More FDNY members have died from World Trade Center illnesses than killed on 9/11
Rescue 1, Manhattan’s elite lifesaving unit, which was one of the first firefighting squads to reach the twin towers after last week’s terrorist attack lost all of its members at the World Trade Center, New York City, Sep. 12, 2001. (Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Twenty-three years after Sept. 11, 2001, illnesses linked to the World Trade Center terrorist attack have now killed more members of the New York City Fire Department than were killed on 9/11 itself.
On the day the Twin Towers fell, 343 members of the FDNY were killed, according to officials.
In the 23 years since, more than 360 FDNY members have died of World Trade Center-related illnesses, the department said. Twenty-eight of those FDNY deaths were over the last year, according to the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.
“Those insurmountable losses did not end at the World Trade Center site,” New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said. “Instead, we have seen our members become sick because of time they spent working in the rescue and recovery.”
Of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center, about 40% — 1,103 people — remain formally unidentified. There has not been a new identification of remains since January.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s annual commemoration ceremony will take place on Wednesday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing on Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on October 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will both head to the Southeast on Wednesday to survey damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, which so far is confirmed to have killed more than 160 people.
The president said Tuesday that the cost of the massive storm could stretch into the billions of dollars.
“We have to jump start this recovery process,” Biden said. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.”
Biden’s scheduled visit to North Carolina — which is expected to be a pivotal battleground state in next month’s presidential election — and South Carolina will include an aerial tour of Asheville in western North Carolina, which was one of the region’s worst hit areas.
“I’ve ensured my travel will not disrupt the ongoing response,” Biden said in a post to X. “I plan to travel to Georgia and Florida as soon as possible.”
Harris will travel to Georgia, another battleground state.
“The Vice President will also provide updates on Federal actions that are being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts in Georgia and several other states throughout the southeast,” her office said in a statement.
Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for following Helene’s passage. More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Frank Matranga — an agency representative — said.
That number is expected to increase in the coming days, Matranga said. He noted that almost two million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas.
Wednesday’s visits by Biden and Harris come shortly after former President Donald Trump traveled to devastated Valdosta, Georgia, to see Helene’s destruction firsthand.
Trump also used the Monday visit to attack his Democratic opponents over their emergency response efforts.
“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election,” Trump said while in Valdosta.
“But in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved. We need a lot of help. They have to have a lot of help down here,” Trump said.
Trump accused Biden and Harris of “being very nonresponsive,” claiming both had failed to speak to Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, though Kemp said they had.
The president hit back at the criticism.
“Let me get this straight — he’s lying,” Biden said during an Oval Office briefing with reporters, framing Trump’s remarks as “irresponsible.”
“I don’t know why he does this, and the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care about what he says about me, I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are. We are,” Biden said.
(FOREST PARK, Ill.) — Four people were killed in a shooting early Monday on a Chicago Transit Authority train in Forest Park, Illinois, officials said.
The Forest Park Police Department received a 911 call about three people shot on a westbound train at the CTA Blue Line station in Forest Park, just west of Chicago, around 5:30 a.m. local time, according to a statement from police.
Authorities cleared the station, finding four victims. Three were pronounced dead on scene and the fourth was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where they died.
Forest Park police, along with CTA security, used video surveillance to help identify the offender. Then the Chicago Police Department located a suspect who matched the description on a CTA Pink Line train. The subject was taken into custody and a firearm was found, Forest Park police said.
According to Forest Park officials, the shooting appears to have been an isolated incident with no immediate additional threat to the community.
In a statement, the CTA called the incident a “heinous and egregious act of violence” that “should never have occurred, none the less on a public transit train.”
“As soon as it was reported, CTA immediately deployed resources to assist the Forest Park Police in their investigation into the matter, including review of all possible security camera footage, which proved to be vital in aiding local enforcement,” the statement read.
The CTA commended the Forest Park Police Department and the Chicago Police Department for their rapid response and coordination.
CTA said it will continue to work with local law enforcement regarding the ongoing investigation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
