Results tagged “911”

Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson said that 9/11 victims' families will be able to descend to the World Trade Center and pay their respects, even though the site is under construction. It was originally thought that last year would be the final year to allow visitations. This year, the AP reports, "families will be allowed into a newly built upper level of the memorial site"; the ramp to the "pit" was removed to make way for a foundation. Rosaleen Tallon, sister of firefighter Sean Tallon who perished in the North Tower, said, "We totally understand that there would be no way to go down ourselves. But it would be nice to do something to symbolically connect us to the site." The 2,750 victims' name will be read by volunteers and victims' relatives.

Local politicians gathered in Washington today to introduce the James Zagroda 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, legislation that would provide $12 million for the medical expenses of Ground Zero workers. Zagroda was an NYPD detective and 9/11 first responder who died of lung disease in 2006 at 34. Mayor Bloomberg joined both pairs of senators from NY and NJ and Zagroda's father Joseph in announcing the bill that will attempt to circumvent a missed a 2003 deadline missed by workers looking to receive assistance in illnesses stemming from being exposed to toxic dust and debris at the site of the 9/11 attacks.

Thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents compiled by lawyers for 9/11 victims' families probably won't be admissible in court. But they were passed along to the NY Times, which reports that they show Saudi "support for terrorist organizations" at least through 2006. Some documents, obtained from the Treasury Department through the Freedom of Information Act, include sworn statements from various witnesses detailing the transfer of millions of dollars from prominent Saudi charities to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups. At least one charity is controlled by members of the royal family, and another witness said in a sworn statement that he witnessed an emissary for a leading Saudi prince, Turki al-Faisal, hand a check for one billion Saudi riyals (now worth about $267 million) to a top Taliban leader in '98. The Justice Department, which recently urged the Supreme Court not to hear a lawsuit brought by families against the Saudi royal family, is now fighting to keep other leaked classified documents from surfacing in court.

It's super cute and super freaky at the same time: Retired Canadian police officer James Symington received five puppies cloned from his beloved German Shepherd, Trakr, who died two months ago. Last year, Symington, who now lives in Los Angeles, won a contest from BioArts International which asked for essays on the "most cloneworthy" dog. Symington wrote about how he and Trakr drove to NYC after the September 11, 2001 attacks; the Daily News reported, "Braving horrific conditions, the pair helped locate the last human survivor of 9/11 under some 30 feet of unstable debris."

While Ground Zero development continues to stagnate (more on that later), the National September 11 Memorial and Museum continues to move ahead. Yesterday, CityRoom revealed, along with renderings, "[Museum] officials are now asking the victims’ next of kin to confirm the accuracy of the names that are to be inscribed around the memorial pools. They are also asking family members to share stories and mementos from the victims’ lives to incorporate into a permanent display." One component will be audiovisual tributes, "If each audiovisual presentation lasted only three minutes, a visitor would have to set aside 149 hours (more than six full days) to see them all." Museum director Alice Greenwald said, "We have to address the scale of loss. Three thousand is a number that’s hard to fathom, so you have to personalize it." The Post adds that families can request how they want their relatives' names displayed—"Some families will want the names listed alongside co-workers, siblings or friends. Whenever possible, that request will be honored."

Yesterday, smoke escaped from the former Deutsche Bank building on Liberty Street—the Daily News reports, "It turned out the smoke was from a battery-powered forklift that overheated about 4 a.m. Firefighters simply unplugged it." And while firefighters were on the scene, they found that a switch for an air-filtration system (you know, to keep toxic air—the building is full of debris from the 9/11 attacks— from escaping the building) wasn't working, so work was halted. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is overseeing the demolition of the building, believes the building will be decontaminated by July and ready for demolition in January. In 2007, a seven-alarm fire, started by a worker's cigarette, killed two firefighters and, in 2006, it was hoped the building would be gone by...2007.

