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President Obama is still not scheduled to visit the devastated community of West, Texas, where an explosion at a fertilizer plant five days ago killed 14 – including 11 emergency responders – and wounded approximately 200 people. Up to 75 homes were damaged, as well as an apartment complex that was decimated. Obama so far has sent prayers and money to the town, but not himself. (snip) He will have ample opportunity. The president, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, will be in Texas two days this week, heading to Dallas Wednesday for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser and then...

Exclusive: Chuck Norris prays for bombing victims, applauds heroes' valiant acts As with others across the nation, my wife, Gena, and I are so proud of the first responders and host of rescuers, medical personnel, law enforcement, firemen, military, crisis counselors and good Samaritans who immediately were called into action and undoubtedly saved lives, limbs and souls because of their heroic efforts. Truly, America’s best shine brightest during our country’s most difficult and darkest moments. At the same time, however, my wife, Gena, and I join the rest of the nation in offering our most heartfelt condolences and prayers for...

At 5:20 a.m. on Monday, four hours before the Boston Marathon's elite runners took off, a group of 15 active-duty soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard gathered at the starting line in Hopkinton. Each soldier was in full combat uniform and carried a "ruck," a military backpack weighing about 40 pounds. The rucks were filled with Camelbacks of water, extra uniforms, Gatorade, changes of socks—and first-aid and trauma kits. It was all just supposed to be symbolic. "Forced marches" or "humps" are a regular part of military training, brisk walking over tough terrain while carrying gear that could help a...

A hero firefighter who bravely served on September 11th alongside hundreds of other first responders has died of a rare lung condition, and was laid to rest yesterday. FDNY Lt Martin Fullam contracted polymyositis in 2005, and had also suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, which left him breathless and exhausted after the simplest of tasks.

THE PRESIDENT: Now, before I finish, can I say, by the way, that some of you have been standing for a while and I see a couple folks slumping down a little bit. Make sure you're drinking water. Bend your knees. Don't stand up too straight. The paralegals will be -- the paralegals? (Laughter.) You don't need lawyers. (Laughter.) The paramedics will be coming by, so just give folks a little bit of room, they'll be fine. This happens at every event.

Metro is inspecting all of its defibrillators after one failed to work Monday when a 51-year-old rider suffered a fatal heart attack on the Yellow Line. The agency announced the news after The Washington Examiner started asking questions about the broken automated external defibrillator Thursday morning. Metro now says it plans to inspect all the defibrillators in its stations within 24 hours after determining the one at the Pentagon station had a dead battery. Metro has 46 defibrillators, meaning not every one of the 86 stations has one. The agency said Thursday it plans to add units at all remaining...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first-responders. "It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about," Reid said on the Senate floor. Reid was responding to recent comments from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who accused Democrats of purposefully pursuing higher taxes as part of the teacher/first-responder bill, S....

Chalk up Tennessee Republican Rep. Phil Roe’s Tuesday morning actions to heroism: Roe saved a man’s life with CPR after he flatlined in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport. Roe, an obstetrician before he first ran for public office, was walking through the Charlotte terminal with South Carolina Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney at about 7:15 a.m. when someone yelled out, “Is anybody here a doctor? There’s a gentleman who just collapsed!” Mulvaney told The Daily Caller that Roe rushed to the mans’ side and began CPR immediately. “He literally had just collapsed and Phil ran over there and I believe there...

It was a fitting tribute to salute their fallen colleagues, as 343 flags were carried by an honour guard for each one of the firemen who died on 9/11. Firemen from across the U.S. gathered in Manhattan, New York, around St Patrick's Cathedral, as a memorial service was held after an honour guard had marched down Fifth Avenue. The largest fire department in the U.S. held the ceremony as part of a weekend of events commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that devastated America in 2001.

One hundred and ninety motorcycles, driven mostly by Chicago firefighters, are on their way to New York for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The motorcycles left on Tuesday morning from US Cellular Field and will make stops at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where flight 93 went down, and at the Pentagon, before reaching Ground Zero on September 11th. Tom Maloney, a Lieutenant for the Chicago Fire Deparment, started the Chicago to New York motorcycle ride after the 9/11 attacks. Maloney and several other Chicago firefighters traveled to New York after the attacks to help the New York firefighters dig through the rubble....

