UNITED NATIONS, September 11 (IPS) – When over 130 world leaders arrive in New York for the high-level segment of the General Assembly next week– it will be rare to hear hard-hitting, headline-grabbing political statements from the podium.
Read the full story, “The Lighter Side of Politics at the UN General Assembly”, on globalissues.org →
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Firefighters, police officers and emergency medicine professionals from across Indiana will gather in downtown Indianapolis on Friday to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Other Indianapolis-area observances will include a memorial walk at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a service project at Butler University, a commemoration at the FBI Indianapolis offices, a Patriot Day ceremony at Indianapolis International Airport, and a Hamilton County event at the fairgrounds in Noblesville.
The downtown Indianapolis 25th anniversary commemorations will include a parade and a memorial ceremony to recognize the 343 firefighters from the Fire Department of the City of New York who died in the line of duty and the local responders who aided in the recovery.
The 9/11 Memorial Parade will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at the Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416, 748 Massachusetts Ave. The 1.7-mile march will travel to New Jersey Street, head south to Ohio Street and then move west to the Indiana 9/11 Memorial at 439 W. Ohio St.
Organizers asked the public to find a spot along the route to watch the procession.
A short ceremony will happen at noon Friday at the Indiana 9/11 Memorial. The event will pay special tribute to the members of Indiana Task Force 1 who responded to Ground Zero, including those who have died in the yearslong aftermath.
The Indiana War Memorials Foundation’s Indiana 9/11 Memorial features two 11,000-pound steel beams from the Twin Towers, a bronze bald eagle sculpture, and granite remembrance walls.
The ceremony will also recognize active and retired task force members who continue the legacy of the response.
Indianapolis and surrounding communities will mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with memorials, service projects and ceremonies Friday.
The day will begin early at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doors open at 8 a.m. Friday for a Walk of Remembrance. Remarks will start at 8:46 a.m. Friday at the speedway, marking the moment the first tower was hit. The walk begins at 9:03 a.m. Friday, the time the second tower was struck.
Participants will walk a route reflecting the 2,071 steps in each World Trade Center tower. After the walk, teams and leaders from the Indiana Sports Corp will host a reception to raise money for agencies that support local first responders.
Volunteers will gather for a massive service project at Butler University. More than 600 people will join at 9 a.m. Friday at Hinkle Fieldhouse to pack more than 185,000 meals.
The nonprofit 9/11 Day organized the Honor Through Action movement to help local families at risk of hunger. All packed meals will go to Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana Inc. This effort is part of a nationwide project expected to mobilize 50,000 volunteers to pack more than 17 million meals, as food insecurity affects a significant percentage of the population.
The FBI Indianapolis field office will hold commemorations throughout the day. An opening ceremony will start at 9 a.m. Friday at the flagpoles in front of the FBI Indianapolis building to honor those who died and the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The office is at 8825 Nelson B. Klein Parkway, located on the city’s northeast side near Castleton Square mall.
At 10 a.m. Friday at the office, employees will participate in a memorial stair climb. Participants will complete 15 climbs to represent the floors of the World Trade Center towers.
Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley will speak about how the attacks changed the bureau’s mission and inspired many to serve in public safety.
The day will end with a ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday at the building to honor survivors and first responders.
At the Indianapolis International Airport, the public can view a piece of World Trade Center steel recovered from Ground Zero. The steel will be displayed in Civic Plaza throughout the week.
The airport’s Patriot Day ceremony will begin at 8:40 a.m. Friday in Civic Plaza. The Indianapolis Airport Authority fire and police departments, along with Transportation Security Administration officials, will present an honor guard and hold a wreath-laying ceremony. Ben Davis High School’s Purple Aires concert choir will provide music, and the Indianapolis Public Library will help collect community stories.
In Hamilton County, local leaders will hold a joint memorial at 11 a.m. Friday at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant St. in Noblesville.
Hamilton County Commissioners President Christine Altman and Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, both Republicans, will lead the ceremony at the Silos building.
A joint honor guard from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Noblesville police and fire departments will present the colors.
“Twenty-five years have passed, but the responsibility to remember has not,” Altman said. “We owe it to those who lost their lives, to the families who still carry that loss, and to the first responders who ran toward unimaginable danger to make sure their courage and sacrifice are never forgotten.”
Jensen said the spirit of unity after 9/11 remains relevant today, especially as the community deals with recent local challenges.
