post | June 29, 2019
On Saturday, his family confirmed that the New York Police Department veteran had died at 53, having succumbed the cancer he developed years after working at Ground Zero. His legacy is cemented in his advocacy for his fellow first responders. Politicians and activists vowed on Saturday to continue the fight in his name.

MCCONNELL AGREES TO HOLD VOTE ON 9/11 FUND AFTER MEETING WITH FIRST RESPONDERS
CBS News | June 25, 2019
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to hold a vote in August on a bill to fully fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, which helps those with illnesses related to the 2001 terror attacks, said 9/11 responders who met with McConnell Tuesday afternoon.

9/11 SURVIVORS ARE WORRIED THEY CAN’T AFFORD THEIR BILLS
Time Magazine | March 15, 2019
“Please don’t forget us,” says Berwind. “To [some people], 9/11 is over. It might as well be Pearl Harbor. But, unfortunately, thousands upon thousands of people are affected.”

NEW YORK 9/11 SURVIVORS STUNNED BY DECISION TO SLASH COMPENSATION FUND
NY Daily News | February 15, 2019
New Yorkers who survived 9/11 only to be sickened by the toxic dust swirling around Ground Zero were stunned to learn Friday that the federal government will be cutting compensation payouts as much as 70% — fearing that the decision will leave scores of ill survivors with little to live on.

WORKING WHILE DYING — NYPD EMPLOYEE WITH 9/11-RELATED CANCER FORCED TO WORK AFTER EXHAUSTING HER SICK DAYS
NY Daily News | October 18, 2018
Unlike the many civil servants who share her fate, Mercer — diagnosed with an inoperable cancer — won’t spend her final days with family at home. Instead, the 59-year-old Queens resident will be at work, wondering why civilian employees like her can’t get the same unlimited sick leave as cops, firefighters and sanitation workers.

NEW STUDIES SHOW NO LINK TO WTC TOXINS AND CANCER
Patch.com | September 7, 2011
Matt McCauley, an attorney with Parker Waichman Alonso representing 9/11 victims, expressed anger and concern to news the study found no link between the toxins at ground zero and cancer, as it prevents 9/11 survivors with cancer from receiving the benefits of the Zadroga Bill.

9/11 HEALTHCARE ADVOCATE RECOMMENDS 5 RELIABLE LAWYERS
DNAinfo | January 10, 2011
The other members of the team include Michael Barasch, whose lower Manhattan firm represented NYPD detective James Zadroga before he died in 2006; John Dearie, who has offices around New York State; Matthew McCauley, of the national firm Parker Waichman Alonso; and Noah Kushlefsky with Kreindler & Kreindler, a firm that represented many of the families in the original Victim Compensation Fund.

FAILURE OF 9/11 HEALTH BILL COULD HURT NEW YORK CITY CLINICS
ABC7NY | December 12, 2010
Thousands of people who have lingering respiratory problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments have been getting checkups, counseling, medication and other treatments at federally funded centers around New York City and its suburbs.