The senior senator from Wisconsin, Republican Ron Johnson, is posing fresh questions about the deadliest attack on the United States in history, feeding into paranoid and dangerous conspiracy theories. Johnson asks as though they’re open questions: “What actually happened on 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up?”

In an interview we’re loath to amplify, Johnson asserts that an investigation of World Trade Center Building 7 was “corrupt” and suggested its collapse was the result of a “controlled demolition.” He expresses the desire to hold Senate hearings on the topic.

We get that it’s high time in our history for conspiracy theorists to peddle nonsense, like Health Secretary Bobby Kennedy does, but as people who had friends and colleagues perish on that day, and following on editorials in this space that won a Pulitzer Prize for championing the very real health crisis faced by first responders who worked The Pile in the days and weeks after the attacks, we take this particular set of lies a bit personally.

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are probably the most extensively studied events in the history of this nation. A joint congressional inquiry held 22 hearings, reviewing a half-million pages of documents, interviewing 300 individuals — and producing an 800-page report.

An independent commission to investigate the attacks held 19 days of public hearings, reviewed 2.5 million pages of documents, interviewed more than 1,200 people in 10 different countries and produced a 567-page document.

Many other hearings by congressional Judiciary, Armed Services and Homeland Security committees went into great depth about precisely what happened and how to close vulnerabilities.

What happened, which Johnson can learn if he cares to read one of those reports or one of the dozens of books written by credible independent journalists, or visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, is: 19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked airplanes and turned them into weapons against the twin towers and the Pentagon. They intended to train another plane at the U.S. Capitol, but that one was brought down by courageous passengers in a field in Pennsylvania. All told, the attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, the vast majority of whom were in New York City.

And the toll of those killed in the panic and chaos of that dark day has now likely been surpassed by the toll of firefighters, construction workers, cops and others who engaged in rescue and recovery efforts amid the smoldering wreckage, even as thousands more continue to struggle with lung diseases, cancers and other terminal conditions.

It is salt in the wounds of those actually harmed by 9/11 that a man like Johnson, who can find the time and energy for corrosive conspiracy-mongering, is nowhere to be found as Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kristen Gillibrand and a broad coalition of House members seek to secure full federal funding for the World Trade Center Health Program for these heroes.

In other contexts, Johnson has said, “When I think of Sept. 11th I think of firefighters, first responders, police walking up the stairs into danger to save others. In these tragedies we always seem to see and witness the absolute best of humanity and the American character.” In his latest words and actions, we see and witness the absolute worst of both.

— The New York Daily News

Although one Minnesota highway is getting an increased speed limit starting Thursday, those with a lead foot beware: it’s only an extra five miles per hour.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is increasing the speed limit on a stretch of Minnesota 62 by five miles per hour following an engineering and traffic investigation, according to a notice from the city of Mendota Heights.

The increase, which affects Minnesota 62 from the junction with Minnesota 55 to the junction with Interstate 494, was authorized by the Commissioner of Transportation and starts when new speed limit signs are installed May 1.

The traffic study took into account factors like location, type of access points, crash history, traffic volume, sight distances and road types.

Nearly 19 miles long, Minnesota 62 runs east and west through Hennepin and Dakota County cities including Eden Prairie, Edina, Richfield, Minneapolis, Mendota Heights and Inver Grove Heights.

The increased speed limit coincides with extra law enforcement taking to the streets from May 1 to Sept. 2 to curb speeding and other dangerous driving during the summer travel season.

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While lawmakers are still hammering out the details, the latest state budget is likely to include $50 million to create the long-sought Housing Access Voucher Program, which would help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness afford rent.

Tenant organizers with the Housing Justice for All Coalition rallying at the Capitol building in 2024. The Housing Access Voucher Program has been a priority for advocates for the last several years. (Chris Janaro/City Limits)

A state budget deal is near, and it’s expected to include money to kickstart a long-sought rental voucher program—though with less funding than supporters hoped for.

More than three weeks after their budget deadline, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced they’d reached an agreement on New York’s next spending plan.

And while details are still being hammered out, it’s likely to include $50 million to establish the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), a rental subsidy for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, City & State first reported.

Modeled off the federal Section 8 housing voucher, both tenant and landlord groups have embraced the HAVP proposal as a means to address rising homelessness amid a statewide housing shortage.

“If we get this done, it’ll be a very big victory for tenants and for anyone who cares about the stability of our housing stock, for property owners who want to do the right thing and house people who might otherwise struggle to pay their rent, for communities where they know that people are losing their homes,” said State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, who co-sponsored a bill to create HAVP each legislative session for the last five years.

Gov. Hochul had long resisted the proposal, and previously cited concerns about costs, something she reiterated in an exchange with reporters earlier this week.