Less than a week before President Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia, the Justice Department has filed a brief before the Supreme Court urging justices not to hear a lawsuit brought by families of some of the 9/11 victims against the Saudi royal family. The lawsuit, which was formally filed by the families' insurance companies, contends that members of the House of Saud helped finance Al Qaeda preceding the 9/11 attacks. A district court threw out the lawsuit, finding that the Saudi royal family has legal protection under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act. The Justice Department says their filing had nothing to do with the President's upcoming visit, and was just "coincidental." (A spokesperson explains that the brief had to be filed soon because the Supreme Court is deciding whether to hear the case before their June recess.) Kristen Breitweiser, a leader of the families, tells the Times, "I find this reprehensible. One would have hoped that the Obama administration would have taken a different stance than the Bush administration, and you wonder what message this sends to victims of terrorism around the world."

Both sides of the Rudy Giuliani vs. Rudy Hater 5672834340 incident were quick to jump into the spin battle after Saturday's confrontation in the Hamptons where Jack of all trades John McCluskey was led away in handcuffs after allegedly threatening the former mayor while he was out in Bridgehampton with wife Judith Nathan.

Another day, another tough crowd for former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice. Last week, Stanford students put her on the defensive on the Bush administration's stance on torture; yesterday, a 4th grader from a D.C. school asked her what she thought about the Obama administration's criticism of Bush-era methods. Rice said, "Let me just say that President Bush was very clear that he wanted to do everything he could to protect the country. After September 11, we wanted to protect the country. But he was also very clear that we would do nothing, nothing, that was against the law or against our obligations internationally.. So the president was only willing to authorize policies that were legal in order to protect the country," adding, "I hope you understand that it was a very difficult time. We were all so terrified of another attack on the country. September 11 was the worst day of my life in government, watching 3,000 Americans die." Flashback to Rice's 2004 testimony to the 9/11 Commission, admitting she saw a memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States" in August 2001.

Today's lesson in what not to post on the internet is provided by our trusted friends at FEMA. For years the organization says it gave out thousands of copies of "A Scary Thing Happened" around the globe without a single complaint about the coloring book designed to help children cope with tragedy. But now FEMA has pulled it only a week after putting it up on its homepage due to complaints about color-in depictions of the 9/11 attacks. Upon seeing what the Daily News calls a "stomach-churning image," one local man told the paper, "I feel disrespected. I feel like I should punch the person who did this in the face." It turns out the person wants to deck is Marlys Jentoft, a 68-year-old grandmother of 10, who volunteers for the Red Cross, church and crime victims groups. She told The Smoking Gun, "I feel like it was happening in the world and kids saw it. It is life."

Let's take the Air Force One flyover incident into yet another day! Fox News wanted to calculate the cost beyond the $328,835 it cost to fly the Boeing 747 and fighter jets on Monday, so it asked Mayor Bloomberg's office "how much the city had to spend to deal with the panic." Apparently NYC 911 got flyover-related 97 calls (about a 15% increase) in an hour while Jersey City said it received about 13 calls.

Maybe Senator Chuck Schumer has the right idea with being constantly ticked off by the Federal Aviation Administration—it turns out that the FAA was well aware that the Boeing 747 and military jets (also known as the "Presidential Airlift Group") would scare the bejesus out of people in lower Manhattan and New Jersey as they did on Monday. From WCBS 2:

In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD the Federal Aviation Administration's James Johnston said the agency was aware of "the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor's office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.

       

The verdict is out, and yesterday's lower Manhattan flyover by the "Boeing 747 sometimes known as Air Force One" and military jets was a bad idea. So bad that the White House Military Office's director Luis Caldera apologized for the mission. It was so bad that the city official who knew about the event but didn't tell the mayor was "reprimanded and a disciplinary letter has been placed in his file," according to Newsday.

