By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“They get really quiet and then they look at you. I mean, they stare right at you as you’re telling the story, or you’re telling them what I want from them and why it’s important. And you know, usually eighth grade kids are kind of all over the place. But they are totally locked in.” — Scott Marsh, a teacher who has led a trip of Ohio eighth grade students to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County.
A good Friday morning to you. I realize the news cycles move fast and furiously these days, but I hope you take a moment or two to reflect on what unfolded in New York, Virginia and the skies of Somerset County — a quarter century ago.
Please remember the bravery of each of the 40 passengers and crew members onboard United Flight 93 who perished when the passenger jet crashed in a field near Shanksville, Somerset County, at 10:03 a.m. The actions of the men and women onboard to try to retake the controls from the four terrorists likely saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Washington D.C.
Thanks for starting your day with us. As always, we deeply appreciate you reading, sharing and supporting our work. -- Tim
The American flag flies at the entry to the pathway that leads to the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. The visitor center is in the background. (Photo courtesy of Tim Lambert)
25 years after the September 11 attacks
By Peter Hall
Twenty-five years after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 into a reclaimed coal mine in Stonycreek Township, the memory of the day is still strong with those who lived through it.
But for around 100 million Americans born after 9/11, and millions more born in the years shortly before, that day that shifted the nation’s course is an abstract day in history.
Stephen Clark, superintendent of the Flight 93 memorial, said that aspect sets it apart from other memorials in the national park system.
“I like to use the word raw,” he said. “It’s as if it just happened yesterday.”
Increasingly, the memorial’s role is to teach, in addition to commemorating, how the passengers and flight crew made a desperate decision to fight for their lives and succeeded in preventing an attack on American democracy itself.
People look out at Manhattan and beyond at One World Observatory at One World Trade Center in New York City. Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance systems built in its aftermath continue to shape how Americans are watched and policed. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
25 years after the September 11 attacks
By Amanda Watford of Stateline
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did more than reshape the nation’s approach to terrorism. They changed the architecture of American intelligence and policing. They expanded how government agencies collect, share and analyze information, and brought national security tools deeper into ordinary law enforcement.
The infrastructure built in the attacks’ aftermath has proved remarkably durable. Joint terrorism task forces and fusion centers brought federal, state and local agencies into closer intelligence-sharing networks. New laws expanded the government’s ability to obtain information. And police departments acquired technologies that once belonged largely to the realm of national security.
But the expansion of surveillance did not go uncontested.
25 YEARS AFTER THE CRASH OF FLIGHT 93
Remembering Flight 93 through the lens of healing: The Flight 93 National Memorial will always be more than “a field in Pennsylvania. This amazing group of strangers, when faced with an unthinkable situation and unimaginable fear, got together and took a vote on whether to fight back. Let that sink in. They trusted the democratic process. They trusted each other.
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Some aging prisoners who have served decades in prison under a now-unconstitutional life sentence for second-degree murder don't have time to wait for a lengthy resentencing process, attorneys argue. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star file photo)
By Whitney Downard and Ian Karbal
A coalition of attorneys urged the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday to apply its ruling striking down mandatory life sentences for second-degree murder retroactively. The group shared four examples of aging prisoners it says require immediate attention.
They did so by filing what’s known as a King’s Bench petition, allowing the court to take the rare step of skipping a longer trial process.
“We thought it was important to show that people have been serving for such a long time that there is a danger that if the court does not act soon, some people will not live to see the benefit of this ruling,” said Quinn Cozzens, with the Abolition Law Center. “We do think it is an urgent situation that the court will hopefully act on quickly.”
Roughly 1,200 people are serving life sentences in Pennsylvania prisons for second-degree murder, also known as felony murder. The charge is applied when a victim dies during the commission of another felony, whether or not the perpetrator intended or planned to kill.
Staff members from Casa San José put up “know your rights” flyers and information on Pittsburgh’s Latino support network outside of Las Palmas grocery store and taqueria, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Beechview. The organization has been very busy with the region’s Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking and Haitian communities. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
By Charlie Wolfson of Pittsburgh’s Public Source
Joey Berumen paced up and down Broadway Avenue outside Las Palmas grocery store Wednesday around lunch time under a blistering late-summer sun. He held a walkie-talkie while he glanced around the road. He was looking for signs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Workers at the independent grocery store and adjoining taco stand were on edge Wednesday after agents they believe to be with ICE appeared outside the store twice in 24 hours. Employees say business is down, with community members deterred from shopping by the federal agents.
Workers with Casa San José were on the block earlier, taping up Spanish language posters with information on legal rights and other resources. Four or five legal observers from Frontline Dignity, which responds to support immigrants amid news of ICE activity, milled around the Las Palmas taco stand throughout the late morning.
Immigration enforcement appears to have increased in Beechview, a hub of Pittsburgh’s Latino population. An agent confronted Berumen Tuesday, and agents returned Wednesday morning, he said.
TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
Fetterman appears in surprise video to midterm convention: Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman made a surprise video appearance Wednesday at the GOP convention in Dallas, praising Republican Sen. Dave McCormick while vowing the pair of Pennsylvanians would continue working with President Donald Trump to “defend the steel way of life.”
Penn State and WHYY finalize WPSU deal, submit paperwork to FCC: The university and the Philadelphia-based public broadcasting station reached agreement on the details of the transfer and filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission last Thursday. FCC approval is needed before the transfer can be completed. The sale price is $1.
States sue feds over endangered species rollbacks: A coalition of state attorneys general filed a pair of lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s rollbacks of protections for endangered species. Filed by 20 states and the District of Columbia, they seek to reinstate rules that protect the habitat that endangered species depend on to survive.
ICYMI
Pa. elections chief: ‘Nothing has changed’ following Trump mail-in ballot order: Amid a national legal battle over the use of mail-in voting ahead of this year’s midterm elections, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said that Pennsylvanians should be confident in the state’s election process and security.
Attorney faces possible discipline over 2020 Pa. county election lawsuit: An attorney who represented Fulton County as it attempted to investigate the 2020 election is facing possible suspension or disbarment.
Chesapeake Bay grasses notch best numbers since 2018: Aerial surveys show that underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay had a strong year in 2025, taking up the most acreage since 2018. The numbers are a 7% improvement over 2024, covering 89,385 acres.
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