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“Deep, indiscriminate cuts to things like education and training, energy and national security will cost us jobs and slow down our

recovery.This doesn’t have to happen.”President Barack Obama Article, 1AU.S. insurance program riles Christie

UNION BEACH, N.J. - Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that the National Flood Insurance Program’s handling of claims in New Jersey “has stunk,” complaining that the program has been far too slow to get payments to victims of superstorm Sandy.

The governor said excessive paperwork, inadequate staffing, cumbersome audits, and the threat of financial penalties to carriers and adjusters are interfering with the timely issuance of payments, prolonging the suffering of many New Jersey residents hurt by Sandy.

“Our local insurance companies have been doing a great job of settling and moving these claims very quickly,” Christie said. “The national flood insurance plan has stunk.”

At a briefing in hard-hit Union Beach, the governor said only 30 percent of Sandy flood claims had been settled in New Jersey.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency said later Tuesday that the latest data show 37,000 of 73,000 New Jersey claims, or a little more than 50 percent, have been closed.

Likewise, the agency said more than half of the total 140,000 Sandy flood claims made in all states have been settled, with $3.7 billion paid out to storm victims. In New York, it said 32,000 of 56,000 claims were closed.

Obama set for spring visit to Israel

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will go to Israel in the spring, the White House said Tuesday, marking his first visit to the staunch U.S. ally since he became president. While in the region, Obama plans to make stops in the West Bank and Jordan.

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the visit to Israel in late January, when Obama congratulated Netanyahu on his success in Israel’s recent election. The White House has not released the date of Obama’s trip or details about Obama’s itinerary, but Israel’s Channel 10 reported that the trip has been scheduled for March 20.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama will work closely with Palestinian Authority and Jordanian officials on regional issues during his visit to Jordan and the West Bank.

6 educators to get posthumous medals

HARTFORD, Conn. - Presidential medals will be awarded posthumously to the six people who died protecting children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, officials said Tuesday.

The principal, school psychologist and four teachers who were killed in the Dec. 14 massacre will be among the recipients of the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, according to a White House official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the honorees have not been officially announced.

The gunman killed the six adults and 20 first-graders in two classrooms with a military-style, semi-automatic rifle before committing suicide.

“These extraordinary educators, who sacrificed their lives to protect students in their care, gave a profound new dimension to the meaning of public service,” said U.S. Sen.

Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., of the honor.

The honorees are Principal Dawn Hochsprung, psychologist Mary Sherlach and teachers Rachel D’Avino, Lauren Rousseau, Anne Marie Murphy and Victoria Soto. The medals are to be presented to family members of the victims in a White House ceremony on Feb. 15.

State orders curbs at 11 pharmacies

BOSTON - State officials have ordered 11 pharmacies to completely or partially shut down their operations after a series of unannounced inspections prompted by a deadly nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis.

The Department of Public Health inspections were conducted across the state over the past several months at 40 sterile compounding pharmacies, which custom-mix solutions, creams and other medications in doses or forms that generally aren’t commercially available.

The outbreak of meningitis, an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, was discovered in Tennessee in September and has killed 45 people and sickened more than 600 nationwide. It was caused by a contaminated steroid, used mainly to treat back pain, that was linked to the Framingham-based New England Compounding Center, which has since closed.

Besides the 11 cease-and-desist orders, public-health inspectors said, another 21 pharmacies were cited for minor deficiencies that have since been corrected or are being addressed.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/06/2013

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