9/11, 25 Years Later

0:00Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plan starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify. SimpliSafe. Ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Observe. The North American Dad. 50s. Great polo collection. He enters his vehicle information on Carvana.

0:38An offer appears in minutes. Remarkable. He squints, reads it again, smiles and says, dang, that's a good offer. The highest form of approval. No haggling. No hassle. No one called him boss. He's still on the couch. Astonishing. Sell your car today on Carvana.com. Pickup fees may apply. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in the Situation Room. And we've been listening to dramatic words from Condoleezza Rice speaking over at the Pentagon as the world marks 25 years since the September 11th terror attacks. This moment of silence occurring in New York now.

1:45And my cousin, firefighter Christopher A. Santora. Excuse me. God bless. So you're hearing there the moment of silence And now the reading of the names of solemn remembrance of the moment the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. And as we have been doing all morning long, we are showing how the country is uniting today, 25 years after 9-11. Let's go live now to CNN anchor Kate Baldwin at Liberty Park overlooking the 9-11 Memorial Plaza. Kate, 25 years later, this tragedy still resonates so deeply with so many Americans.

2:25There were so many, and the promise is always to never forget. Looks like we're seeing Yo-Yo Ma playing once again. The promise of never forget. You remember, it's a day to remember, and also remind. Remember the nearly 3 ,000 lives lost on that day, to remind of the heroism of the first responders and all of those who ran towards danger when all human instinct should be to run away from that horror. And also to remind of the thousands and thousands of the long tail of 9-11, the thousands and thousands of people who have been suffering from and died and perished from 9-11-related illnesses in the aftermath, which is what also adds to what makes this anniversary, 25 years later, unique.

3:11There have always been six moments of silence for the four planes, when the towers fall and when the towers fell. And now the seventh moment after the reading of the names will be a bell tolled for all of the victims who have suffered from 9-11 related illnesses since. And that is not only new and unique, but it's also unique as our colleague Bryn Gingrass heard from a recovery worker down in the plaza this morning. She's there to hear that because she knows that one day that bell will toll for her. That's really sticking with me today as we think about all of this and reflect on the hard truths and lessons learned from that day and the 25 years since.

3:57And also just to remember the heroism of the first responders and what they did and how many lives they did save with their courage. We've seen at this ceremony Wolf and Pam. We've seen all of the living former presidents in attendance, Clintons, the Bushes, Obamas, the Bidens are here as well. Vice President J.D. Vance has been here. I've seen the images we've been able to see sitting next to and standing next to Mike Bloomberg. So we have the dignitaries, but it isn't about, it's more about the people, the families, standing around this beautiful, somber plaza. The roses left and all of the young children who are learning about this as a moment in history without a lived experience from this day.

4:44And that seems to be a unique thing about this one is how many how much of the lessons there are from this to learn and teach the younger generation. Back to you. So many lessons, Kate Baldwin. Thank you so much. And we take you now to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as we pause to remember the 40 passengers and crew on United Flight 93.

5:14Jane C. Folger

5:40Colleen Laura Frazier.

5:49Very moving moments indeed. This is in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A very sad moment indeed. 25 years later, Pamela. We're remembering what happened on that day. And it's both of us, we remember it very, very vividly. Yes, I remember it so vividly. I was in high school, and it just left an indelible mark on me as I watched the images on TV, not fully being able to understand or comprehend what was happening. I know it's personal for you as well, Wolf. I couldn't. I remember getting that call at 8, 830 in the morning. You got to get to the bureau right away, downtown Washington. And I got into my car, and I started driving.

6:27But everybody in Washington was seeing what was going on in New York, at the Pentagon. They thought there were going to be additional attacks on the Capitol, on the White House, federal buildings in Washington. And everybody was leaving their offices, getting in their cards and leaving. I couldn't get close to our bureau here, our CNN bureau. Had to leave my car maybe a mile away, and I just walked all the way here because so many thousands and thousands of Washingtonians were leaving the city out of fear that the whole city was about to be attacked. Yeah, understandably. One of the places that actually was attacked was right outside of D.C.

7:01in Arlington, the Pentagon, and we want to go back there because that is where Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth is making remarks. Indeed is the price of freedom. There are still enemies who hate us. Everyday enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home. But we are ever vigilant, especially this place, especially these people. Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world's most prolific state sponsor of terrorism. Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, the cheered on 9-11, a regime that has sponsored terrorist attacks against Americans for decades, killing thousands, including our comrades in Iraq and Afghanistan.

7:55But they did not factor in this president. The United States has killed their leaders, destroyed their air force, and their navy rests at the bottom of the sea. Their defenses are gone. We're still sending terrorists where they belong to hell and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong. And we're ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The economic pressure tightens every day. We control the strait. we will finish this fight. But we also know, as the scripture says, the world will always have war and rumors of war. And so the fight goes on. And so we raise up a new generation of strong, brave warriors who will say, when it matters most, send me.

8:54Or as they said on flight 93, Todd Beamer's famous words, let's roll. The top 1 % of Americans, those that wear the uniform, still keep the watch. We all sleep in peace because we know they stand ready. We honor the fallen of that day 25 years ago by living worthy of their legacy today. and for 250 more years. We have faith in our warriors, but we also have faith that there is one who keeps watch over us, and scripture tells us that the Lord is our fortress and our shield. The Lord trains our arms for war and our hands for battle. Strengthened by faith in Almighty God, we will continue to defeat our enemies and protect this republic just as the heroes and the warriors of 9-11 did.

10:02Because in this nation, in God we trust, in this land, in this place, on that day and still today. And amen. It is now a great honor to introduce the great commander-in-chief of our nation, the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump.

10:53Thank you very much. Thank you. Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rice, First Lady of the United States, Chairman McCain, members of the United States military, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans. Twenty-five times we have gathered at this hallowed place and at Ground Zero in New York and a lonely field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In 25 years, a generation has passed since the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001. Yet time has not dimmed the honor of that day when our country came face to face with true evil. At 8.20 a.m. on a cloudless Tuesday morning, a beautiful day it was. American Airlines Flight 77 took off 25 miles from here, bound for Los Angeles.

12:13On board were three 11-year-old students heading on a cross-country field trip, a father and a mother with their two young daughters, bound for international adventure, and a flight attendant whose mind was elsewhere. She had just learned that she was expecting her first child and was so excited to tell her mom and dad. here at the pentagon and avi hererman had just gotten off the phone with his 10-year-old son a secretary was celebrating her 46th birthday so happy she was a sergeant major was chatting with some colleagues he had hosted for a dinner party over the weekend at 9 37 a.m. every single one of those people and every person at that sergeant major's party was murdered by terrorists who flew flight 77 straight into this legendary building it is indeed a legendary building so many wars have been won from this building with the events of that morning 2 ,977 beautiful souls were ripped from our world and many more died in the weeks and years after horrible grotesque injuries so many were sustained today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago we will never ever forget that's why we fight today we don't have a choice there can only be victory we fight hard we fight to win And we will always remember the victims and the families of September 11th, 2001.

14:32Very famous date, unfortunately. And it started out as such a beautiful day. We will honor their lives. We will cherish their beautiful memories. and we will protect this country and its freedoms for every future generation. We will protect it like never before. For anyone who lived it, no words can do justice to the anguish of that day. After the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, patrick danahy left a message to comfort his beautiful wife mary letting her know he was safe inside his office on the south tower's 90th floor mary was eight months pregnant and playing with their two young daughters when she heard patrick's voice she loved him so much she called back turned on the tv the line rang and then it went completely dead very unusual she felt mary fell to her knees as she watched united flight 175 explode by their husband's office she saw it right by the office you know exactly where the office was right by in the office.

