The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 2

PAGELABELTAG A2 THE PALM BEACH POST REAL NEWS STARTS HERE I FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015 U.S. EMBASSY TAKEOVER Iran hostages win compensation hH9GBhI Thomas Lankford is a lawyer forthe Americans taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. After more than 30 years seeking restitution, the former hostages have won compensation. Rodney Sickmann was a Marine sergeant working as a security guard at the U.S.

embassy in Tehran when he was seized along with other hostages, zach gibson the new york times It has been 36 years, one month, 14 days, obviously, until President Obama signed the actual bill, until Iran was held Rodney Sickmann Former Iranian hostage 53 people or their estates could be paid millions. David M. Herszenhorn 2015 The New YorkTimes WASHINGTON After spending 444 days in captivity, and more than 30 years seeking restitution, the Americans taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 have finally won compensation. Buried in the huge spending bill signed into law last Friday are provisions that would give each of the 53 hostages or their estates up to $4.4 million.

Victims of other state-sponsored terrorist attacks such as the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa would also be eligible for benefits under the law. "I had to pull over to the side of the road, and I basically cried," said Rodney Sickmann, who was a Marine sergeant working as a security guard at the embassy in Tehran when he was seized along with the other Americans by an angry mob that overran the compound on Nov. 4, 1979. "It has been 36 years, one month, 14 days, obviously, until President Obama signed the actual bill, until Iran was held accountable," Sickmann said.

The law now stands to bring closure to a saga that riveted the nation and ruptured America's ties with Iran. The very agreement that won the hostages' release in 1981 barred them from seeking restitution. Their legal claims were repeatedly blocked in the courts, including an appeal Several of the surviving hostages and their families said that reparations were long overdue and would serve as an important symbol. Many said they felt their ordeal had been long forgotten by the general public until the 2012 movie "Argo," directed by Ben Affleck, which focused on six people who managed to escape from the besieged embassy and take refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor. Over the years, the former hostages had numerous champions in Congress.

In recent years, some of their strongest advocates included the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and Sen. Johnny Isakson, each of whom had former hostages or relatives of hostages living in their home states. In a statement, Reid said the action by Congress was overdue. "These Americans, held hostage for 444 days in 1979, deserved to finally be compensated," he said. ping the spread of nuclear arms is," he added, "it's equally important to establish the precedent that in one way, shape, form or another, a state sponsor of terrorism will not be permitted to walk away." It is unclear, however, if all the former hostages or their families will get full payments.

In large measure that is because the $4.4 million total authorized by Congress depends on the outcome of efforts to collect on judgments won in earlier court rulings involving victims of terrorist attacks, as well as on the number of victims who file claims. The law autho COIN SHOW SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27TH 9AM TILL 3PM AMERICAN POLISH CLUB 4725 LAKE WORTH RD 561-964-7236 rizes payments of up to $10,000 per day of captivity for each of the 53 hostages, 37 of whom are still alive. Fifty-two hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981; a 53rd hostage had been released earlier because of illness. Spouses and children are authorized to receive a lump payment of as much as $600,000.

Of the $9 billion penalty paid by BNP Paribas, about $1 billion will be put into a compensation fund for victims of terrorism, with more money and assets potentially added as a result of continuing litigation. An additional $2.8 billion will aid victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and their family members. Initial payments are to be disbursed within one year, according to a formula that will be overseen by a special master appointed by the Justice Department and that imposes limits on payments to victims who have won judgments in excess of $20 million. The initial payments are expected to fall well short of the maximum.

whose house was damaged and whose wife was hospitalized after the tornado tore away the safety of a closet and pulled her into a backyard. Outside Self's home Thursday, family members tried to gather loose chickens because a coop had been pulled apart. Plastic bags full of venison were mixed with lawn mower parts and pieces of homes. There was a similar scene in Marks, where Charlie McClelland, 61, rushed into a closet seconds before the house's windows were blown out and its roof was eviscerated. "I'm putting it in God's hands," McClelland said.

"God, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, thank you for saving me." He added, "I've been saying it every 15 minutes. I know I've been blessed." After displaying its fury around the Delta and in Quitman County, Report breaking news 561-820-4401 breakingnewspbpost.com Place an ad 561-820-4300 Classifieds: 800-392-7023 Activate your digital subscription Print subscribers get total digital access. Need help registering? Go to PalmBeachPost.comregister or call 800-926-POST (7678) Press 2 and psychological torture during their long ordeal, and many regarded the thaw as frustrating and premature. Like most of the hostages, Sickmann learned of the imminent legislation in a conference call with their main lawyer, Thomas Lankford, on Dec. 16.

"It became clear that we were sort of inextricably linked to the nuclear negotiations," Lankford said. "Those negotiations resulted in an understanding that an inevitable next step in securing a relationship was to address the reason for the rupture, which was our kidnapping and torture. "As valuable as stop Tornadoes continued from Al parking lot of a Wal-Mart. In Mississippi, where the authorities reported seven deaths, Gov. Phil Bryant declared an emergency and the National Weather Service sought to determine whether a single tornado had remained on the ground for more than 130 miles.

