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Sports

Dons punish depleted Roos to continue strong late-season form

Dons punish depleted Roos to continue strong late-season form

IF PART of Essendon’s struggles this season can be attributed to the injury-affected absence of Jake Stringer, then Sunday was a reminder of what the Bombers can be with their gamechanger at his best.

In the first quarter alone, Stringer booted three goals from the midfield in a ballistic burst that set the tone in Essendon’s 48-point win over North Melbourne.

BOMBERS V KANGAROOS Full match details and stats

The 28-year-old bookended his day with two last-quarter goals to finish with five majors as the Bombers steadily built on their lead through the game to claim the 17.12 (114) to 9.12 (66) victory.

Stringer remains Essendon’s chief matchwinner and his performance also included 14 disposals and six tackles in a damaging display for the Bombers, who recorded their highest score of the year.

It was their fourth win from five games in a turn of form that has lifted them slightly up the ladder and also raised spirits about a season that had otherwise been an ugly backwards step.

Despite losing in-form midfielder Dylan Shiel to a hamstring injury pre-game, the Bombers got on top around the ball, with Zach Merrett excellent with 38 disposals, 10 tackles and a goal, defender Mason Redman collected 32 disposals off half-back. Dyson Heppell, too, was consistent, while James Stewart returned to the Bombers’ line-up with three goals.

Jy Simpkin tried valiantly in the midfield for the Roos with a career-best 41 disposals, while Cam Zurhaar was a threat throughout, finishing with four goals for the last-placed Kangaroos.

Stringer was sharp early. He kicked the first of the day from the goal line and had three by quarter-time, including a set shot and a clever snap.

Starting in the center and pushing forward, Stringer was back to some of his brilliant 2021 form when he kicked 41 goals from 19 games and won several matches off his own boot for his team.

The Bombers’ efficiency going forward made them dangerous in attack to hand them a 15-point lead at the first change.

North’s own raging bull Zurhaar was standing in the way of a heavy defeat. He booted a goal to start the second term, his second of the day, and caused some headaches within 50 for the Roos.

The Roos star kicked his third in the dying moments of the half to keep his side within reach of the Bombers, who had stretched their lead to 30 points just before the main break.

DON EARNS PRAISE In-form Redman lauded, Roos rue missed chances

But Peter Wright got involved in the third quarter with two goals as the Bombers stretched their lead to 33 points at the final change, as Essendon ran away with its eighth straight win over North Melbourne dating back to 2016.

Redman’s star continues to rise
Mason Redman was in doubt to face the Kangaroos after being sent to hospital last week after coughing up blood against Collingwood. But he played, and played very well, as a crucial member of the Bombers’ win over the Roos. Redman picked up 32 disposals, including 19 in the first half, and continued his brilliant form off half-back. His run and carry from him has been consistent throughout the year even when the Bombers were struggling, and his goal from him from long range in the second quarter added to his highlights from him. He should be leading the club’s best and fairest.

McKay and Wright in tight battle
In his 50th AFL game, North Melbourne full-back Ben McKay emerged as one of North’s best in his battle with Peter Wright. Wright had entered the game with 45 goals for the season after 19 games, but he met his match in McKay, who was less interceptor than usual but instead spoiled many of Wright’s marking attempts in the first half. Wright was better after the main break, kicking two goals and being more involved, but it was an even contest.

And at the other end…
The emergence of Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has been a good find for the Bombers in the past month. The key back has played five games in a row since coming into the side against the Swans in round 16 and grown with every game. On Sunday he took on Kangaroos key forward Nick Larkey, who managed just seven disposals and three behinds. Zerk-Thatcher has been on the fringe of selection in recent seasons but has improved to find his spot in Essendon’s back half and had 14 disposals himself.

