iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — It’s finally done.

Thirteen years after the Twin Towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, the new centerpiece skyscraper at the World Trade Center opens Monday morning.

The path to this day was anything but easy or clear. Battles began almost as soon as the debris was hauled away in 2002 and, since then, there have been fights over cost, design, security and even the structure’s name. But still, the tower — a technological marvel sitting on piles driven more than 100 feet below the Hudson River — rose steadily out of the northwest corner of the WTC site.

Monday, the storied Conde Nast magazine empire, with titles like Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, moves in with 2,300 employees spread among 24 floors. In so many ways, this day marks the final piece of the rebirth and renewal of a Lower Manhattan devastated when two hijacked jets slammed into the Twin Towers that bright morning.

On Sept. 11, 2011, the 9/11 Memorial opened. Six months ago, the 9/11 Museum opened. Both were built to commemorate what was lost.

One World Trade is a monument to the future.

“It’s a fantastic milestone,” said Steve Plate, who has overseen WTC construction since the beginning. “I was there that fateful day. And to see from where we started to where we are today, it’s truly a miracle.”

“It truly is the eighth wonder of the world,” Plate said. “And the building itself is truly iconic.”

The new 1 WTC tower and the 16-acre site it anchors are owned by the Port Authority, a massive government agency controlled by the governors of New York and New Jersey.

Plate was supposed to be in his office on the 82nd floor of the North Tower when the attacks began 13 years ago. He wasn’t because he drove his son to school and then missed his usual train. Since then, it has been his mission to rebuild the site into something that would make New York City proud.

“I’m an engineer and I can add numbers and tell you ‘tallest, strongest’ and all this stuff,’” Plate said. “But at the end of the day, it’s the most beautiful building in the most beautiful city in the most beautiful region in the world.”

Standing at 1,776 feet (which includes its landmark spire), 1 WTC is the tallest building in the country and the western hemisphere. It is 104 stories tall and has a three-floor observatory that is to open this spring.

Much like the tower itself, its price tag rose steadily since construction began. By the time the first Conde Nast employee walks in Monday, the final dollar figure will be around $3.9 billion — or double the original estimate.

The problems and battles that preceded opening day are going to fade into the background, according to the building’s boosters, as 1 WTC takes its place in the fabric of New York.

“There’s so many people who have done so much to bring it where it is,” said Dave Checketts, the CEO of Legends, the company operating the observatory on floors 100-102, told ABC News Anchor Dan Harris. “I give them all a lot of credit for staying with the fight because the finished product is going to be something inspirational to people and comforting.”

Checketts said there’s just one message in the reality that the new skyscraper is built and reclaiming its place near the southern tip of the New York skyline.

“It’s a brute fact. We did come back,” Checketts said looking out from near the tower’s top. “We brought it back; we built it even higher than it was before.”

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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — As New York City hosts the nation’s sole Ebola patient, city and state officials have announced a program to encourage health care professionals to travel to West Africa to treat Ebola patients.

The initiative would be modeled on benefits and rights provided to military reservists.

New York state and the city will work to ensure that health care workers who travel to West Africa would have their pay, health care and employment statuses continue seamlessly when they get back.

“The depth of the challenge we face in containing Ebola requires us to meet this test in a comprehensive manner on multiple fronts, and part of that is encouraging and incentivizing medical personnel to go to West Africa,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Friday.

State officials would also provide necessary reimbursements to health care workers and their employers for any quarantine that are needed upon their return to New York.

New York state is coordinating the program with New Jersey and the Greater New York Hospital Association.

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iStock/Thinkstoc(WASHINGTON) — Jobless claims were higher last week, increasing by 3,000, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Labor Department.

For the week ending Oct. 25, the number of people filing for benefits jumped to 287,000. The previous week claims stood at 284,000, revised up from 283,000.

The Labor Department said there were no “special factors” impacting that week’s figures.

The four-week moving average decreased, however, falling by just 250 to 281,000.

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iStock/Thinkstock(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — A man claims he was under a sort of exorcism when he confessed to killing a fellow member of a religious group in Kansas City, Missouri, whose death was originally ruled a suicide.

The body of Bethany Deaton was found Oct. 30, 2012, in the back seat of her minivan with the doors locked and a note inside.

“My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing,” the note read, according to court documents. “I did it because I wouldn’t be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me.”

Deaton, 27, was a member of a religious group called the International House of Prayer, which was led by her husband, Tyler Deaton. A few weeks after her death, Micah Moore, another member of the group, confessed to her slaying.

Tyler Deaton had a cult-like following within the group and controlled virtually every aspect of some members’ lives, according to court documents.

When Moore confessed, he told police Deaton ordered him to kill his wife to stop her from telling anyone about sexual assaults against her in the house, according to police records. The three lived in a communal house with other male members of the group.

“This is a horrible, horrible crime,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said. “A young woman lost her life. She lost her life in a very violent way and today, we do know what happened to her.”

Now Moore claims he only confessed to killing Deaton because he was under the influence of what some have called an exorcism. Moore, who is scheduled for trial next month, has pleaded not guilty.

“They were the statements of a distraught and confused young man,” his attorney, Melanie Morgan, said.

The medical examiner has also changed the manner of Deaton’s death to undetermined.

“We are aware of no evidence that a crime has occurred,” Morgan said.

The International House of Prayer denied any affiliation with Deaton’s group in a statement to ABC News.

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Image Credit: NASA/Terry Zaperach(WALLOPS, Va.) — NASA said on Wednesday that the Wallops Incident Response Team completed its initial assessment after Orbital Science Corporation’s Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff on Tuesday.

“I want to praise the launch team, range safety, all of our emergency responders and those who provided mutual aid and support on a highly-professional response that ensured the safety of our most important resource — our people,” Wallops Director Bill Wrobel said. The initial assessment is just a “cursory look,” the NASA press release notes, though it found numerous broken windows and imploded doors at buildings in the immediate area.

The most severe damage was found at a sounding rocket launcher adjacent to the launchpad and buildings nearest the pad, and there was damage to the transporter erector launcher and lightning supression rods at Pad 0A.

Soil, air and water samples will be taken from the incident area to ensure that the environment is safe. No hazardous substances were detected in initial sampling.

Also on Wednesday, Orbital said in a statement that the “major elements of the launch complex infrastructure…avoided serious damage.”

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Jason Merritt/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Mad Men is winding down, and Jessica Paré is already prepping for her next big role: Mom.

The actress is expecting her first child with boyfriend John Kastner, her rep confirmed to ABC News.

Paré, 33, has been dating her musician beau since 2012, according to People.

Kastner made the pregnancy announcement on his Instagram feed a few weeks ago. In the photo, his young daughter, Summer Lee, can be seen wearing a T-shirt with a telling message: “I’m going to be a big sister!”

Neither Paré nor Kastner have confirmed the baby’s due date.

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