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Standing in the shadow of the towering rebuilt World Trade Center, scores of firefighters and police officers, led by Mayor Bill de Blasio and two United States senators from New York, rallied on Sunday to press Congress to extend a 9/11 health bill. The bill would pay for medical care for emergency medical workers and others, including police officers, firefighters and construction workers who risked their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, or in the weeks and months after to recover bodies and begin the cleanup. They were exposed to toxic chemicals that have sickened or killed many of them. (Foderaro and Schlossberg, 12/6)

Lawmakers, however, are pushing for the Zadroga Act to be included in one large bill, known as a omnibus, that must be passed by Dec. 11, when the congressional session ends for the holidays. “We will not, we cannot, we won’t walk away without a permanent 9/11 bill to protect the health care and the lives of our first responders,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. (Morales, 12/6)