“September 11 reminds us how Americans came together in the face of tragedy,” Jensen said. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen that same spirit here at home as our community has responded to historic flooding.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Supreme Court Thursday rejected a determination by the Indiana Recount Commission and declared Incumbent State Sen. Spencer Deery the winner of his primary.
The primary pitted Deery against challenger Paula Copenhaver, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s director of government affairs.
The ruling cited a section of Indiana code as reason for the court’s decision.
“Indiana Cod section 3-1-12-1-12 makes a qualifying ballot legally countable despite a defect caused by an election officer,” the ruling said.
The ruling further ordered the commission to recertify is results to the Indiana Election Commission to declare that incumbent Sen. Spencer Deery received 6.335 votes and Copenhaver received 6.332 votes in the primary.
The order said it immediately vacates the stay issued on Sept. 3 and that election preparations for District 23 “shall resume using Spencer R. Deery’s name on the ballot as the Republican candidate for Senate District 23.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says it has issued a court summons to an Indianapolis man after he allegedly refusing to leave a City-County Council committee meeting and attempting to strike a deputy.
The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at the City-County Building during a meeting of the council’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. During the budget proposal’s presentation, protesters interrupted the meeting to voice their frustration over the July shooting death of Dalys Jett by IMPD officers.
According to MCSO, the committee chairperson asked deputies to remove several people who acted disorderly in the council chambers. While at least 25 people agreed to leave the assembly hall, deputies said Jamaal Shabazz refused multiple orders to exit.
As deputies began escorting Shabazz out of the room, he reportedly resisted and turned toward a deputy in an attempt to strike them. Deputies took Shabazz to the ground and handcuffed him. The Sheriff’s Office reported that Shabazz continued to pull away and initially refused to put his hands behind his back while being taken into custody.
Deputies issued Shabazz a summons for resisting law enforcement and interfering with public safety.
A summons means Shabazz was released rather than being taken to the Marion County Adult Detention Center. However, he is still required to appear in court to face the charges.
Authorities said the decision to arrest Shabazz was based on his repeated refusal to follow orders from the councilor leading the meeting and his physical resistance against deputies. No other arrests were reported during the meeting.
KABUL, September 10 (IPS) – Many wonder why men in Afghanistan do not protest when women’s rights are trampled upon. In reality, many are rebelling behind the scenes, for instance, by helping their daughters get an education.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man found shot near a subdivision off Mitthoefer Road on Indy’s east side late Wednesday night has died from his injuries, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Officers received a report of a person shot near the intersection of South Mitthoefer Road and Bucktail Boulevard, between U.S. 40 and East Prospect Street, around 11 p.m.
There, they found the man suffering a gunshot wound. IMPD initially reported the man’s condition as critical, but stable, though he died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
It’s not clear what led up to the shooting or if there are any suspects. The victim has not been identified.
Anyone with information on the incident was asked to contact Det. James Hurt at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475 or by email at James.Hurt@indy.gov.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, September 10 (IPS) – During summer months there is a certain news drought. Nevertheless, this year social media has been crowded with news from wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, while customary tales about grisly murders have not been neglected. In Sweden it is election year and summer reporting has been supplemented by a debate about “hate speech against ethnic groups”. If individual tragedies connected with murders upset people, many seem to be indifferent to the fact that entire population groups are targeted by politicians. Swedish social media is overloaded with outcries about “Muslim” immigration and concerns about Sweden becoming “Islamized” and in danger of being transformed into a new Afghanistan.
DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump capped Wednesday’s opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention by slamming Democrats as extremists and staunchly defending the war in Iran while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if his party retains its control of both chambers of Congress after November.
The proposal, which could cost at least $1 trillion, was financially and politically implausible. But it reflected Trump’s apparent calculation that he needs bold moves to revive Republicans’ chances as Democrats try to take advantage of his low approval ratings in close races across the country.
Trump reveled in making the upcoming elections all about himself, even though it’s unclear whether that will help or hurt his party. Many Republicans are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hoped their appearance would put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump’s supporters in a year without him on the ballot.
“If we hand America’s future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”
The president urged the crowd to pretend he’s running in November and said there were about 35 key races in the Senate and House as his party hopes to maintain congressional control. He pledged “to go to everyone one of those states,” suggesting he might visit some repeatedly.
