Mayor Mamdani releases 9/11 air quality records
New York (CNN) — New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records about air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks, showing city officials at the time knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the release at a news conference Tuesday. “As the years pass and the human toll grows, we reckon with the cost of September 11th whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us too soon,” Mamdani said. “Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.” At least 140,000 people from all 50 states have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, and 49,000 have been diagnosed with certified WTC-related cancers, according to the 9/11 Memorial. Mamdani said Tuesday that more people are eligible for assistance than are currently enrolled, including residents who lived near the site but have not received outreach and those who live outside of New York. Cancer wasn’t covered when Congress created the health program in 2011. It was added in 2012 — only after a fight by advocates and a study showing elevated cancer rates among New York firefighters at Ground Zero. The documents contain a fraction of the air quality reports taken at Ground Zero, but they also include crucial internal memos, including what became known as the “Harding Memo” sent to then-Deputy Mayor Robert Harding, which revealed city officials anticipated thousands of possible lawsuits due to the 9/11 air exposure and the lack of proper safety equipment. The memo also outlined legislative alternatives to limit the city’s legal liability. “People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said. Mamdani appeared alongside 9/11 families and Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for increased transparency and resources for first responders and survivors. “There was poison in the air, and on the ground, and in the window sills, and in your air conditioners and covering your pets and your clothes, and it stayed there for months. Everyone knew. Now it’s very clear that the city knew as well,” Stewart said. A searchable portal will provide access to the documents, and the city is expected to add more material on a rolling basis in the coming months, officials said Tuesday. Every document published in the portal will be available for view and download at no cost.
Thieves steal four Renoir paintings from French museum
(CNN) — Thieves took less than five minutes to steal four paintings from the Renoir Museum in southern France on Tuesday, abandoning two as they fled, in the latest heist targeting art and cultural artifacts. The incident has sparked calls for better security for cultural institutions, with the local mayor’s office urging the French government to provide additional funding to help protect collections “against increasingly organised and determined criminals.” The museum’s alarm system went off at 5:48 a.m. local time Tuesday (11:48 p.m. ET Monday), and police arrived at the scene five minutes later, said Bryan Masson, mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the museum is located, in a post on Facebook. Four of the 12 Renoir works displayed at the museum were stolen, the mayor’s office said in a statement. As the thieves fled, they were “forced to abandon” two of the paintings. The two missing paintings are “Madame Colonna Romano,” which is worth 2 million euros ($2.32 million), and “Jeune femme au puits,” which is valued at 200,000 euros ($232,000), deputy mayor Caroline d’Amat told CNN. “Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon” and “Coco lisant” were recovered. The thieves were “well-equipped and well-prepared,” Masson, who is a member of the National Rally party, told reporters. CNN has contacted the Renoir Museum and France’s Ministry of Culture for comment.
Lindsay Clancy’s attorney expresses willingness to work out a plea deal
(CNN) — The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy expressed a willingness to work out a plea deal for his client in an interview Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Attorney Kevin Reddington addressed next steps after the case of the Massachusetts mother who argued she should not be held criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three children ended in a mistrial on Friday. Reddington expressed interest in cooperating with Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz to “work something out that would be acceptable to both sides.” “I’m willing to listen to Tim. I’ve known Tim for 30 years. He’s a very hard-charging prosecutor, a conservative gentleman,” Reddington said. “I hope, however, after sitting through this trial and seeing the evidence that was presented from the government, as well as from the defense, that he would revisit that issue.” Cruz on Friday had yet to decide if his office would retry the case, which he said was always focused on “getting justice for those three little babies.” CNN has reached out to the district attorney’s office for comment.
UK, France and Canada sanction Israeli settlements in West Bank
London (CNN) — The United Kingdom unveiled sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and said France and Canada would announce similar penalties later on Tuesday, in a coordinated move that underlined Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage. Announcing the sanctions in UK Parliament, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s actions in the West Bank, saying “settler terrorists” had committed “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians there and describing the measures as reset in relations between the two countries. The UK’s announcement was accompanied by a joint letter from 11 Western nations who said they would also introduce similar restrictions on trade with settlements illegal under international law – or would work to support European restrictions. Israel and the Unites States – its most important ally – had threatened to retaliate against Britain for the move. Miliband, who said he was setting out the measures “as a proud Jew,” said that Britain could no longer simply “call out” injustice and suffering. “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the west Bank, perpetrated by settlers terrorists, and all too often the Israeli government turns a blind eye to this. And worse, members of it have made statements and taking actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians,” he said.
Brazil’s oil industry is surging thanks to the war in Iran
(CNN) — Brazilian oil production and exports have hit record highs this year, largely due to increased demand from China as the US-Iran war continues to reshape global trade and geopolitical relationships. The change highlights a global race for alternative energy sources as Middle East conflict slows oil from the region – a race that has major repercussions for the price of gas, oil, cooking fuel and other energy for consumers around the world. China’s cultivation of trade ties with Latin America’s largest economy isn’t new. Over the past two decades, the Asian nation has grown its foothold in a part of the world long thought of as the United States’ backyard. “I have in the past called Brazil the winner of the trade wars, and now of this actual war,” Kathryn Rooney Vera, the chief market strategist for financial services company StoneX, told CNN. Brazil’s record-high oil production ramped up after the warring nations closed the Strait of Hormuz. The bottleneck sent China’s total crude imports plunging about 40% between February and May, Rooney Vera noted, “making them look elsewhere – to Brazil.” The significance of Brazil’s expanded role as an alternative global supplier isn’t lost on the Brazilian government. Given “greater geopolitical instability and risks on the main international supply routes,” Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said in a statement to CNN, expanded oil production “has greater strategic relevance.”
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