16:08Seven floors up, Shimi Begelsisen laid down on the carpet by his desk to escape the smoke. It was horrible, surrounded by photos of his beautiful five children. He was on the phone with his wife Miriam, praying to God when the television showed her the dreadful image. Things were happening that she couldn't imagine. The South Tower was collapsing with her husband, and she loved him so much inside. Free people must never avert their eyes from such hideous cruelty. We cannot forget that moment of immense and horrible evil that took place in this world, bent on the destruction of all that is good.

17:13But this morning, we also remember how America responded to that wickedness. On days like 9-11, we learn what a country is truly made of. We're learning right now what we're made of. And we have to be strong and we have to be smart. And Americans are made of a goodness and spirit that can transcend any earthly force. And that's what we're doing better than anyone else has ever been able to do it. Because we are sustained by a supreme strength, far more powerful than steel alone. Aboard flight 93 in the skies over Pennsylvania, a brave flight attendant, boiled water to fight back. a loving father from New Jersey, Todd Beamer, asked a telephone operator in Illinois to join him in the Lord's Prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

18:22And then he said his last words, let's roll. Today, as we remember the many lives lost on 9-11, we also give thanks for the countless lives saved by the immortal heroes of Flight 93. In those harrowing days after the attacks, we saw the authentic spirit of our nation. We were all New Yorkers that day, every one of us. We were all New Yorkers. But we were also all Americans. We were all family. We were all patriots. The enemy might destroy what American hands had built, but we could not touch the fight and the fire and the love in our great American hearts. At the Pentagon on September 12th, General James Jackson ordered up the largest flag in the military's collection, and they think in the military's history.

19:36First responders climbed to top the walls and hung it next to the gaping holes in this building as a symbol of American defiance. this morning that same flag is here to my right for the first time since 2001 along with three firefighters who raised it joseph morabito scott morgan and carl saalberg please stand

20:2225 years after the attacks, we know the world will never return to the way it was at that dawn, that beautiful, peaceful Tuesday morning, 2001, before the towers fell, before the Pentagon was hit, before the specter of eagle and this horrible, horrible evil came crashing into our lives, before we saw what took place in Pennsylvania. Innocence is expecting the future to be good because you have not yet really been tested. We've been tested many times. We're being tested today, and we're winning that test very handily. Faith is still believing in that future, even after you have seen the absolute worst, things that you never thought possible to see.

21:20In the generation since 9-11, American sons and daughters have traveled to the darkest corners of the earth and done battle with a shadowy enemy so that our children might once again know carefree days and cloudless skies. For 25 years, our best and bravest have kept America safe. And today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the war on terror. It is a war on sick, horrible terror. We salute our first responders and law enforcement, and we love them. And we salute the service members working right now to ensure the world's number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never ever have a nuclear weapon.

22:29A generation after 9-11, we also know that the final response to those atrocities and the ultimate victory over the perpetrators will not be found on a foreign battlefield. It's right here in the hearts of families like Tara Stackpole's. Tara's husband, Timmy, was a great firefighter, even a legendary one, after surviving a five-alarm fire in Brooklyn that burned 40 percent of his body in 1998. He spent three years recovering, learned to walk again, and returned to the job. That's all he wanted to do is he just wanted to fight fires. He said the greatest high you can ever get in life is by helping someone and making a difference, especially when it came to his profession, a dangerous profession at that.

23:34On September 11th, the New York Daily News carried a story announcing his promotion to captain in the New York City Fire Department. He was so proud. His wife, his family was so proud. Captain Stackpole said goodbye to Tara and their five beautiful children that morning. And when the planes hit a short time later, he responded, leading a team into the unbelievably unusual sight of a South Tower that was burning. They lost their lives when the towers fell. Somehow, Tara found the strength to be a rock, not only for our kids but for the countless members of a very grieving fire department. So many people were grieving.

24:29They were devastated like never before. And in the years that followed, she raised those children to know, love, and follow the example of their dad who just was not there with them any longer. Today, their son Kevin is a Navy veteran. And a brave one at that, he's had his moments. They were very, very big, perhaps not like his father, but they were very big and very proud. And everyone's very proud of Kevin. He served in Iraq and is raising four beautiful children of his own. Their son, TJ, became a captain in the Marines after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. Brian is raising two kids.

25:19Caitlin is raising three, including a 10-year-old named Timmy. And Brendan is a proud member of his dad's old company, Fire Department New York Rescue 2. That's quite a company, too. I grew up in New York. I can tell you that's quite a company. The Stackpole family is here today. Tara, Kevin, TJ, Brendan, Caitlin, and Timmy. Please stand. Please.

26:03He's looking down on you. He's very proud of you. Thank you. No one can ever prepare for a day like 9-11. but we can always choose to be the kind of nation the world saw in those days after. We can build families like the Stackpols. We can raise our children to know that their country is good, that their fathers are brave, and that our flag is a symbol of justice and freedom. And we can be a nation whose heroes are not fanatics for an abstract cause. They don't even know really what they're doing, but the kind to race into buildings and give their lives on a Tuesday morning for strangers they've never met.

26:57People they didn't know gave their lives. And we can fill the lives of our children with light and love that will sustain them against any trial and transcend any darkness whenever that darkness may come. As scripture tells us, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. September 11th reminded us of the terrible power of hate The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win. And today our country is stronger than it has ever been before. It has never been as strong as it is right now. because of that spirit when future generations come here in 25 100 or 250 years from now they will stand in a nation that is free and unyielding in the face of evil and they will still honor the heroes of 9 11 2001 and one who no age will erase from the memory of time.

28:26It will never, ever be forgotten. Will never be forgotten. And we can never forget. God bless our 9-11 families. God bless our unbelievable, brave and beautiful first responders. God bless the United States military. and God bless America. Thank you very much.

28:56All right, there you heard President Trump speaking on the 25 years since 9-11, honoring the victims there at the Pentagon and tying today to the Iran war, saying that the fight continues. And the United States, he says, has never been stronger than it is right now. He spoke at length about the lessons learned that he learned from 9-11 and what it means today. He went into details on that. We're going to be going now soon to another moment of silence, remembering the North Tower collapsing 1028 a.m. that Tuesday morning. Yeah, that's right. There are seven moments of silence today now honoring as well those who died after 9-11.

29:40But we want to go ahead to this moment of silence on the North Tower collapse where they're honoring those victims who died and reading the names as well. So let's just all take a moment together and pause for this moment of remembrance.

30:13Thank you.

30:45Prodrick Joseph Hoffman. Michelle L. Hoffman. All right, I want to go back to see it as Kate Baldwin. She's over at Liberty Park, right near where the World Trade Center was. Kate, set the seat for us. What's going on? We all just experienced another moment of silence. There will be more to come on that. One of the things about, I had the opportunity, guys, ahead of today to speak with two filmmakers, Jules and Gideon Noday. They were documentarians, but they became accidental documentarians to this tragic, horrible moment in history. They were following a rookie firefighter. They had been filming for weeks.

31:31And on that day, they captured what no one else did. They have the single image that they captured as they were on a routine call and they heard the sound of a plane that just sounded too close. They'll look up. And it is that horrific image that they captured of the plane hitting the North Tower. And they also have the only images then that they captured as they followed firefighters into the lobby. And you captured the moments, the tragic, horrible moments. Some they caught on film and some they said that they have self-censored and did not in real time because it was too horrible to even pick up the camera, they had said.

