Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter

Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter

At the former Soviet base-turned-CIA black site and U.S. military base in Uzbekistan, researchers knew early on danger lingered not just from the enemy but from the ground itself. Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, was a launchpad for U.S. operations into Afghanistan after 9/11. But for thousands of American troops who served there, it may have been a death sentence. Matthew "Nick" Nicholls, an Army environmental technician and preventive medicine specialist, was part of an early team that assessed the environmental hazards at K2. "It is probably the most toxic soup of chemicals that any service member has ever been exposed to," Nicholls told Fox News Digital. Yellowcake uranium oozed from the ground. Jet fuel and volatile chemicals from decaying Soviet rocket bunkers polluted the soil and air. Dangerous fumes hung over the base like the fog of forgotten war. Nicholls and his team warned commanders, providing recommendations like laying down gravel to suppress toxic dust and restrictions on how long personnel could work in high-risk zones. Some precautions were taken, others weren't. Read On The Fox News App "People that I am friends with are actively dying from cancer right now," Nicholls said. "These are weird ontologies that are striking down people who are very young, people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, in the prime of their life." K2 veterans have reported a disturbing trend of rare and aggressive cancers, reproductive organ diseases, osteoarthritis and sudden, unexplained deaths. Victim Speaks Out After Navy Denies Fuel-contaminated Water Caused Injuries: 'Affected In Nearly Every Way' "These are not the cancers that young people normally get," Nicholls said. "Their stories are not really able to be told. That's the tragedy of it." "These people went there right after 9/11 to avenge the deaths of those who were murdered," Nicholls said. "Yet we had this launching pad in Uzbekistan that was left in such derelict condition by the Soviets." Between 2001 and 2005, more than 15,000 U.S. service members passed through K2. Thousands more served as contractors. Many now find themselves struggling to get adequate medical care or recognition from theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA recognizes such veterans "may have encountered several hazardous exposures," and the Department of Defense conducted an initial study to look at cancer outcomes. But that study was based only on a few cases of each type of cancer and should not be viewed as "definitive evidence of an association with service at K-2," the VA says. But a spokesperson for Rep. Mark Green said he does not believe these studies were enough, that they did not take the full extent of contamination into account and did not appropriately inform occupants of the base of their exposure risk or account for the full range of diseases that can result from toxic exposures. "That is why Rep. Green's NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) amendment calls for a new, fully rigorous epidemiological study to cover these blind spots," the spokesperson said. "There are too many unknowns to call it a case closed." Fox News Digital has reached out to the VA for comment. Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., introduced a provision in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Actrequiring the Pentagonto complete a study on K2 exposure within 180 days. Four years later, that study remains unfinished. "This is unjust,"Green toldFox News Digital. "There were repeated warnings that service members were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by Pentagon leadership of that day." In a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital that went out late Friday, Green is pressing the Pentagon to complete the long-overdue study, a step he argues is essential to ensure K2 veterans receive the care they deserve. "Because this study has yet to be completed (as far as Congress is aware), many K2 veterans are still waiting to receive much needed care," he wrote. "This is unjust. There were repeated warnings at Camp Stronghold Freedom that servicemembers (sic) were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by the Pentagon leadership of that day." The Pentagon told Fox News Digital it would respond to Green privately. 'Like A Car Crash': Navy Fighter Pilot Describes Brain Injury Phenomenon Now At Center Of Congressional Probe In 2024, the VA moved to expand access to disability for K2 veterans and lower the burden of proof for the veterans to link their illnesses to their service. But advocates say it wasn't enough. "The VA is dragging its feet," Green said. "I think it really purely comes down to cost. I get that the VA wants to be judicious, but my God, the numbers here are so convincing. This is long past due." Green has also introduced new legislation requiring the VA to formally recognize links between K2 toxic exposure and diseases like cancer, ensuring affected veterans qualify for care and benefits. Toxins at K2 included petrochemicals, volatile organic compounds, depleted uranium, burn pits and tetrachlorethylene, all chemicals associated with long-term health risks. But K2 veterans are not specifically named in the PACT Act, which expanded coverage for other toxic exposures like Agent Orange and burn pits. Green, a physician and Army veteran, sees disturbing echoes of past delays. Click To Get The Fox News App "Bureaucrats come and go, and bureaucrats have their own agendas," he said. "I want to make sure that it's written in stone and that these guys are not forgotten." Original article source:Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter

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May 26, 2025

Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter

Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter At the former Soviet b...

