'PBS NewsHour' on 9/11 25 years later

A somber Patriot Day, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to my readers. For this year's observance, I'm sharing four videos by PBS NewsHour, beginning with The lasting psychological impact of 9/11 on America.

Judy Woodruff recently visited the September 11 Memorial in New York for a look at how the attacks, 25 years ago, continue to shape our lives today. It's part of her series, Crossroads: America at 250.

I leave New York for Virginia near Washington, DC with 'Total chaos.' How PBS News crews filmed the Pentagon on 9/11.

On 9/11, when a hijacked plane struck the Pentagon, two WETA camera men and a NewsHour with Jim Lehrer intern rushed to the scene.

Home to PBS News for decades, the WETA studios in Arlington, Virginia, are just a five-minute drive from the building that houses the Defense Department.

"As a camera man, you divorce yourself from reality when you're looking through the viewfinder. It's just, you're doing your job. But this one hit home with me, it really did," Ed Lee said, recalling that day.

As the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks approaches, Lee, Jeff Rathner and Josh Gershenson reflect on the scenes they captured, and how it stays with them.

This video was produced by Julia Griffin.

I return to New York with George Pataki on how New York responded to 9/11 and its lasting impact.

Twenty-five years ago, George Pataki was governor of New York when the Sept. 11 attacks transformed his state and the country. In the hours that followed, Pataki helped lead New York through an unimaginable crisis as the country confronted the enormity of what had happened. Pataki joined Geoff Bennett to discuss that response.

I conclude with Mamdani: NYC leaders 'lied' about 9/11 toxic air.

New York City officials released thousands of documents on Tuesday that raise new concerns about air quality following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

More than 170,000 documents from across government agencies were made public via an online portal. They suggest that authorities were aware of the health risks at the time, despite public assurances that the air was safe to breathe.

At a news conference, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that families, survivors and first responders deserve transparency.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum says at least 49,000 first responders and survivors have been diagnosed with cancer as a result of the attacks.

A quarter century later, the death toll is still mounting.

That's a wrap for today's holiday post. Stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage. Tragedy today, comedy tomorrow.

'South Park' mocks Trump after winning Emmy

I promised I would examine a "small" category, Outstanding Animated Series today. It turns out that the winner of this category made news. Watch Brian Tyler Cohen report South Park publicly mocks Trump after Emmy win.

I wrote about Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump's beef with the Emmys in Melania Trump prefers Trump Tower to the White House ten years ago.

Considering that [The Apprentice] was nominated for eight nine Emmy Awards in its history, but never won, the "Emmy Idol" was the only award The Donald has ever won at the Emmys. No wonder he wanted it so bad.

As Cohen pointed out, it's the only award he's likely to get from the Television Academy, unless they decide to give him an honorary one for lifetime achievement. Fat chance.

Time to revisit the prediction for South Park's category.

Outstanding Animated Program

• Bob's Burgers: "Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening" (Fox)
• Rick and Morty: "There's Something About Morty" (Adult Swim)
• The Simpsons: "Homer? A Cracker Bro?" (Fox)
• Smiling Friends: "Le Voyage Incroyable de Monsieur Grenouille" (Adult Swim)
• South Park: "Sermon on the 'Mount" (Comedy Central)
• Star Wars: Visions: "BLACK" (Disney+)

South Park leads with three nominations, followed by Star Wars: Visions with one nomination and a win, The Simpsons with two nominations, and Bob's Burgers, Rick and Morty, and Smiling Friends with just this one nomination. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has South Park leading, as every editor, 90.9% of experts, and 92.6% of users believe it will win with professional and user opinion split among the rest of the nominees with the remaining 9.1% of experts and 1.7% of users selecting Smiling Friends while Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons tied at 2.5% of users each, followed by Rick and Morty with the final 0.8% of users.

By the time of the ceremony, every editor and expert picked South Park to win, and the were right. Watch South Park Wins for Animated Program 78th Emmys.

I had to look up Eric Bauza, the presenter, after watching his introduction. He's a worthy successor to Mel Blanc, as well as an Emmy winner in his own right. Also, congratulations to Trey Parker and all the rest of the cast and crew of South Park!