32:10So I spoke to them just this week, 25 years later, about the moments they captured behind the lens, the experiences of what they saw that day, the worst of humanity and also the best of humanity. Here's a bit of our conversation. You documented, right, the tragedy and the horror of that day.

32:41What's the single most heroic memory or best memory that you hold on to from that day? I managed not to cry on that day. I managed not to cry on the day after and for the three days after that. We started to interview the firefighters just three to four days after 9-11. The interviews were heartbreaking, but one of them at one point said, and then we escaped and the building just collapsed behind us and we were rushing and running and at one point we stopped. and that's when he looks at the two of us and he said, and we went back to look for you guys. And it was such a shock. And even now saying it, I started to cry behind the camera and I just couldn't stop.

33:41I think I left the room. That was a small thing that triggered and the flood was on after that. If you today could speak to those two brothers from that morning when they were heading out, what advice would you give them? I would not give myself any advice if I managed to go back in time. Because I truly believe I'm a better human being because of what happened. It's like, because I've seen so much horror, but I've seen also so much, as Jules said, things that made me believe even more in human beings. We had been pretty sheltered, and suddenly that reality to discover life in its horror, but also in its beauty, gave us a strength, gave us maturity, made us grow up and understanding more fully the world and its complexities and its powers, yes, but also of its good and its faith in human nature.

34:59In some of the video you saw there that they captured, they were with Fire Chief Joseph Pfeiffer. He was the first fire chief to make it to Ground Zero. That's who they were with. And he was actually on with Anderson last night and said something that is so important. And it gets to exactly what Jules and Gideon say that they want to remember most, which is that 3 ,000, nearly 3 ,000 lives were lost that day. But because of these men and the men that they now call their brothers because they've stayed so close with them, these firefighters, it helped save 17 ,000 other lives as they helped them get out of those buildings before they fell.

35:40so many memories to hold on to. The horrible and the beauty that can come from and did come from this tragedy as well. Wolf, Pam. Kate Baldwin, thank you very much for that. That was really, really moving and very, very powerful. Very profound. Thank you, Kate. We'll check back in with you later. And still ahead, he is known as the man with the red bandana. Wells Crowther's legacy lives on long after his heroic efforts on 9-11. We'll speak to his mother after President Trump honored Wells with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And next, we'll go live to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to the ceremony honoring the lives lost on United Flight 93.

36:23Our live very special coverage marking 25 years since the terror attacks on September 11th continues after a very short break.

36:40You're listening to a quick ad. You know what else is quick? Selling your car on Carvana. Just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer. Done. No hassle. No negotiation. No guy from an online listing lowballing you. Which means, by the time I'm done explaining this, you could have basically done it.

37:04Still haven't started? Hey, better late than never. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer.

37:43We are all continuing to remember 9-11 and including in New York, where they're reading the names of all of those who died on that horrible, horrible day. We're watching this, Pamela, very, very sadly, very closely. It brings back for all of us a lot of horrible memories. It really does. It is a somber day and an important day to remember those who lost their lives on 9-11 and also after with 9-11 related illnesses. People are still dying from some of those illnesses that occurred as a result of the horrible situation that developed that day. I want to go live to our CNN correspondent, Brian Todd, right now.

38:20He's over at the Pentagon, not very far away. Brian, 184 lives were lost when that hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon. building. We just heard from President Trump on this somber, somber day. I take it the events at the Pentagon have now ended. Is that right? That's right. Well, they've just wrapped up just a few minutes ago, and it was a very somber and poignant ceremony for the most part. They read the names of all 184 people who died aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and inside the Pentagon. It was very emotional. I'm going to get to that in just a moment. But first, to the remarks of President President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, both of them told anecdotes, stories about victims and survivors of 9-11 and what they were doing that day.

39:06But both of them also did refer to the Iran war and their justification for engaging in the Iran war. Pete Hegseth said that they are, quote, laying waste to the world's most prolific sponsor of state terrorism, saying that the U.S. has destroyed the Iranian Air Force Navy and killed its leaders. President Trump made mention of a similar theme, saying that they cannot let the world's biggest sponsor of state terrorism have a nuclear weapon. But here is what President Trump said in a broader context about how future generations might mark this anniversary. Take a listen. Because of that spirit, when future generations come here in 25, 100 or 250 years from now, They will stand in a nation that is free and unyielding in the face of evil.

39:58And they will still honor the heroes of 9-11, 2001, who no age will erase from the memory of time. It will never, ever be forgotten.

40:17And shortly after that, the president and the first lady and their team of cabinet members departed the stage. They did a closing invocation and a little bit of music there, and the ceremony just wrapped up. One of the most poignant parts of the entire ceremony was, I think it struck myself and several other people here, was shortly after the beginning of when they started reading the names. They read the names of four members of one family who all died at the same time aboard American Airlines Flight 77. It was the Falkenberg family. Charles Falkenberg, his wife Leslie Whittington, their daughters, very young daughters, Zoe Falkenberg and Dana Falkenberg.

40:55Zoe was eight years old. Dana Falkenberg was three years old. This was a family from University Park, Maryland. They were actually traveling to Los Angeles, then to Australia for an academic fellowship that Leslie Whittington was going to engage in. It was just a very emotional, sad moment when they read the names of all four of those members of one family, all who died in an instant here at the Pentagon. Wolf, Pamela. Brian Todd over at the Pentagon, thank you very much. You know, it's interesting, Pamela, the president kept referring to 9-11 and the lessons learned from 9-11, and he kept referring to the war with Iran right now.

41:29That's why we fight today, he said. We don't have a choice, and we will do this because the days of 9-11, we learn what a country is made of. On 9-11, we were all New Yorkers, all Americans. And then he added, Iran will never, ever have a nuclear weapon. So he was relating 9-11 to what's going on right now. And you heard that also from the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, saying that this fight is continuing against an Islamist theocracy and basically saying that we will continue to fight. and really making that connection between what happened 25 years ago on 9-11 to the Iran war to this day.

42:06We're going to delve into that a little bit later with some of our experts, Wolf. But first I want to go to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, because there was a remembrance ceremony there for the 33 passengers and seven crew members of Flight 93. The plane went down in a field when the passengers stormed the cockpit after hijackers took control of the aircraft. CNN correspondent Danny Freeman is in Shanksville. And Danny, tell us more about today's ceremony.

42:34Sure thing, Pamela. So the morning ceremony just wrapped up in the past few moments, and it really was an incredibly somber, thoughtful, and yet still grateful ceremony. Of course, grateful for the 40 heroic crew members and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who revolted against the hijackers of that plane and ultimately forced the hijackers to ground this plane, making sure that it never reached its destination, which was the U.S. Capitol likely at that time, saving untold numbers of lives. Pamela Wolfe, we heard lovely music this morning. We just heard the reading of the names. Earlier wreaths were laid as well, not just at this specific memorial, but also to honor the moments where the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City.

43:20And then, of course, we heard the ringing of the bells of remembrance. And really, Wolf and Pamela, all of the energy here at this memorial today is to continue to focus on this incredible story of heroism. The flight, United Flight 93, took off 25 years ago to the day from Newark, New Jersey. It was heading to San Francisco when it was ultimately hijacked. And then what happened was passengers were able to call on the phone to loved ones or to 911 to alert folks on the ground that their plane had been hijacked. and realized that, oh, this was a part of a larger attack because by that time, planes had already hit the Twin Towers.

