Long-sought 9/11 toxin documents show NYC knew within weeks how dangerous the air was

NEW YORK — Long-sought pivotal documents about the toxins swirling around ground zero after 9/11 were released to the general public Tuesday, showing NYC officials knew within weeks of the towers’ collapse that the air quality in lower Manhattan was hazardous to those living there and who responded to the terror attacks 25 years ago.

“There are clear indications (that the city) knew there was problem with air quality,” City Corporation Counsel Steven Banks said Monday in a press briefing ahead of the documents release via an online portal. “City officials knew there was a problem with the air quality and there are records that demonstrate that and have not been released for years.”

Not only did the city know about the dangers, but within three months of the attack the city had collected, scanned and archived documents pertaining to the terror attack and the aftermath, including records about air quality — documents that have become the centerpiece in a long-running battle. Those documents were then sent to an insurance company called Captive for safe keeping in case of any potential litigation, Banks said.

Sending the documents to Captive gave the city cover to argue they didn’t have the documents when responding to Freedom of Information requests.

—New York Daily News

Sheriff identifies the 5 victims killed on the ground in MIA cargo plane crash

MIAMI — The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the five people who died when an Amazon cargo plane crashed through a runway at Miami International Airport two days earlier.

The jet operated by 21 Air overshot a runway at MIA and crashed into a passenger van carrying seven people working for a cleaning company at the airport, then into a Toyota Corolla Cross. Five of the people in the van, ranging in age from late 40s to early 70s, died, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said Tuesday.

Those who died include Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevado, 47, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

“It’s an incredibly tragic incident that has occurred,” Cordero-Stutz told reporters at the Sheriff’s Office’s Doral headquarters. “One leaves their house to go to work, to visit family, to do what we normally do, without thinking that is even a possibility.” Cordero-Stutz said the pilot and co-pilot on the jet were released from the hospital.

—Miami Herald

El Niño could bring waves of starving sea lion pups to California beaches. It’s happened before

LOS ANGELES — A wrinkled Northern elephant seal named Violet slid out of a crate and onto San Pedro’s Cabrillo Beach on a muggy morning in late August. The pinniped pup looked around quizzically with large, black eyes before lumbering into the surf with abandon — as only the young can.

Violet, named for the color of identifying crayon scrawled on her brow, is one of 250 to 500 patients the Marine Mammal Care Center rescues along the Los Angeles County coast every year. With a powerful El Niño forecast for this winter — on top of an ongoing marine heatwave — center staff fear the months ahead could bring an influx of blubbery patients.

“We can look at the past as the best predictor for the future,” said Dave Bader, chief operations and education officer at the center. “When we’ve seen conditions like this, the major effect for Southern California has been mass stranding of malnourished pups.”

From 2013 to 2016 — a period that included another El Niño event as well as an ocean heatwave known as “ The Blob” — thousands upon thousands of California sea lion pups were found underfed and in distress.

—Los Angeles Times

Israel left-wing leader Golan pledges to end wars after October election

Yair Golan, who heads Israel’s left-wing Democrats party, said he’ll join the government if the opposition wins next month’s election and will put tackling Jewish settler violence in the occupied West Bank on the agenda.

Ending the war with Iran, rebuilding Gaza and forging regional alliances will also be among his top priorities, the former military commander told Bloomberg.

“We must end the open wars,” Golan said in an interview in Tel Aviv on Sunday. “I will have substantive discussions inside the next government to implement the diplomatic arm of Israel’s national security. We cannot solve all problems with bombs. An economic blockade of Iran is the right way.”

Israel’s opposition parties have been collectively out-polling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition ahead of the Oct. 27 election, with the handling of ongoing conflicts one of the key issues. The Democrats are an important part of that and are expected to get 10-12 seats in the 120-seat parliament.

—Bloomberg News