Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the courage of the NYPD officers who rushed into danger remains a guiding force for the department, Chief of Department Michael LiPetri said at a ceremony unveiling a memorial wall honoring members who died that day and in the years that followed.

“No one reaches this point by themselves,” LiPetri told those gathered. “No matter the rank we earn or the command we are entrusted to lead, we do so on the foundation laid by those who came before us.”

He said the department carries forward not only their sacrifice, but also the values they left behind — lessons and examples that current and future NYPD members are now charged with preserving.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said more than 469 NYPD members have died from illnesses linked to their work after the attacks. LiPetri also noted that over 1,700 members have retired with disabilities connected to the World Trade Center response.

“We are still losing members to illnesses caused by their service after the attacks,” LiPetri said. “All these years later, we are still standing with families as they bury loved ones whose lives were forever changed by the work they did after Sept. 11”

The memorial wall at One Police Plaza honors the 23 NYPD officers killed at the World Trade Center that morning, along with members who later died from illnesses linked to their rescue and recovery efforts.

“Sept. 11 did not end on Sept. 11,” NYPD Chief Chaplain Reverend R. Bernard said during the invocation. “For many, the costs continued for years, illness endured, families impacted and lives ultimately lost.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani recalled the story of Officer John William Perry, who was at One Police Plaza preparing to resign and begin a career as an attorney when the first plane struck the North Tower. Perry asked for his shield back and rushed to the World Trade Center.

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“There he was confronted with unimaginable suffering, but he did not stop with the same immense bravery and courage that was commonplace among so many that day, the kind that has long defined this department,” Mamdani said.

“Officer Perry ran into the fire. The last time he was seen he was helping a woman out of the South Tower before rushing back in to save as many others as he could. Officer Perry and 22 of his fellow officers, each with their own stories, were killed that morning. That includes 14 members of the emergency service unit, who were among the first to enter the towers.”

Mamdani noted sons of officers Ronnie Klopfer and Joseph Viviano “now carry on his legacy of bravery as valued members of this very department.”

“Every officer present that day embodied the NYPD’s creed that the duty to protect is not a job that one clocks out of, but a calling,” Mamdani said. “One answers until the very end.

“In the days and months that followed September 11th, thousands of NYPD officers and staff from across every precinct and every borough heeded that same call. They took on that same heavy and incalculable risk.”

Their sons play on the same lacrosse team Klopfer founded before the attacks.

“Their fathers are gone, but the team that Ron built is still here,” LiPetri said. “Their sons are wearing an NYPD uniform, and a connection that began years before Sept. 11 continues inside the department.”

Tisch said thousands of current NYPD officers were children on 9/11, while many others had not yet been born. She said preserving the memories of those who served is becoming increasingly important as the generation that responded to the attacks retires.

“The faces in this building will be different, but these names will still be here,” Tisch said. “The example of the men and women behind them will continue to shape the department.”

Sir Richard Branson’s wife may have survived had doctors given her blood-thinning treatment for a “massive” clot found on one of her lungs, an inquest has been told.

Lady Joan Branson died at the age of 80 in a London hospital last November, after developing complications linked to a back injury she sustained in a fall at the family’s Necker Island residence.

At Westminster Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, the hearing was told that her cause of death was a pulmonary embolism — a sudden and potentially fatal blockage of an artery in the lung — which followed deep vein thrombosis.

Joan had been admitted to The Lister Hospital in Chelsea on November 17, several weeks after falling at the private Caribbean retreat in the British Virgin Islands owned by her billionaire husband.

The inquest heard that the 80-year-old had a known history of blood clots going back to 2018 and had previously been given injections of an anticoagulant medication for flights and during earlier hospital stays.

But Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for Inner West London, told today’s inquest that Joan did not receive prophylactic anticoagulants, in particular Enoxaparin injections, prior to her death despite there being a ‘very high risk of developing deep vein thrombosis’.

Giving her conclusion, the coroner said: ‘I do find her death would have likely been prevented and the lack of anticoagulation did cause or contribute to her death probably.’

She added: ‘This 80-year old lady was admitted to the Lister Hospital on November 17, 2025 following a GP referral after persistent pain following a fall at home two weeks earlier. Sadly she passed away in hospital on November 24.’