43:59And it was at that point where these incredibly brave men and women took a vote and decided to storm the cockpit to try and stop this attack from going forward. All of that bravery was on display here. You even heard President Trump at his remarks at the Pentagon highlight so many heroic members of Flight 93, including Todd Beamer, who was on the phone with the 911 operator on that flight, reciting the Lord's Prayer, and then said the famous line of, let's roll. I want you to take a listen, though, to how one family member of one of those passengers is thinking about how hard it is still for some people to process this day.

44:37Take a listen. I get asked all the time, you know, what's it like coming back? Is it hard to come to the memorial? And we have families that have yet to come to the memorial because it's still 25 years later painful. And we're hoping that some of those family members will be here this year so that we can share with them the progress that's been made to assure that their loved ones will be remembered.

45:07Now, Wolf and Pamela, a little bit later this afternoon, we're going to hear from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, again, as this remembrance and honoring of these heroic folks continue throughout the day. All right. Danny Freeman in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thank you so much, Wolf. And on a very, very personal note, this is very personal for me because I lost my loving 48-year-old cousin Jeffrey Schreier at the World Trade Center that day. He was working on the 102nd floor at Cantor Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, his body, like so many from that day, was never recovered.

45:42He was a very, very special man, and we all miss him very much. And as we say, zichrono livracha, may his memory be a blessing. We'll be right back. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling, and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer.

46:24I'm with us now with CNN Senior National Security Analyst and former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Juliette Kayyem and Tim Naftali. He is a CNN presidential historian and former director of the Nixon Presidential Library. So I want to begin this conversation with President Trump's speech. As Wolf and I were just talking about, he made several references to the present day and the war with Iran. What did you think about that? First, I want to say that this is a day when so many people lost members of their family and friends. And so I was pleased that the president spoke about other people and other people's experiences and the pain they must feel.

47:06I thought it was unfortunate that he brought up the war in Iran and I'll say this. I've been thinking as a historian a lot about how our country reacts to moments of trauma. 25 years after Pearl Harbor we were a much more unified country than we are today. One of the reasons for that is that the war in Iraq was a war of choice. And many people could make the argument that though Iran is not our friend, just like Iraq was not our friend, the war we're fighting now is a war of choice. And it's a discordant note. I would rather have not talked about today's war because it's so controversial and focused on the families and focused on the evil that we, those of us old enough, experienced on 9-11.

47:52Julia, what do you think? I agree with Tim. I mean, look, there's a fight right now that we haven't we didn't experience even at the 20th about the sort of narrative of 9-11. And it's getting played out on the politics. So I thought Trump's speech was unexceptional in the sense that we're not talking about it. He read the script. I thought Hegseth's speech is the one that we should really think about, because what Hegseth was trying to do is claim a narrative of 9-11 that was sort of a through line to the war in Iran, sort of justify a war that we're clearly not winning and probably losing, and that the administration and Secretary Hegseth have been not able to win.

48:35Hegseth came out and made the speech about Trump, and I was pretty surprised by that. I mean, I thought that, you know, to make it about that war, and I think this is the challenge we're in right now, Now in terms of Islamic terrorism, the mention of Islamic terrorism in terms of that sort of constant refrain, we hadn't seen that before in the 10th or the 20th. We tended to view 9-11 as the unifying issue and that everyone owned its narrative. And I think this has a lot to do with war and terrorism and then of course much to do with where the United States is right now. You're the historian. What did you think of the way President George W.

49:18Bush handled the aftermath of 9-11? George W. Bush had the benefit of a father who was a World War II veteran. And one of the mistakes that FDR made in the moment of trauma was to intern the Japanese Americans. And the Bush family did not want the hatred against Muslims to in any way repeat the mistake that we made, that generation made in 1941 and 42 against Japanese Americans. And so George W. Bush went to the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. on September 17th. And he said, Islam is peace. He said the evil of September 11th was not Islam. It was a perversion of Islam. And that was a very powerful message.

50:18Some will remember that there were people that were beaten up and discriminated against in our country. Actually, a number of them were Sikhs. Americans were understandably so angry after this trauma. But they took it out on people of our community. And the president wanted to say, stop. Keep on focus on where the evil is. And and and I thought and I will always remember that as being beautiful and a sign of grace. And and and boy, we we could use some more of that grace these days. Gosh, I'm 25 years. Given my career, I feel like I never left 9-11. I mean, you're sort of it. But I think we have to remember about 40 percent of Americans did not experience September 11th.

51:04They experienced COVID, an economic breakdown, the fissures in American society. And they are looking at AI and the climate and other disasters that face us. So in some ways, I'll be honest with you, I don't think we convene again until the 50th. I don't know if I'll be here, but I mean, the sense that this does feel like we remember, but also we are painfully aware of the threats that we face, including the changing nature of terrorism. threats like AI and the climate and the lack of unity that we're experienced today. I admitted in something I wrote that I was feeling a little bit of nostalgia for 9-11.

51:49There's nothing to be nostalgic about 9-11 about, a tragedy, a horror. But I'm sure I speak for all of us. You sort of look back at that time. It seemed slightly simpler than it feels now, right? We had righteous indignation, and that righteousness felt unifying. There was a moment of that today in Condoleezza Rice's speech. She was National Security Advisor on September 11th. And she said she will always feel remorse because they didn't do more. Now, think of that. a leader of this country feeling remorse, admitting error, understanding they're human and they're flawed, and knowing that the pain that other Americans suffered was, in part, I mean, our government on 9-11 didn't want what happened to happen, but they recognized they might have done more to prevent it, and feeling that sense of remorse.

52:48That's a sense of public service. And if we could be capable of that remorse again, in other words, understanding that we make mistakes, we could be a lot closer together as a people. Think about 1966, 25 years after Pearl Harbor. What was Congress able to do? A bipartisan group in Congress dismantled Jim Crow. We don't seem to have that ability 25 years after this trial. Just quickly on the service issue, I think we are this generation that went into military intelligence, public service, and how we think about public service today during the era of Doge. Just that one change in 25 years is also part of this narrative of where we are as a country 25 years later.

53:31All right. Thank you both, Juliette Kayyem and Tim Naftali. Juliette, we will see you in 25 years. Yes. All right. We'll be right back. Clothes shopping really isn't my thing, but I still want to look sharp and feel confident. That's why I use Stitch Fix, the OG personal styling service. No more scrolling through websites or wasting my day at the store. My stylist sends pieces picked just for me straight to my door. Free shipping, free returns, no subscription required. Get started today at stitchfix.com. That's stitchfix.com. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want.

54:20Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.

54:47Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in the Situation Room. And this morning, America marks 25 years since one of the darkest days in our history, a day that forever changed the nation, the September 11th terror attacks. A very tragic Tuesday morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial planes. Two of those planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. One crashed into the west side of the Pentagon, and another in a field outside of Shanksville Pennsylvania. By the end of the morning, nearly 3 ,000 lives were lost.

55:24It remains the deadliest terror attack on American soil. CNN's Bryn Gingrass, who was at the 9-11 Memorial Plaza, where the World Trade Centers once stood, is joining us. Bryn, it's been such an emotional morning, especially for all of those who remember what happened 25 years ago and 25 years later. this tragedy still resonates so deeply with so many of us? Well, if I had a penny for every moment, someone said, oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been a quarter of a century. It feels like it happened yesterday. That's what I just keep on hearing today on the plaza. It is still such a place with heavy, heavy emotion when you're actually standing out here all morning long.

