Good Tuesday evening. We're back! In this edition: NYC releases documents on post-9/11 air quality; and Israeli allies ban trade with West Bank settlements.
Plus, Lonnie Bunch, Canadian tariffs and Congress update.
9/11 Anniversary
Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) released more than 170,000 pages of documents suggesting city officials knew air conditions following the terrorist attacks were unsafe despite repeated assurances to the public otherwise.
"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air — and then when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed, the government that had not hesitated to send them into harm's way was nowhere to be found," he said at a news conference.
More than 140,000 people 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.
Cancer was not covered when Congress created the program in 2011, but it was added in 2012 after a fight by advocates and a study showing elevated cancer rates among New York firefighters who worked at Ground Zero.
Mayor Mamdani noted that more people have now died from 9/11-related illnesses than from the attacks themselves and pledged to be transparent about what officials knew at the time.
"This will be a vast resource with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from numerous city agencies," he said. "These are documents that show what the city knew about the air around Ground Zero, when they knew it, and how they acted to limit liability."
The news conference was attended by 9/11 families and public officials as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who has been a longtime advocate for first responders and survivors.
"Everyone knew, and now it's very clear that the city knew as well," Mr. Stewart said. "And rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that it would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual. But unfortunately, after 9/11, business will never be usual again."
Separately, President Trump honored 9/11 victims and first responders during a memorial event on the White House Ellipse.
"This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy," he said, standing beside a 16,900-pound steel beam from the World Trade Center.
The remarks came as part of the Steel Across America tour, in which the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is bringing the 21-foot beam across the country. The tour returns to New York City on Friday after making more than 35 stops across the U.S.
"The 16,000-pound beam lifted from the wreckage of the South Tower will forever testify to the courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland struck, our towers knocked down, and stood back up stronger, more determined and united than ever before," the president said.
President Trump also posthumously presented the Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, an equities trader known as "The Man in the Red Bandana" who ran up and down the stairs of the South Tower to save others, ultimately perishing when the tower collapsed.
"Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom," the president said.
The United Kingdom, France and Canada announced plans to impose restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, marking a coordinated escalation in international pressure on the Israeli government over settlement expansion.
"The U.K., France and Canada will therefore take steps to ban the importation of goods from settlements and enforce targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them."
The joint action follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to move forward with a controversial housing settlement in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank, a 4.5-square-mile area east of Jerusalem.
The Israeli government's planned development in the E1 area has long drawn fierce criticism from the international community, which largely recognizes the land as Palestinian territory.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, announcing the sanctions before Parliament, accused "settler terrorists" of committing "ethnic cleansing" and said the U.K. would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
"The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories," he said.
Secretary Miliband said the U.K. would take action against companies and individuals that provide services like construction, infrastructure and financing for real estate for settler expansion.
"To those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: You will face the full force of U.K. sanctions," he said.
Shortly after the announcement, Israel said it would close the British consulate in Jerusalem and banned 12 British politicians from entering the country.
"Unfortunately, a hostile Labour Government is in office, systematically acting against the State of Israel, and it has left us with no choice but to finally respond to its hostile actions."
The Trump administration also opposes the move, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the U.S. will not join the measures and doesn't "want to see anything destabilizing" in the West Bank amid broader tensions in the Middle East.
"Obviously, we're not going to do what the U.K. did. We saw their announcement today, but I don't have any comment on it right now," he told reporters in Miami before departing for a trip to Colombia.
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In other news…
Lonnie Bunchannounced he will retire as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution amid the Trump administration's ideological clashes with the organization. Mr. Bunch, a 73-year-old historian, founded the National Museum of African American History and Culture before becoming the Smithsonian's first Black leader in 2019. The announcement comes as the Trump administration has sought to purge "improper ideology" from Smithsonian museums, including threatening its federal funding and attempting to fire a museum director. Mr. Bunch said he was not leaving because of the pressure from the Trump administration but acknowledged it was taking a toll. "I have to be honest, it has been stressful," he told the New York Times. "And at a certain point, I'd like to wake up in the morning and not look at my cellphone."
Canada's retaliatory tariffs targeting roughly $20 billion worth of U.S. goods went into effect Tuesday, escalating the trade war between the major trading partners. The measures target hundreds of American products, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment, at rates of 15%, 25% or 50%. Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneyvowed to match the U.S.'s own tariffs "dollar for dollar" following the collapse of trade talks between the two countries. It's the latest move in the trade war, which saw President Trump rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America."
ICYMI: The House last week voted 370–48 to approve a short-term government funding patch, which President Trump then signed, extending funding at existing levels through Dec. 11. The Senate approved the continuing resolution 90–6 before leaving town for the summer recess last month. Both chambers of Congress are slated to return next week. The House is then expected to go out of session until after the November midterms.
For your radar…
Republicans begin their first-ever midterm convention in Dallas on Tuesday, with President Trump slated as the keynote speaker on both nights. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN starting at 3pm ET.
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