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On-Air Reports About The Attacks and Their Aftermath

The following is an audio archive of NPR's coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the events that unfolded in their wake. Audio is indexed by show, with the most recent items listed first.

Sept. 14, 2001 | Sept. 13


All Things Considered

Cell Phones
Commentator Kim Lane says the week's events have gotten her thinking about her relationship with wireless technology, like cellular phones.
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Terrorism Investigation Update
Linda talks with NPR's Nina Totenberg about the latest in the investigation of the terrorist attacks on the United States. The FBI released the names of 19 people suspected to have been the hijackers aboard the four planes that crashed on Tuesday.
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Sports
Robert Siegel talks with Wall Street Journal Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the decision by professional sports leagues to stay closed this weekend. Both Major League Baseball and the National Football League will wait until next week to resume play.
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Airline Business
NPR's Elaine Korry reports that the airline industry may be severely hurt by the this week's terrorist hijackings and attacks. Congress is considering an aid package to help airlines stay afloat as business drops off.
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Downtown Vigil
Noah Adams in Washington talks by phone with Leroy Henderson who is at Union Square Park in lower Manhattan, where a vigil is being held for the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center.
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World Trade Center
Robert Siegel talks with author Eric Darton about the divided opinion toward the architectural statement once made by the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Darton says the Center was not always beloved by New Yorkers. Darton is author of Divided We Stand: A Biography of New York's World Trade Center.
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Cockpit Security
Among the security issues raised about air travel this week is the apparent easy access terrorists had to the cockpits of the four hijacked planes. NPR's Emily Harris reports authorities are looking at how to make cockpits more secure.
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Europe: Day of Mourning
NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that European Union nations designated today a day of mourning for the victims of this week's terror attacks in the U.S. Citizens across Europe fell silent for three minutes today to honor the dead. Cars and public transit ground to a halt. In London, Queen Elizabeth led mourners at St. Paul's Cathedral, while the bells of Notre Dame rang out over Paris.
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Mack Lee, Craig Windham and Frank Stasio
Noah Adams talks with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about the challenge of working with Russia to mount a military response to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. She says the US should be cautious, but that Russia may be cooperative.
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Pentagon Update
Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Tom Gjelten about the ongoing effort to sort through the wreckage at the Pentagon, where an American Airlines jet presumably piloted by a hijacker crashed on Tuesday.
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Below 14th
NPR's Rick Karr reports on the eerieness - and the desire for human connection - in lower Manhattan today.
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Airports
Noah Adams talks with NPR's Mary Ann Akers about the gradual reopening of the nation's airspace, and new regulations.
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Security Nationwide
NPR's John Nielsen reports on tightened security measures around the county, where extra precautions are being taken at buildings, federal facilities, and waterways.
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White House Security
NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on tightened security in the nation's capital. Traffic is snarled around the White House, as military guards and police are monitoring--and limiting--access.
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New York History
Commentator Richard Goldstein, the editor of the Village Voice, is reminded by this week's disaster of an old New York political campaign pledge.
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Mayor Giuliani
Robert Siegel talks to Andrew Kirtzman, of the New York City cable television channel New York One, about how Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has responded to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Kirtzman is author of Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City.
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Services
Memorial services were held today at noon across the country for the victims of Tuesday's terror attacks. We hear about some of them, in Chicago, Illinois; Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Dayton, Ohio.
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New Yorker
Robert talks with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, which finished its next issue last night. The magazine often carries a witty, whimsical tone. This week has required a different approach.
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Rescue Workers
Noah Adams talks with Ben Barrick, a rescue worker at the site of the World Trade Center who has driven from Tennessee to help with the emergency response in New York.
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Forensic Basics
NPR's Christopher Joyce explains how medical examiners at the Pentagon, the Pennsylvania crash site and in New York are approaching the grim task of matching body parts to identities. Remains from the Pentagon are being transported to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the site of one of the most sophisticated forensics labs in the world.
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The Morgue: Identification Begins
NPR's Richard Knox reports on the beginning of efforts to identify the remains being recovered slowly from the rubble. Today, the New York City medical examiner asked relatives to provide toothbrushes and any other materials that might be used to obtain DNA. At the New York Armory, relatives held out hope that the DNA samples wouldn't be necessary - and that their relatives would be found alive.
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Bin Laden
Noah talks with Kenneth Katzman, author of Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors 2001, an annual report to Congress by the Congressional Research Service. They discuss the network of terrorist "cells" associated with Osama Bin Laden, how they are financed.
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Anti-American Sentiment
NPR's Ted Clark in Washington reports the perpetrators of this week's suicide attacks in New York and Washington represent an extreme manifestation of growing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East.
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Terrorism Investigation Update
Linda talks with NPR's Nina Totenberg about the latest in the investigation of the terrorist attacks on the United States. They discuss the FBI's release of the names of 19 people suspected to have been the hijackers aboard the four planes. They also discuss the stories that circulated about people arrested and detained at JFK airport in New York yesterday. Some of those stories proved to be wrong.
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World Trade Center Site
NPR's Jim Zarroli reports on rescue workers who slogged through soggy ruins of the World Trade Center on Friday, as hopes faded of finding anyone still alive. Rain fell on and off all morning, turning the dust into muck and hampering the effort. More than 4,700 people were still reported missing.
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Bush to New York
President Bush visited the site of the collapsed World Trade Center towers today, the area that's become known as "ground zero." Robert Siegel talks with WNYC's Andrea Bernstein about it.
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National Cathedral Service
Linda Wertheimer describes the interfaith service today at the National Cathedral in Washington, where President Bush declared: "This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing."
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New York Uptown
Reporter Barbara Mantel is covering life on Manhattan 'away' from the area around the World Trade Center."
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Pakistan Diplomacy
NPR Diplomatic Correspondent Vicky O'Hara reports the U.S. is engaged in delicate diplomatic talks with Pakistan, seeking support for any potential strike against alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden, who is based in neighboring Afghanistan. Radical fundamentalist groups in Pakistan support Bin Laden, and are warning the government not to back an American attack.
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Retaliation?
Linda Wertheimer talks with Senator Carl Levin, (D-MI) Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, about the how the US might retaliate against such a decentralized organization as a terrorist network.
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Congress Responds
NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on today's action in the Senate, which voted without opposition both to authorize $40 billion to cover costs involved in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist actions, and also to give President Bush the right to use "necessary and appropriate force" in going after those responsible for the carnage. The House, which also passed the emergency supplemental, is expected to pass the resolution on the use of force some time this evening.
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Black September
Noah Adams talks with Bill Tuohy, who covered the Middle East for the Los Angeles Times during the 1970's. Tuohy talks about his experience covering the airplane hijackings of September 1970.
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Israel Security
NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports US airport authorities may soon be taking lessons from Israel where strict security precautions have long been in effect.
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New York Update
NPR's Eric Westervelt reports that rain hampered rescue workers at the World Trade Center site, who slogged through muddy rubble as hope faded of finding more survivors. Fires and falling glass continued to pose safety hazards to rescuers. Meanwhile, police said they were cracking down on dozens of bomb scares, false alarms and petty looters.
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Heading to War?
Linda Wertheimer talks with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz about his view that the U.S. response to this week's attacks should not only involve the capture of a "few criminals" and holding them accountable. He says it must be a "broad and sustained campaign."
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Terrorism Investigation
Robert Siegel talks with NPR's Mike Shuster, who is covering the investigation into this week's terrorist airplane hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The FBI has released a list of names of suspects who are believed to have been the hijackers aboard four planes Tuesday. Siegel and Shuster discuss what's known so-far about these men and about who else may be at large.
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Morning Edition