56:13We have been watching families, individuals walking by, placing roses into the edged names of the memorial reflection pools. We've been seeing families crying at the moments that they know they lost their loved ones or hearing the name of the loved ones that they've lost. It's been quite an emotional day. And for some reason, it's so strange wolf but I'm not the only one who feels this way for some reason the 25 year anniversary it's hitting very hard this year there's a lot more emotion oh sometimes anger more anger about what happened what transpired here and for our entire nation 25 years ago listen we've heard six of those moments of silences the bells ringing the next one we will hear will be the first time we have heard it and we will continue to hear it at the anniversary each year and And that is the one that is going to toll for the lives lost from first responders, from people who came here who have since passed away from 9-11 related illnesses.

57:19And we talked to a lot of people who said that this is such an important moment to be a part of the ceremony, to reflect on those people, because thousands of lives, more people's lives have been lost from illnesses related to 9-11 from the recovery effort than on the day itself. I do want to hear from one woman who lost her husband. She comes once in a while, not every year. It's not a thing she does every year with her children, but her daughter was two years old when her husband passed away. She says she received a number of phone calls that day as her husband tried to assure her that he was going to get out of the South Tower, and he never did.

57:58I asked her, you know, how do you remember going forward? What do you tell people to keep his memory alive? Take a listen. It's a fun living. That's what I tell my children every day. Live every day to the fullest. Do good. Like we're in a luck where I feel fortunate that we can do good and we can help others. That's the only way that I've found to heal and to survive from something like this.

58:25So yeah, well if you can imagine the emotion is still so heavy here at the memorial site And it really is going to be a moment when that seventh bell tolls again for the people who have lost their lives since that tragic day from 9-11 related illnesses. And we are standing by for that at about 1230 or so. So, so heartbreaking indeed. Brynjian Gruss, thank you very, very much. Pamela. One of the people who lost their life at Ground Zero was Wells Crowther. He became known as the man in the red bandana and helped several others escape the South Tower before it collapsed. He was there initially as a private equities employee, and then he switched gears into his volunteer firefighter role that he had also signed up for.

59:14And this week, President Trump posthumously awarded Crowther with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I spoke with Wells' mother, Alison Crowther, about her son's legacy. Here's our conversation. Allison, thank you so much for being here with us. I want to just start by asking what this means to you that now, 25 years after that horrific day, Wells has been honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. It's just, it just is an incredibly beautiful thing that Wells has been remembered in this way. it will be treasured by our family for generations to come, this recognition of what he did.

59:59It just means the world to me and to our family. Take us back to how you learned about Wells' heroic actions on that day. Well, it took quite a while. We didn't know anything for a very long time. And then Wells was finally recovered on March 19th of 2002. But it wasn't until I read the article in the New York Times that they put out for Memorial Weekend, that weekend called Fighting to Live as the Towers Died. I read the article and sure enough, there were the references, Ling Young and Judy Wein referring to this mysterious man wearing a red bandana, putting out fires, saying if you can save others, you know, if you can help others do so, if you can get up and walk do so now come on and follow me I know the way and I looked at that and I said Wells I found you I just knew that was him.

1:00:57Wow tell us more about that the red bandana it's symbol and the legacy that the man in the red bandana leaves behind for you and your family.

1:01:12Well, it started as a very innocent thing. We were getting dressed for church one morning and Wells was about seven or eight. My husband always carried a bandana in his back pocket, no matter where he went. But he always, he was a banker. And so he always wore business suits and always had a tied, properly folded handkerchief in his breast pocket. So Wells, who idolized his father, said, Daddy, could I have a handkerchief like you for my jacket? And my husband said, sure. So he went in, pulled out a white handkerchief, and he just happened to grab a red bandana. And he went to Wells and he folded the handkerchief and put it in his breast pocket, said, don't touch this.

1:01:55It's for show. Here's a bandana. That's for blow, to blow your nose, for messy jobs. And that's simply how it began. The Sunday before September 11th, we were going out to dinner with Wells, walking across the street from his apartment to his favorite restaurant. And he pulled out of his back pocket that red bandana wrapped around his wallet and comb. I said, Wells, are you still carrying that thing? You're working on Wall Street now. What are you doing? You're in finance. Why do you still have that red bandana? And he didn't say a word, smiled and put it in his back pocket. Later, we learned after 9-11 that one of his co-workers said the same thing.

1:02:34Why, Wells, why do you have that on your desk? And Wells picked up that red bandana like this and said, with this red bandana, I'm going to change the world. Wow. Chills. And he did. I just want to emphasize he wasn't just someone who worked on Wall Street. He was a volunteer firefighter, right? Tell us about why he wanted to do that and serve others in that way. There was a history of volunteer firefighting in my husband's family. And my husband was a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company, a volunteer company. All of the Rockland County fire departments are volunteer. And so Wells just followed in his father's footsteps.

1:03:18And so that day, Wells, I like to say he took off his equities trader hat and put on his firefighter helmet and went to work. And my husband says the same thing. It's, you know, what we say about Wells. It was simply that. He was simply doing his job that day. Wow. What a hero. And now he is getting this honor so well deserved. And Allison, as we mark 25 years since 9-11, we're all thinking about you and your family and the others who lost their lives and all the grief that still happens on this day. Thank you, Allison. Yes. Thank you very much for having me on. Yes, my heart goes out to all of the families, all the other families who lost their loved ones that day, too.

1:04:07Well, 2 ,977 people. The September 11th death toll is hard to comprehend. Almost 3 ,000 lives cut short. And as we were just talking about, insurmountable grief gripping the nation as their friends and families watched a war.

1:04:26I put the TV on and that's when I saw Victor's plane crashing into the South Tower. And I remember falling into the wall and it was just that kind of a reality.

1:04:44When time sort of stands still for a minute, I thought, how do I tell the girls? How do I tell the girls that this was their dad and he's not going to come home?

1:05:02You're listening to a quick ad. You know what else is quick? Selling your car on Carvana. Just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer. Done. No hassle, no negotiation, no guy from an online listing lowballing you. Which means by the time I'm done explaining this, you could have basically done it.

1:05:26Still haven't started? Hey, better late than never. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply. The world has changed. The moments fade, but the memories endure. Never forget isn't a slogan. To New Yorkers, it's a promise. To those we lost, to those they left behind, and to those who lived. We remember their stories and share them to keep the memory alive. And we're back remembering 9-11 25 years later. That video was part of a tribute posted by New York Governor Kathy Hochul this morning. It was narrated by the actor Steve Buscemi, who is also a former New York City firefighter. Governor Hochul is joining us right now.

1:06:16Governor, thanks very much for being here on this very solemn day. What's your message as we remember 9-11? Well, I just left the reading of the names of the victims. and my message is this, we are always united around tragedies. And you think about the heroic activities of people saving strangers and supporting each other and comforting each other on that day and the day after and many days after that. But it seems like we have an opportunity here on this 25th anniversary to rekindle that sense of oneness, that pride of being an American, the sense that we can represent different faiths and different ethnicities and different places where we come from, but we all have this common bond.

1:07:01And let's rekindle that at this time. That's my message to Americans and New Yorkers. As I saw a lot of pain this morning, I hugged a lot of families and saw little babies that never knew their grandparents. And it's a hard time for New Yorkers, but we really do come through in the toughest of times together, more united. You wrote a very important article for the New York Post, Governor, describing the stories of New Yorkers who, as you put it, turned pain into purpose. The men and women you featured in this article all lost a loved one in the 9-11 attacks, but went on to choose a life serving their community in very different ways.