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Greek coastguards charged over 2023 migrant shipwreck

Greek coastguards charged over 2023 migrant shipwreck

A naval court in Greece has charged 17 coastguards over the deadliest migrant boat disaster in the Mediterranean Sea for a decade. Up to 650 people were feared to have drowned when the overcrowded Adriana fishing vessel sank near Pylos, off the Greek coast, in the early hours of 14 June 2023. Survivors later told the BBC that Greek coastguards had caused their boat to capsize in a botched attempt to tow it and then silenced witnesses. "It has taken us two years just for these charges to come, even though so many people witnessed what happened," one of the survivors, a Syrian man we called Ahmad, said on Monday. The Greek authorities have always denied the claims against them. The Deputy Prosecutor of the Piraeus Naval Court has found that 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard should face criminal charges. Among them is the captain of the coastguard ship, the LS-920, who is charged with "causing a shipwreck", leading to the deaths of "at least 82 people". This corresponds to the number of bodies recovered, although it is thought as many as an additional 500 people drowned, including women and children who were all below deck. The disaster occurred in international waters - but within Greece's rescue zone. The then-Chief of the Coast Guard and the Supervisor of the National Search and Rescue Coordination Centre in Piraeus are among four officials charged with "exposing others to danger". The captain of the LS-920 is also charged with "dangerous interference of maritime transport" as well as a "failure to provide assistance" to the migrant boat. The crew of the ship are charged for "simple complicity" in all the acts allegedly committed by the captain. A coastguard ship had been monitoring the Adriana for 15 hours before it sank. It had left Libya for Italy with an estimated 750 people on board. Only 104 of them are known to have survived. We've been investigating since the day of the disaster and our series of findings has cast serious doubt on the official Greek version of events. Within a week,we obtained shipping datawhich challenged the claim the migrant boat had not in trouble and so did not need to be rescued. A month later, survivors told usthe coastguard had caused their boat to sink in a disastrous effortto tow it and then forced witnessed to stay silent. Last year,a case against nine Egyptians was thrown out, amid claims they had been scapegoated by the Greek authorities. Earlier this year,audio recordings emergedwhich further challenged the official Greek version of events. We first met Syrian refugees, who we called Ahmad and Musaab to protect their identities, a month after the disaster. They said they each paid $4,500 (£3,480) for a spot on the boat. Ahmad's younger brother was also on board and did not survive. Musaab described to us the moment when - he alleged - the Greek coastguards caused their boat to sink. "They attached a rope from the left," he said. "Everyone moved to the right side of our boat to balance it. The Greek vessel moved off quickly causing our boat to flip. They kept dragging it for quite a distance." The men claimed that once on land, in the port of Kalamata, the coastguard told survivors to "shut up" when they started to talk about how the Greek authorities had caused the disaster. "When people replied by saying the Greek coastguard was the cause, the official in charge of the questioning asked the interpreter to tell the interviewee to stop talking," Ahmad said. He said officials shouted: "You have survived death. Stop talking about the incident Don't ask more questions about it." Today Ahmad - who is now living in Germany - said he felt vindicated by the charges that had been brought. "I'm very happy they are eventually being held accountable for all that they have committed, but until I see them in prison nothing has been done yet," he said. "To be honest, the Greek legal system is very unreliable." The joint legal team representing survivors and victims of the disaster said the decision to pursue a case against the 17 coastguards was a big step forward towards justice being done. In a statement it said: "Almost two years after the Pylos shipwreck, the prosecution and referral to main investigation for felonies of 17 members of the Coast Guard, including senior officers of its leadership, constitutes a substantial and self-evident development in the course of vindication of the victims and the delivery of justice." It is understood the 17 men who have now been charged will be questioned in the coming weeks by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Piraeus Naval Court. The court will then decide whether to send them to full trial or dismiss the charges. It is not immediately clear what punishment the coastguards could receive if found guilty. Greece has previously told the BBC its Coast Guard fully respects human rights and has rescued more than 250,000 people at sea in the past decade.