Today, one 911 mom, who lost her son, said to me of our 911 Freedom Rally, "I am looking forward to the rally. It is a place we can be free to really remember the who, why, when and where of 9-11. The morning ceremony is devoid of any meaning." The NY Post is reporting that many 911 family members have not been invited to the official ceremonies of 911. This is just monstrous. First it was clergy, then 911 first responders who were excluded from the official ceremonies -- now it's the victims' families. Mayor Gloomberg not only lost...

Police, firemen and rescue workers who risked their lives to save the victims of 9/11 will not be invited to take part in the 10th anniversary ceremony. Despite giving up hours, days and weeks of their time to search for survivors and clear rubble, unpaid, rescuers are to be snubbed at next month's remembrance events. First responders will instead be asked back to the site at another day for a separate commemorative ceremony, according to officials. Space and security logistics were at the heart of the decision, the New York Daily News reported. The loved ones of those killed in...

WASHINGTON - The cops, firefighters and rescue workers who toiled at Ground Zero will not be invited to take part in the 10th anniversary ceremony, a city official told the Daily News Friday. First responders will instead be asked back to the site at another day for a separate commemorative ceremony, city officials said.

Los Angeles - Thousands of mourners gathered today for a funeral at the downtown Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to remember Los Angeles firefighter Glenn Allen, who was killed battling a blaze in the Hollywood Hills. "Glenn Allen was a beloved husband, father, brother, and son, a 36-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who like his father before him, dedicated his life to the most selfless public service there is -- saving other people who find themselves in harm's way," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during his eulogy. "He was a giant on the force." The funeral...

Ailing 9/11 responders slammed President Obama on Tuesday for sounding off on the Ground Zero mosque while keeping silent on a $7.2 billion health care bill. "Why have you failed us? We thought you would be our champion" in pushing the legislation, John Feal wrote to Obama. One of the thousands who worked at The Pile after the World Trade Center attacks, Feal heads the Fealgood Foundation supporting the responders. The plight of the Ground Zero heroes, still suffering and dying from illnesses brought on by the toxic cloud over the twin towers' ruins, has taken a backseat to the...

NEW YORK – The lead lawyer for thousands of Sept. 11 rescue and recovery workers has acknowledged that in preparing some claims, his firm made mistakes — including assertions that people had cancer when they didn't. But the attorney, Paul Napoli, said the errors all occurred at preliminary stages of the case, are being corrected and won't have any bearing on the outcome. He characterized the mistakes as few and accidental, caused by a crushing workload and a rush to meet court deadlines. "We are not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes," .. Napoli's firm, Worby Groner Edelman...

A spate of recent deaths of New York police and fire officers who took part in the emergency operation at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks has heightened fears that it could be the start of a delayed epidemic of cancer-related illness. Five firefighters and police officers, all of whom were involved in the rescue and clear-up at the site of the collapsed Twin Towers, have died of cancer in the past three months, the oldest being 44. Three died last month within a four-day period. Those three were Robert Grossman, a Harlem-based police officer who spent several weeks at...

The first people who came across Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the psychiatrist suspected of Thursday's murderous rampage, told tales Friday of quick, calm efforts in the face of danger. By the time it was over -- in less than five minutes, base commander Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said -- 13 people were dead and 38, including Hasan, were wounded. Mark Todd was one of two civilian police sergeants credited with helping take down Hasan. He and partner Kimberly Munley pulled up outside the building where the shooting was occurring at the same time, and Todd saw the shooter standing outside...

A German shepherd named Taz, who was almost 2 years old when he was assigned from the city police’s K-9 unit to do search and rescue at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack, has died. Taz was the last of the dogs involved in the attacks to still serve on the force. He died of cardiac arrest last Sunday, the Police Department said. Taz would have been 10 years old on Oct. 31 and had served in the Canine Emergency Service Unit, where his duties consisted of searching for evidence, suspects and missing persons. (The average age of...

It was the kind of emergency call every dispatcher dreads. The one about his own house. Quincy Police 911 dispatcher Mike Bowes knew something was wrong Friday when dozens of callers suddenly jammed his lines. “I was talking to an EMT when the call came in, all the lines lit up red,” he said. “That happens when a lot of people call at once. I said ‘This isn’t good.’ ” The 11-year veteran, who has steered help to thousands of emergencies, doesn’t startle easily, but what he heard when he started taking the calls floored him. “The first one said,...