ESSENDON 5.1 9.5 13.6 17.12 (114)
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.4 5.6 7.9 9.12 (66)

GOALS
Essendon: Stringer 5, Stewart 3, Jones 2, Langford 2, Wright 2, Guelfi, Merrett, Redman
NorthMelbourne: Zurhaar 4, Anderson, Coleman-Jones, Goldstein, Scott, Turner

BEST
Essendon: Redman, Merrett, Stringer, Zerk-Thatcher, Hind, Ridley
NorthMelbourne: Simpkin, Zurhaar, Anderson, Stephenson, McKay, Scott

INJURIES
Essendon: Caldwell (calf)
NorthMelbourne: nil

LATE CHANGES
Essendon: Dylan Shiel (hamstring) replaced by Archie Perkins
NorthMelbourne: Lachie Young, Jack Mahony (health and safety protocols) replaced by Phoenix Spicer, Kayne Turner

SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Jye Menzie (replaced Jye Caldwell in the third quarter)
NorthMelbourne: Josh Walker (unused)

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US

Manchin will talk to Sinema about supporting climate, tax deal

Manchin will talk to Sinema about supporting climate, tax deal

Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) says he will talk to fellow centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) about supporting a broad tax reform and climate bill he’s negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) that would reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

Sinema has kept silent about whether she will support the deal, which needs the votes of all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to pass.

The Arizona senator expressed opposition last year to closing the carried interest tax loophole for asset managers, something that Manchin insisted be part of the deal.

Manchin said he didn’t keep Sinema in the loop during his talks with Schumer because he didn’t know if a deal was possible, but he said he plans to speak with her Monday afternoon, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on a judicial nominee to Virginia’s eastern district court.

“I’m sure we’ll get a chance to speak today because she usually comes in [on Monday]and we’ll speak on the floor,” he told reporters.

Manchin said last week that he was “adamant” about keeping a proposal to close the carried interest loophole, which lets money managers pay a capital gains tax rate on the income they earn from profitable investments.

Sinema’s staff said the senator is reviewing the legislation.

Manchin indicated that he would likely vote to protect the budget reconciliation package from amendments that would alter it significantly, arguing that he and Schumer have struck the right balance after months of difficult negotiations.

“I’m just saying, we have a good balanced piece of legislation. It’s taken me eight months to get here. We’ve listened to everybody along the way,” he said when asked whether he would vote for amendments to change the bill, which would raise $739 billion in new revenue and reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion.

Manchin said he kept his conversations with Schumer close to the vest.

“I haven’t had any conversations with anybody during the process because I wasn’t ever sure that we would get to a finale,” he acknowledged. “I never thought that could happen. I wasn’t sure.”

He said he “never quit” on the talks, but added that he “didn’t want to put people in the situation where their anticipations and hopes would go up and back down again.”

“It really unfolded last Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” he added.

Manchin pushed back at Republican claims that the bill would cause Americans across income brackets to pay slightly more in taxes.

An analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation, for example, shows people earning between $50,000 and $75,000 would see their taxes increase by 0.8 percent in 2023.

Bloomberg reported Sunday the bill would increase a lapsed tax on crude and imported petroleum products to 16.4 cents per barrel.

“We have to agree to disagree. My Republican colleagues are my friends and I’ve worked with them tremendously and I’ll continue to work with them in any way, shape or form,” he said. “But these are things we have all talked about in bipartisan groups. How can we start paying down our debt and take our finances seriously?”

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Categories
Technology

Apple offers $50 gift card with Apple TV 4K purchases

Appletvsiri

appletvsiri

Faster processor, better picture and all-new remote control

The risk Apple ran when it made its TV+ service compatible with so many third party devices was that people would find less reason to purchase an Apple TV. That seems to be what’s happening as the company offers $50 Apple Gift Cards to anyone who does purchase its box.

Room for improvement?

When most television sets already run 4K natively, the purpose of Apple’s box has changed. The fact that content rich systems (such as Amazon’s or Roku’s hardware) can also provide access to TV+ content also reduces the appeal of these systems, I think.

What’s negative about this is that Apple’s made some big investments in creating a developer friendly environment for its TV box, with Arcade making these systems an alternative to console games. The challenge is that gamers are loyal to their console platforms and like to play the games they enjoy.

What is the deal?

Apple has extended its Apple TV 4K gift card offer outside the US to many other nations, including the UK and Australia. Under the deal, you get a $50 Apple Gift Card rebate (or the equivalent in local currency) on up to two units of Apple TV – buy two, get $100.