Joan’s daughter, Dr Holly Branson, sent an email to the court ahead of the inquest in which she expressed concern at how her mother was treated in hospital, but did not want to ‘attribute blame to any individual doctor’. 

She questioned why her mother was not offered the medication, which she was said to have been ‘accustomed to’, and refused to accept that Joan refused to take it. 

Dr Branson explained that Joan used the anti-blood clot injections ‘extensively while flying and during previous hospital admissions’ and always took them when advised. 

She added: ‘The suggestion she refused Enoxaparin due to prior pain or bleeding concerns is not consistent with her usual practice or attitude.’

Dr Branson said that while she was at her mother’s side during the first two days, Enoxaparin ‘was never offered’.

‘Had I been aware she was not receiving Enoxaparin injections I would have been very concerned given her recent long haul travel and medical history,’ she added.

Dr Branson added that unless ‘the bleeding risk’ outweighed the benefit of busting clots, ‘I would have asked my mother to take it’.

She also claimed her mother had not been given anti-clot stockings to wear for up to 48 hours after her admission to hospital.

Dr Branson said: ‘I noticed she was not wearing them and asked the nurses. My impression from the doctors was that this was an oversight on their part. Of course, as soon as we discussed their importance, she wore them.’

Dr Basir Kunduzi, who was on duty at Lister Hospital, was asked by the coroner whether he thought Lady Branson should have been on anti-coagulant injection.

‘I thought she should have been,’ he told the court, and accepted it was his responsibility to prescribe the drugs.

Asked to explain why he did not give the drugs, Dr Kunduzi said: ‘Since Lady Branson had a fall and had been mobilised since her fall, there was a risk of bleeding.’

He decided to delay prescribing anti-blood clot injections until he organised a CT scan to ensure there was no bleeding – which the drugs could worsen.

Dr Kunduzi wrote on her records that he had not given anti-clot drugs.

Asked how any other doctor would have known he had chosen not to give Lady Branson the drugs, Dr Kunduzi said he expected whoever took over from him to review his decision.

Dr Kunduzi said he now realises ‘the importance of communication between team members’ and has ‘changed’ his team practice.

He said the decision not to administer the anti-coagulants to Lady Branson would live with him for the rest of his life, adding: ‘I would like to express my deepest condolences to Lady Branson’s family.’

Dr Nevil Pavithran, who took over Lady Branson’s care, told the inquest she should have been given anti-coagulants within 12 hours of her admission to hospital.

Asked by the coroner whether it was a ‘straightforward’ decision to prescribe anti-coagulants, the doctor agreed that it was on November 18.

Dr Pavithran added that ‘there was no bleeding risk’ from the drugs. He also said that she was ‘not likely’ to be wearing compression stockings.

He added that during a ward round late in the evening of November 18, the consultant on duty, Dr Inaki Bovill, asked for her to wear compression stockings.

Dr Ben Thomas, a consultant anaesthetist at the Lister, saw Lady Branson on the evening of November 19.

He was considering giving her a pain-killing injection into her spine – although he did not do so – and asked if she was on blood thinners. This was important because an injection into her spine could lead to excessive bleeding, he said.

Dr Thomas said Lady Branson was asked if she was on blood-thinning drugs and she ‘denied it, she said no, she avoided them, and didn’t like the bruising from the needles, but took them for flights’.

Later, Dr Thomas said he learned of Lady Branson’s death from a news report and called his colleague Dr Bovill.

He added: ‘He sounded distressed, he gave me a brief summary of what happened. I followed up to check he was OK by text message.’

In a further message to Dr Bovill discussing the case, Dr Thomas sent a text message at 6.21pm about anti-coagulants.

Dr Thomas wrote: ‘I asked for anti-coagulant on first meeting. She confirmed not normally taken and would only take a jab when flying.’

He explained: ‘I didn’t mean she declined medication, it was that she wasn’t routinely on it but specific to flying.’

Dr Thomas added: ‘I regret not going into further detail that day.’

Describing how Lady Branson came to the hospital, Dr Bovill said she had had a fall at her home on Necker Island.

He said: ‘She described tripping over some slippers by her bed. She had fallen, unable to get up, was in a lot of pain and diagnosed in the British Virgin Islands having sustained fractures of the pelvis and right hip.’

