102 minutes

Good morning.

It’s the 25th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It would be the height of hubris to imagine I could adequately describe the horrors of that day to anyone who wasn’t watching it all unfold. Countless better writers than I have tackled this subject. I leave it to them.

But I don’t think anyone has written anything better about 9/11 in the last quarter-century than the New York Times did eight months after the attacks, when it chronicled the 102 minutes from the first plane strike to the north tower falling using details that I’ve never been able to shake. It’s a remarkable, just-the-facts-ma’am document of that morning.

We’ll have a team at the former site of the Twin Towers today for the annual ceremony held there. Stay tuned for more.

More: Via Lilo Stainton: “At least 6,900 New Jerseyans who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City have received free treatments for cancers, lung diseases, mental health issues, and other health conditions linked to the terrifying and toxic soup at Ground Zero. Their care is coordinated through the World Trade Center Health Program at Rutgers University, part of a nationwide program that has benefitted more than 144,000 Americans since two commercial airliners struck the Twin Towers 25 years ago. The attack killed nearly 3,000 people, including close to 700 from New Jersey. ”

Commentary: Tim Lambert, who edits sibling site Pennsylvania Capital-Star, writes about his unusual connection to the field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed 25 years ago today: “The lessons of how 40 passengers and crew stood up and became heroes must never be lost to time or relegated to footnote status in this nation’s history books. And in this time of polarization and partisanship, those lessons are more important than ever. 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.”

Surveillance: Via Amanda Watford at 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.” 

Scams: Via Dana DiFilippo, “A state watchdog is urging New Jersey legislators to strengthen protections against deed fraud, warning that real estate scams have risen since the pandemic without sufficient regulations in place to stop swindlers. County clerks and prosecutors told State Commission of Investigation investigators that scammers have capitalized on a post-pandemic shift to more business being done remotely — including real estate sales — to pretend to be a property’s owner and illegally record a deed under a new name.”

Cell phones: Via Dana, “With New Jersey students now banned from using their cell phones during the school day, one state lawmaker wants his fellow legislators to follow in their footsteps and stop scrolling during legislative sessions. Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris) introduced a bill Thursday he cheekily dubbed the ‘Practice What We Preach Act’ to bar legislators from using or even possessing their phones or other digital devices during voting sessions and committee meetings.”

Midterms: Via Ashley Murray, “A proposal by President Donald Trump to give $5,000 to each American adult if Republicans retain control of the U.S. House and Senate in November would ‘explode’ the national deficit and worsen inflation, according to an analysis issued Thursday by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The committee, whose board includes economists, bankers and former elected and administration officials from both political parties, estimates Trump’s plan would cost roughly $1.2 trillion.”