The Nation in Brief

During a dedication ceremony Thursday, people gather around stones that are part of a new memorial glade at ground zero in New York City.
During a dedication ceremony Thursday, people gather around stones that are part of a new memorial glade at ground zero in New York City.

9/11 addition honors recovery workers

NEW YORK -- Family members of recovery workers who died after digging through smoldering ruins joined city officials Thursday at a dedication ceremony for a new section of the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.

The 9/11 Memorial Glade honors rescue and recovery workers who were sickened or died after responding to the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Today we are dedicating this memorial glade to all who became sick or died because of causes related to the attacks and to all the men and women who took part in the rescue and recovery effort that ended on this date 17 years ago," former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chairman of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, told the hundreds gathered on the plaza for the ceremony.

Thousands of workers and many city residents were exposed to the clouds of thick dust released when the trade center's twin towers collapsed. About 50,000 people have applied so far to the federal fund for those with illnesses possibly related to being at the site. More than $5.1 billion in benefits have been awarded.

The grassy clearing on the southwest corner of the 8-acre plaza includes a path flanked with six huge, sloping stone structures made of granite slabs inlaid with steel recovered from the fallen trade center towers. The larger memorial's original architects, Michael Arad and Peter Walker, designed the memorial glade.

U.S. measles cases at 971, and counting

NEW YORK -- U.S. health officials on Thursday reported 971 measles cases so far this year, the highest tally in 27 years, and experts say it's not clear when the wave of illnesses will stop.

Measles, once common in the U.S., became rare after vaccination campaigns that started in the 1960s. A decade ago, there were fewer than 100 cases a year.

The new numbers from the Centers for Disease control and Prevention pushed the U.S. tally higher than the 963 illnesses reported for all of 1994. The nation last saw this many cases in 1992, when more than 2,200 were reported.

Overall vaccination rates have remained fairly high, but outbreaks have been happening in communities where parents have refused recommended shots, U.S. health officials say.

"What's causing these outbreaks is lack of vaccination," said Dr. Mark Roberts, chairman of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Illnesses have been reported in 26 states, but the vast majority -- more than 500 cases -- are in New York City.

The city's outbreak, which began in October, is already the largest local measles outbreak in the U.S. in nearly 30 years. It started when some unvaccinated children visited Israel, where a measles outbreak is occurring, and came back to New York.

Man dies after self-immolation in D.C.

WASHINGTON -- A man who set himself on fire Wednesday in a park south of the White House has died, the U.S. Park Police said Thursday.

The man was identified as Arnav Gupta, 33, of Bethesda, Md. He had been reported missing by the Montgomery County Police Department on Wednesday.

Officers with the National Park Service and the U.S. Park Police administered first aid at the scene after Gupta self-immolated around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital, but Gupta died from his injuries later that day, the Park Police said in a statement.

His family reported him missing Wednesday, and authorities put out a missing-person notice that the "police are concerned for Gupta's physical and emotional welfare." Law enforcement officials said Thursday that they had made no official determination of his motivation.

After Gupta's death, the investigation was turned over to the Metropolitan Police Department, which has primary responsibility for death and homicide cases in Washington. The Park Police had originally overseen the case because it occurred on the Ellipse, a national park.

Alabama execution second in 2 weeks

ATMORE, Ala. -- A man convicted of killing a country preacher during a 1991 robbery was put to death by lethal injection Thursday in Alabama, weeks after he avoided another execution date after disagreements among U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Christopher Lee Price, 46, became the second inmate put to death in Alabama in two weeks. The execution was carried out at Holman prison, where he was pronounced dead at 7:31 p.m.

Convicted in the killing of Bill Lynn, a north Alabama pastor slain by a sword and knife just days before Christmas, Price released a statement of apology through his attorney before the execution.

"A man is much more than his worst mistake," he said while strapped to a gurney moments before the drugs began flowing.

Price sought a stay based on a challenge to the state's method of using three drugs during lethal injections. The nation's high court, by a 5-4 vote, refused to halt the execution Thursday night. The conservative majority did not give a reason for denying the stay.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

photo

AP/The Daily Press/JAMES QUIGG

Students in Mrs. Ratcliffe’s sixth grade class at Desert Knolls Elementary School celebrate the end of the school year Thursday in Apple Valley, Calif., by setting off fountains of diet cola and Mentos.

A Section on 05/31/2019

Upcoming Events