That's a wrap for today's installment. I plan on returning to Emmy coverage on Saturday because tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards
• Drink to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show's Emmy nominations on National Piña Colada Day
• 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains Trump's Big Beautiful Ballroom' plus the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music
• 'Oceans with David Attenborough' tied with 'Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
• 'Mr. Scorsese' vs. 'The American Revolution' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series plus Data Centers on Earth Overshoot Day
• 'The Daily Show' examines Fauci's testimony and RFK Hospital plus Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show'
• John Oliver examines 'Trump & Crypto' plus Emmy nominations for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'
• 'Love on the Spectrum' leads Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• Gold Derby predicts 'Antiques Roadshow' will win Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmys
• 'Jeopardy!' predicted to repeat as Outstanding Game Show at the Emmy Awards
• Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show leads Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the Emmys
• 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's final Emmy nominations
• 'The Muppet Show' leads Taylor Swift and 'Wicked' for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the Emmys
• 'South Park' leads Outstanding Animated Series while 'Star Wars: Visions' has already won an Emmy
• 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' leads Outstanding TV Movie nominees at the Emmys
• It's Saturday, so here are SNL's eleven Emmy nominations
• Once again, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win for the third time
• 'DTF St. Louis' vs 'Beef' at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show wins seven Emmys
• 'The Muppet Show' wins four Emmy Awards
• 'DTF St. Louis' won six Emmy Awards and could beat 'Beef' for Outstanding Limited Series

'DTF St. Louis' won six Emmy Awards and could beat 'Beef' for Outstanding Limited Series

 I closed 'The Muppet Show' wins four Emmy Awards by telling my readers, "Stay tuned as I look back at 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' leads Outstanding TV Movie nominees at the Emmys and 'DTF St. Louis' vs 'Beef' at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and ahead to next Monday's Primetime Emmy Awards." I begin with 78th Emmys Nominations: Limited or Anthology Series from the Television Academy.

The nominees for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series are All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Beef, DTF St. Louis and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.

Before the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Beef led the Gold Derby odds to win this category. Now, DTF St. Louis leads as the choice of 56.5% of experts, 87.5% of editors, and 61.5% of users, while Beef retains 43.5% of experts, 12.5% of editors, and 36.1% of users. All Her Fault, which I had penciled in as an early favorite for this category, is running far behind with 1.1% of users. The Beast in Me and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette tie for fourth with 0.6% of users each.

In contrast, Gold Derby still thinks Beef is the favorite in both lead acting categories. First, watch 78th Emmys Nominations: Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie are Riz Ahmed, Jason Bateman, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac and Matthew Rhys.

Oscar Issac is down 3% in the Gold Derby odds, but is still the choice of 69.6% of expers, 50.0% of editors, and 76.7% of users. Matthew Rhys gained 3% and now has the votes of 21.7% of experts, 37.5% of editors, and 18.5% of users. Rhys could win two Emmys next Monday, as he's favored to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow's Bay, but it's not likely. Riz Ahmed is third as the pick of 8.7% of experts, 12.5% of editors, and 1.7% of users. He's followed by Jason Bateman who has the support of 2.1% of users for his final chance to win an Emmy at these awards and Charlie Hunnam with 1.0% of users.

Next, an update on a category I covered in 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' leads Outstanding TV Movie nominees at the Emmys, 78th Emmy Nominations: Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie are Claire Danes, Sally Field, Carey Mulligan, Sarah Pidgeon and Sarah Snook.

...Carey Mulligan leads as the choice of 70% of experts, 50% of editors, and 69.7%, but the professionals and fans differ on the next choice, with 10% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 7.1% of users picking Sally Fields while 10% of experts and 17.3% of users [are] selecting Sarah Snook. Sarah Pigeon also has the support of 10% of experts along with 16.7% of editors and 4.8% of users. Claire Danes is the choice of the remaining 1% of users.