Last year, the Port Authority struck a deal with the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church over the church's land at Ground Zero. The church was destroyed on 9/11 and the Port Authority offered $20 million to the church for the land (it was planning a vehicle security center underground) and $40 million in infrastructure; the church would move a block to a bigger lot. But now the deal is off, because, as the PA claims, the church was demanding more. According to reports, the church wanted to build a basilica that would have been taller than the World Trade Center memorial—plus wanted approval of the security center, the $20 million upfront and another $20 million if the land wasn't turned over by 2011. A church spokesman told the Times they are continuing talks, "We consider the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Church a sacred obligation to the victims of 9/11, to the city of New York, to the people of America and in fact to the international community."

The five men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, suspected of carrying out the 9/11 attacks issued a written statement calling the conspiracy charge "laughable." The Wall Street Journal reports, "The six-page statement, dated March 1, was filed with a military judge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in response to nine charges filed by military prosecutors last year." Here's a PDF; some highlights: "Were you expecting us to inform you about our secret attack plans? Blame yourselves and your failed intelligence apparatus and hold them accountable, not us... Also, as the prophet has stated: 'War is to deceive.'" They also bring up the toll of civilian deaths the U.S. caused in World War II, "Did you forget about your nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?"

Relatives of victims killed during the September 11 attacks have been invited to a White House meeting tomorrow afternoon. The relatives have been eager to discuss the closing of Guantanamo Bay with President Obama, who signed an executive order to close the detention center last month. While it's unclear whether Obama will attend the meeting, retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose son died on 9/11 and visited Guantanamo Bay last month, hopes he does, "We saw these people face to face. I want to tell the president what happened at Gitmo. That these detainees were laughing about what they did. I wish these trials were on TV. Americans would be outraged." Related: Yesterday former VP Dick Cheney told Politico, "If you release the hard-core Al Qaeda terrorists that are held at Guantanamo, I think they go back into the business of trying to kill more Americans and mount further mass-casualty attacks."

Not shocking: A study from Mount Sinai Medical Center says that September 11 responders who took ill after working at Ground Zero have, according to the AP, "lung problems more than five years later." The researchers, who have been tracking responders' health for years, believe this proves that World Trade Center's collapse and the toxic dust from it caused persistent issues, with about a quarter of respondents having abnormal lung function. Dr. Jacqueline Moline said, "We know people we are following are still sick. It's confirming what we've been seeing clinically." This comes as NY lawmakers are reintroducing the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would "offer compensation for monetary losses due to illnesses or injuries caused by the attacks at the World Trade Center."

Word has leaked that in an episode for the upcoming season of the FX firefighter drama Rescue Me, the womanizing fireman Franco—one of the show's main characters—espouses theories that 9/11 was an inside job, carried out as part of a neoconservative plot to change the definition of "preemptive attack" and control the world's oil. The Times says that it marks "the first fictional presentation of 9/11 conspiracy theories by a mainstream media company." Star of the show Denis Leary says that the scene is not far off from scenes in actual fire houses "where some of the younger members don’t even have to completely buy into the theory of 9/11 being an inside job, but want to discuss it."

      

At a NY State Assembly hearing yesterday, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward testified, "We are on track to meet the commitment we made in October to open the Memorial Plaza by the 10th Anniversary of September 11th."

Families of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attacks are looking to obtain a meeting with President Obama to discuss his decision to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Obama announced on Thursday that Gitmo would be closed for 120 days while officials review the prison known for its harsh interrogation methods. Civil Rights lawyer Norman Siegel says that the families are looking for "open and fair, but speedy trials for the prisoners who are being held there." Obama may be in store for an an earful if family members share the sentiments of Michael Burke, whose brother was a fire captain who died in the attacks and writes an op-ed for today's Daily News. He argues that it is impossible to fight terrorism under the Constitution, which would could become a "means to our destruction." He also says that Obama "is convincing these mass murderers that we are too narcissistic, too foolish and too weak to protect and defend ourselves."