1:07:39Tell us about this and what the words never forget mean when talking about these New Yorkers. These people are living the message of never forget. that they're the children of individuals who were lost, parents, and carrying on in their tradition, whether it's going into healthcare or firefighting service or being a police officer, or going into just one of the helping professions, that is how they never forget the fact that people that were true heroes were lost that day, or just people innocent going to their jobs, as we still do every day. And so that's the lesson of this. That's why I wanted to feature the individuals who didn't just talk about the slogan, It wasn't about a branding.

1:08:20It's never forget. It is about living that message and how we can embody that in our daily lives. And I featured three individuals who are doing just that and so proud to meet a young police officer who carried on his father's footsteps. And his mother was a police officer. They met on the force and I hugged her a couple of days ago at a ceremony commemorating those lost from the Port Authority. and those are the stories that touch your soul. They just take us back out of the, sometimes the insanity of everyday news and what's happening and, you know, all the incoming from Washington in particular and you step back for a minute and you realize what matters.

1:09:00It's the love of family, the love of community, the love of country that brings us together. Here's a moment, Governor, from earlier. You can see the former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, shaking hands with the current mayor, Zoran Mamdani. What's your reaction to seeing this after everything we've heard from Giuliani and so many others over these past few days and weeks? What happens in a moment like this, and I was literally standing right there, all the animosity seems to melt away. It's really hard to harbor hard feelings towards someone, even despite what you may have said days earlier. when you're surrounded by an environment, the reflecting pool and the names inscribed in the stone and the families that are looking so sad and so distraught, you can't harbor those hard feelings toward each other.

1:09:50This is a moment of common humanity, and that's what I saw on display when people who may say things in the moment, but at that moment, we are united. Good point. This week, you signed very important legislation, Governor, that is aimed at further supporting 9-11 victims, responders and surviving family members. What's the significance of these new laws and what kind of impact do you hope they have? Well, it's a continuation of a journey for these families. I mean, the number of people lost since that actual day is astounding. The number of funerals I have gone to personally, state police officers who succumbed to an illness literally decades later.

1:10:35So I put more money toward a program to make sure we could be testing all the individuals. There are literally 2 ,000 samples that had not been properly tested because they ran out of money. So I stepped up with the money and I wanted to make sure that we also are very transparent. If there's information to be known about that day, everybody has a right to know. They have a right to know. Surviving family members have a right to know. So our business is still unfinished. These families still need us. We're never walking away. A milestone like the 25th anniversary does not mean we're done. It means the journey continues.

1:11:11Earlier this week, Governor, New York City released thousands of pages of documents that showed officials knew the air around Ground Zero was certainly not safe to breathe. They assured the public otherwise. What's your message to people who feel like they were let down by their public officials? They were let down. People trusted the information that came out of the highest authority on the ground and in Washington. The Environmental Protection Agency and the head of it basically has admitted that the information was wrong. And so many people relied on that. Imagine if the EPA had said it's not safe to come back right now.

1:11:51You would have had other government officials, a governor and a mayor and others saying, OK, we're not ready yet. Let's make sure the air quality is safe and thousands of lives could have been saved. And that's the harsh reality of what was released by the mayor just this week. And all these years later, people are still dying from the illnesses they got during the course of breathing that air. Today, there's also, as you well know, Governor, ramped up security for both 9-11 and the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days. What's the state, the state of New York, doing now to try to ensure that everyone's safety today and this weekend will be secure?

1:12:30Well, it is hard to have to say this, but we have to do even more to stop the spread of hate crimes, anti-Semitism in particular, as we've seen a spike in hate crimes over the last year. and more than half of them are directed at Jewish New Yorkers. They have a right to be safe, going into a synagogue to observe the holidays, whether it's going to taking your child to a yeshiva and dropping them off or walking down the street. So I've allocated over$70 million, a tripling of the money that had been allocated just a few years ago, to give to synagogues and places that need to be secure, money for security cameras, different lighting, different ways that people can feel safer.

1:13:13In addition, I created buffer zones. There is now a 50-foot buffer to protect people who are going to their services, protecting them from harassment and antagonistic comments from protesters. That was important as well. I also have state police going to all of our locations, enhanced patrols from Buffalo, where you're from, Wolf, as I am, all the way down to Long Island. We're there to help this community know we have their backs. We know it's a heightened time of anxiety. It should be a joyful time celebrating the new year. And I, as governor, will do everything I can to protect the Jewish community here in New York.

1:13:52And we are grateful to you for that, Governor Kathy Hochul. Thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it very much. All right. Thanks, Wolf. And a quick message to all of our Jewish viewers here in the United States and indeed around the world, celebrating the Rosh Hashanah holiday New Year starting tonight and through this weekend. As we say, L'Shanah Tovah, or Happy New Year. Wishing you good health, happiness, and peace in this next year. And we hope you have a very, very safe time as you celebrate with your loved ones. You go to services over the weekend, and it's good to see police cars and police officers outside so many synagogues all over the country right now.

1:14:30It's very important indeed. Appreciate it very, very much.

1:14:40The holidays are busy enough. Getting your home ready shouldn't be. From the perfect tree and twinkling lights to festive decor for inside and out, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home holiday ready. Find furniture, hosting essentials, festive serveware, and more all in one place. So you can spend less time getting ready and more time enjoying the season with the people who make it special. Shop Wayfair.com today to make holiday magic at home. Wayfair, every style, every home. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want.

1:15:19Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.

1:15:44As we remember and reflect on the horrific attacks on September 11th, now 25 years ago, there are millions who were not yet born or were simply too young to remember. But now, a new documentary explores life for that generation of Americans after 9-11 and the very profound legacy that formed our nation since then. Here's a preview. My father was working at the Pentagon on September 11th. I just turned four. My dad was the co-pilot on Flight 93. I was 10 months old. I was five years old when 9-11 happened. I wanted to serve my country. I was three years old. We got attacked and they killed a bunch of our people.

1:16:26Obviously, we should bring some justice to those that did it. All right, joining us now to discuss is the director of Turning Point, Generation 9-11, Brian Knappenberger. Brian, thank you for coming on. This is the latest in your award-winning Turning Point series on Netflix. Talk to us a little bit more about the decision to share the stories of the generation that came after the attacks. Yeah, well, first of all, I just want to say this is such a sort of emotional day of remembrance. I mean, when you see these images from Ground Zero, if you've ever had a chance to walk the grounds of the museum, to hear the words of people who are telling stories of loved ones, this day is still so powerful and so emotional for so many people.

1:17:10Like everybody, I will always remember every minute of that day, the confusion, the fear, the loss, and this sense that it was really a kind of turning point in history. and we didn't know what would happen next. But here we are, 25 years later, and in the next few years, we're going to reach a point where nearly half of all Americans will have been born after 9-11 or were too young to remember those days. So this film is for them. It's about them. It's seen through their eyes. We're at a point where really living memory is giving away the history. And so we try as much as possible to give people a sense of the fear, the trauma, the confusion of that day, the real uncertainty about what would happen next, the unity that a lot of us felt, that so many people felt.

