NBC News Reports on September 11, 2001, Attacks

Why it matters locally: While the attacks did not directly occur in Illinois, the widespread national response, including enhanced security measures and changes in federal policy, significantly impacted all U.S. states, including Illinois, in the aftermath.

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Twenty-five years ago, Tom Brokaw anchored an NBC News Special Report on September 11, 2001. Terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes that day, executing coordinated attacks against targets across the United States. Attackers flew two of the planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City. Another hijacked aircraft struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members confronted the hijackers. Approximately 3,000 people died as a result of these attacks.