But Trump also frequently mentioned the unpopular war in Iran, even seeming to acknowledge that it had hurt the U.S. economy. “We were doing great,” he said before he approached his economic advisers to say, “I hate to do this to you,” explaining that he needed to start the conflict because Iran was perhaps “two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.”
Trump similarly defended imposing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners, insisting that the resulting economic turmoil would be worth it in the long run.
His most dramatic comments, however, were to promise, “If the Republicans win the Senate and House, because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
The president said the only caveat would be that recipients spend the money in the U.S. He provided no details on how such a plan would be implemented but declared, “It will be called the Trump dividend.”
The gathering took place as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the final stretch before Election Day, despite voters’ economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran. The event described Democrats as communists, anti-American or even evil. Republicans called themselves a “common sense” alternative.
Trump used several minutes of his speech to praise Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a tough Senate race in normally what is America’s largest red state.
“He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said of Paxton, while adding, “he deserves to be your next senator.”
The convention got a boost from an unlikely source, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who said in a video message that “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism.” Fetterman, who has clashed with his party’s leaders, referenced his state’s steel industry in pledging to “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life.”
Normal political conventions are held every four years and serve a purpose beyond pomp and circumstance, with parties formally nominating their presidential picks. This week’s convention, by contrast, is The Trump Show, through and through.
The walls of the arena where the Dallas Mavericks play were covered with photographs of Trump, even in the elevators. Plenty of attendees wore cowboy hats and boots and many sequins were on display — as well as “Make America Great Again” and American flag caps and other gear.
People in the crowd waved signs reading “Republicans Are Fixing Democrats’ Mess,” despite Republicans controlling the U.S. House, Senate and presidency.
During the early hours of programming, speeches were delivered to scores of empty seats, even in areas close to the stage. Crowds began mostly filling them before Trump’s speech, though areas in the upper decks remained sparsely populated.
Trump will follow up Wednesday’s address with closing remarks on Thursday, after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech.
“I’m not doing a big deal like this,” Trump said, wrapping up his opening night address that approached the two-hour mark.
Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, said the event is expected to draw roughly 30,000 people across both nights, but getting airtime was challenging. The NFL season kicked off Wednesday with a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams will play in Australia.
Speakers included Republican congressional leadership and Cabinet members. Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke, which is uncommon for the nation’s top law enforcement official, as Justice Department leaders don’t typically address such events given the agency’s tradition of political independence.
Blanche said Trump and Vance “put American families first. They prove that order and prosperity go hand in hand.”
Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is facing off against Abdul El-Sayed, isn’t giving his speech until Thursday night. However, many opening night speakers singled out El-Sayed as a sign Democrats were too radical.
There are 12 hours of programming over two nights, with 100-plus speakers and segments focused on subjects such as tax cuts, fraud allegations and border security.
Trump also hinted that he’d talk a lot about Iran even before leaving for Dallas. As he spoke to reporters on the tarmac prior to boarding Air Force One, the president said that oil prices — which have surged because of the conflict — likely won’t come down until after the midterms, a bit of economic forecasting that could darken his party’s fortunes.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he promised, as oil prices jumped more than 3% Wednesday.
Some Republicans balked at high attendance fees. Republican House members were being asked to pay $25,000 for convention tickets and lodging, according to people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to speak frankly about the private arrangement.
An additional 2,000 tickets were distributed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, largely to donors and others to attend the convention. Other tickets were allocated to state parties to distribute as they saw fit.
“Per the RNC, this is a ticketed fundraiser and rally, not a traditional national convention,” the Denton County Republican Party in Texas wrote in a Facebook post, which advertised packages from $5,000 to $20,000.
Trump’s political operation, which has been sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, began spending heavily through a new group, the No Going Back PAC Inc., the New York Times reported Wednesday. The group has reserved $49 million in six competitive Senate races and one competitive House race.
That’s in addition to the $10 million that MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, has spent on the Texas Senate race.
Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Dallas, Steven Sloan, Aamer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia contributed to this report.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WISH) — Col. Chris Colbert and his pilots felt the shift immediately on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, at Terre Haute Regional Airport.
The Racers of the 113th Fighter Squadron had returned two days earlier from air combat training in Nevada. Colbert, then the squadron’s operations officer, was in a morning meeting with leadership when a knock at the door changed everything.
