Good morning, it’s Wednesday.
Twenty-three years ago today, on an absolutely beautiful early fall morning, two planes flew into the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, sending them crumbling to the ground a few hours later.
A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. A fourth – thanks to the actions of a courageous group of passengers, never hit its intended target, but instead went down in a field near Shanksville, PA.
This infamous day became known as the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed close to 3,000 people – including19 al Qaeda terrorists – and remains the worst attack on U.S. soil in our nation’s history.
The lives of the families of the victims who lost their lives that day, as well as the first responders who rushed to the scene, some of whom have long-lasting – and in some cases, deadly – health impacts, were forever altered. Our country was forever altered, with significantly changes in both domestic and foreign policy made in the wake of the attacks.
For the general public, however, especially those who don’t live in New York City, I would argue, the horror and the carnage and the terror of that fateful day becomes less acute with each passing year.
I have to admit falling prey to this, though I didn’t realize it until just recently. I mentioned a quick work trip to New York City last week, but might not have included the fact that we stayed down by Battery Park, which, by the way, has been under construction for far too long, making what should be an amazing experience more complicated than necessary.
But I digress.
After the work function, we headed out in search of a bite to eat. One of our group pointed out the twin spires of light shooting up into the inky night sky and inquired what it was. I had to stop and think a minute. Of course, it’s Tribute in Light, the commemorative art installation that recreates the fallen towers in shining white light reaching up into the heavens.
The beams, comprised of eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs that are positioned into two 48-foot squares, are affixed to the top of the Battery Park Parking Garage and project four miles up. It is visible from a 60-mile radius around lower Manhattan.
This is particularly moving to see from above – especially in a plane approaching New York City. It’s both eerie and awesome, beautiful and haunting, which I think is exactly the point.
I’m glad I was able to see the tribute this year, if for nothing else than to shock me into remembering things I would – on may days – much prefer to forget. And you know what they say about people who cannot remember the past. It’s inherent on those of us who lived through 9/11, in whatever capacity we did so, to make sure those who didn’t know what happened on this day.
There are a number of efforts underway to ensure that occurs, such as a law that goes into effect this year in Pennsylvania that requires students to pause for a moment of silence on Sept. 11. Pennsylvania is one of just over a dozen states that have some sort of mandated curriculum or observance of the attacks, which is something several New York GOP members would like to change.
I don’t want to delve too deeply into the political here, because this day has become a political football far too many times over the years. I think we can all agree to take a moment to reflect on the massive human loss and significant subsequent impact these attacks had on thousands of lives – as well as the entire country and the world.
To that end, we will never forget.
It will be mostly sunny today – eerily reminiscent of the day of the attacks, as I recall – with temperatures in the high 70s.
In the headlines….
In their first – and perhaps only – debate of the presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both accused each other of fueling division in America.
Harris commanded the first debate, flashing her prosecutorial skills to leverage every chance to get under the former president’s skin in a 90-minute clash of visions and style.
The candidates dove into contentious issues, from migration and fracking to Israel’s war on Gaza, but there were no groans or rapturous applause as the pair spoke without a live audience at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Harris baited Trump for nearly all of the 1 hour and 45 minutes of their first and potentially only debate – and Trump took every bit of it.
For most of the 90-minute debate, the former president bellowed into the microphone, practically spitting at moments as he took the bait time and again and got knocked off his goals.
It began just as they appeared before the audience. Harris walked across the stage into Trump’s space, reached out her hand and introduced herself. Trump, visibly taken aback, shook her hand.
Trump said he would not sign a federal abortion ban last night, saying he did not think it would be needed. But he also dodged questions about whether he would veto legislation if it landed on his desk.
Multiple campaign officials working for Harris called for a second debate less than an hour after the conclusion of the Democratic nominee’s first showdown against Trump.
Fact checks from the debate can be found here.
Pop icon Taylor Swift endorsed Harris for president late yesterday after the debate. “I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” said the multi-platinum-selling recording superstar.
Swift, 34, went on to laud the VP for being “a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
The endorsement was welcome news to Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who praised the singer’s “courage” to speak out.
Fred Trump III, the nephew of Donald Trump, said the pugnacious Republican is going “absolutely insane” as Harris continues to rise in the polls.
Melania Trump has a memoir coming out on Oct. 8 called “Melania.” She has been releasing somewhat cryptic short-form videos of herself talking into the camera, which her husband, the former president, has been reposting to his own social media feeds.
Israeli airstrikes slammed into a part of the Gaza Strip that Israel had declared a humanitarian zone, killing at least 19 people and wounding 60, according to Gazan officials, in an area where tens of thousands of Palestinians had sought refuge.
The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas command and control center in al-Muwasi, west of Khan Younis, and killed three Hamas commanders. Hamas did not confirm the deaths.
The Israeli military released new information about the six hostages whose bodies were recently discovered in a tunnel in Gaza, including video of the tunnel and details that shed light on the brutal conditions in which they were held.
During a press conference, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari showed a pre-recorded video of himself exploring the tunnel, which he said was located 20 meters underground and was not high enough to stand in.