The offer is available until mid-August. It may be interesting to note that Disney+ recently added 4K support to Apple TV 4K.

One can’t help but wonder what happens after that?

What’s that coming over the hill?

The Apple TV 4K seems a little long in the tooth at this point. Some of its main reasons for existence have become diluted, and until Apple hits us (as it I think inevitably will) with AR-based and 6K content to beef up the package, the only deal has to be priced. We’ve all heard the speculation of a lower cost Apple TV stick, and it is possible Apple wants to put all its entertainment system eggs inside its AR goggles basket.

We do think a new Apple TV is on the way and this will likely feature an upgraded A14 (M1?) chip and more RAM.

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Categories
Sports

Fernando Alonso signs two-year deal to remain in Formula 1 with Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso smiles

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will extend his Formula One career by joining Aston Martin next season.

The 41-year-old Spaniard will replace Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement last week.

Aston Martin said on Monday that it signed Alonso to a multi-year deal.

“No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me,” Alonso said of Aston Martin.

“I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organization that is committed to learn, develop and succeed.”

Alonso will be going into his 20th season in F1.

He won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. He took two years off in 2019 and 2020 to race in other series, including runs at the Indy 500.

Fernando Alonso celebrates F1 title win in Brazil
Fernando Alonso twice won the Formula 1 drivers world title for Renault.(Reuters)

“I have witnessed the excitement in the engineering team and throughout the whole organization at the opportunity to work with Fernando,” Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said.

“We know that nearly everyone can learn from someone of Fernando’s caliber and experience. We are confident that he will inspire everyone to lift their game.”

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Categories
Australia

Teachers, nurses, police officers, cleaners and public servants offered six per cent wage rise over two years

Teachers, nurses, police officers, cleaners and public servants offered six per cent wage rise over two years

Western Australian teachers, nurses, police officers, cleaners and public servants have been offered a six per cent wage rise over the next two years as a buffer to rising inflation.

The Western Australia government has increased its pay offer for 150,000 workers to three per cent annually for the next two years, along with an additional $2,500 cost of living payment.

Premier Mark McGowan said the move was in response to peaking inflation and would cost the budget an extra $634 million over the next four years.

“Given the current economic climate we’ve listened and reviewed our wages policy,” he wrote on social media on Sunday.

“This is a reasonable and generous policy, but also responsible in these volatile economic times.”

The changes will immediately flow through to industries that have already accepted the government’s previous 2.75 per cent pay increase offer, including teachers and public hospital doctors.

Some workers’ wages will be increased more than the three per cent annual rate, with a patient care assistant who earns just over $55,000 a year set to effectively get a 7.5 per cent wage rise over the first year.

Perth’s consumer price index jumped 1.7 per cent in the June quarter, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, pushing its annual inflation rate well above the national average to 7.4 per cent.

Health workers and other WA public servants were lobbying for a pay rise above 2.75 per cent, with some holding stop-work meetings outside Perth hospitals in recent weeks.

The McGowan government banked a $5.7 billion surplus in this year’s state budget, which included a one-off $400 electricity credit for every household.

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Categories
US

Trump told Cruz sorry for attacks on wife, dad in 2016 primary

Trump told Cruz sorry for attacks on wife, dad in 2016 primary

Former President Donald Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for insulting his wife’s looks of him, suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and questioning whether the Texas Republican could legally run for president if he was born in Canada, according to a forthcoming book by Paul Manafort.

“On his own initiative, Trump did apologize for saying some of the things he said about Cruz, which was unusual for Trump,” the 45th president’s onetime campaign chairman writes, according to the Guardian.

During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz “ugly,” suggested Ted’s father, Rafael, had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, publicly cast ​doubt on Cruz’s eligibility to run for president and bestowed the nickname “Lyin’ Ted ”upon the senator.

Former President Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for comments he made during the 2016 election regarding his wife and father-in-law.
Former President Donald Trump apologized to Sen. Ted Cruz for comments he made during the 2016 election regarding his wife and father of him.
AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File
and suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Donald Trump apologized to Ted Cruz for insulting his wife’s looks and suggesting his father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP

According to Manafort, the real estate tycoon approached Cruz prior to the Republican National Convention that July to secure the Texan’s endorsement.