The city medical examiner ruled yesterday that the October death of 45-year-old Leon Heyward was caused by cancer he got from breathing in toxic dust at Ground Zero. He becomes the first addition to the official total since a Staten Island woman's death was linked to dust inhalation almost two years ago. Heyward worked as an investigator and helped get handicapped co-workers out at the Department of Consumer Affairs Office on Church Street after the planes hit. As the years went on, he began having seizures, became delusional and suffered memory loss. His sister told the News that the ruling is some vindication after Heyward had been denied worker's comp. She told the News, "There were a lot of people that weren't first responders. There are a lot of people walking around sick for the same reason and fighting the same battle we did." The medical examiner has declined to make similar rulings in half a dozen other cases.

Though somewhat overshadowed by the U.S. Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River, President Bush gave his farewell address to the American public last night. He said, "Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I've always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."

A German entrepreneur is applying for a federal trademark to use the Freedom Tower to market a line of condoms; the proposed slogan would be "Freedom Tower: Make Love Not War." What, was "Grind Zero" taken? The Post says 9/11 families are "howling" over the proposed rubber, though they only get a quote from Jack Lynch, whose firefighter son died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001: "I find it very offensive. The idea that anyone would use something associated with 9/11 to promote any product is upsetting. But to promote condoms, that goes a step beyond." According to the article, the Port Authority, which owns the tower, is "scrambling to block" the application. If he does get the patent, the entrepreneurial German better hope his prophylactic resembles the Freedom Tower in name only, because so far nobody's been able to get that building up. Hey-oh!

A Manhattan judge took a significant step yesterday toward bringing to trial the first round of lawsuits stemming primarily from workers who became sick from their involvement with Ground Zero. Right now almost 10,000 of those cases are on hold as the city awaits for medical records to be turned over. Those records are not required to be completed until 2011.

President Bush gave his first "exit interview" to ABC Word News' Charles Gibson, and among the revelations: He was "unprepared" for the 9/11 attacks and regretted the WMD intelligence that led him to the Iraq War. He said, "I think was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents-- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen." Bush does believe that 9/11 brought the country together, though.

The Port Authority released its letter and report to Governor David Paterson about progress at the World Trade Center site. The NY-NJ agency was given control of the site two years ago, but building at the site has been stymied by delays given the complexity and cost of the project.

A fan on the popular Seattle Seahawks message board "Seahawks Huddle" has created a stir in his attempts to goad NY Giants fans before the two teams' matchup next week by posting a collection of 9/11 jokes. The post has naturally been taken down, but not before it raised the ire of many, including today's Daily News where they call the author "a lunatic" and share a link to his email address. The jokes were posted above an image of a smoking NYC skyline following the fall of the towers and included one-liners such as "Q: What's Al Qaida's (sic) favorite football team? A: The New York Jets" and "Q: How many New Yorkers does it take to change a light bulb? A: Nobody knows since they keep jumping out the window when it gets too hot!"

     

Yesterday, before heading to Pennsylvania for more campaigning, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made an "unscheduled" visit to Ground Zero. She visited the Tribute WTC Visitor Center as well as Ladder Co. 10's firehouse, which has a bronze mural honoring the 343 firefighters who died on September 11.

Responding to pressure from Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, the Port Authority is promising to finish the 9/11 memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack that felled the twin towers. In June, Paterson said the redevelopment of the 16-acre site was over budget and behind schedule, and he ordered the Port Authority to hammer out a plan to get at least part of the job done by 2011. Port Authority officials had called that an impossibility, but sources tell the Times that Port Authority director Christopher Ward will release a report on Thursday outlining a way to finish the $610 million memorial in two years and eleven months. (See the renderings.)

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he was suspending his campaign tomorrow and asked for Friday's much-anticipated debate with Democratic candidate Barack Obama be delayed, so he can work on the bailout plan in Washington D.C. He said he contacted Obama's campaign and emphasized that partisan differences must be put aside for a solution (not counting that both Democrats and Republicans have problems with the plan).