{
  "id": 6293294,
  "title": "New Yorkers were ‘lied’ to about toxic air after 9/11 attacks, says Mamdani",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/new-yorkers-were-lied-to-about-toxic-air-after-9-11-attacks-says",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-08T15:42:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/new-yorkers-were-lied-to-about-toxic-air-after-9-11-attacks-says-mamdani/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revealed that the city's officials downplayed the health risks of toxic air in Manhattan following the 9/11 attacks, despite the documentation showing asbestos nearly everywhere near Ground Zero. Mamdani claimed that the 170,000 newly released documents prove that the city lied to the public, stating that people were made sick because they trusted the leaders who told them it was safe to breathe the toxic air. He said the illnesses related to the dust and smoke from the Twin Towers' collapse have caused more deaths than the attacks themselves. The city is spending over $34m on the document release, which is timed with the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Documents, including the \"Harding Memo,\" reveal the city's knowledge of the toxic air and their attempts to limit liability. City officials previously denied having access to the documents, but they were found last year. Former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman apologized for declaring the air near the Twin Towers was safe, later admitting the agency did the best it could with limited knowledge.",
  "summary": "Mamdani said the 170,000 documents show asbestos was found \"nearly everywhere\" they tested near Ground Zero.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "New York leaders ‘lied’ about toxic air after 9/11, Mayor Zohran Mamdani says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/new-york-leaders-lied-about-toxic-air-after-9-11-mayor-zohran-mamdani",
        "published": "2026-09-08T17:47:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}