25 Years, Heat Records, & Fat Bear Week

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Adam Rogers
September 11, 2026

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Twenty-five years ago today, 19 al-Qaeda hijackers seized four passenger jets in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Two planes struck New York's World Trade Center, a third hit the Pentagon, and passengers fought back aboard a fourth, forcing the hijackers to crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
The attacks transformed the United States. They led to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, a sweeping expansion of domestic security and intelligence operations, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The consequences stretched across decades of war abroad and permanently changed airport security, surveillance, and America's approach to terrorism.
New York marked the approaching anniversary this week with a display over its harbor using 2,977 illuminated drones — one for each person killed in the attacks — to recreate the Twin Towers at full scale. Friday's commemorations will include relatives reading aloud the names of those killed at the 9/11 Memorial as bells mark the moments the planes struck and the towers fell.

August tied the record for the hottest month ever measured globally, with average temperatures reaching 62.5°F, according to Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was the hottest August on record and reached 1.65°C above the preindustrial average, the first month to cross 1.5°C since November 2025.
Ocean temperatures also reached record levels as a potentially extreme El Niño continues strengthening in the Pacific. August tied the record for the highest monthly global sea-surface temperature, while daily temperatures reached a new high. El Niño is adding a short-term temperature boost on top of the longer-term warming driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions.
The records extended across land. The contiguous U.S. recorded its hottest summer since measurements began in 1895, surpassing the previous 1936 and 2021 records by 0.4°F. Western Europe also experienced its hottest summer on record, breaking a mark set during the region's deadly 2003 heatwave.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis seized the strategic Red Sea port of Mocha Thursday and advanced onto the Hanish Islands, extending a major offensive against Saudi-backed government forces. The gains bring the group closer to controlling territory surrounding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes.
Bab el-Mandeb has become increasingly important as fighting with Iran severely disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia has responded by routing millions of barrels of oil through its Red Sea coast, making the waterway a critical alternative for exports that would normally pass through Hormuz.
Houthi control of the strait could threaten both routes simultaneously, further restricting global energy supplies. Brent crude climbed above $105 Thursday as the fighting intensified. The renewed conflict is also pushing Yemen toward full-scale war after a 2022 UN-brokered truce largely halted years of major fighting.

Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary, making him the first sitting U.S. governor to lose a primary since 2018. (More)

The Supreme Court blocked Missouri from using a newly drawn Republican congressional map in November, likely restoring the state’s previous map after months of legal challenges over redistricting. (More)

President Trump proposed giving every adult U.S. citizen a $5,000 payment if Republicans win the November midterms, a plan that could cost more than $1.2 trillion. (More)

Peru became the latest country to join the Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-led coalition coordinating intelligence and security operations against criminal organizations operating across national borders. (More)

Colombia and the U.S. launched a new phase of cooperation with agreements covering critical minerals and civilian nuclear energy alongside plans to deepen trade and security ties. (More)

The Bayeux Tapestry opened to the public in London, marking the nearly 1,000-year-old depiction of the Norman conquest of England’s first known exhibition outside France. (More)

US stock markets closed lower on Thursday (S&P -0.58%, Nasdaq -0.65%, Dow -0.60%), the fourth consecutive losing day for the major averages. (More)

U.S. existing-home sales fell 2% in August to their slowest pace in more than a year, while the median sale price rose 1.6% to an August record of $429,100. (More)

Macy’s reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its annual sales and profit forecasts, helped by growth at revamped Macy’s stores and double-digit gains at Bloomingdale’s. (More)

Federal prosecutors are investigating the Los Angeles Clippers’ dealings with Kawhi Leonard after the NBA determined third-party agreements funneled tens of millions of dollars to the seven-time All-Star. (More)

Barry Melrose, who coached Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final before becoming a longtime ESPN hockey analyst, died at 70. (More)

Jimmy Kimmel will move his interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico from ABC to YouTube, citing concerns that airing it nationally could expose local affiliates to FCC scrutiny. (More)

DNA molecules can overcome their identical negative charges and pair together through positively charged metal ions that act as molecular bridges, confirming the decades-old “DNA zipper” model. (More)

BepiColombo spacecraft shed the propulsion module that carried it billions of miles toward Mercury, beginning the final phase of its eight-year journey before entering orbit in November. (More)

Scientists identified a new species of ancient squid-like animal from two Wyoming fossils, including one that sat unstudied in a museum collection for nearly three decades. (More)

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