Navy Ship Built With World Trade Center Steel Sets Sail

(NEWSER) - Seven and a half tons of steel from the fallen World Trade Center towers returned to New York today, reconstituted as the bow of a newly launched Navy warship. The crew of USS New York stood at attention for a 21-gun salute as the $1 billion amphibious dock landing ship sailed past Ground Zero. "I thought about my son, how proud he is and all of them, how proud they'd be at this moment," the mother of a firefighter who died on 9/11 told the Daily News . The ship will be christened Saturday. More»

Steel beams from World Trade Center travel to towns big and small

(NEWSER) - Some 2,000 pieces of twisted steel, the remains of the World Trade Center, are sitting at a hangar at Kennedy Airport in New York. Eight years after the attack, the city is inviting mayors and first responders from around the country to take pieces of the fallen buildings, some of which weigh tons, to incorporate in memorials. Last year New York filled about 25 requests, and a new campaign is underway to speed up the distribution, writes the New York Times. More»

Damages determined for 9/11 attacks

(NEWSER) - Somebody tell al-Qaeda to get out its checkbook. A federal judge yesterday ruled that the terrorist organization owes $9.3 billion for the damage caused to businesses and properties in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, reports the AP . Several insurance companies started their suit in 2003 versus a variety of defendants, seeking compensation for the attack on the World Trade Center. The judge determined actual damages, then tripled them for punitive compensation. More»

Fires kept burning long after terror attacks

(NEWSER) - Though you've no doubt read plenty of stories related to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, here's one that's likely to surprise. Yahoo UK lists nine facts you probably didn’t know about the tragic day:

• Twenty survivors were pulled out of the rubble: One was a secretary rescued after 27 hours.
• One survivor escaped from the South Tower as it collapsed: Ron DiFrancesco was one of just four people who escaped from above the 81st floor. He was on his way out when the second plane hit; it collapsed just after he exited.

What happened after the attacks was unforgivable: Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - For many Americans, the 10th anniversary of September 11 comes shrouded in feelings of grief and loss, but the overwhelming emotion for Paul Krugman is shame. The "atrocity should have been a unifying event," but instead "fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror," blogs the New York Times columnist. "What happened after 9/11—and I think even people on the right know this—was deeply shameful." More»