1:17:55But we also try to understand the decisions that we made as a country in the days and the weeks and the years after 9-11, decisions that were often made in fear and suspicion and in so many ways shaped the country maybe even more profoundly than the attacks themselves. We saw in the trailer that you spoke with the children of some of the victims. You also spoke with Marines who were deployed to Afghanistan. How did these very different groups view the legacy of the war on terror? Well, it's very telling. And it was just very, very profound what came out in these interviews. We interviewed a woman named Laurel Homer, whose father was a co-pilot on flight United 93, the plane where the crew and the passengers took this extraordinary step of rushing to the cockpit and sacrificing their own lives in order to save even more lives.

1:18:51So powerful, another young man named Ann Nguyen who lost a father in the Pentagon and is still very much struggling to understand that day and living with those events. His father had actually escaped Vietnam when Saigon fell. But we also conducted some, as you mentioned, some very harrowing interviews with young Marines who were sent into Kabul during the United States withdrawal from the country and they take us through the events at abbey gate and so you can imagine their story says so much about the actions our country took around the world after after 9 11 and so taken as a whole you really get a sense of the impact that this day had on and and the world that these that this generation of young people is living in now yeah that impact continues to this day i'm I'm curious, what is your hope for viewers who watch this that may have not been around when 9-11 happened and they're just now looking at these images and listening to these voices in your film?

1:19:56Yeah, I mean, I actually, you mentioned the word hope. I actually merged from this project with quite a lot of hope. I mean, sometimes the younger generation, I think, you know, a lot of times they don't know what happened. But that's kind of on us to tell that story and to keep these stories alive. You know, sometimes they get a bad rap for not caring about history or not understanding history. But for me, I think it's the opposite. You know, yeah, I feel a certain responsibility to keep this day alive and to help people understand what made it so pivotal. and I think I'd like the next generation to feel what it was like to live through that day.

1:20:35Not to really justify, but to understand some of the decisions made in the days and the weeks and the months after so they remember what's so important and not fall into the kind of fear and suspicion that in many ways led us down some dark paths after 9-11 as well. So this film is, I think there's a lot to learn from what happened here and the way we reacted to it. And I just have emerged from this with a hope that a younger generation, as they begin to take the reins of government and society, will understand it and be responsible as future events unfold. All right. Brian Knappenberger, thank you so much.

1:21:23And thank you for all of your work. Thank you very much. And thanks for me as well. The passengers and the crew on Flight 93 that stormed the cockpit and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, knew they were likely going to die. Some of them had time to call their loved ones and share a final goodbye. Listen. The phone call between my mom and my sister was one of the last phone calls from United 93. One of the first things my sister said was, Mom, I'm calling to tell you I love you, and that my plane has been hijacked.

1:22:09And, you know, my mom said, I have my arms around you.

1:22:16Look out the window. It's a beautiful day. Try and focus on the clouds. We don't know what's going to happen. Although they both did.

1:22:37My sister said something to the effect of their getting ready to break into the cockpit. I have to go. I love you. Goodbye.

1:22:57The September 11th attacks, a horrific moment in our country's history that I covered along with so many of my colleagues, including Nick Robertson, who reported live from Afghanistan as explosions rang out. Here's part of his reporting from that day. We can hear explosions around the perimeter of the city. We're in a position here which gives us a view over the whole city. We just heard an impact perhaps a few miles away. If I listen, you can hear the ripple of explosions around the city. Perhaps we've heard there the fifth explosion, sixth explosion. I see gun bursts and star bursts in the air.

1:23:40Tracer fire is coming up out of the city. I hear aircraft flying above the city of Kabul. All right, let's go live right now to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nick Robertson, who's joining us from London. Nick, I remember those days and you remember them, of course. I want to get your perspective on what has changed in international relations between the Saudis and the U.S. since that day. Yeah, they became key allies. Al-Qaeda under Osama bin Laden, who was a Saudi, turned on, you know, his former supporters, you know, going back to the pre-Taliban days in Afghanistan. It was the Mujahideen who were fighting the Russians, the Soviet Army, the Red Army in Afghanistan.

1:24:29And the CIA, along with Saudi intelligence, has supported the likes of the Islamic fighters, if you will, the Mujahideen. They weren't that radical at that time to push out the Soviets. And so bin Laden had sort of come out of all of that era. But it was very clear he was turning on his own government as well. He was turning on the Saudi government and saw them as enemies because of the way that the United States and Saudi had worked together in the first Gulf War in 1991. And bin Laden had become an enemy to the international community. So in intelligence terms, Saudi and the United States really began working together.

1:25:09And I think that was somewhere where they had common ground, a common enemy, and in the years intervening since then have really work together. Obviously, 25 years of U.S. intervention in the Middle East has had a legacy there that many people in the Middle East would see as a negative. But I think from the Saudi perspective, the relations with the United States and other Gulf states as well has really gotten stronger. You could say it's being tested right now with what's happening in the U.S. tensions with Iran. But it really has changed. I mean, my reflections back then, Wolf, for what they're worth, were that we were such a long way from in Kabul as I was standing there, from what was happening at ground zero in New York.

1:25:58We couldn't see it. There were no televisions. The Taliban didn't allow televisions in Kabul. We'd gone to Kabul in part to try to get to al-Qaeda, find out what they were doing. But we were also so far removed from the anguish and pain that was happening in New York that day. But on the ground in Afghanistan, it was very clear there was a war coming, and it changed a lot for millions upon millions of people in the region, Wolf. Certainly did, Dick Robertson. Excellent reporting then and excellent reporting now. Appreciate it very, very much. Pamela. All right, Wolf, our special coverage looking back at the attacks of September 11th, 25 years ago, continues in just a moment.

1:26:41But right now, we wouldn't talk about a modern-day threat facing the world, the dangerous side of artificial intelligence. Anthropic now says it blocks several accounts that were using the company's AI models in ways that could have led to the development of biological weapons. The AI firm says it found nearly three dozen separate instances of potentially concerning research over the course of a month. Anthropic says the users were working scientists, but that it can't be sure if they were intending harm or were conducting legitimate scientific research. And as reports of AI misuse and misbehavior by the models themselves grow, a congressional bill that would establish nationwide rules for safety and transparency in AI seems to have hit a wall.

1:27:27I want to bring in one of the sponsors of that legislation, Democratic Congressman Lori Trahan of Massachusetts. She serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Thank you for coming on. I'm going to talk about the bill in just a moment. But first, I just want to get your reaction to this latest news from Anthropic. Well, absolutely. More and more people who are actually building this technology are the ones sounding the alarm. And I think it's incumbent on all of us to listen. Safety researchers are resigning. Models are breaking out of their labs. And as you mentioned yesterday, the report was released detailing how bad actors are trying to use this technology to create bioweapons that could cause harm of massive scale.

1:28:15So if the architects are telling us that they can't guarantee where all of this goes, that is the case for Congress to get off the sidelines. Today, the only thing we have in place is the honor system. And just think about that for a second. The most powerful technology in human history is being regulated by the people who are developing it. So I believe, as many of my colleagues do, that we need to put proper guardrails in place, which is what the Frontier Act sets out to do. And just to be clear, on the Anthropics story, they didn't know if they were bad actors, but they were concerned if they were, what could happen?

1:28:53And that has always been the concern, right, in terms of how AI could pose an existential threat to the U.S. One of those is that a bad actor could create a bioweapon and essentially extinguish humanity. You know, as you say, there is an honor system in place, but that does not go far enough in terms of making sure the threat is not posed to humanity. And you actually reportedly decided to not run for a House Democratic leadership position so that you could focus entirely on AI policy and regulation. Tell us more about that decision and what exactly you believe you can accomplish in your current role.

