Ground Zero, Ground Zero Workers | featured news

A long-delayed bill that would provide health care to emergency workers and others who became ill after working on ground zero passed mostly along party lines.

Lawyers for the city and about 10,000 rescue and cleanup workers at ground zero have negotiated a new settlement.

A federal judge rejected a multimillion dollar settlement for people sickened by ash and dust from the World Trade Center, saying the deal to compensate 10,000 police officers, firefighters and other laborers didn't contain enough money.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Friday rejected a legal settlement that would have given at least $575 million to the victims, saying the deal shortchanged ground zero workers whom he called heroes.

A settlement has been reached in the cases of thousands of rescue and cleanup workers who sued the city over damage to their health, according to city officials.