Dr Bovill said he knew Lady Branson well, and also knew her daughter Dr Branson from many years ago because they worked at the same hospital trust.

He was aware Lady Branson had an umbrella-like metal filter in the major vein leading to the heart, the vena cava, to stop blood clots reaching the heart.

Based on the drug history, on the day of Lady Branson’s admission, Dr Bovill said she was not on anti-coagulants, although she was on a variety of other drugs including low-dose aspirin.

Dr Bovill saw her on November 17 and was not aware she had not been assessed for bleeding risks.

Asked if this had not been brought to his attention, Dr Bovill said: ‘I can’t recall being told about that. I can’t recall talking with Lady Branson. It was a very brief visit.’

Asked whether the VTE (Venous Thromboembolism) assessment ‘should have been carried out’ and clot busting drugs should have been prescribed on her admission on November 17, Dr Bovill replied: ‘Yes it should have been done and should have been prescribed. It was a regret it wasn’t spotted by me that evening.’

Dr Bovill said that the next day, after he finished his clinic at his NHS job at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital at around 5pm, he travelled to Lister Hospital by moped.

He said on his ward round there were ‘no contra-indications’ to give Lady Branson the anti-clot drugs with the exception of whether she might have to receive a pain killing injection in the spine.

Going back to the decision not to give drugs on November 18, Dr Bovill said his ‘recollection was not completely clear, but I was reminded when I spoke [after Lady Branson’s death] with Dr Pavithran.

‘I was very distressed at what happened. My mind was numb and could not recall in detail’.

Dr Pavithran told Dr Bovill that ‘Lady Branson had declined injections because of pain and needles and bruising,’

The coroner asked Dr Bovill why he did not ‘simply persuade her to take it knowing she had taken it previously and needed it’.

Dr Bovill said: ‘I thought long and hard about this and reflected on it… I should have perhaps been much more forceful. It’s to my great regret I did not or it appears I did not but it would have been my normal practice to do so.’

Compression stockings and low-dose aspirin ‘would not have been sufficient’ to prevent blood clots, Dr Bovill said.

Asked if he ever revisited the decision not to prescribe the anti-clot drugs, Dr Bovill said: ‘Again, with great regret, I did not.’

Dr Bovill said one issue was that the Lister had adopted a new electronic drug prescribing system called Expanse.

He added: ‘Before [the use of this system] it would have been obvious on the drug chart whether prescribed or not prescribed.’

Dr Bovill stated: ‘I should have revisited it. We are still getting used to Expanse.’

Asked whether it was the job of ‘junior doctors’ to prescribe the anti-clot drugs and carry out the VTE assessment, Dr Bovill said: ‘It is in all places I’ve worked, but ultimately the responsibility does rest with the consultants, I have to accept that.’

In a statement read at the inquest by the coroner, family members described Lady Branson as a ‘deeply loved wife, mother, grandmother and friend’ who was ‘known for her warmth, kindness and unwavering compassion for others’.

They added: ‘She was the heart of our family and played a central role in creating a close, loving environment around her. She had a remarkable ability to connect with people from all walks of life, bringing together diverse groups of people.’

Lady Branson, born Joan Templeman in Glasgow, was described as ‘a trusted confidante to many’ known for ‘her generosity and acts of kindness’.

Describing her relationship with Sir Richard, the tribute said this was built on ‘mutual strength’ and ‘enduring affection’, adding: ‘She had a lasting impact on all who knew her.’

Virgin tycoon Sir Richard had described his wife as the ‘most wonderful mum and grandmum’ on Instagram after her death. The pair married on Necker Island in 1989.

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson will be recognized at Tunnel to Towers’ annual gala later this year, as the foundation celebrates his 10-year commitment to its mission.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, established in 2001 in support of 9/11 first responders, military veterans, and their families, is widely known for building mortgage-free smart homes for severely injured service members and providing housing assistance for homeless veterans.

Johnson’s longtime charitable work with Tunnel to Towers dates back to 2014, when he contributed $1 million to the organization’s Building for America’s Bravest initiative.

Most recently, Johnson joined Tunnel to Towers last month to present Command Sergeant Major William “Bud” McElroy with a new mortgage-free smart home, delivering a life-changing surprise to the veteran.

