Maryland
VA grants 1 million claims under toxic exposure law; 19,274 approved in Maryland – Maryland Matters
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs said this week that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open-air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The law, approved with broad bipartisan support following years of advocacy by veterans, their families and service organizations, has also led to more than 145,000 people enrolling in health care provided by the VA.
In Maryland, the VA has approved 19,274 of the 31,440 claims filed by veterans in the state, and an additional 3,072 people have enrolled in VA health care, according to agency data.
The milestone was announced Tuesday by President Joe Biden at a speech in New Hampshire. VA Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement that the law has made “tangible, life-changing differences for” veterans and their survivors.
“That has meant more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans as well as access to no-cost VA health care across all 50 states and the territories,” McDonough said.
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during the call that the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics law, known as the PACT Act, “represents the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans, including veterans exposed to burn pits and certain veterans exposed to radiation and Agent Orange.”
“This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent,” Tanden said. Biden’s son, Beau, died from brain cancer in 2015, at age 46.
The approval rate for benefits under the PACT Act is about 75%, according to a senior administration official.
Burn pit exposure
Congress struggled for years before reaching a compromise on when and how to provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to open-air burn pits during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hazardous chemicals, medical waste, batteries and other toxic substances were disposed of in those burn pits, typically located on military bases. Service members had no choice but to live and work alongside the smoke, often breathing it in.
The law added 23 illnesses to the list of conditions that the VA presumes are connected to military service, eliminating the arduous and complicated process that many veterans had to undergo to try to get health care and benefits for those diagnoses.
Before the bill became law, veterans often had to prove to the VA that their illnesses were connected to their military service if they wanted to receive benefits or health care for those illnesses.
The U.S. Senate voted 84-14 in June 2022 to send the legislation to the House, where it was delayed for weeks over a dispute about incentivizing health care providers to move to rural or very rural areas.
The bill passed the House following a 342-88 vote in July, after that section was removed from the package. Senators voted 86-11 in August to send the bill to Biden’s desk.
The president signed the bill during a ceremony on Aug. 10.
“When they came home, many of the fittest and best warriors that we sent to war were not the same,” Biden said during the signing ceremony. “Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”
The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.
The agency also has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.
Maryland
Winds ease for a seasonable weekend in Maryland
Happy Saturday, Maryland!
Today is the final day of fall and we’ll have more seasonable conditions and quieter weather this weekend.
Calmer weekend
Maryland’s peak wind gusts reached over 50 mph on Friday. As high pressure remains in control today (although it is moving offshore), we’ll have a couple of quieter days ahead the weekend.
Expect temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s on Saturday with much calmer winds. Sunshine mixes with clouds overhead, but we stay dry.
Tonight, we could have a few more clouds as a cold front approaches. Temperatures cool into the 20s and 30s again tonight.
Ravens-Patriots forecast
Winds pick up slightly again on Sunday, as gusts could surpass 20 mph during the day. Temperatures will be a few degrees warmer, reaching the upper 40s in some neighborhoods.
It’ll be cool if you’re heading to the Ravens game on Sunday night. Kickoff temperatures will be in the low 30s and drop into the 20s through game time.
It will be dry with mainly clear skies during the game.
Holiday travel
We are in the final countdown ahead of the Christmas holiday next week. Overall, it looks like weather will cooperate with your travel plans here in Maryland.
Outside of a low risk for a shower or two with the passing cold front tomorrow, it’s dry over the next couple of days.
Our next chance of rain will come Tuesday as a pair of fronts will pass through. A few snowflakes could mix with showers Monday night into Tuesday. Accumulations are not expected at this point.
Then, the First Alert Weather team will watch another chance for a few showers Wednesday into Thursday. Santa may need the windshield wipers as he moves through on Christmas Eve. He’ll check in with the WJZ First Alert Weather team for updated timing on the late-week chance of showers, just as you should!
Temperatures later in the week will also be warming. Wednesday will be in the mid to upper 40s with Thursday and Friday warming into the 50s. Cooler air returns for the final weekend of 2025.
Maryland
Maryland dentist to serve 10 years for pill-splitting scheme with assistant
A Baltimore County dentist was sentenced to 10 years in prison after illegally distributing an opioid to one of his former employees over the course of three years.
According to the Office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (OAG), Dr. Andrew T. Fried, DMD, a licensed dentist who owned a solo practice dental office in Nottingham, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the following charges in November:
- one count of distributing narcotics
- and one count of prescribing controlled dangerous substances outside the regular course of duties of a dentist and not within the standards of his profession related to controlled dangerous substances.
Dr. Fried prescribed Oxycodone without a legitimate reason to a former employee who worked as an assistant at Perry Hall Family Dental from April 2022 to May 2025.
Dr. Fried admitted that he and the former assistant would split the pills between themselves and that he purchased them weekly from his assistant, who got them from close family members, according to a press release from the OAG.
On Friday, AG Brown announced the charges, stating, “Every Marylander who sits in a dental chair should trust that they’re receiving competent, professional care…This sentence protects Dr. Fried’s patients from further unsafe treatment and eliminates a source of opioids in our communities.”
Baltimore opioid crisis
Oxycodone is a strong prescription painkiller that is classified as a Schedule II-Controlled Substance due to its risk of addiction, illness, and, in some cases, death.
The drug is meant to be distributed by healthcare professionals to treat moderate to severe pain when other pain medicines aren’t sufficient; however, the pills can, at times, be found on the street.
In 2019, police arrested a man after discovering 38 pills of suspected Oxycodone during a traffic stop in Glen Burnie.
In 2018, a licensed pharmacist pleaded guilty to distributing oxycodone in exchange for sexual favors.
Baltimore’s ongoing opioid epidemic is a priority for city leaders.
In October, city leaders met to discuss ways to address Baltimore’s open-air drug market after three mass overdose incidents had taken place in the Penn North neighborhood over a span of four months.
Maryland
No. 7 Maryland routs winless Central Connecticut State 98-30 despite injury issues
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Yarden Garzon scored 12 of her 25 points in the first quarter, and No. 7 Maryland routed Central Connecticut State 98-30 on Friday.
To the delight of the screaming kids in attendance for the team’s annual Field Trip Day game, Terrapins coach Brenda Frese wore a jersey with the number 67 on it before tip-off. Then Maryland nearly won by that margin.
The blowout was no surprise. Maryland entered the game as one of 12 unbeaten teams left in Division I, and Central Connecticut State was one of 10 without a victory. The Terps (13-0) scored the game’s first 10 points and led 39-14 after one quarter.
Garzon made four 3-pointers in the first period.
Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu, who appeared to hobble on her right leg before leaving the game in the fourth quarter, had 10 points and nine rebounds. Ozzy-Momodu said after the game she’s OK.
Lucia Noin led Central Connecticut State (0-11) with 12 points.
Maryland guard Saylor Poffenbarger has been dealing with an ankle injury, and she sat out Friday as a planned rest day before the team returns to conference play. The Terrapins have lost Lea Bartelme, Ava McKennie and Kaylene Smikle to season-ending knee injuries, and Bri McDaniel, who tore her ACL 11 months ago, now plans to redshirt this season.
After the Terps took a 64-18 lead, they attempted five straight 3-pointers before Garzon finally made one to gave Maryland exactly 67 points. That drew an excited response from the crowd, as expected.
Central Connecticut State: Hosts Long Island University on Jan. 2.
Maryland: Hosts Wisconsin on Dec. 29.
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