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“A routine emergency. Nothing to get too excited about.”

That was how Chief Joseph Pfeifer’s day started on 11 September, 2001, in New York, as he dealt with reports of a smell of gas.

The senior firefighter was in downtown Manhattan when the world changed at 8.46am.

HOLD FOR STORY FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, smoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center and flames as debris explodes from the second tower in New York. Family members of 9/11 families and others harmed in the terrorist attacks are on a fresh quest to hold Saudi Arabia responsible. A magistrate judge presiding over a Thursday, March 23, 2017, hearing says she hopes to streamline the legal process to speed the lawsuits along. (AP Photo/Chao Soi Cheong, File)
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Almost 3,000 people died during the 9/11 attacks. Pic: AP

Speaking to Kay Burley ahead of the 20th anniversary of the disaster, he said: “All of a sudden we heard a loud noise of a plane coming overhead, and you never hear planes in Manhattan, because of the tall buildings.

“And then I saw this plane flying at a very low altitude, and an extremely fast speed.

“And then I saw the plane aim and crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.”

The then 45-year-old knew straight away that this was no accident.

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He has written a memoir – Ordinary Heroes – to tell his story of what happened that day and the actions of those around him.

Like many thousands of other emergency service workers, Chief Pfeifer’s ran towards the now burning skyscraper to do what he could to help.

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What is the legacy of 9/11?

When he arrived, he was the first New York City Fire Department chief on the scene.

He had already called for help – asking for more than 150 firefighters to join him and his crew.

Chief Pfeifer entered the stricken North Tower’s lobby and took control of the situation.

And then 17 minutes later, the South Tower was hit.

Of the hundreds of firefighters now streaming into the burning towers, one was Chief Pfeifer’s brother, Lieutenant Kevin Pfeifer.

“He reported in to me.

Lt Kevin Pfeifer died on 9/11. Pic: Chief Joseph Pfeifer
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Lt Kevin Pfeifer died on 9/11. Pic: Chief Joseph Pfeifer
Pic: FDNY
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The end of the recovery efforts, in May 2002. Pic: FDNY

“And I can remember – we looked at each other – and he had a concerned look on his face.

“And we worried whether each of us was going to be okay.

“And he didn’t say a word – we just had a moment of understanding that this was going to be a tough day.”

Lt Pfeifer, like hundreds others, was ordered to go up the building’s stairs to try to help those trapped.

It was not until the day of the Superbowl on 3 February 2002, almost five months later, that the remains of the chief’s brother were found.

At 9.59am, the unimaginable happened – the South Tower collapsed.

Chief Pfeifer was still commanding operations in the North Tower.

Chief Pfiefer, and then New York Senator Hilary Clinton, as his equipment is displayed at the Museum of American History on 10 September 2002
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Chief Pfiefer, and then New York Senator Hilary Clinton, as his equipment is displayed at the Museum of American History on 10 September 2002

“The lobby goes completely black. We couldn’t see anything,” he says.

He ordered the North Tower to be evacuated, but 29 minutes later the North followed the South.

“I made it out to the street, standing in front of the North Tower.

“And we hear a rumbling sound again and this time somebody yelled ‘the building is collapsing’. And we started to run.

Some 343 firefighters died on 9/11, and another 255 since. Pic: AP
Image:
Some 343 firefighters died on 9/11, and another 255 since. Pic: AP

“However, with helmet and bunker-code pants and boots, you don’t run too far or too fast in 11 seconds.

“And then this beautiful summer morning, full of sunshine, goes completely black, where we couldn’t see a thing.

“And then all that noise from the crashing steel and concrete goes silent.

“It was like a new snow for this muffle sound of silence. And for a few seconds, we wondered if we were still alive.”

The chief had survived, and continued to help in the rescue efforts in the days going forward – even meeting President George W Bush.

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Some 343 firefighters died on 9/11, and 255 more since due to illness and disease.

Chief Pfeifer’s book aims to celebrate the ordinary heroes on that day.

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

Two people have been killed after a suspect shot at firefighters responding to a fire in the US state of Idaho, authorities have said.

Police were still “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said.

Crews were responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain around 1.30pm and gunshots were reported around half an hour later, the force said.

Officers gather near the scene. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Sheriff Bob Norris said officials believe the two killed were firefighters, and he did not know if anyone else was shot.

“We don’t know how many suspects are up there, and we don’t know how many casualties there are,” he said. “We are actively taking fire sniper as we speak.”

Mr Norris said the sniper appeared to be hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle, adding he had instructed his deputies to fire back.

