As we approach the 18th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, there is yet another story of triumph and enduring friendship that emerged from that dark day. On the morning of 9/11, Jonathan Judd was on his way to work in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The elevator stopped on the 83rd floor, the doors opened, and he saw an explosion. More.

On Wed., Sept. 11, 2019, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will lead the world in commemorating the 18th anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11. Marking this important anniversary, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will host the annual commemoration ceremony to honor the 2,983 men, women and children killed in the attacks at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, aboard Flight 93 and in the 1993 WTC bombing. More.

A Manhattan federal judge has dismissed 138 lawsuits from plaintiffs who had targeted the Battery Park City Authority over exposure to toxic dust at Stuyvesant High School following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, finding they were already covered by a 2010 settlement with the city and its insurer. More.

Sept. 11 first responders and state pols are pressing Gov. Cuomo to sign a bill granting better pension benefits to public employees disabled following Ground Zero rescue and recovery work. A bill that passed the Legislature in June expands the World Trade Center Disability Law to include nonuniformed responders. More.

Moving toward a final reckoning as the nation approaches the 20th anniversary of the day that led to the longest war in American history, a military judge on Friday set a date for the death penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay of the five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The judge, Col. W. Shane Cohen of the Air Force, set Jan. 11, 2021, for the start of the selection of a military jury at Camp Justice, the war court compound at the Navy base in Cuba. More.

A stone memorial that was erected upstate in honor of first responders from 9/11 was reportedly vandalized with spray paint this week. “To see something like that is really tough,” said Adam Blowes, assistant city manager of Geneva, where the memorial is located. More.

A memorial dedicated those who have given their lives in service since Sept. 11, 2001, will be displayed on the downtown square starting today and running through Labor Day weekend. The Remembering Our Fallen memorial shows the faces of those who have served since the terror attacks, AmVets Commander Jim Duncan said. More.

A park on Long Island will be named after a retired NYPD detective who died of cancer related to his work at ground zero and fought in Washington for continued benefits for other 9/11 responders. A resolution was filed to officially change the name of Terrell Avenue Park in Oceanside to Detective Luis G. Alvarez Memorial Park. Alvarez, an Oceanside resident, testified before Congress about the need for a permanent Victim Compensation Fund in the weeks before he died.