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May 26, 2025

Greek coastguards charged over 2023 migrant shipwreck

Greek coastguards charged over 2023 migrant shipwreck A naval court in Greece has charged 17 coastguards over the deadliest migrant boat dis...

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At commemoration of Dayton Peace Accords, NATO leader urges military spending to counter Russia

At commemoration of Dayton Peace Accords, NATO leader urges military spending to counter Russia

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Representatives from NATO-aligned nations concluded a gathering in Dayton, Ohio, Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, the agreement that ended the Bosnian war, amid Russia'sunprecedented droneoffensive in Ukraine. NATO formed in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. It now includes 32 countries. Ukraine is not a member, but participants inNATO gatheringsover the past week have said a victory against Russia inthe 3-year-old waris crucial to European and global stability. The anniversary was framed as a celebration of diplomacy and peace. The original accords were negotiated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Ohio, and signed in Paris later that year. "The Western Balkans has shown that peace is possible. But today Europe is not at peace. Russia has brought war back to Europe," said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at Monday's meeting of theNATO Parliamentary Assembly, the culmination of the five-day gathering. Rutte called on NATO member leaders to make the case at home for increasing military spending, suggesting that an increase to 5% of gross domestic product over the next few years could be reached in an agreement next month, in linewith demands from the NATO member U.S. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain do not currently spend at least2% of GDPon national defense budgets, a goal agreed to in 2023 as Russia's war on Ukraine entered its second year. So far, 22 of the 32 member countries have done so. Next month, the members will debate increasing that percentage to 3.5%, plus another 1.5% in spending on defense-related projects like roads and cybersecurity infrastructure. Cultural events accompanied the official meetings in Ohio, including art and history exhibits, public lectures, and a Concert for Peace featuring musicians from Dayton and Bosnia's capital of Sarajevo. A downtown "NATO Village" displayed flags from member nations, and additional exhibits highlighted the city's international ties.

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May 26, 2025

At commemoration of Dayton Peace Accords, NATO leader urges military spending to counter Russia

At commemoration of Dayton Peace Accords, NATO leader urges military spending to counter Russia DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Representatives from NAT...

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Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who forced France to face its WWII past, is dead at 97

Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who forced France to face its WWII past, is dead at 97