​Cruz, who had finished runner-up to Trump in the nominating contest, responded to the overture by saying he would work with Trump but not endorse him “because his supporters didn’t want him to.”

​“It was a forced justification for someone who is normally very logical. Trump didn’t buy it,” Manafort reportedly writes.

Manafort resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received.
Manafort resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File

Despite Cruz’s cool reception, the author goes on, Trump apologized and told his rival that he “considered him an ally, not an enemy, and that he believed they could work together when Trump was president.”

Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​

During Cruz’s remarks, Manafort recalls, Trump groused, “This is bulls–t” and walked to the back of the arena, “effectively pulling the attention away from Cruz and undercutting his speech.”

Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​
Cruz notably did not endorse Trump in his convention remarks, outraging the delegates and leading his wife being escorted out of the hall over fears for her safety.​​
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, Fil
During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz "ugly," suggested Ted's father Rafael had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
During the bruising 2016 Republican primary race, Trump called Heidi Cruz “ugly” and suggested Ted’s father, Rafael, had ties to Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Cruz was initially upset by Trump’s display of petulance.

“It took months to bring that relationship back,” Manafort writes. “But eventually Cruz came around to support Trump, and Trump harbored no ill will.”

Manafort, now 73, resigned as Trump campaign chair that August after news reports detailed under-the-table payments he received for lobbying work on behalf of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych.

Ultimately, Manafort was sentenced to seven years in prison for tax fraud and other crimes related to his work in Ukraine — charges that emerged from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020.

Manafort’s book, “Political Prisoner: Persecuted, Prosecuted, but Not Silenced,” is due out Aug. 16.

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Categories
Technology

Meet the Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Marque’s Menacing New Race Car – Robb Report

Porsche 911 GT3 R 6

If racing improves the breed, Porsche’s roadgoing specimens have a deep well of excellence to draw from: The brand has claimed some 30,000 victories since the 1950s, with two-thirds of those wins coming from 911 models. The latest quiver in Porsche’s arsenal is the just-unveiled 911 GT3 R race car, which made its official debut at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, where it finished in seventh place, and will make its first stateside appearance at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The big-winged racer is the second competition spinoff from the 992 series 911, and relates directly to the roadgoing 911 GT3. The new car was tuned with a keener eye towards enabling drivers to squeeze out as much consistent performance from the platform, rather than focusing on outright speed. “Our task was less about making the new 911 GT3 R even faster—the classification within performance windows set by the BoP quickly cancels out this advantage,” explains Porsche Motorsport Project Manager Sebastian Golz, referring to the Balance of Power rules which enable race organizers to set engine power limits in the interest of leveling the field of competition. “For us, it was primarily about our customers being able to drive the racing car faster for longer,” he says.

Porsche 911 GT3 R 2 in profile

The Porsche 911 GT3R racer in profile.

porsche

That said, the new package is rather robust: engine displacement has been enlarged to 4.2 liters, mirroring the displacement of the 911 RSR. The flat-six produces 565 hp, and is said to deliver a more usable rev band, which should help less seasoned drivers eke more out of the powerband. The naturally aspirated engine has been tilted forward 5.5 degrees, making more room for the underbody diffuser which helps produce downforce to keep the vehicle stuck to the pavement when cornering. Suspension improvements also borrow from the RSR, while wheelbase has been lengthened to enable better balance, less tire wear, and more consistent performance. Like the GT3 road car, a new swan-neck mounted rear wing keeps the crucial airflow below the wing smooth.

Porsche 911 GT3 R 4 rear.

The 911 GT3 R has a sleek single taillight.

porsche

Inside, the GT3 R’s seat has been moved closer to the center, accommodating an improved roll cage while meeting new side impact mandates. The spaceship-like cockpit incorporates a 10.3-inch screen from the GT3 Cup series. Porsche even improved the six-point harness with a quicker-releasing mechanism that they anticipate will shave around 1 second of driver swap time.

Serious racers have plenty of choice hardware to drool over with the new Porsche 911 GT3 R, which should be a formidable weapon for competition when it lands into customer and race team hands. Expect to spring $567,210 for the new car, though Le Mans hopefuls will know that number is just the tip of the racing-budget iceberg.