Mulligan is down 10% but retains the votes of 52.2% of experts, 37.5% of editors, and 58.4% of users. The professionals and fans still disagree on the next choice, as 21.7% of experts, 37.5% of editors, and 9.1% of users have gravitated to Fields to raise her odds 2%, while 18.0% of users, 17.4% of experts and 12.5% of editors are now picking Pigeon, raising her odds 11%. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette winning Outstanding Limited Series and Movie Casting was going to benefit someone and that's Pigeon. Snook's chances decreased by 4% as despite gaining the votes of 12.5% of editors because she her support among experts and users dropped to 8.7% and 14.1%, respectively. Daines' odds also decreased as she retained the support of 0.5% of users.

Those are the categories still to be awarded. Follow over the jump for the winners this past Sunday. when DTF St. Louis won six Emmys, Beef won three, and The Beast in Me, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, and Remarkably Bright Creatures tied at one each.

'The Muppet Show' wins four Emmy Awards

I'm resuming my Emmy Awards coverage by re-examining my predictions from 'The Muppet Show' leads Taylor Swift and 'Wicked' for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the Emmys because The Muppet Show was one of the big winners of the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, taking home four statuettes. Here are the categories it won.

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)

• Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... (Netflix)
• The Muppet Show (Disney+)
• Nikki Glaser: Good Girl (Hulu)
• Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show (Disney+)
• Wicked: One Wonderful Night (NBC)

The Muppet Show and Wicked: One Wonderful Night co-lead with six nominations each, followed by Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show with five, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl with three, and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with two. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has The Muppet Show leading with 90% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 71.3% of users electing it to win. They reverse Wicked: One Wonderful Night and Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show as the latter has the vote of the remaining 10% of experts and 66.7% of editors plus 18.0% while the former only has the support of 8.2% of users. The professionals are split! The users also reverse Nikki Glaser: Good Girl and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with the former ranked fifth at 0.8% and the latter in fourth with 1.6%.

The editors and experts equalized at 77.8% each making The Muppet Show their first choice along with 72.3% of users by the eve of the awards, on bulk a consolidation of opinion. The remaining 22.2% of editors and experts plus 19.5% of users stuck with Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, while Wicked: One Wonderful Night retained 5.5% of users, followed by 2.2% determining that Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... would win and 0.4% naming Nikki Glaser: Good Girl as the victor. As the majority predicted, The Muppet Show won. Watch as The Muppet Show Wins for Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) 78th Emmys by the Television Academy.

The special won on the 50th anniversary of the series premiere. That's wild! Also, congratulations to everyone involved, including Sabrina Carpenter, who IMDB lists as an executive producer. She and Bad Bunny are now halfway to an EGOT!

Follow over the jump for the rest of The Muppet Show's Emmys.

Alexis Dahl explains 'How They Keep the Mackinac Bridge Alive' for Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! I'm celebrating the Michigan way with the sequel to Alexis Dahl describes 'The Incredible Engineering Behind Michigan's Iconic Bridge' for Labor Day, How They Keep the Mackinac Bridge Alive.

The Mackinac Bridge team let me follow them around for a day, and here's what I learned about how they're still keeping this feat of engineering alive.

Special thanks to the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Mackinac Bridge Authority for the images, research help, and of course, the excellent tour of the bridge!

That was worth waiting for. I hope all the people walking across the Mackinac Bridge today appreciate how much work it takes to maintain it. I know I do!

That's a wrap for today's educational holiday post. Stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show wins seven Emmys

As I promised yesterday, I'm examining some of last night's Creative Arts Emmy Award winners for the Sunday entertainment feature. Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show was the big winner, taking home seven Emmy Awards, so I'm re-examining the predictions Gold Derby and I made. Follow over the jump.

First tornado touches down in Detroit in 29 years and hundreds of thousands lost power

Any day I have failed to post here has been because of two events, either I'm in the hospital or the power went out. This time, it was the latter, which is playing second fiddle to Detroit Tornado Strikes Eastside, Causing Major Damage as WXYZ reported in a rare video of theirs I can embed.

For the first time in nearly three decades, a tornado has touched down in Detroit, leaving extensive damage and dangerous debris across parts of the city — with the lower Eastside hit the hardest.