“They said, ‘Hey, you guys might want to come see this on TV,’ and said that an airplane had run into one of the towers in New York,” he said in a recent interview. “Everyone’s first thought was that’s really weird for maybe a small airplane to hit one of the Twin Towers. That’s very strange. There might be something else going on. So right from the beginning, I think people had a feeling that this might not be good.”
The unit moved into action as it watched United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower.
The squadron served as the flying unit of the 181st Fighter Wing, which is now the non-flying 181st Intelligence Wing. Colbert said the unit was one of the few Air National Guard groups to store live munitions at a civilian airport. His commander ordered him to find a wingman and prepare for launch. Colbert chose Tom Sims, an American Airlines pilot, because Sims had experience identifying civilian aircraft.
Colbert and Sims took off in F-16 fighter jets equipped with 20mm cannon training rounds. While less powerful than combat rounds, the ammunition could still take down a plane. The jets reached supersonic speeds and arrived over Chicago within eight minutes.
“People say, ‘Well, why did you go to Chicago?’ Well, the two tallest buildings in the United States weren’t standing anymore, and the next tallest building is in Chicago,” he said.
The pilots spent hours patrolling Chicago’s airspace and refueling from a tanker aircraft. Colbert then heard a radio call: “Racer One, Chalice.”
Chalice was the callsign of an airborne warning and control plane.
“When they called us, they said that there was an Angel One flight that might need an escort,” he said. “And neither my wingman or I knew exactly what that meant.”
“He gave us directions to intercept Angel One flight,” Colbert said. “So it wasn’t until we got a little bit closer, like within about 10 miles, you could see the airplane from far away. It had a little bit of glistening to it, the way it was shining at that time of day. We could tell it was a big airplane, and from our radar, we could tell that it was going really fast. It was going almost the speed of sound. As we get a little bit closer, I could see the colors, and they were blue and white.”
Angel One was Air Force One.
President George W. Bush had been in Florida that morning when he learned of the attacks. After making a statement, he flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to offload personnel and take on supplies, then moved to Offut Air Force Base in Nebraska. Bush left Nebraska late that afternoon to return to Washington, requiring a fighter escort.
Colbert and Sims escorted the president for about 20 minutes across Indiana and into Ohio. They flew over the north side of Indianapolis, leaving contrails and sonic booms. Another group of fighters took over in eastern Ohio to finish the trip to the capital.
During the flight back to Terre Haute, Colbert began to process the day. A former history teacher, he remembered Abraham Lincoln’s 1838 speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois: “Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! — All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.”
Colbert said, “I realized that day that somebody had taken a drink out of the Ohio River. They had placed a track on the Blue Ridge Mountains, and we would never be able to say that again.”
Colbert flew more defensive missions in later days. He flew combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq before retiring in 2019.
Colbert praised the military for its response to a situation it had never practiced. He said he worries that the fighter fleet is smaller now than it was in 2001, but noted the current planes are more capable. He asked Americans to remember the families of people who died on September 11 and the unity that followed the attacks.
“I would hope that, when this country is called to action because of bad people and wrongdoing somewhere in the world, that we would join together,” he said. “And if September 11 can no longer provide an example of that, then I begin to fear seriously about our nation. But, I think it’s still there.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Areas of rain & thunder remain possible through Thursday with a passing cold front. Pleasant weather settles in briefly for Friday, but warmer than average temperatures return for the weekend and early next week.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
Mostly cloudy. While a few areas of rain or storms are possible, many spots will probably remain dry until late tonight. Lows will be in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
THURSDAY:
Mostly cloudy with scattered rain & storms. Some locally heavy rain is possible, especially across Southern Indiana. Highs in the 70s are likely, but some lower 80s may also occur.
THURSDAY NIGHT:
Fair skies & cooler. Lows in the 60s, with 50s more likely north of Indianapolis.
FRIDAY:
Mix of sun & clouds with highs around 80. Evening temperatures in the 70s will lead to another great night for high school football.
WEEKEND:
Seasonably warm and humid with highs in the mid to upper 80s and lows in the mid to upper 60s. A few spotty afternoon storms could develop on Saturday and a spotty storm can’t be ruled out on Sunday. Most of the weekend continues to look dry for a good chunk of Central Indiana. Let’s hope for the best for all of the college games on Saturday and the Colts home opener on Sunday.
NEXT WEEK:
Highs near 90 are possible both Monday and Tuesday. Rain & storm chances exist with a another passing cold front sometime during the day Tuesday.