“I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralise, because they’re not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,” the sheriff said.

Armoured police vehicles at the scene. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Governor Brad Little said “multiple” firefighters were attacked.

“This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” he said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”

The president of the International Association of Firefighters said a third firefighter was in surgery.

In a statement on social media Edward Kelly said the firefighters “were ambushed in a heinous act of violence”. He added: “Two of our brothers were killed by a sniper, and a third brother remains in surgery.”

The sheriff’s office in neighbouring Shoshone County said authorities were “dealing with an active shooter situation where the shooter is still at large”.

Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters
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Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters

The fire was still raging, Mr Norris said.

“It’s going to keep burning,” he added. “Can’t put any resources on it right now.”

The FBI was sending technical teams and tactical support to the scene, its deputy director Dan Bongino said.

“It remains an active, and very dangerous scene,” he said on X.

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Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking spot on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, a city of around 55,000 people in northern Idaho.

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Donald Trump says ‘very wealthy group’ has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

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Donald Trump says 'very wealthy group' has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

Donald Trump has said the US government has found a buyer for TikTok that he will reveal “in about two weeks”.

The president told Fox News “it’s a group of very wealthy people”, adding: “I think I’ll probably need China approval, I think President Xi will probably do it.”

TikTok was ordered last year to find a new owner for its US operation – or face a ban – after politicians said they feared sensitive data about Americans could be passed to the Chinese government.

The video app’s owner, Bytedance, has repeatedly denied such claims.

It originally had a deadline of 19 January to find a buyer – and many users were shocked when it “went dark” for a number of hours when that date came round, before later being restored.

However, President Trump has now extended the deadline several times.

The last extension was on 19 June, when the president signed another executive order pushing it back to 17 September.

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Mr Trump’s latest comments suggest multiple people coming together to take control of the app in the US.

Among those rumoured to be potential buyers include YouTube superstar Mr Beast, US search engine startup Perplexity AI, and Kevin O’Leary – an investor from Shark Tank (the US version of Dragons’ Den).

Bytedance said in April that it was still talking to the US government, but there were “differences on many key issues”.

It’s believed the Chinese government will have to approve any agreement.

The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News
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The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News

President Trump’s interview with Fox News also touched on the upcoming end of the pause in US tariffs on imported goods.

On April 9, he granted a 90-day reprieve for countries threatened with a tariff of more than 10% in order to give them time to negotiate.

Deals have already been struck with some countries, including the UK.

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The president said he didn’t think he would need to push back the 9 July deadline and that letters would be sent out imminently stating what tariff each country would face.

“We’ll look at the deficit we have – or whatever it is with the country; we’ll look at how the country treats us – are they good, are they not so good. Some countries, we don’t care – we’ll just send a high number out,” he said.

“But we’re going to be sending letters out starting pretty soon. We don’t have to meet, we have all the numbers.”

The president announced the tariffs in April, arguing they were correcting an unfair trade relationship and would return lost prosperity to US industries such as car-making.

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

Iran will have the capacity to begin enriching uranium again in “a matter of months”, the UN’s nuclear watchdog boss has said.

Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that US strikes on three sites a week ago had caused “severe damage” but it was not “total”.

Middle East: live updates

Mr Grossi told CBS News: “The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.

“But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”

Iran still has “industrial and technological capabilities… so if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again”, he added.

A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar/Reuters
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A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Iranian nuclear and military sites were attacked by Israel on 13 June, with the Israelis claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US then carried out its own strikes on 22 June, hitting Iranian nuclear installations at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, under Operation Midnight Hammer.

Iran has insisted its nuclear research is for civilian energy production purposes.

US President Donald Trump said last weekend that the US deployment of 30,000lb “bunker-busting” bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.

But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment from the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

A source said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear programme, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been put back only a month or two.

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Did the US destroy Iran’s nuclear sites?

Mr Trump has rejected any suggestion that the damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said.

And he stated he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to worrying levels.

At a news conference on Thursday alongside US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine, told reporters the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs had been designed in some secrecy with exactly this sort of target in mind.

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US: Iran nuclear sites ‘obliterated’

The head of the CIA has also said a “body of credible intelligence” indicates Iran’s nuclear programme was “severely damaged”.

Director John Ratcliffe revealed that information from a “historically reliable and accurate source” suggests several key sites were destroyed – and will take years to rebuild.

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Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack on 23 June against a major US base in Qatar, adding the nation would never surrender.

The 12-day air conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a US-brokered ceasefire.

But the Iranian armed forces chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said his country doubts Israel will maintain the truce.

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes had caused significant damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

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