I had to take shelter during the tornado warning. While there had been severe thunderstorms the night before, which had knocked out the power for more than 100,000 customers, and all day on Thursday, I had avoided having to take any action because of the weather other than driving to an appointment instead of walking until about 3:30 P.M., when public safety came to my office and told me to take shelter. There, I waited with the rest of the employees and students until the all clear sounded about 4:30 P.M. I also called my wife to see and hear how she was riding through the storm. She was about to seek shelter herself when the livestream she was watching cut off because our house lost power. That was quite a moment, hearing the sudden dead silence on the phone.

I'll have more to say after a third video, but first, a second tornado touched down in Metro Detroit, as ClickOnDetroit/Local 4/WDIV reported in NWS: EF2 tornado tears through Detroit, EF0 confirmed in Lincoln Park.

An EF2 tornado packing estimated peak winds of 115 mph tore through Detroit on Thursday afternoon, leaving considerable damage across parts of the city and becoming Detroit's first confirmed tornado in 29 years.

WDIV added an objective angle from the studio that complemented WXYZ's man-on-the-street perspective.

I close the videos with FOX 2 Detroit reporting Volunteers across Metro Detroit clean up, rebuild after tornado and storms.

NWS confirms a tornado touched down on Detroit’s east side Thursday, causing massive damage and leaving thousands without power.

I'm glad FOX 2 Detroit covered the suburbs, because the straight-line winds and lightning did as much damage as the tornado; it was just more dispersed and the individual incidents were generally not as spectacular. Also, the power being out is the same everywhere, including the suburb where I live. It's disruptive.

I just hit a wall for whining about what my wife and I went through. I'm tired, hot, sweaty, hungry, need to replace the half-and-half that spoiled during the blackout, and don't want to write any more about it today. Instead, I'm telling my readers to stay tuned for the first Emmy winners tomorrow as the Sunday entertainment feature followed by a sequel to Alexis Dahl describes 'The Incredible Engineering Behind Michigan's Iconic Bridge' for Labor Day.

More scientists and others fighting climate change and its effects from 'PBS NewsHour'

I closed 'PBS NewsHour's Tipping Points examines scientists fighting climate change and its effects by writing "PBS NewsHour has more, but I'm stopping here to eat lunch and grade papers." Here are those clips, beginning with Carbon credit program pays small landowners to keep forests standing.

Markets to offset carbon emissions are now worth about $2 billion annually, and supporters say they're a key tool to address climate change. But carbon credits have also been criticized for being opaque and not reducing emissions nearly enough. Stephanie Sy reports on an effort to boost the integrity of carbon markets and open them up to small landowners. It’s part of our series, Tipping Point.

Carbon offset markets that actually are effective and include a major carbon reservoir — good news!

On the other hand, Farmers struggle with crops as climate change makes weather less predictable is definitely not good news.

More than half of the continental U.S. is facing drought conditions. But other parts of the country are facing the opposite problem. Extreme weather conditions can have major impacts on farmers and their crops at a time when they're already facing high production costs. Paul Solman recently traveled to southern Georgia to hear from some of those farmers. It's for our series, Tipping Point.

And the "Godzilla" El Niño is likely to make the situation even worse, if it isn't already.

That's a wrap for today's brief educational entry. Stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage tomorrow.

'DTF St. Louis' vs 'Beef' at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

I'm returning to the Emmy Awards by examining the remaining nominees for limited and anthology series that have Gold Derby odds at the the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. I'm following Gold Derby's order of categories beginning with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

• Linda Cardellini – DTF St. Louis as Carol Love-Smernitch (HBO)
• Dakota Fanning – All Her Fault as Jenny Kaminski (Peacock)
• Laurie Metcalf – Monster: The Ed Gein Story as Augusta Gein (Netflix)
• Joy Sunday – DTF St. Louis as Jodie Plumb (HBO)
• Youn Yuh-jung – Beef as Chairwoman Park (Netflix)
• Constance Zimmer – Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette as Ann Messina Freeman (FX)

Linda Cardellini leads as the selection of 93.8% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 87.7% of users. As has commonly been the case, the professionals and the amateurs disagree on which nominees have the next best odds. Constance Zimmer, who I've been a fan of since she was in UnREAL ten years ago, is the professionals' second choice with 6.3% of experts and 33.3% of editors, but only 2.6% of users; Youn Yuh-jung is the users' choice with 7.8% of them voting for her to win. Laurie Metcalf earned 1.1% of the users, followed by Dakota Fanning with 0.7%, and Joy Sunday with none.