Check out more photos of the 911 GT3 R below:

Porsche 911 GT3R

porsche

Porsche 911 GT3R

porsche

Porsche 911 GT3R Interior

porsche

Porsche 911 GT3R Interior

porsche

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hood

porsche

Porsche 911 GT3R

porsche

Categories
Sports

Inside Ash Barty’s secret wedding to long-term love Garry Kissick

Inside Ash Barty's secret wedding to long-term love Garry Kissick

Ash Barty is notoriously secretive about her private life but pictures from her intimate Queensland wedding have pulled back the curtain.

The tennis great married her long-term love Garry Kissick in a private ceremony earlier this month, breaking the news on social media on Saturday night.

Captioned ‘Husband and wife’, the pair revealed little about the day they said ‘I do’.

Barty stunned in a Suzanne Harward-designed dress, whose gowns can cost upwards of $10,000.

The pair also tagged the Balter Brewing Company, suggesting the craft brewery provided refreshments for the evening.

Barty’s friends and family kept the news of the nuptials under wraps until the couple posted on social media.

Guests included Australian tennis stars Pat Rafter, Alicia Molik and Casey Dellacqua, according to the Courier Mail.

Kissick popped the question in November last year.

Barty revealed the happy news in an Instagram post, sharing a photo of the couple embracing with an engagement ring visible on her finger.

Barty has, for the most part, kept her relationship with Kissick relatively quiet.

The couple met at the Brookwater Golf Club in 2016. The sporting duo immediately clicked and went public with their relationship in 2017 when they attended the John Newcombe Awards together.

Kissick is an aspiring professional golfer, and works as the irrigation technician for the greens at the Brookwater Golf & Country Club in Brisbane.

The 29-year-old is a passionate Liverpool supporter and part of the PGA Trainee programme.

Read related topics:Ash Barty Brisbane

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Categories
Australia

Colmont School in Kilmore set to shut for senior students within days as money runs out

Colmont School in Kilmore set to shut for senior students within days as money runs out

The remaining students at Colmont School in Kilmore will be forced to leave the school within days after voluntary administrators failed to secure an emergency bailout from the government and could not secure rent relief from the school’s landlords.

Administrators for Colmont, an independent school that was heavily reliant on fees from international students, had been appealing to the school’s landlords, Taiwanese-born businessman Chien-Long Tai and his wife, Yuyu Chen, for rent relief.

Colmont School went into voluntary administration last week, leaving hundreds of families scrambling to find a new school.

Colmont School went into voluntary administration last week, leaving hundreds of families scrambling to find a new school.Credit:Jason South

The school collapsed last week due to a lack of funds, leaving hundreds of students in years 3 to 10 with just two days to find a new school. Students in years 11 and 12 were told the school would remain open to them for a longer period so they could continue their international baccalaureate studies without the disruption of having to find a new school at short notice.

Paul Langdon, an administrator at Vince & Associates, said the school “is running out of funds and in the absence of any significant financial support, cannot continue to operate for much longer.”

“The administrators have explored funding options with the federal and state governments on several occasions. Unfortunately, both governments will not be providing additional funding to the school,” he said.

“In addition, the administrators had sought a rent relief release from the landlord, which has also not been forthcoming.”

Dozens of students protested in front of the school gates on Monday, supported by family members, chanting “save our school” and “we want justice”. Members of Victoria Police attended the protest, warning the group to stay off school property.

More than 30 independent and Catholic schools have offered places to students at the school, although most lacked the capacity to take more than a handful.

Categories
US

‘Lowest hanging fruit of a functioning society’

'Lowest hanging fruit of a functioning society'

WASHINGTON — Comedian and activist Jon Stewart returned to Washington on Monday, holding a rally in front of the US Capitol to prod recalcitrant Senate Republicans into finally passing a bill that would extend treatment to soldiers exposed to toxic chemicals.

“This is the lowest hanging fruit of a functioning society. Like, if we can’t do this, the rest of us have no shot,” Stewart said, depicting the stalled bill as a symptom of deepening political dysfunction. “This is the canary in the coal mine.”