“Tunnel to Towers’ extraordinary work is a constant reminder of the importance of honoring the memory of the heroes who demonstrated courage and made the ultimate sacrifice for this country,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “Over the past two decades they have channeled grief into action, and it’s a privilege to be recognized by such an honorable group.”

“Woody Johnson has been standing with our families for more than a decade, and he’s never once asked for anything in return,” Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said in a statement. “Because of Woody, his family, and the Betty Wood Johnson Foundation, six catastrophically injured veterans are living in specially adapted smart homes today, and first responder families across this country are keeping their homes.”

“My brother Stephen ran toward people who needed him without asking what it would cost him — Woody has been doing the same thing for twelve years. There’s no one more deserving of the Follow the Footsteps Award, which we will be presenting to him at our gala in December,” Siller added.

The gala honoring Johnson will take place in December.

Johnson previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom during the first Trump administration and is a founding trustee of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Seattle’s interim police chief described known gun violence suspects as “trigger pullers” during a Labor Day weekend news briefing, as he addressed three separate shootings and outlined how the Seattle Police Department is responding.

The shootings unfolded within a 24-hour period, leaving three people dead and three others wounded, FOX 13 Seattle reported.

Interim Chief Andre Sayles said Seattle police are stepping up patrols, working closely with local business owners and using the department’s community response group and gun violence reduction unit in an effort to prevent further violence.

“We’re looking at ways to where we can identify individuals that are known, we call trigger pullers, in our community,” Sayles said during a Sept. 7 briefing. “Identifying them, making sure that we’re putting cases on those individuals working with King County Prosecutor’s Office, to bring these individuals to justice, because the families that lost loved ones, throughout the year and years past, deserve justice.”

The term drew pushback from local commentators who said it softened the description of violent suspects.

“So in Seattle we aren’t calling them ‘shooters’ anymore? Now they are ‘trigger pullers’?” local radio host Ari Hoffman posted on social media following Sayles’ remarks.

The phrase is not new to law enforcement. In 2022, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray used the term during remarks to the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies.

“You all know what’s driving the violent crime in your states,” Wray said. “Whether it’s a community where a disproportionate amount of gun violence takes place or rival gangs wreaking havoc in a particular region or a handful of well-known trigger pullers who keep finding their way back to the streets, no matter how many times they’re arrested, at the FBI, we want to be your integral partner in the fight against violent crime.”

Sayles said investigators did not believe the three shootings were connected and that none appeared to be linked to the deadly July shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival.

The first shooting occurred early Sunday near Denny Way and Clay Street, where a fight following a street takeover escalated into gunfire, killing a 20-year-old man and injuring two others, FOX 13 Seattle reported.

About an hour later, a gunman fired multiple shots into a vehicle near Third Avenue and Blanchard Street, fatally wounding a 23-year-old woman.

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Before midnight, a third altercation near Elliott Avenue and Bell Street left a 17-year-old dead and a 21-year-old seriously injured. Investigators did not immediately identify a clear gang connection in that case.

No arrests had been made in the three shootings when Sayles spoke with reporters. He said investigators were working with witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage, including about 450 hours of video in one case.

Sayles also acknowledged questions about whether police resources had been strained by the shootings and a series of street takeovers over the weekend.

“That’s something I have to look at. I haven’t really dove into what the staffing numbers looked like,” Sayles said. “And if that was the case, then we will do what we need to do as a department to make sure that they are not overwhelmed.”

Sayles said the department’s intelligence unit was working to identify where street takeovers were being organized and that officers would coordinate with regional, local and federal partners.

“We have officers in these dedicated areas,” he said. “They’re a block or two away, and it’s one of those incidents where we respond to violence on a daily basis. It’s not like we can be there and stop it, but our goal is to be there and stop it.”

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson offered condolences to the victims’ families during a public appearance, FOX 13 Seattle reported.

“This weekend, we’ve seen three people die, which is incredibly tragic, and my heart goes out to the victims and their families,” Wilson said.

Seattle police told the station the department was seeking tips, photos and videos from the shooting scenes that could help lead to arrests. Investigators continue to pursue leads in all three cases.

News Media has reached out to the Seattle Police Department and the mayor’s office for additional comment.