Insurance Carriers
NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the capability of insurance carriers to deal with the costs of the attack, in what will likely be the largest loss in the history of insurance. Companies could face a long wait for compensation; many coverage plans contain ambiguities that may need to be worked out in court before insurance companies hand over a check.
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Stairwell Scene
Karen Chopra was on the 79th floor of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit the opposite tower. He tells NPR's Alex Chadwick about the scene in the stairwells.
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Missouri Volunteers
NPR's Daniel Zwerdling tagged along with members of a rescue team from Missouri on their way into New York City to help out at the World Trade Center site.
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Investigation
Bob Edwards talks with NPR’s Barbara Bradley about the investigation. Some of the hijackers have been identified, and Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that Osama bin Laden is a prime suspect.
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European Support
NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports on the unified determination of the European Union countries and the United States to find and retaliate against those responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
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Pentagon Victims' Families
NPR's John McChesney speaks with families of some of the victims of the attack on the Pentagon.
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Ground Zero
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Tovia Smith about the scene in lower Manhattan this morning as rescue crews battle rain to continue their work on the ruins of the World Trade Center.
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Aftermath
NPRs David Kestenbaum summarizes recent developments in the aftermath of the attacks. In Washington yesterday, the White House and Congress agreed to a $40 billion package to combat terrorism and aid in recovery. Disaster volunteers continue to work around the clock on the attack sites in New York and Washington. And arrests were reported at airports in New York and Boston.
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Stamberg Essay
NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg offers thoughts on life in a country and world forever altered by the tragedy.
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Overwhelming Donations
NPR's Robert Smith reports from Seattle on the donations overwhelming Red Cross agencies around the country.
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Rescue Worker
Rescue worker Hale Gurlind, a native New Yorker, describes to Alex Chadwick what he has seen cutting metal at the World Trade Center site for the past two days.
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Numbers of Dead and Injured
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Allison Aubrey about the death count at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
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Pentagon
Bob Edwards talks with Tom Gjelten from the Pentagon about the rescue efforts.
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Bush's Performance
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Don Gonyea about the way President Bush has handled the terrorist attacks
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Ground Zero
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Jacki Lyden at ground zero of the rescue site at the World Trade Center in New York.
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The Investigation
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Ted Clark about the investigation into the terrorist attacks.
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Environmental Impact
NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg talks with EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman about the environmental impact of the attack.
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Stock Exchange
NPR's Larry Abramson reports on the decision by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq to postpone their reopening until next week, in the interest of rescue efforts still under way at the World Trade Center crash site.
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Diplomatic Support
NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports on what the Bush administration will need to do to build solid international support for any U.S. military response to Tuesday's terrorist attacks.
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Attack Investigation
Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Barbara Bradley about the investigation into the terrorist attacks. Some of the hijackers have been identified, and Colin Powell has said that Osama bin Laden is a prime suspect.
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Changes in the Middle East
NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports on the impact that the attack has had on the Middle East.
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Airport Scenes
From member station WABE, Josh Levs reports from Atlanta on the airport situation.
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Pentagon Victims' Families
NPR's John McChesney speaks with families of some of the victims of the attack on the Pentagon.
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Developments
NPR's David Kestenbaum summarizes recent developments. Vice President Cheney has gone to Camp David; the White House and Congress have agreed to a $40 billion package to combat terrorism and recover from attacks; investigators have recovered a black box from the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
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New York Rescue
NPR's Melissa Block reports on ground zero -- the site where the World Trade Center collapsed. She spent time at the site and relays the feelings and actions of rescue workers on the scene.
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Sept. 13 Sept. 13