PARIS (AP) — Marcel Ophuls, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose landmark 1969 documentary "The Sorrow and the Pity" shattered the comforting myth that most of France had resisted the Nazis during World War II — has died at 97. The German-born filmmaker, who was the son of legendary filmmaker Max Ophuls, died Saturday at his home in southwest France of natural causes, his grandson Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert told The Hollywood Reporter. Though Ophuls would later win anOscarfor "Hôtel Terminus" (1988), his searing portrait of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, it was "The Sorrow and the Pity" that marked a turning point — not only in his career, but in how France confronted its past. Deemed too provocative, too divisive, it was banned from French television for over a decade. French broadcast executives said it "destroyed the myths the French still need." It would not air nationally until 1981. Simone Veil, Holocaust survivor and moral conscience of postwar France, refused to support it. But for a younger generation in a country still recovering physically and psychologically from the aftermath of the atrocities, the movie was a revelation — an unflinching historical reckoning that challenged both national memory and national identity. The myth it punctured had been carefully constructed by Charles de Gaulle, the wartime general who led Free French forces from exile and later became president. In the aftermath of France's liberation in 1944, de Gaulle promoted a version of events in which the French had resisted Nazi occupation as one people, united in dignity and defiance. Collaboration was portrayed as the work of a few traitors. The French Republic, he insisted, had never ceased to exist. "The Sorrow and the Pity," which was nominated for the 1972 Oscar for Best Documentary, told a different story: Filmed in stark black and white and stretching over four and a half hours, the documentary turned its lens on Clermont-Ferrand, a provincial town at the heart of France. Through long, unvarnished interviews with farmers, shopkeepers, teachers, collaborators, members of the French Resistance — even the town's former Nazi commander — Ophuls laid bare the moral ambiguities of life under occupation. There was no narrator, no music, no guiding hand to shape the audience's emotions. Just people — speaking plainly, awkwardly, sometimes defensively. They remembered, justified and hesitated. And in those silences and contradictions, the film delivered its most devastating message: that France's wartime story was not one of widespread resistance, but of ordinary compromise — driven by fear, self-preservation, opportunism, and, at times, quiet complicity. The film revealed how French police had aided in the deportation of Jews. How neighbors stayed silent. How teachers claimed not to recall missing colleagues. How many had simply gotten by. Resistance, "The Sorrow and the Pity" seemed to say, was the exception — not the rule. It was, in effect, the cinematic undoing of de Gaulle's patriotic myth — that France had resisted as one, and that collaboration was the betrayal of a few. Ophuls showed instead a nation morally divided and unready to confront its own reflection. Even beyond France, "The Sorrow and the Pity" became legendary. For cinephiles, its most famous cameo may be in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall": Alvy Singer (Allen) drags his reluctant girlfriend to a screening, and, in the film's bittersweet coda, she takes her new boyfriend to see it too — a nod to the documentary's singular place in film history. In a 2004 interview with The Guardian, Ophuls bristled at the charge that he had made the film to accuse. "It doesn't attempt to prosecute the French," he said. "Who can say their nation would have behaved better in the same circumstances?" Born in Frankfurt on Nov. 1, 1927, Marcel Ophuls was the son of legendary German-Jewish filmmaker Max Ophuls, director of "La Ronde," "Letter from an Unknown Woman", and "Lola Montès." When Hitler came to power in 1933, the family fled Germany for France. In 1940, as Nazi troops approached Paris, they fled again — across the Pyrenees into Spain, and on to the United States. Marcel became an American citizen and later served as a U.S. Army GI in occupied Japan. But it was his father's towering legacy that shaped his early path. "I was born under the shadow of a genius," Ophuls said in 2004. "I don't have an inferiority complex — I am inferior." He returned to France in the 1950s hoping to direct fiction, like his father. But after several poorly received features — including "Banana Peel" (1963), an Ernst Lubitsch-style caper starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jeanne Moreau — his path shifted. "I didn't choose to make documentaries," he told The Guardian. "There was no vocation. Each one was an assignment." That reluctant pivot changed cinema. After "The Sorrow and the Pity," Ophuls followed with "The Memory of Justice" (1976), a sweeping meditation on war crimes that examined Nuremberg but also drew uncomfortable parallels to atrocities in Algeria and Vietnam. In "Hôtel Terminus" (1988), he spent five years tracking the life of Klaus Barbie, the so-called "Butcher of Lyon," exposing not just his Nazi crimes but the role Western governments played in protecting him after the war. The film won him his Academy Award for Best Documentary but, overwhelmed by its darkness, French media reported that he attempted suicide during production. In "The Troubles We've Seen" (1994), he turned his camera on journalists covering the war in Bosnia, and on the media's uneasy relationship with suffering and spectacle. Despite living in France for most of his life, he often felt like an outsider. "Most of them still think of me as a German Jew," he said in 2004, "an obsessive German Jew who wants to bash France." He was a man of contradictions: a Jewish exile married to a German woman who had once belonged to the Hitler Youth; a French citizen never fully embraced; a filmmaker who adored Hollywood, but changed European cinema by telling truths others wouldn't. He is survived by his wife, Régine, their three daughters, and three grandchildren.

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May 26, 2025

Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who forced France to face its WWII past, is dead at 97

Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who forced France to face its WWII past, is dead at 97 PARIS (AP) — Marcel Ophuls, the Academy Aw...

