(MONEY Magazine) – CARA WOOD, the 17-year-old part-time waitress from suburban Cleveland (MONEY, September 1993) named the beneficiary of a $450,000 estate, has emerged a big winner in an out-of-court settlement. Five people had contested the will left by Bill Cruxton, an 82-year-old widower, but in early September, rather than go through a costly trial, they settled for a total of 10% of the estate. Meanwhile, Wood has started her freshman year at Ohio University. "She's relieved it's over," says her former boss, Dennis Zdolshek, who spoke to her recently. "She doesn't have any specific plans for the money, but it's a nice start for her, and that's what Bill wanted."

STEVE BUYER, 34, running a successful campaign for Congress when we wrote about him last November, is suffering unexpected consequences of the very thing that propelled him into politics: service in the gulf war. The Indiana Republican has come down with the strange complex of symptoms -- including flu, kidney problems, asthma, pneumonia -- reported by thousands of gulf war vets. Two suspected causes: noxious fumes, and medicines to protect against biological warfare. "I'm being very careful," says Buyer. "My immune system is shaky, so I watch what I eat and wash my hands about 10 times a day." He and his wife, Joni, who's staying in Indiana with their two children, are paying off $30,000 in debt and their $121,000 mortgage as fast as they can. Says Buyer: "I'm feeling better now, but just in case..."