By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“It’s always hard to come back here, but it’s always a chance to remember the sacrifices made by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day … I think it’s important 25 years later to remember what they did and why they did it. They decided to act on a day that America was under attack.” - Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert, overlooking a memorial grove at the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
The crash of United Flight 93 is marked by a boulder at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 26, 2026. (Photo by Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Shalina Chatlani
On a rural stretch of land in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, an open meadow filled with bright wildflowers, a memorial grove of trees and a giant boulder marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts and nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn are in a heated Senate race. (Photos by Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
GRAND ISLAND — It only took about a minute into the Nebraska State Fair Senate debate for the name-calling to start.
Incumbent Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts called nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn “Democrat Dan” 40 times throughout the hourlong event, leading Osborn to joke that there should be a “third podium” for him as he tried to pitch himself as being a working-class populist above party lines.
Shown is the StratCom Gate at Offutt Air Force Base. (Courtesy of Offutt Air Force Base)
COMMENTARY
By Gina Ligon
Positioned in the middle of the United States, Nebraska has played an outsized role in disrupting terrorism across the country over the past 25 years, since the most significant terrorist attack in our nation’s history on Sept. 11, 2001.
Advocates for a proposed amendment to the Nebraska Constitution hoped to make it harder for legislators to tweak ballot measures approved by voters. Advocates, including ballot co-sponsor Jo Giles at podium, host a launch event in Omaha. Jan. 5, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed Thursday that a ballot measure seeking to constitutionally make it harder for lawmakers to amend voter-approved laws or add more hurdles to petitioning is too broad and won’t appear on the November ballot.
The Nebraska Supreme Court is housed at the Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
Nebraska Supreme Court rejects primary loser’s appeal to force Democratic Party to replace candidate
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the loser of the Democratic Senate primary election incorrectly interpreted state law.
Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court (and when they were seated), front row from left: William Cassel (2012), Jeffrey Funke (2016, 2024 as chief justice) and Stephanie Stacy (2015). Back row, from left: Jason Bergevin (2025), Jonathan Papik (2018), John Freudenberg (2018) and Derek Vaughn (2026). (Courtesy of the Nebraska Judicial Branch)
ICYMI
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Lincoln voters will see at least three proposed city charter amendments on their ballot this fall.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen greets State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln on the final day of the 2026 legislative session. April 17, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
IMMIGRATION
By Yanqi Xu, Flatwater Free Press
Before becoming Nebraska’s governor three years ago, Jim Pillen built a multimillion-dollar hog enterprise. Casting himself as a conservative businessman who would grow the state’s economy, he defeated a Trump-backed candidate in the Republican primary.
People look out at Manhattan and beyond at One World Observatory at One World Trade Center in New York City. Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance systems built in its aftermath continue to shape how Americans are watched and policed. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Amanda Watford
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
COMMENTARY
Remembering Flight 93 through the lens of healing | Tim Lambert
Remembering 9/11, scoring a debate, eluding truth | George Ayoub
EDITOR'S CHOICE
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