Earlier this week Mark Wahlberg's interview with Men's Journal revealed that the actor fancies himself a real life action hero. He told the magazine that he was scheduled to be on one of the planes that flew into the Twin Towers on September 11th, adding: "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying,'OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'" The only thing that could have made this worse is if he were actually developing a movie where his character single-handedly stopped 9/11 from happening (maybe he is?). Anyway, he has since apologized, but the relatives of the victims killed on 9/11 want him to show up to the memorial in person. more ›

A judge has blocked Con Ed from evicting the controversial Park 51 community center from its Lower Manhattan buildings, after the utility retroactively raised the monthly rent to $47,437 and demanded $1.7 million in back rent. According to the New York Law Journal, Justice Richard Braun noted in his opinion that Park 51 "speculates as to whether defendant may be bowing to unspecified political pressure," referring to the fact that lots of people are upset that a mosque could be built so close to a sacred strip club. more ›

Because the spirit of togetherness and healing the country felt after September 11 is far behind us, the 9/11 Museum's projected opening date of September 2012 is likely to be pushed back, as the Port Authority and the September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation are at odds over hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs. "The Port Authority, the city and the museum are working collaboratively to resolve these matters," the PA's executive director tells the WSJ. What, they didn't sell enough commemorative coins? more ›

At this point, just about every credible world organization has either discredited or disavowed Iranian clown-of-the-century Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his wacky conspiracies theories on 9/11. And now, the terror organization who was responsible for the September 11 attacks has had it with Ahmadinejad passing the blame to everyone but them: "Al Qaeda...succeeded in what Iran couldn't. Therefore it was necessary for the Iranians to discredit 9/11 and what better way to do so? Conspiracy theories," claimed an author in the latest issue of the al Qaeda English-language magazine "Inspire." more ›

Does the man who once sat on Cloud 7 believe there's something to Building 7? On Howard Stern's radio show last night, Tony Bennett questioned who was really to blame for the September 11th attacks that killed 2,996 Americans. "They flew the plane in, but we caused it," Bennett said. "But who are the terrorists? Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists?" Bennett was alluding to the imposing presence of the United States in the Middle East prior to the attacks, but the damage had already been done. Look for his new single, "Who Can I Turn To (When People Find My Views On 9/11 In Poor Taste)," this fall. more ›

On September 20th, 2001 The Daily Show returned for the first time after the tragedy on the 11th, and Jon Stewart opened with the below memorable speech, which is worth revisiting. In it, a choked-up Stewart (who says, "luckily we can edit this"), hopes that we'll be able to ride out the storm. more ›

Two Reuters reporters who traveled with President Bush on the morning of September 11, 2001 recall their experience of watching their leader reel from the most indelible event of the past decade. One, Arshad Mohammed, shouted a question to Bush as he was reading My Pet Goat to students in a Florida classroom: "Mr. President, are you aware of the reports of a plane crash in New York?" more ›

In a post on his New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal," Nobel-prize winning economist and Times columnist Paul Krugman asks, "Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?" He then goes on to explain why: "What happened after 9/11…was deeply shameful. Te [sic] atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heros like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror." Krugman then declares that "the memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it." more ›

"Were you wearing yoga pants, the type that are really sexy and tied up top and flare out at the knee?" Colbert asks. more ›

What does "The War on Terror" mean? Is it the legal authority granted to the president by Congress to use all "necessary and appropriate force" against the people, countries or organizations that "planned, authorized, committed or aided" the September 11 attacks? Is it taking your shoes off at airport security, or seeing something and saying something? Is it what 7,497 coalition members and hundreds of thousands of civilians died for in the Middle East? This, rather than "It's time to end the War on Terror," was the main topic of debate Wednesday night at NYU's Skirball center, much to the audience's befuddlement. more ›

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, a friend—unable to get home—came by our place so as not to be alone. We sat on the stoop sharing a cigarette and looked up at the billowing smoke in the distance. After a long pause she looked at the smoke, then down to a recently painted mural commemorating a recently deceased singer and then turned to us. "First Aaliyah," she said with all seriousness, "now this." We've been telling that story for just about a decade now...but did it really happen that way? According to research out of NYU, maybe not! Though our memories of that day may feel extraordinarily vivid and true it turns out they are just as flawed as any other memory. more ›

Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon has teamed up with designer Jen Mascali to observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11... with a tote bag. In her touching letter that accompanies the $240 product, Bensimon explains that she's "totally crazy for handbags." more ›

When it was revealed that Gwyneth Paltrow saved a woman's life on September 11, 2001 by almost hitting her with her Mercedes SUV on 7th Avenue, thus making her miss her train to work at the World Trade Center, the nation came together by promising to add Sliding Doors to their Netflix cue. At the Venice Film Festival, Gwyneth spoke for the first time about her newly discovered hero status: "I was on the way home…and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time." She didn't even use her paparazzi-grade cowcatcher—how magnanimous! more ›

While President Obama draws down troop commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, make no mistake: the War on Terror is still being waged, from heightened airport security measures to the fact that the CIA has turned into a killing machine. But with the death of Osama bin Laden, the (arguably) diminishing influence of Al Qaeda, and the risk of turning the War on Terror into the War on Drugs, should we call it quits? more ›

With the demise of the worst aspects of the porno-scanners comes new hope for people who want to be treated like human beings when passing through airport security: We'll soon be able to keep our shoes on. "We are moving towards an intelligence and risk-based approach to how we screen," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tells Politico. "I think one of the first things you will see over time is the ability to keep your shoes on." Woo-hoo! Basic human dignity! However she noted that "one of the last things you will [see] is the reduction or limitation on liquids," meaning our pricey, extra-hold Staten Island-strength hair epoxy will still be thrown away. more ›

A week from the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a MTA bus mechanic has finished a 12-foot replica of the twin towers on the front lawn of his home in the Country Club section of the Bronx. "I made a promise to the victims 10 years ago that if there was something to do for them, I would do it," Matt Galcik tells the Daily News. "This is me keeping my promise." more ›

The man who stole $10 million from a city fund to help identify World Trade Center victims is fighting to hold onto the $400,000 he has left in an Indian bank account. The Daily News spoke with Natarajan Venkataraman from a New Jersey federal prison, and said he "whined about jail conditions and apologized repeatedly for his crime," but when asked about his fight for the remainder of the money, he said, "All the issues are still pending in the court." more ›

Fifteen people were arrested at Rye Playland amusement park in Westchester County yesterday afternoon, and two charged with felony assault after a melee broke out when a park employee asked a Muslim woman to remove her headscarf before boarding a ride. The woman who attempted to ride the Dragon Rollercoaster, Haifa Ali, tells Patch that after she was told she couldn't ride unless she removed her hijab, she and a group of other Muslim women went to ask for a refund. Then "someone grabbed her hijab…a park ranger wrestled another one of the women to the ground," when "law enforcement began to converge on the group, hitting them with batons." Another eyewitness not with the group says she heard one female police officer yell, "I don't give a f*ck about your culture." more ›

As the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, we're encouraged to reflect upon how the country and indeed the entire world changed after the events of that horrific day. Oh, and buy stuff. Spending money is important otherwise the terrorists will win. Coins, wine, cartoons, whatever. But if you make only one jingoistic 9/11 purchase this year, log on to Etsy and make it the Superman On September 11th Stainless Steel Flask. more ›

With the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and the opening of the 9/11 memorial just three weeks away, this time lapse video of the construction at the World Trade Center site from 2004 to 2011 puts nearly eight years of bickering and slow-going into perspective. No word on whether there will be a time-lapse video of the hours of political speechifying that may go down during the memorial ceremony. more ›