A family member of Carmel Gat – whose body was among the six deceased hostages discovered in a Hamas tunnel earlier this month – has called for her “memory to be a deal” following the release of new video showing the dire conditions of her captivity.
Watches and warnings were in effect across southern Louisiana and Alabama as Hurricane Francine barreled toward the Gulf Coast last night.
Forecasters expect the storm, a Category 1 hurricane named Francine, to bring significant storm surge and hurricane-force winds to the Louisiana coast before making landfall this afternoon or evening.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the hurricane season. After a busy start to the season, it is the first named storm in almost a month. President Joe Biden declared a state of federal emergency in Louisiana ahead of landfall.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo testified before adversarial members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic yesterday afternoon.
The heated discussion revolved around the former governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely regarding nursing home-related deaths at the beginning of the outbreak.
Committee Chair Brad Wenstrup said he was “disappointed” with Cuomo’s testimony, calling him the governor “who refused to admit” he did anything wrong. “There appears to be no soul-searching from you governor,” Wenstrup said. “Just doubling down.”
“We have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision,” said Rep. Rich McCormick. “I think you should admit that it was wrong, and I’d think you would come off a lot better to those families if you’d just turn around and apologize.” (Cuomo did not).
Cuomo diminished his successor’s part in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a congressional grilling in June, saying now-Gov. Kathy Hochul spent most of the time in her hometown of Buffalo.
The head of the congressional panel investigating the pandemic slapped Hochul with a subpoena while accusing her office of withholding crucial documents regarding COVID-19-related nursing home deaths.
Hochul expressed frustration with ongoing concerns over an influx of Haitian migrants arriving in the U.S.
Two lawsuits trying to force Hochul to enact congestion pricing should be dismissed because, technically, the controversial plan was never canceled, her lawyers say in a new court filing.
The governor promised to fill the chronically understaffed Board of Parole. Nearly half of her nominations have ended in disaster.
New York’s highest court said it will not hear a case that challenged former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims of residency here, leaving him off the ballot in November.
State business groups expressed disappointment that Hochul didn’t heed concerns about negative impacts a new law to strengthen protections for retail workers from theft rings and related violence will have on small employers.
Attorneys general from 42 states, led by New York’s Letitia James, are urging Congress to place warning labels on social media sites because of what they call “serious psychological harms” to teens, including “depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.”
Federal agents are investigating a possible bribery scheme involving New York City contracts and a consulting firm run by the brother of two top officials in the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Terence Banks, the brother of two top city officials who’s a target in a wide-ranging federal probe, is an old family friend of Adams’.
Adams pushed back on reports that he’s seeking the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, but refrained from expressing confidence in Caban’s ability to lead after federal agents seized his phones last week as part of an investigation.
The federal probe involving Caban has created “real security issues” for the Big Apple, according to a former front-runner for the top cop’s spot.
Lawyers for Adams have told the court they will seek to have the sexual assault lawsuit against the mayor tossed after the mayor’s accuser, Lorna Beach-Mathura, missed a deposition that had been scheduled for Sept. 6.
Randy Mastro, Adams’ controversial corporation counsel nominee, removed his name from consideration for the government’s top lawyer post late yesterday and blasted the City Council for subjecting him to a confirmation hearing he called “anything but fair.”
“New Yorkers have a right to expect more from their elected officials,” Mastro wrote in a letter to Adams. The Council was to vote on his nomination tomorrow.
New York City plans to spend money it has received from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers faster as it looks to increase addiction services and lower the city’s stubbornly high rate of overdose deaths, Adams said.
NYC needs to shut down an “open-air drug market” in the South Bronx, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres said in a letter to Adams asking for the mayor, the NYPD and Department of Health to take action.
After being stonewalled for pivotal data on the toxins that hovered over lower Manhattan after the terror attacks, attorneys for 9/11 survivors are suing for the never-released studies and documents – but New York City continues to stall.
Some families are still pushing for recognition after their loved ones died from cancer that they believe is linked to Sept. 11, but that the federal government won’t recognize as such.
New York City reached a $175,000 settlement with a Staten Island police officer who said he had been a victim of retaliation for giving traffic tickets to people with connections to the upper echelons of the Police Department.
A lane of the triple-cantilevered section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway will be closed for the next two weekends for the installation of scale technology for automatically ticketing heavy trucks.
Lincoln Center Theater, a leading nonprofit theater with a long track record of producing luxe Broadway musical revivals as well as contemporary plays, has chosen new leadership for the first time in more than three decades: Lear deBessonet, 44.
Attorneys for three Rensselaer County officials charged in a ballot fraud conspiracy made the case for their innocence in federal court yesterday.
Colleen Keough, a second grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary School in the Schenectady City School District who once faked illness to avoid attending an anxiety-inducing sixth grade class, is now New York State Teacher of the Year.
The Schenectady County Historical Society in partnership with the Stockade Association will host the 59th annual Stockade Walkabout from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 28.
Fan-favorite Phish is swimming back to the Capital Region with a special three-night benefit series this fall.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