1:29:32Well, this is too important. And, you know, the time to act is right now. So, you know, I sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee where so much of this is under our jurisdiction. but we have so much to do when you think of what all the areas that AI is going to affect jobs in the economy, our kids' classrooms, data centers, energy, our national defense for sure. But I think about it in terms of sequencing. We have no guardrails in place for these frontier labs. These are the largest companies who are building these models that are capable of you know, catastrophic risk. So I think what we first have to do is the Frontier Act.

1:30:15It creates real rules of the road instead of an honor system or the ad hoc approach by the administration. You start with transparency, right? Mandatory incident reporting, independent verifications by auditors embedded in these labs. And then a kill switch. You know, if a model is capable of catastrophic risk, the government steps in and stops it. That's frontier. And I think that's the priority piece of legislation that, by the way, can pass both House and Senate and get signed by the president. It's bipartisan. The larger question is, you know, much can be done perhaps in this country, but what about the other countries that are in this AI race developing their own models.

1:30:58Would you be open to working with leaders and adversaries like, you know, China and Russia to try to get an international agreement together? Absolutely. The United States has always been a leader in setting international standards. But think about us showing up to that table without doing any of this back home. We have to have the leverage and the credibility in those conversations by passing, you know, table stakes legislation around these frontier labs, which is why I'm pushing so hard for the Frontier Act. It doesn't solve all the problems by any means, but it's a start. And it gives us the credibility and conversations with our international partners to set standards right from the jump.

1:31:42And this is a bipartisan effort you're involved with. But what has the appetite been on Capitol Hill to impose more guardrails and regulation on these AI companies? Well, I'll tell you recent events, you know, the whistleblower this week, the report, certainly we've read reports of models breaking out of labs. It's all really led to a tipping point. I mean, this week, my phone's been ringing off the hook of people who really want to be a part of creating urgency in Congress. I mean, I don't have to tell you right now we're not even in session. And the Speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, canceled the last two weeks of session.

1:32:22We're calling for a special session or at least have a group of us who have put pen to paper on legislation work in Washington to put a deal together because I don't. You know, we've avoided a catastrophe, but we have to heed these warnings and be ready so that one does not strike. Yeah, I mean, you heard the former anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warning that AI could potentially drive humans to extinction by the end of the decade. That is alarming, and he is not the only one saying that. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, thank you so much. We'll be right back. Thank you.

1:33:02Last hour, President Trump spoke over at the Pentagon as he honored the 184 people killed after American Airlines Flight 77 struck the west side of the Pentagon. In his tribute, he brought up the war in Iran. We salute the service members working right now to ensure the world's number one sponsor of terror. The Islamic Republic of Iran will never, ever have a nuclear weapon. Let's go live right now to CNN correspondent. Brian Todd, he's over at the Pentagon. Brian, in addition to the people who died on that day, we're also remembering first responders who have battled various illnesses related to the September 11th attacks.

1:33:49How is the Pentagon honoring their sacrifice today? Well, Wolf, today was all about the first responders in many ways, both in New York, at the World Trade Center site, and here at the Pentagon. During his speech, President Trump acknowledged three firefighters from Arlington County, Virginia, who responded to the attack that morning and who helped unfurl that massive flag that was unfurled on September 12, 2001, when George W. Bush, the president, and Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary, visited the site. Those three firefighters he acknowledged were Joseph Morabito, Scott Morgan, and Carl Solberg, and he had those gentlemen stand up and be acknowledged by the crowd.

1:34:28But also, you know, we're getting information about the response here in Arlington. You know, of course, much is made about the response at the World Trade Center, as it of course should be. But the response here in Arlington was really heroic as well. All 282 members of the Arlington County, Virginia Fire Department on that day responded to the attack at the Pentagon and were here for several days afterward. They actually were able to save several people. 106 people were transported to hospitals that day, not all of them by Arlington County Fire, but by Arlington County and other jurisdictions as well.

1:34:59So there was some success here at the Pentagon as far as rescues. But when the mention is of the people who died from 9-11 related illnesses in New York, and of course we know there are more than 450 first responders and others in New York passed away in the ensuing years from 9-11 related illnesses. There were also two people here from the Pentagon who passed away, and they were both police officers from Arlington County, Virginia. One was Corporal Harvey Snook III. He responded on the site immediately after the attack on 9-11, after the plane crashed. He was on the site for a week. He died of a 9-11-related illness on January 14, 2016.

1:35:41Also, Corporal Barry Faust of the Arlington County Police. He, like Corporal Snook, was here and responded for about a week trying to find the remains of people. Corporal Faust was diagnosed with cancer in June of last year and passed away in May of this year. So, honoring them as well today. Wolf. Our deepest condolences to their families. May they rest in peace. May their memories be a blessing. Brian Todd, thank you very, very much. Joining us now is Kenneth Feinberg, who for almost three years, he was the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. His new book just out about that time is entitled What Is Life Worth?

1:36:20It's been reissued to coincide with this year's 25-year commemoration. Thanks very much for being here, Kenneth. Excellent book, What Is Life Worth? Thanks for writing this book. How important is it right now to deal with these issues? Oh, I think it's very important. The main reason I reissued the book with additional reflections, a third of the country knows nothing about 9-11 or the 9-11 Victim Compensation Fund to bring them up to date. And the second reason I wrote the book and updated it is to contrast the political world we live in today with the world in 2001, Wolf, you'll recall where the Congress set up this fund without any roll call, unanimous consent.

1:37:06Both houses, President Bush immediately signed it into law, and the country was solidly behind the effort to assist the victims of 9-11. To compensate them for what they've gone through. The New York City mayor, as you probably know, recently released more than 170 ,000 pages of documents that appear to show city officials misled people about the quality of the air around Ground Zero in New York. When you were overseeing the fund, the compensation fund, was there any sense that health problems could linger for decades after 9-11? Yes, there was a sense. Back then, a lot of these diseases like cancer hadn't yet manifested themselves.

1:37:49They were latent diseases based on inhalation that didn't manifest and become apparent for a decade or more. Congress then reenacted the 9-11 fund for purposes of compensating the adverse health effects of these first responders and others a decade later. You know, overseeing the fund took its toll on you personally. Tell us about that and how you view that 25 years later. That was the toughest part of the job, calculating the value of a life. Judges and juries do that every day, Pamela, around the country. The tough part was the emotion. This fund was set up so soon. And when I met privately with individual victims or their families, Some would say, Mr.

1:38:38Feinberg, you're paying me$2 million in public taxpayer money. $2 million. They haven't even recovered my wife's body yet. And you're here offering me money. Bring my wife back instead. And that emotional part of it was by far the biggest challenge in, you know, designing and administering this fund so soon after 9-11. Kenneth Feinberg, thanks very much for writing this important book. What is Life Worth? It's just coming out right now. Appreciate it very much. Appreciate all the good work you have done for so many years. Thanks, Wolf. Thanks, Penelope. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

1:39:21Inside Politics Today with our friend and colleague, John King, starts right now. Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plan starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at SimpliSafe.com slash Spotify. SimpliSafe. Ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information.

1:39:58Clothes shopping really isn't my thing. But I still want to look sharp and feel confident. That's why I use Stitch Fix, the OG personal styling service. No more scrolling through websites or wasting my day at the store. My stylist sends pieces picked just for me straight to my door. Free shipping, free returns, no subscription required. Get started today at stitchfix.com. That's stitchfix.com.