By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“I think that this memorial, albeit 25 years, it’s still a glimpse. It’s still a blink of an eye in our nation’s history. But I still think that even as the years roll on, this story will continue to be told.” — Stephen Clark, superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, on the upcoming anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
A good Wednesday morning to you. The NFL season opens tonight with a Super Bowl rematch between Seattle and New England. The Steelers and Eagles start on Sunday, so fans can just relax tonight and enjoy the game.
Unfortunately, it seems like we are a long way from football weather, with today’s high in the Harrisburg area expected to be in the upper 80s.
Thanks for starting your day with us. As always, we deeply appreciate you reading, sharing and supporting our work. -- Tim
The crash of United Flight 93 is marked by a boulder at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 26, 2026. (Photo by Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Shalina Chatlani of Stateline
On a rural stretch of land in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, an open meadow filled with bright wildflowers, a memorial grove of trees and a giant boulder marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
States Newsroom’s Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert recently revisited the national memorial on this field — where he happened to own a piece of land that was part of more than three dozen acres that made up the crash site.
“It’s always hard to come back here, but it’s always a chance to remember the sacrifices made by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day,” Lambert said. “I think it’s important 25 years later to remember what they did and why they did it. They decided to act on a day that America was under attack.”
Hemlock trees in the woods that are part of the Flight 93 crash site. They were with marked spray-paint by searchers in the days and weeks after the crash. This photo is from sometime in 2006. (Photo courtesy of Tim Lambert)
Commentary
By Tim Lambert
The parking lot was dotted with just a handful of cars on this comfortable August morning. It was the first week of school for many families, so visitors were a bit more sparse than usual.
After a two-hour drive from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to this secluded spot in Somerset County, it was nice to stretch my legs and feel the sun on my face. I had nearly forgotten how windy it can be out here.
My brain sort of went on autopilot as my body started to slowly move forward, past the education center and a small group of tourists milling around, and onto a black granite walkway. Every few steps, I’d glance at an engraving in the pathway — marking the time and location of a terrible event that preceded what I’d see when the walkway simply ends.
Passing through two towering concrete walls, my eyes were focused on the overlook ahead. The expanse of fields of tall grasses, trees and flowers disappeared from view. I reached the end and stood in front of a waist-high glass window, marked with the phrase: “A common field one day. A field of honor forever.”
I was back at the Flight 93 National Memorial.
Amanda Clear said Pennsylvania’s online school vaccination data is helping inform how she can protect her son Dylan, who has an immune disorder. (Courtesy of Amanda Clear)
School vaccination rates reveal hidden measles outbreak risks. But access depends on where you live.
By Alison Young is Healthbeat
As Pennsylvania’s growing measles outbreak gets closer to her community on the west side of the state, Amanda Clear is taking actions to assess the risks to her son Dylan.
One of her first stops: A new state website that lets anyone look up the student vaccination rates at individual Pennsylvania schools. That’s how she learned that about 86% of the students at Dylan’s school are vaccinated against measles. That’s well below the 95% that’s considered necessary to prevent an outbreak of the highly contagious virus.
“Having that data point is very informative to help parents decide what they need to do,” Clear told me. Even though Dylan, 9, is vaccinated, he has an immune disorder that makes her worry he could be at increased risk for a breakthrough infection.
But across the country, not all parents can easily get access to this information. In some states, even public health officials don’t routinely know the vaccination rates at individual schools.
Independent reporting on Pennsylvania state government that impacts communities statewide — free to read and republish.
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A marker for an Energy Transfer petroleum pipeline stands near the Delaware River in Upper Makefield Township. (Photo by Tracie Van Auken/Inside Climate News)
By Marianne Lavelle of Inside Climate News
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based pipeline giant facing a state-level criminal probe related to a jet fuel spill that polluted drinking water in a suburban Philadelphia neighborhood, is seeking to have part of Pennsylvania’s 89-year-old Clean Streams Law declared unconstitutional.
The extraordinary lawsuit, filed quietly in April, asks Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court to declare one or more sections of the law unconstitutionally vague under the due process clauses of both the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
Energy Transfer’s objection to the law: Parties could be found guilty of an environmental crime even if their actions are accidental. Because one section of the law lacks what is called a “mens rea,” or “guilty mind” provision, the company said, parties could face fines or imprisonment whether or not their actions were knowing and purposeful.
TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
Trump’s trade war with Canada escalates as new tariffs launch: Among the 629 categories of products Canada has targeted are key outputs from U.S. states with hotly contested races in the fast-approaching November midterm elections, including Maine’s paper and lumber industry, Michigan’s vehicle manufacturing and Wisconsin dairy production.
Trump doesn’t have the power to limit mail-in voting, lawmakers say: The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nine are from Pennsylvania.
The largest US school districts restrict student AI use: The country’s two largest school districts — New York City and Los Angeles — banned most student use of artificial intelligence in classrooms for this school year as anxiety over AI’s effect on learning intensifies.
ICYMI
Health experts, lawmakers push for Pa. kratom regulation: What, in America at least, was a little known substance, has become a growing source of concern for addiction specialists, ER doctors, and public health professionals — especially as potent extracts and synthetic kratom products become more widely available.
Meta settlement brings questions about where and how to use the money: The Social media giant settled claims by 47 states that its platforms were harmful to children by agreeing last month to pay up to $17.1 billion and place strict controls on how teens can use its apps. Now, those states, including Pennsylvania, must decide for themselves how the money should be distributed.
Pa. community decries transparency as data center progresses: A yearslong effort to establish the Pittsburgh area’s largest hyperscale data center faces new hurdles — from the emergence of a data center moratorium and new zoning ordinance proposal to a lawsuit challenging the center’s current progress.
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