Comedian Jon Stewart is pressing the Biden administration to fix a loophole in a massive veterans aid bill that has left out some of the very first troops who responded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They got sick after deploying to a former Soviet base near Afghanistan that was contaminated with high levels of uranium. To understand what the troops were exposed at Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan, or “K2,” Stewart told The Associated Press to “imagine you’re stationed inside the meth lab on 'Breaking Bad.'” But radiation-related illnesses at K2 weren't covered by legislation that made care easier to get for millions of veterans exposed to contaminants during the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflicts.
