[Up First] Remembering 9/11, Republican Midterm Convention Wraps, SCOTUS Missouri Redistricting

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, communities across the United States gathered to commemorate the nearly 3,000 people who died that day.

At the main memorial in Lower Manhattan, there were no speeches — instead, family members read the names of the victims aloud and organizers observed multiple moments of silence. Former President Biden and Vice President Vance attended the New York ceremony, while President Trump spoke at the Pentagon.

This year’s commemoration introduced a seventh moment of silence, newly dedicated to those who died in the years following the attack after breathing toxic air at Ground Zero.

The long-term health toll of the attacks has added thousands more names to the list of those lost. One family received an especially personal form of closure this year: the remains of Barbara Keating, who died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, were only identified last year and were finally laid to rest today in Massachusetts.

Beyond the immediate death toll, the attacks set off wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in which at least 7,000 U.S. service members were killed. Veterans and clergy who spoke to NPR expressed both pride in Americans’ post-attack resilience and deep sorrow over the divisions and fear that followed in the wake of the tragedy.

President Trump closed the Republican midterm convention with a characteristically blunt appeal, warning supporters that failing to vote would send them “to hell.” Despite the theatrical framing, large sections of the arena sat empty throughout the event — a visible sign that enthusiasm among the broader electorate may be limited. Trump also hinted that he might not hit the campaign trail as aggressively as he did when running for himself.

Vice President JD Vance delivered the convention’s keynote address, framing the midterms not as a referendum on an unpopular president but as a choice between parties.

He portrayed Republicans as the party of “common sense” against what he called “the party of the crazies,” and repeatedly invoked Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as a symbol of far-left excess. Many speakers echoed this strategy, hoping to make the election about Democratic extremism rather than Republican governance.

Vance was well received, but the crowd’s reaction to him was far more measured than its response to Trump, and attendees interviewed at the event were already looking ahead to the next presidential cycle. The convention’s overall tone suggested a party still deeply defined by Trump, even as it attempts to broaden its appeal heading into November.

The U.S. Supreme Court again blocked Missouri’s Republican-drawn congressional map, which had been backed by President Trump and was widely seen as an attempt to eliminate a majority-Black district represented by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver.

The ruling means the state must revert to the older district boundaries for the upcoming election.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, Missouri’s secretary of state was found in contempt for initially resisting compliance, but subsequently announced that local election officials would proceed under the previous, court-approved map.

The development leaves Representative Cleaver as the clear favorite to retain his seat in November.

The Missouri case is part of a broader national battle over redistricting, with Republicans in several states attempting to redraw maps in ways critics argue dilute minority voting power and entrench partisan advantage ahead of competitive midterm races that will determine control of the House.