9/11: Remains of two more attack victims identified ahead of 22nd anniversary
The remains of two more people who died during the 9/11 attacks in 2001 have been identified as part of a decades-long effort to return them to their families.
A man and a woman were both identified, New York City officials said, but their names have been withheld.
The city’s medical examiner has now identified 1,649 World Trade Centre victims through their remains, using DNA sequencing to test fragments from the bodies discovered in the rubble.
Advancements in technology, which include increased test sensitivity and faster turnaround times, mean remains that have tested negative for identifiable DNA can now be identified.
The same methods are used to identify missing service members in the US military, as well as to test the remains of more than 100 people who died during the wildfires in Maui last month.
However, despite the advancements in the technology the rate of positive identifications has slowed in recent years, with the last being two years ago, and then again two years before that.
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There are more than 1,000 human remains from the attacks that are yet to be identified, and are currently being stored at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Centre site.
Dr Jason Graham, the city’s chief medical examiner, said officials were committed to fulfilling their “solemn pledge” to return the remains.
“Faced with the largest and most complex forensic investigation in the history of our country, we stand undaunted in our mission to use the latest advances in science to serve this promise.”
Monday marks 22 years since the attacks in New York, where two aircraft were hijacked by suicide bombers, and flown into the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers, killing thousands.
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Another hijacked flight was flown into the Pentagon, while a fourth attempt crashed in rural Pennsylvania, after passengers overpowered the attackers.
It is widely accepted the attacks were carried out by terrorist group al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden.
The US House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas for depositions with former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton relating to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The Republican-controlled committee also subpoenaed the Justice Department for files relating to the paedophile financier, as well as eight former top law enforcement officials.
Donald Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein‘s crimes, claiming he ended their relationship a long time ago.
Mr Trump and Mr Epstein at a party together in 1992. Pic: NBC News
The US president has repeatedly tried to draw a line under the Justice Department’s decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation, but politicians from both major political parties, as well as many in Mr Trump’s political base, have refused to drop their interest in the Epstein files.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and since then, conspiracy theories have swirled about what information investigators gathered on him and who else may have been involved in his crimes.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee initiated the subpoenas for the Clintons last month, as well as demanding all communications between former president Joe Biden’s Democrat administration and the Justice Department about Epstein.
The committee previously issued a subpoena for an interview with Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who had been serving a prison sentence in Florida for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. She was recently transferred to another facility in Texas.
Mr Clinton was among those acquainted with Epstein before the criminal investigation against him in Florida became public two decades ago. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.
Mr Clinton previously said, through a spokesperson, that while he travelled on Epstein’s jet, he never visited his homes and had no knowledge of his crimes.
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The subpoenas give the Justice Department until 19 August to hand over the requested records.
The committee is also asking the former officials to appear for depositions throughout August, September and October, concluding with Hillary Clinton on 9 October and Bill Clinton on 14 October.
Although several former presidents, including Mr Trump, have been issued congressional subpoenas, none has ever appeared before members under compulsion.
Last month, Mr Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release information presented to the grand jury that indicted Maxwell for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been in contact with Donald Trump about a pardon, a source close to the rapper’s legal team has told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
A White House spokesperson said it “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request”.
On Tuesday, the rapper was denied bail ahead of his sentencing in October, when he could face up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of prostitution-related offences.
The sentence will likely be much shorter than that, however.
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
During an interview with news channel Newsmax last Friday, Mr Trump said “they have talked to me about Sean” but did not announce any decision.
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Combs reacts after the verdicts are read out in court. File pic: Reuters
The president seemed to cast doubt that he would grant a pardon, however.
“You know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great. And seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t know him well,” Trump said. “But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.”
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “It makes it more – I’m being honest, it makes it more difficult to do.”
Trump was then asked, “more likely a ‘no’ for Combs?”
Trump responded: “I would say so.”
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Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture, as well as a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
Now, as well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
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