Elsewhere, officials blamed the unseasonable weather system for the deaths of three people in Tennessee and one in Arkansas. Scores more in the South were injured, especially in north Mississippi. "The smaller the community, the more people you know," said Chief Kenny Holbrook of the Holly Springs Fire Department. "As the emergency responders here, you're going to deal with your family, your relatives, people who you meet and greet every day on the street." And on Thursday, officials like Holbrook were left to contemplate the ruin and to search for victims while the National Weather Service tried to document what had happened on a day when more than a dozen states faced tornado warnings. Officials were particularly focused on tracing the history of a tornado that left a trail of damage in two states and was believed to have had wind speeds of at least 136 mph.

Although tornadoes Jaquish Fox, 10, climbs over broken pine trees as he helps clean up what's left of his aunt Kimberly Jackson's home along Highway 178 in Holly Springs, on Thursday. THOMAS WELLS NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI DAILY JOURNAL denied by the Supreme Court. Congress tried but failed to pass laws granting them relief. But this year, vindication came in a decision that forced the Paris-based bank BNP Paribas to pay a $9 billion penalty for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. Some of that money was suddenly available for victims of state-sponsored terrorism.

Congress was also motivated by many members' anger over the Iran nuclear accord, which was hailed this year as a herald of warmer relations with the Islamic republic. Some of the hostages were subject to physical PATIO SET 65x40 Glass top table w6 chairs, 2 foot stools, side table, $300. the tornado powered to the northeast, past rural stretches of Mississippi that were dotted with storm chasers on Wednesday night. It hurtled past small towns and screamed toward Tennessee. But before it reached the state line, it spun into three sparsely populated counties Benton, Marshall and Tippah -where at least seven people would die, including a child.

"Cars were just picked up and thrown around like little toys," Holbrook said. "It got dark on us before we even got all the people out." In Benton County, which Bryant visited on Thursday, a State Department of Transportation building was roofless and scraps of its tin siding hung in the few trees that were not uprooted. Nearby, the stained glass had been shattered at the Calvary Baptist Church. Even in places that were spared deaths, there was a sadness that the Christmas holiday only seemed to deepen. "You always see this on TV," Barbara Williamson, 47, said in Coahoma County.

"You never think." And then, on a day when her 6-year-old granddaughter had wiped tears from her grandmother's cheeks, Williamson paused. "It's still my land, but there's nothing on it," she said when she resumed speaking. SUBSCRIPTION RATES All subscriptions include total digital access. Go to PalmBeachPost.comregister 1 month Annual are hardly unprecedented in December, the power and longevity of that storm surprised experts. "To have long-track tornadoes in December in the Memphis forecast area is an unusual event," said Jonathan Howell, a meteorologist in the weather service's Memphis office.

"We typically don't have tornadoes of that intensity that impact the area, but we're dealing with this unusually warm weather pattern and all of the ingredients came together to support that." The tornado began its deadly march through this state near Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta before sundown Wednesday. It razed homes to their foundations and, even when residents took shelter, the winds propelled people into the air and then into the ground. "I don't have home insurance. It's going to be tough," said Danny Self, POST INVESTIGATION For addicts and alcoholics seeking sobriety, Palm Beach County is ground zero. Celebrities and pro athletes fly in on private jets.

Millennials addicted to heroin and designer drugs are delivered by worried parents. It's a billion-dollar industry chiefly fueled by urine testing. Yet the industry faces a huge bust if an FBI task force finds evidence of kickbacks, insurance fraud and patient brokering. Follow The Post's continuing coverage mypalmbeachpost.comsoberhomes The Palm Beach Post REAL NEWS STARTS HERE Daily Sunday $45.99 $551.79 Wednesday-Sunday $37.99 $455.79 Wednesday Sunday $30.99 $371.79 Saturday Sunday $30.99 $371.79 Sunday only $29.99 $359.79 Digital only $14.99 $179.88 The Palm Beach Post PalmBeachPost.com I mypalmbeachpost.com COX Media Group: 2751 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33405 Delivery or subscription questions? Call 800-926-POST (7678) Online: help.palmbeachpost.com or PalmBeachPost.comsubscribe to the first person on the first day! Mary R.

West Palm Beach Subscription types other than 7-day will receive the following issues as part of the current subscription: Presidents' Day Memorial Day Labor Day Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Customers with regular Thursday home delivery will be charged a $1.00 premium for Thanksgiving Day. Dates are subject to change or elimination without notice. Buy a Post photo For an 8-by-10 color reprint of a published staff photo, call 561-8Z0-4554. The Palm Beach Post (ISSN 1528-5758) is published daily by Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.

at 2751 S.Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33405-1233. Periodical postage is paid at West Palm Beach. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Palm Beach S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33405-1233..