The Daily Five: Flags at Half Staff On The Anniversary of 9/11

1. Clear sunny skies again today. Weather.com is predicting a high temperature of 73 degrees, an overnight low of 54 degrees, and a zero percent chance of rain. 

2. Flags will be lowered to half-staff in Connecticut and all over the country today in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks that shocked the nation and the world 11 years ago today. Governor Malloy proclaimed Tuesday, September 11, 2012 as Honor Our Heroes and Remembrance Day.

President Barack Obama issued a Patriot Day/National Day of Service proclamation and called for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the moment when the first hijacked aircraft crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. 

3. The state's official 9/11 Memorial at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport was the site of an official memorial event yesterday. In her speech at that event, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman made reference to a four-year-old blonde girl from Connecticut who died aboard one of the hijacked planes.  

The girl she spoke about was Juliana Valentine McCourt of New London, who died along with her mother, Ruth McCourt, that day. The two had been on their way to Disneyland. The  at the  in New London offers a quiet place for contemplation today.

4. There are a number of updates on the progress (or lack thereof) on the 9/11 Memorial in New York City in case you're interested in what's going on at the site that came to be known as "ground zero." Be warned, it's a very depressing story of wrangling over money and disputes between interested parties that can't seem to agree on anything.

A live webcast of commemoration ceremonies at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City will begin at 8:30 a.m. You'll find that at: www.911memorial.org 

5. With so much politics involved in actually creating the memorial, it's not without a hint of irony that this year, politicians are banned from speaking at the 9/11 Memorial Ceremonies in New York. . 

As part of this year's commemoration, however, both President Barack Obama and Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney have decided to take a one-day hiatus from political campaign ads. After the endless bombardment of political ads in the run-up to the November election that, at least, might be a welcome respite.