Gold Derby also thinks that an actor from DTF St. Louis will win this award, too, as 87.5% of experts, 88.9% of editors, and 82.8% of users expect David Harbour will walk off the stage with the Emmy this weekend. Charles Melton and Richard Gadd split the remaining expert vote at 6.3% each with the users breaking the tie in favor of Melton with 11.9% while Gadd has the support of 3.4%. Nick Offerman is fourth according to the users with 1.1% of their votes. Jason Bateman and Richard Jenkins split the remaining user vote at 0.4% each with the rest of the experts breaking the time this time as the choice of the last 11.1%.

Follow over the jump for the categories recognizing the contributors behind the camera.

Vox explains why 'Gen Z is done with both political parties'

I'm beginning September with Vox explaining why Gen Z is done with both political parties | America, Actually.

It’s clear that the youngest generation of voters isn’t the same as the ones that came before. So, what’s up with the kids?

Gen Z researcher Rachel Janfaza joins Vox’s Astead Herndon to discuss how young voters are prioritizing economic survival, confronting their anxieties related to AI-job displacement, and searching for pragmatic, transparent leaders who address their everyday challenges.

00:00 Astead’s love-hate relationship with Gen Z
05:04 The theory of two Gen Z’s
06:19 How the pandemic broke Gen Z
09:48 Growing up with a phone in one hand
16:15 Rejection of the algorithm
17:56 The drivers of economic anxiety
22:08 AI and the future of work
25:25 The gender divide, explained
31:43 Hope for a post-Trump politics
32:51 Takeaways

I've been teaching since 1978, when I became UCLA's flag instructor, and I've seen how every generation is different. They require me to change my teaching to match their peer personalities. Some generations are independent learners, some require more direction. That difference generally reflects how they were taught in K-12. Having been trained and worked as a secondary school teacher allows me to pick up the styles they learned under. Gen Z in particular has been, as Rachel Janfaza pointed out, shaped by remote learning during the pandemic. That would make them more independent, along with the effects of social media, giving them access to sources outside of the classroom, both for good and for ill.

Another way I understand generations has been the writings of Strauss and Howe on generations, which I last mentioned in FiveThirtyEight asks 'Why Are There So Many Boomers In Congress?'

I agree with FiveThirtyEight's quick summary of what our gerontocracy means for policy. It's good for issues relevant to seniors, but maybe not so good for those important to younger Americans. That's good and bad for me personally. I'm 63, so the current Congress would be more likely to pay attention to health issues, like my diabetes, and retirement. On the other, they might not take climate change and technology as seriously as I think they need to, while a younger group of legislators would. Sigh.

Gen Z getting mobilized against AI in general and data centers in particular shows that they are getting other generations to attention to pay attention to their issues.

I'm not surprised by Gen Z's activism; according to Strauss and Howe, they are the same kind of generation as the Silent Generation, that of my parents. That was the generation that supplied the then-young activists of the Civil Rights Movement and later the Women's Liberation Movement. Boomers may claim credit based on their protests against the Vietnam War, but the Silents really provided the people power behind the first two.

Speaking of the past, Gen Z probably has even less connection to the events of the Depression and World War II than I had to the Civil War in my youth. First, I was a young boy during the Centennial of the Civil War, so I got reminded of it regularly. Second, the U.S. has never stopped rehashing the issues of the Civil War, such as sectionalism and racism; the Civil Rights era was still going on when I was young. The Cold War replaced the global struggle of fascism, which everyone thought was defeated. Now that fascism is back, the people who remember are mostly gone and today's young people see World War II as ancient history; they don't understand the relevance. That's one of the reasons why history, even if it doesn't repeat, certainly does rhyme, as Theodor Reik wrote, then had his line attributed to Mark Twain. The history is forgotten, then it returns. Cue George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

That's a gloomy thought, but one that isn't enough to make me think less of the final generation of my students. I like the generation that is saving movies and the mall. As I wrote in those two posts, I like them and think they're good people.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage tomorrow.