9/11: A Day To Pause And Remember

On this, the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the nation will pause to remember those who were lost and honor those who have put their lives at risk to protect the nation since then. As NPR's Don Gonyea reports, President Barack Obama will — as his predecessor did — observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. ET:

On Morning Edition, retired firefighter John Vigiano Sr. remembered his sons — John Jr. and Joe. Also firefighters, both young men died on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. Here's a passage from the story, and you can listen to it below:

John would talk to his sons on the phone each day while they were working. Around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, John talked with John Jr. They ended the call by saying "I love you" to each other.

The next morning, Joe called his father, telling him early details of the terrorist attacks. That call also ended with "I love you."

"We had the boys for — John for 36 years, Joe for 34 years, ironically. Badge number 3436," John Sr. says.

On the loss of his sons, John Sr. reflects, "I don't have any could've, should've or would'ves. I wouldn't have changed anything. It's not many people that the last words they said to their son or daughter was 'I love you.' "

Other 9/11-related news:

— ABC News — "FBI Informant Says Agents Missed Chance To Stop 9/11 Ringleader Mohammed Atta".

— The New York Times — "Remembering A Future That Many Feared".

— Morning Edition — Airport Security May Be Smoother, But Are We Safer? NPR's Brian Naylor reports:

Update at 9:15 a.m. ET. A few minutes ago, NPR News' Giles Snyder introduced a short clip of live audio from ground zero in New York City, where the names of those killed at the World Trade Center are being read:

As for other stories making headlines, they include:

— The Washington Post — "Details Lacking On Obama Plan": "One day after President Obama pitched his plan for comprehensive health-care reform to a joint session of Congress, administration officials struggled Thursday to detail how he would achieve his goal of extending coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans without increasing the deficit."

Related story on Morning Edition — "Obama's Speech 'Breathed New Life' Into Democrats" — NPR's David Welna reports:

— ProPublica.org — "Iran's New Proposal For Nuclear Talks": "The Iranian government has told the Obama administration and its Western allies that it is ready to hold 'comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive' negotiations on a range of security issues, including global nuclear disarmament. But the new proposal is silent on Iran's own nuclear program. U.S. officials have said Iran is stockpiling uranium at an alarming rate and needs to account for unanswered questions about the program. The five-page Iranian proposal, hand-delivered to foreign diplomats in Tehran on Wednesday, has not been made public, but a copy was obtained by ProPublica and is available here."

— The Associated Press — Afghan Presidential Challenger Alleges "State-Engineered" Fraud In Election:

In an interview with The Associated Press, President Hamid Karzai's chief challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, charged that the massive scale of what he called "state-engineered" fraud has become clear only as the numbers have trickled out over the past three weeks after Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election. With results in from 92% of the country's polling stations, Karzai has 54% of the vote, according to the latest official count. That's enough to avoid a runoff election with Abdullah, who has 28%. But if the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission invalidates enough votes, Karzai's margin could drop below 50%, forcing him to face Abdullah one-on-one in a second round of voting.

— Times of London — "Thatcher Told Gorbachev Britain Did Not Want German Reunification": "Two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, (then British prime minister) Margaret Thatcher told President Gorbachev that neither Britain nor Western Europe wanted the reunification of Germany and made clear that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it."