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As we approach the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, Townhall plans to honor the lives lost and the lives forever changed with our "Heroes of 9/11" series. Every day from now until September 11, we will highlight an American hero. This year, most especially, we wish not simply to commemorate an event, but the character of exceptional men and women who demonstrated the best of humanity in one of its darkest moments. More than that, we want to educate younger generations for whom September 11 is little more than a historical episode so that we embody what it means to "Never Forget."

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Several dozen presidential briefing documents have been declassified on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. These documents detail intelligence gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida leading up to the hijackings. The records trace CIA analysts’ evolving understanding of al-Qaida and their efforts to warn of bin Laden’s attack plotting. CIA Director John Ratcliffe calls this release “an act of exceptional transparency.” The documents include reports from April 1998 to Sept. 12, 2001. The White House has not responded to requests for comment.

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By Bo Erickson and Dawn Kopecki NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The two biggest Republican money players in the 2026 midterm elections – U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk – have finally turned on the spigot with less than eight weeks to go before Election Day. With Republicans facing the prospect of losing control of at least one chamber of Congress, and polling showing Democrats more motivated to vote, a group connected to Trump has begun spending tens of millions of dollars to reserve blocks of TV ad time in close races. Trump, whose approval rating is stuck at the lowest level of his political career, told reporters last week that he planned to allocate $400 million to $500 million to boost Republicans in the midterms. The Trump-affiliated Republican political action committee No Going Back reserved more than $74 million in ad time this week across 15 different House races as well as Senate races in six battleground states: Alaska, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Ohio, according to political ad research firm AdImpact. More reservations were coming in Friday afternoon, it added. The PAC has spent the most money, $15.7 million, locking in air time in Michigan where Abdul El-Sayed, who's backed by the Democratic Socialists group, pulled ahead of Republican Mike Rogers in the polls last month, AdImpact said. One of the ads it's airing in that market replays excerpts of interviews with El-Sayed in which he questioned whether police needed to carry guns and called for defunding the police. A spokesperson for El-Sayed didn't immediately return a request for comment. Additionally, Musk’s America PAC and Trump's main fundraising arm MAGA Inc. have in recent days poured $2.6 million and $10 million respectively into the race for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas where state Attorney General Ken Paxton risks becoming the first Republican to lose to a Democrat in a statewide election there in decades. About $7.1million of that money is being spent on attack ads against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico who leads Paxton by 2.1 percentage points in an average of polls compiled by Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin. "Republicans now must spend real money defending an expanded map," said Republican strategist Brad Dayspring of Purple Strategies in Alexandria, Virginia. “When you suddenly have to put millions into Texas, having President Trump and Musk open their wallets gives Republicans the ability to shore up vulnerable races without draining resources from the rest of the map." Musk's America PAC expects to play a major role in Republican voter turnout efforts in key states, with spending on door knockers, digital ?advertising and direct-mail campaigns ahead of the November 3 election. He's already spent more than $7 million on digital advertising, text messages, voter calls, mailers and other printed materials, federal filings show. A spokesman for the PAC declined to comment. NEW FUNDRAISING ARM Trump's midterm war chest is supporting the new No Going Back super PAC, according to one person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. It is unclear how much of Trump's war chest will be allocated through this new group. Though Trump's MAGA Inc. and No Going Back aren’t yet formally affiliated with each other, they share the same treasurer – Charles Gantt – phone number and address at the same firm in Massachusetts. Gantt, MAGA Inc. and No Going Back didn’t return requests for comment. It is not clear why the new PAC, which registered with the Federal Election Commission on September 1, was established but Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said it helps distance Trump and his MAGA movement from campaign donations as voters sour on the president. Any advertising from the new PAC will be credited to No Going Back PAC instead of MAGA Inc., a name closely tied to Trump’s political brand. "It’s a brilliant strategy because it takes MAGA out of the name. It takes any affiliation to Trump out of the name. It has an innocuous name that no one will care about as opposed to MAGA Inc., which could turn off independent voters right away," said Bonjean, a partner at bipartisan public affairs firm Rokk Solutions in Washington. The new PAC has used some of the same vendors as MAGA Inc. to carry out its work and in August some officials from MAGA Inc. started telegraphing to Republicans their intention to create a new PAC, according to the person familiar with the operation. The timing of No Going Back's registration will delay full disclosure of its donors until late October, according to FEC rules. Trump capped the first day of his Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday by proposing to pay every U.S. adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if the party wins the congressional elections. It was not immediately clear how the $5,000 payments would work or whether they would be legal.