Behind him stood veterans and their families, including Susan Zeier, the mother-in-law of Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, who died of lung cancer at the age of 39 two years ago. The Department of Veterans Affairs denied him the kind of benefits it extends to soldiers, and their families, when they are injured on active duty. The bill is named after Robinson, who left behind a 9-year-old daughter.

Jon Stewart holds a microphone in front of the US Capitol among protesters holding signs, some of which read: Pass the PACT Act and Senators, honor your oath, veterans honored theirs, and Fallen heroes, the war that followed us home.

Comedian and activist Jon Stewart speaks during a rally to call on the Senate to pass the PACT Act, on Monday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Senators lie, veterans die,” said a sign held by one of the attendees behind Stewart. The sign brandished by another simply listed the names of the 25 US senators, all of them Republicans, who stymied passage last week.

Stewart hoped that his presence would break the impasse before legislators left on their customary August vacation. By turns angry and exasperated, I have highlighted the seemingly uncontroversial quality of the legislation. “This isn’t like the Democrats snuck in ‘abortion for all’ into a gay pride bill,” the former “Daily Show” host joked to Yahoo News after the rally was concluded.

The imperiled legislation, also known as the PACT Act, would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand health care services for service members exposed to dangerous chemicals from so-called burn pits where garbage was incinerated, with the help of jet fuel, during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At least nine respiratory cancers are believed to be potentially caused by breathing in the particulate matter emitted by the burn pits.

“Passage of the PACT Act is the highest priority in the entire veterans’ community,” legislative official Jeffrey Steele of the American Legion told Yahoo News.

Veterans and supporters of the Honoring Our PACT Act stand near a podium holding signs that read: I was killed in IRAQ. My body hasn't caught up yet and Fallen heroes: The war that followed us home.

Veterans and supporters of the Honoring Our PACT Act are seen during a press conference after Republican senators stalled the act, meant to help military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, in front of the US Capitol on July 28. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via GettyImages)

The Senate had initially passed the bill in June with broad bipartisan support, but the removal of a single sentence about taxation required a new vote, setting up last week’s surprise defeat. In a surprise move that stunned veterans and their supporters, 25 Republicans in the GOP who had previously supported the bill decided to keep the measure from advancing.

“This is bulls***,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., a supporter of the PACT Act, said at a rally last Thursday following the development. Stewart’s fiery speech at the same rally quickly became an Internet sensation. He is a longtime supporter of veterans’ issues and also fought for passage of the Zadroga Act (also sponsored by Gillibrand), which created a compensation fund for first responders sickened from working at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“It was the original burn pit,” Stewart said of the ruined World Trade Center, whose collapse released a similar multitude of toxic chemicals. The difference, Stewart said, was that Ground Zero was the product of a terrorist attack, while the burn pits were the result of careless practice.

“The contracts that ran the burn pits did it to them,” he said. “Not because technology didn’t exist, not to do it. But because it was cheaper. ‘And they’re just soldiers. Who gives as***?’”

Republicans have maintained that the bill is too expensive. Some believe the move last week was little more than a show of frustration after a surprise announcement of a $700 billion reconciliation package that would address President Biden’s priorities on climate change and other health care expenses.

Sen. Pat Toomey.

Sen. Pat Toomey. R-Pa., leaves the Senate chamber following the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act at the US Capitol on June 23. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a leader of the recent Republican opposition to the PACT Act, said that he would vote for the bill as long as the Senate also approved an amendment he introduced to fix what he has described as a “budget gimmick” that would, in his view, allow Democrats to spend billions on issues unrelated to veterans’ care.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has disputed Toomey’s characterization, pointing out that his proposed changes would put a ceiling on how much can be spent on care per year — and end all spending on burn pit care after 10 years, forcing Congress to either do away with the program or renew it through a new vote.

A vote on Toomey’s amendment is expected this week. The veterans who gathered on Capitol Hill vowed to hold rallies until the PACT Act was passed. “We think that Congress should not go anywhere for August recess until this bill gets done,” one of the speakers who followed Stewart said. “We’re going to stay. They need to stay.”