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PBS News Hour

Why it took 36 years to compensate Iran hostage victims

In 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overrun by militant Iranian students who took 53 people captive for 444 days. The ordeal left a long-lasting toll and no chance of Iranian compensation. Now Congress has changed that under the new massive spending legislation: Survivors or their families will get up to $4.4 million each. Gwen Ifill learns more from David Herszenhorn of The New York Times.

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