Allan Lengel

Thirteen years  ago today, I was walking down Connecticut Avenue NW  in Washington, D.C.,  on my way to work, about to get on the subway, when I ran into a friend who asked if I had heard about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.

I hadn’t. By the time I got off the subway at the Farragut North stop downtown, the city was in a panic. I ran into my editor at the Washington Post, who said she had heard that planes had crashed into the Pentagon and the State Department. Rumors were running rampant.

We got to the newsroom and everyone was standing around TVs watching the incredulous events unfold. 

A second plane had already crashed into the World Trade Center and a third had crashed into the Pentagon, not all that far away. We were under attack.

We all got our assignments. I was sent to D.C. Police headquarters on Indiana Avenue NW to hang out all day. I walked there, about 1.5 miles.  On the way over there, you could hear everyone on the street calling loved ones, checking in.

At police headquarters, a  group of reporters stood out front, hanging out. The police chief, Charles Ramsey, (who is now the Philadelphia Police chief) would occasionally drive by and give us updates. A plane in Pennsylvania was still unaccounted for. We kept looking up at the sky wondering if it just might come our way.

The world changed that day. We had been shaken before as Americans. We had the Oklahoma City bombing and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but this was of a magnitude we had never seen before.

We’ve learned a lot since that time. At first, the FBI, jittery from not unearthing the 9/11 plot, and getting plenty blame for that, followed up on every tip it got, regardless of how silly it might have seemed. In time, it learned to separate the wheat from the chaff. Also, for a while, authorities were overly paranoid about anyone in D.C. taking photos or video of buildings. That eventually changed.

Plus, the government, the White House, the FBI and other agencies,  had a lot to learn about Islam.  The FBI shifted its top priority to terrorism, and we created the Department of Homeland Security, which frankly, the verdict is still out on how effective that has been.

Since that day, Sept. 11, 2001, we’ve become far more aware of  the potential terrorism threat.

Frankly, in the days that followed Sept. 11, 2001, I thought life would never be normal again.  Fortunately, things have returned to some semblance of normalcy.

But we’ll likely never feel as safe as we did on Sept. 10, 2001.

Allan Lengel

Thirteen years  ago today, I was walking down Connecticut Avenue NW  in Washington, D.C.,  on my way to work, about to get on the subway, when I ran into a friend who asked if I had heard about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.

I hadn’t. By the time I got off the subway at the Farragut North stop downtown, the city was in a panic. I ran into my editor at the Washington Post, who said she had heard that planes had crashed into the Pentagon and the State Department. Rumors were running rampant.

We got to the newsroom and everyone was standing around TVs watching the incredulous events unfold. 

A second plane had already crashed into the World Trade Center and a third had crashed into the Pentagon, not all that far away. We were under attack.

We all got our assignments. I was sent to D.C. Police headquarters on Indiana Avenue NW to hang out all day. I walked there, about 1.5 miles.  On the way over there, you could hear everyone on the street calling loved ones, checking in.

At police headquarters, a  group of reporters stood out front, hanging out. The police chief, Charles Ramsey, (who is now the Philadelphia Police chief) would occasionally drive by and give us updates. A plane in Pennsylvania was still unaccounted for. We kept looking up at the sky wondering if it just might come our way.

The world changed that day. We had been shaken before as Americans. We had the Oklahoma City bombing and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but this was of a magnitude we had never seen before.

We’ve learned a lot since that time. At first, the FBI, jittery from not unearthing the 9/11 plot, and getting plenty blame for that, followed up on every tip it got, regardless of how silly it might have seemed. In time, it learned to separate the wheat from the chaff. Also, for a while, authorities were overly paranoid about anyone in D.C. taking photos or video of buildings. That eventually changed.

Plus, the government, the White House, the FBI and other agencies,  had a lot to learn about Islam.  The FBI shifted its top priority to terrorism, and we created the Department of Homeland Security, which frankly, the verdict is still out on how effective that has been.

Since that day, Sept. 11, 2001, we’ve become far more aware of  the potential terrorism threat.

Frankly, in the days that followed Sept. 11, 2001, I thought life would never be normal again.  Fortunately, things have returned to some semblance of normalcy.

But we’ll likely never feel as safe as we did on Sept. 10, 2001.

By Steve Neavling

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has asked former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to lead an investigation into the league’s “pursuit and handling of evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence incident,” the New York Times reports.

The news comes just two days after graphic video surfaced, showing the running back knocking his fiancee unconscious.

The investigation will be overseen by John Mara, the co-owner of the Giants, and Art Rooney II of the Steelers, both of whom are lawyers.

Goodell said he plans to give Mueller full access to NFL records.

On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that the video had been seen by NFL executives long before this week.

FBI Director James Comey

 On the eve of the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks, FBI Director James Comey pledged to continue fighting terrorism as the bureau’s top priority, the Arizona Republic reports.

“We made a promise to the American people 13 years ago … that we would do everything we can to make sure that there was never an attack on American soil anywhere near as horrific as that,” Comey said during a press conference at the agency’s Phoenix headquarters. “So we’re about that obligation, keeping that promise every single day.”

The visit was part of Comey’s pledge to stop by all 56 field offices.

Comey said the threat of terrorism remains high.

Terrorism organizations to be concerned about are in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean.

“It’s especially worrisome in Syria, where you have thousands and thousands of foreign terrorists fighting with groups like ISIL,” Comey said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.

By Steve Neavling

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa was considered a polished politicians and potential challenger to Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Now the FBI is helping the Colorado Bureau of Investigations conduct a problem into Maketa, who is accused of having sex with three women and then promoting them to top-paying jobs, the Denver Post reports.

“The FBI is assisting with the investigation at the request of the CBI,” CBI spokeswoman Susan Medina said.

Maketa declined to comment but his spokesman said the sheriff “supports these independent investigations. He really does.”

By Steve Neavling

A lot of criticism has surrounded the FBI’s database that is supposed to track all U.S. murders.

Now a USA Today investigation has raised more serious questions about the accuracy of the database after discovering only a 57% accuracy rate for recording the killings of four or more people in a single event in the past decade.

Missing, for example, is the widely publicized Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, which killed 26 teachers, students and administrators. Also missing is Aurora Colo., movie shootings.

The FBI responded that each of the states, which voluntarily submit the information, asked that the incidents be deleted.

According to criminologist James Alan Fox, about 90% of the homicides are included in the data.

istock photo

A Border Patrol agent has been cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting an unarmed man accused of smuggling drugs in southern Arizona, the Associated Press reports.

Agent Daniel Marquez’ actions appeared to be “justified under the circumstances,” the Pima County Attorney’s Office said.

The shooting came after a 15-mile chase on May 30, when Marquez shot 31-year-old Jose Luis Arambula.

According to reports, Marquez firef nine shots at Arambula before striking him once in the head.

Arambula’s car was later found with about 500 pounds of marijuana.

Other Stories of Interest

• Ex-Sen. Bob Graham: FBI Covered Up Sept. 11 Investigation
• FBI: Michigan Man ‘Person of Interest’ in 1976 Serial Killings
• Homeland Security Expert Fears U.S. Taking Eye off Terrorism 
• Secret Service Agent’s Son Does Faceplant on Oval Office Couch
• TSA: Hand Over That Sock Monkey’s Toy Pistol