“This is something that we’re looking to initiate for the first time here, moderating the cost and keeping an eye on the program because this has potential to escalate a great deal,” Hochul said. “But it’s something I thought was important, the leaders of the Legislature thought was important.”

The $50 million price tag currently on the table is far less than the $250 million a year that the State Senate and Assembly called for in their own budget proposals.

“It really should have been more. [But] I’m glad we have our foot in the door to establish a program. So that’s exciting after years of advocacy,” Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, the bill’s other sponsor, told City Limits.

“It does need to be funded at a much higher rate, so we’re going to keep fighting for that,” she added. “When all the federal cuts come down to Section 8 and all sorts of other housing help, you know we will need HAVP more than ever.”

Kavanagh said $50 million could “get a pretty substantial program going,” and provide roughly 4,000 households with vouchers for a year.

“How the numbers play out is something we’re still working out,” he said. “But again, what has happened this week is—this is the first time in the five years we’ve been having this conversation that a governor has publicly said that she supports spending money on this purpose, and I think that is a big step forward.”

The Legislature still has to print and vote on the final budget bills, and things are in flux. Lawmakers are negotiating how much capital money to allocate for housing construction and preservation, maintenance at NYCHA and Mitchell-Lama developments, and for programs to support tenants and homeowners, according to Kavanagh, who chairs the Senate’s Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development.

“Those conversations are still happening,” he said Wednesday.

“It is a difficult time with what’s going on at the federal level, within the economy,” he added, “but this budget stands to be very good budget from the perspective of housing, if we get HAVP done, if we get these capital programs properly funded.”

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post ‘Foot in the Door’: Funds to Kickstart State Rental Voucher Program Expected in Budget Deal appeared first on City Limits.

By RUSS BYNUM

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former agriculture secretary is urging the administration to support adding a vast, federally protected wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp to a list of globally treasured natural and cultural sites recognized by the United Nations.

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The swamp near the Georgia-Florida state line was nominated under President Joe Biden, whose priorities Trump has worked swiftly to dismantle during his first 100 days since returning to the White House.

Now the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is being touted by Sonny Perdue, a former two-term Georgia governor who led the Department of Agriculture during Trump’s first term.

So far, only 26 places in the United States have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The U.S. Interior Department put the refuge up for consideration in December.

In an April 17 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Purdue wrote that seeking the rare distinction poses “an extraordinary opportunity to preserve a national treasure while also delivering incredible economic benefits to the state of Georgia.” He noted it’s been endorsed by Republicans and Democrats.

“This designation is not a partisan issue,” Perdue wrote in his letter, which was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “By supporting this effort, we can ensure the Okefenokee’s legacy as a natural wonder while fostering growth and prosperity for the communities surrounding it.”

The Okefenokee is the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River, sprawling across more than 400,000 acres in southeast Georgia.

FILE – Sonny Perdue speaks to media at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Supporters say making it a World Heritage site would boost its profile as one of the world’s last intact blackwater swamps, which get their dark tea-colored waters from decaying vegetation. The Okefenokee is home to abundant alligators, stilt-legged wood storks, endangered woodpeckers and more than 400 other animal species.

The Interior Department “remains committed to supporting the pursuit of World Heritage Site recognition for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,” said a statement emailed Wednesday by Alyse Sharpe, an department spokesperson.

Designation as a World Heritage site wouldn’t impose any added restrictions or regulations for the Okefenokee. Nor would it directly affect a company’s plan to mine minerals just outside the Okefenokee refuge.

Twin Pines Minerals has been awaiting final permits from Georgia environmental regulators for more than a year. The company says it can extract minerals without doing harm, but scientists and other opponents have warned that mining near the swamp’s bowl-like rim could cause irreparable damage.

Since the 1970s, the World Heritage list has recognized more than 1,200 sites worldwide for having “outstanding universal value” to all of humanity. U.S. sites on the list include national parks like the Grand Canyon in Arizona and treasured manmade landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty.

The U.S. government had listed the Okefenokee refuge as a “tentative” nominee since 1982. It started moving in earnest in 2023 as the nonprofit Okefenokee Swamp Park, which operates boat tours and other concessions within the refuge, signed an agreement to work on an application with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge.

Okefenokee Swamp Park raised $600,000 to pay for the nearly 300-page application packet, said Kim Bednarek, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The bid for World Heritage status still needs U.S. government support. Bendarek said pending steps include an Okefenokee site visit by experts evaluating the nomination for UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee. She said a final vote isn’t expected before the summer of 2026.

“The fact that it happened under the Biden administration is not pivotal,” Bendarek said. “What’s pivotal is this is an outstanding place of beauty and diversity that the United States can be proud of. We do expect and hope for the full support of the Trump administration.”