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Sept 11 (Reuters) - U.S. health authorities on Friday declared the nation's largest recorded multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak over, after contaminated iceberg lettuce sickened thousands, though the FDA said it is still probing how the parasite entered the food supply. The outbreak, which federal investigators linked to lettuce from central Mexico sourced by Taylor Farms, prompted one of the largest food recalls in recent years and renewed scrutiny of food-safety controls for imported produce. It also rattled consumer confidence, with some shoppers avoiding raw fruits and vegetables as well as dining out, hurting foot traffic at restaurants such as Taco Bell, Sweetgreen and Chipotle. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12,883 people across 21 states fell ill after consuming contaminated lettuce. The outbreak resulted in 570 hospitalizations and two deaths, and accounted for more than half of the 19,595 laboratory-confirmed U.S. cyclosporiasis cases reported since May 1. At the peak of the outbreak, before the recall, more than 1,000 infections were reported in a single day. In August, the CDC said, infections had fallen to fewer than two per day on average. The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it remains confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce linked to the outbreak is off the market. The CDC said best-by dates for all products linked to the outbreak have passed, and the lettuce would no longer be available in stores or restaurants. Taylor Farms recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17. The FDA also said it had completed on-site inspections and collected samples from lettuce farms and the processing facility in Mexico, with analysis pending, and will continue working with U.S., Mexican and state partners. Taylor Farms, retailers Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and restaurant chains Taco Bell (Yum Brands), Chipotle Mexican Grill and Sweetgreen did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Michigan, the state hardest hit by the outbreak, reported over 14,000 cases and two deaths linked to the parasite, according to federal and state health officials. Ohio and Missouri also saw thousands of infections tied to contaminated lettuce from Taylor Farms. Unusually high case totals from Michigan were attributed to a large backlog of reports processed in August, highlighting the strain on a system weakened by federal funding cuts under the Trump administration. Before 2026, the largest U.S. cyclosporiasis season on record was reported in 2019, when roughly 4,700 illnesses were documented nationwide.

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Here at Ground Zero, the noise of New York fades into something quieter... more reflective. At the heart of Lower Manhattan, where the skyline once broke, there is now a void--two reflecting pools tracing the footprints of what was lost. This is the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. A place not just of remembrance-- but of reckoning. 25 years later, the weight of September 11th still lingers. Not only in the names etched in bronze--but in the policies, the politics, and the psyche of a nation. It reshaped how America sees the world. And how the world sees America. In the aftermath, there was unity-- brief, powerful, undeniable. Strangers became neighbors. Grief became a shared language. But time has a way of testing memory. For many, this is no longer a lived memory--but a chapter in a history book. And that shift raises a difficult question... What have we learned from that day? What have we carried forward--and what have we left behind? Security tightened. Wars were fought. Freedoms debated. The ripple effects of that single morning continue to define a generation. The impact of 9/11 isn't just something we remember--it's something we still live with, in ways both visible... and invisible. And yet, here, there is stillness. Water falls endlessly into absence--an architectural reminder that some wounds do not close. They become part of the landscape. History does not sit still. It casts a shadow--long, evolving, and often uncomfortable. But within that shadow is responsibility. To remember with clarity. To question with honesty. To move forward with intention. Because the past is never just behind us. It shapes who we are... and who we choose to become.

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If We Were Attacked Again, Would We Unite?

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DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance teamed up to close out the second and final night of the Republicans’ midterm convention in Dallas. They implored voters to stick together to save their party’s majorities in Congress in the November. Republicans are counting on Trump, and Vance, to rally voter enthusiasm. They’re also setting the stage for what comes next, in the post-Trump era. The party's House and Senate majorities are at stake this fall. Republicans are working to shrug off voter concerns about the economy, the war in Iran and the direction of the country, and they are warning of what’s coming if Democrats seize power.

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Hugh Hewitt and his guests discuss the “us versus them” message shaping the upcoming midterm elections. They examine how President Trump and Vice President Vance are using this framing to energize Republican voters, particularly in rural areas where Trump has strong support. The conversation also considers whether this strategy can drive turnout in key battleground states. Finally, they explore the challenges of applying a unified political message across different regions.

