By Christine Sexton | Senior Reporter
“It’s always hard to come back here, but it’s always a chance to remember the sacrifices made by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day.” — States Newsroom’s Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert
The crash of United Flight 93 is marked by a boulder at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 26, 2026. (Photo by Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
Twenty five years ago al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial planes. They slammed two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth — Flight 93 — crashed in an open clearing near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. States Newsroom’s Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert recently revisited the national memorial on this field — where he happened to own a piece of land that was part of more than three dozen acres that made up the crash site.
Florida universities aren’t failing but they aren’t top ranked when it comes to freedom of speech and expression according to the 2027 College Free Speech Rankings published by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. First Amendment snafus, including those following the killing of Charlie Kirk were factored into the annual nationwide rankings. The University of Miami, which is private, was among the lowest ranked in the nation.
It looks like another round of health insurance premium increases for millions of Floridians. Twelve Affordable Care Act-participating insurers submitted for rate increases in the coming year, data show. AmeriHealth Caritas Florida filed for the largest increase, 39.14%, while Centene Venture Co. Florida filed for the smallest rate increase for 2027, at 3.87%. The rates still aren’t finalized, a job for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
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