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Michael Strahan’s Parents Cooked and Ate His Childhood Pet Pig, and He Didn’t Find Out Until He Was an Adult

Michael Strahan's Parents Cooked and Ate His Childhood Pet Pig, and He Didn't Find Out Until He Was an Adult

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Michael Strahan didn't know until he was an adult that his parents cooked and ate his childhood pet pig TheGood Morning Americastar's co-host Sara Haines found out about the family secret and teased Strahan about it She accidentally spilled the beans on the pet pig and shared the story of telling Strahan about the animal's fate onThe Weekend Viewon Saturday, May 24 Michael Strahan's family kept a pretty big secret from him about their childhood pet pig. The former NFL star andGood Morning Americaco-anchor was one of five kids, who split his time growing up between Houston, Texas, and Germany. His parents Gene Strahan and Louise Strahan opened up to Michael's formerGMAco-anchorSara Haines, in a special interview segment beforeGene's deathin 2020, about one particularly memorable incident from his childhood. Cassidy Sparrow/Getty "I went to shoot with his parents before his father died because I wanted ...to give him time with his parents, as one of five children where they just talked about him," Haines explained duringThe Weekend Viewon Saturday, May 24. However, during that special segment, Haines said she learned that the family had a pet pig, adding, "They shared with me that they ate the pig." Michael Strahan/Instagram To make matters worse, Michael had no idea what had happened to the animal. "I come back and I'm giving Michael a hard time, as one would, and I joked about the pig," Haines explained. "And he's like, 'What are you talking about?' He didn't know. He didn't know 'cause they were all young." MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Haines added that Michael then confronted his mother about the story, leading her to feel even worse about the accidental reveal. "He was like, 'I had no idea.' And he called his mom," she shared. "And I was like, 'I didn't mean to betray the family trust! I just thought you told him!' " Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty While they might have kept some things from him, Michael's parents always believed in their son. "I never knew I could accomplish so much, but my parents never act surprised,"he told PEOPLEin 2016. "They look at me as if there's no limit. That helped me feel like there's no limit." These days the Strahan family sticks to dogs and Michael is dad to pups Enzo and Zuma, introducing Zuma in 2023. Michael Strahan/Instagram "Everyone meet Zuma Strahan 💕" Michael captioned a video of the sweet dog on Instagram. "New puppy so Enzo has a sister!! Welcome home!" Read the original article onPeople

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May 26, 2025

Michael Strahan’s Parents Cooked and Ate His Childhood Pet Pig, and He Didn’t Find Out Until He Was an Adult

Michael Strahan's Parents Cooked and Ate His Childhood Pet Pig, and He Didn't Find Out Until He Was an Adult Todd Owyoung/NBC via Ge...

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'America's Got Talent' 2025: How to watch the 2025 premiere

'America's Got Talent' 2025: How to watch the 2025 premiere

USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Season 20 of "America's Got Talent" premieres on May 26, bringing with it several new auditioning acts and a returning "spicy" superstar host. During the landmark 20th season, returning judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel and Sofía Vergara welcome back superstar Mel B. The former Spice Girls' member participated in the show's eighth season, whenSharon Osbournedeparted the talent competition. The move comes on the heels of 2024 host Heidi Klum exiting the show. The German model joined the show in 2013 and judged on Seasons 8-13. After a Season 14 hiatus, Klum returned to the NBC show for Seasons 15 through 19. Actor Terry Crews also returns as host for the NBC TV series that offers amateur and often unknown performers a chance at a $1 million prize and Las Vegas performance. Here is how to watch the 'America's Got Talent' Season 20, Episode 1 premiere : "America's Got Talent" Season 20 premieres Tuesday,May 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PTon NBC. Episodes showing auditions will air every Tuesday until live episodes start this summer. "America's Got Talent" episodes air on NBC each Tuesday evening. Check your local listings to see where to tune in. Those looking to stream the season can do so onPeacock, where episodes will be available for viewing the next day. 'America's Got Talent':Stream on Peacock Simon Cowell: Serves as both a judge (since 2016) and executive producer. Howie Mandel: Has been a judge since 2009. Sofía Vergara: Has been with the show as a judge since 2020. Mel B,who participated in the show's eighth season, whenSharon Osbournedeparted 'America's Got Talent'. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'AGT' 2025 premiere date, start time, channel, how to watch Season 20

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May 26, 2025

'America's Got Talent' 2025: How to watch the 2025 premiere

'America's Got Talent' 2025: How to watch the 2025 premiere USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. ...

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