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Chants of "Charlie, Charlie" broke out on the second night of President Donald Trump's midterm convention as Republicans paid tribute Thursday to Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA leader who was assassinated one year ago. The normally festive and rowdy crowd inside the basketball arena in Dallas quickly hushed as a five-minute memorial video began playing. It was a somber interlude in the convention's parade of candidates. “One year later, there is something wonderfully defiant about the fact that his voice has not grown quieter,” said Lucas Miles, a pastor and Turning Point vice president. He said the organization's membership and social media following have "multiplied.” Vice President JD Vance, a friend of Kirk’s, spoke directly to Kirk's two children, now ages 4 and 2. “History will record that your father was a great man,” Vance said. He recalled being nervous while giving his speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention as a newly elected senator with little experience in politics, and finding comfort in looking down to see that Kirk "was smiling and cheering me and reminding me that I had a good friend right here in the convention hall.” Kirk was a singular figure on the right. He created a sprawling network of chapters on college campuses, hosted an influential podcast and built a loyal following among young Christian conservatives. He was also a powerbroker on the right with relationships across various factions that comprise Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. Vance recalled Kirk's factional peacemaking as he implored his fellow Republicans not to let their differences divide the party and allow Democrats to take power. “Do what Charlie did,” he said. “Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 23, could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder in Kirk’s death. He has pleaded not guilty. He turned himself in a day after the shooting. No one has emerged to fully fill Kirk’s shoes since his death, and the movement he built has been rattled by infighting over the circumstances of his death. A vocal contingent, led by prominent podcaster Candice Owens, has questioned the official narrative of Utah prosecutors who say Robinson was the lone killer. Conspiracy theories have proliferated online. Miles seemed to address the tension from the stage. “Turning Point is not dead,” he said. “The organization Charlie founded is still growing. A new generation is stepping forward.” Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, was named CEO of Turning Point and has taken on some of his public speaking roles. Turning Point has also enlisted other commentators to speak at events and continue the public debates he enjoyed staging. Meanwhile, Turning Point held a Thursday evening memorial for Kirk in Orem, Utah, in a return to the Utah Valley University campus where he was killed. “We have felt the weight of his absence in ways that never seem to get easier,” Turning Point said in a news release marking the anniversary. Conservative speakers including Frank Turek and Michael Knowles addressed a packed auditorium that frequently broke out into chants of “U-S-A!” During the program, Turning Point unveiled onstage a larger-than-life bronze statue of Kirk sitting and holding a microphone. The group also installed a statue of Kirk outside its Phoenix headquarters earlier in the day.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has observed the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon. In his remarks Friday, he recalled the sense of American unity following the attacks, saying “We were all New Yorkers that day." The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives, including 184 people who died at the Pentagon. In a downpour at daybreak, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top military officials stood outside the Pentagon and watched as a giant American flag was unfurled on the building struck by one of the hijacked planes. Trump and Hegseth sought to connect the events of 9/11 to the war on Iran in their remarks.

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Body camera footage of immigration arrests at a snack-food factory in upstate New York offers a rare glimpse inside a workplace immigration raid. The Associated Press analyzed the video, which was part of a lawsuit filed Thursday that says authorities overstepped their search warrants. Officers made 57 immigration arrests in the September 2025 raid at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant in Cato, New York, a town of 2,500 people east of Syracuse. The officers ordered a manager to announce their presence over loudspeakers while they entered the building and caught employees on the production line, in the warehouse and a few in the bathroom.

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25 Years Later: The American Spirit Lives On

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Islam Cannot Be Allowed to Take Over the West

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Mike and Joey look back 25 years later: pager messages that kept New York and South Carolina talking after the towers fell, Mike’s live audio from the Empire State Building as the second plane hit, and their first stunned reactions as the attack unfolded.

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To commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Mike continues his annual tradition of playing this special message.

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In this interview, Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor who worked on the case against the blind sheikh involved in the first World Trade Center attacks, discusses the growth of Islamic terrorism in the years leading up to 9/11. McCarthy highlights the importance of understanding the ideological underpinnings and the networks that were forming even before the attacks. He emphasizes that associating with individuals or groups planning mass murder attacks is significant evidence and stresses the need for a clear-eyed approach to identifying and countering such threats. McCarthy also touches on the challenges of distinguishing between legitimate religious organizations and those that may be plotting against the nation, and he reflects on the changes in counterterrorism strategies over the years. This discussion provides crucial context for understanding not only the events of 9/11 but also the evolution of terrorism and counterterrorism efforts in the United States.

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In a spirited discussion, Chris Stigall, Republican nominee for Congress in Missouri's 6th district, reflects on the recent GOP midterm convention in Dallas. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Stigall found the event to be a source of energy and optimism among attendees. The convention aimed to provide a fresh narrative for the midterm elections, emphasizing unity and hope amidst a challenging political climate. Stigall highlights the economic achievements of the past 21 months under the current administration, such as unprecedented investments in manufacturing and historic lows in government employment. He also underscores the importance of faith in the political discourse, contrasting the convention's emphasis on the gospel with the increasing hostility towards Christianity in the opposing political sphere. Stigall's insights provide a hopeful outlook for the future, encouraging conservatives to remain positive and energized as they head into the midterm elections.

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In the final days of the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas, Vice President JD Vance delivered a speech followed by President Donald Trump, who rallied the crowd with an extended address. Trump's hour-and-45-minute speech demonstrated his vigor, while Vance aimed to accomplish his objectives with his own speech. The convention's unique format, featuring Trump's signature crowd-engaging tactics, aimed to boost Republican voter enthusiasm. The discussion also touched on Trump's job approval ratings and the potential impact of redistricting and candidate choices on the upcoming midterm elections. Political correspondent Byron York joined to analyze the convention's significance and the potential strategies for the 2028 presidential election.

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