25 years after Sept. 11 attacks, America reflects and remembers
(CBS NEWS) —
Remembering 9/11, 25 years later
- Political leaders, victims’ families, survivors and Americans across the country are marking a quarter-century on Friday since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
- The annual ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City included an extra moment of silence this year for those who were later stricken with 9/11-related illnesses.
- All living former presidents were in Manhattan for the ceremony, along with Vice President JD Vance. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was there and was also attending other memorial events throughout the city.
- President Trump spoke at the Pentagon. Other administration officials attended the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Ceremony honors passengers and crew of Flight 93
A ceremony held by the National Park Service at the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, began at 1 p.m. Friday.
Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville at 10:03 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, killing all 33 passengers and seven crew members aboard.
Passengers had stormed the cockpit to prevent the terrorists who had taken control of the plane from hitting their intended target in Washington, D.C.
The ceremony Friday includes musical performances and multiple speakers, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
There will also be a wreath laying at the Wall of Names, where 40 marble panels are inscribed with the names of each passenger and crew member.
Final, and new, moment of silence held
The final moment of silence for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks was held Friday at 12:52 p.m. ET, following the reading of the names at Ground Zero.
It was the seventh moment of silence — an addition to the traditional six — and was held for the thousands of people who have died of 9/11-related illnesses. It will become a permanent part of the annual ceremony.
The previous moment of silence was at 10:28 a.m., when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
DHS secretary says another terrorist act likely to happen again
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Friday that it’s probably not a matter of if, but when, another terrorist act happens, blaming immigration enforcement failures. That, he said, won’t be because DHS didn’t do their job, but because “one little person” went unnoticed.
“Unfortunately, it’s probably not a matter of if, it’s more a matter of when, something happens again,” Mullin said in a speech outside the Department of Homeland Security headquarters during a remembrance ceremony. “And it won’t be because we didn’t do our job. It’s because that one little person that wanted to tear down our American dream went unnoticed.”
Mullin said it’s “tough to protect all the homeland.”
He said while “he’s not trying to get political,” he will, and accused sanctuary cities of “harboring and abetting activities just like this.”
“One thing we should all agree on is we should all be in the same boat, we should all be on the same war, trying to protect the homeland, regardless of your politics,” Mullin added.
Mullin said that if the U.S. takes care of the small criminals, they won’t become large criminals, and those large criminals won’t become terrorists.
Mullin said securing the border “shouldn’t be political.”
“And if anything, when we start looking at the 25th anniversary, if there’s anything we should agree on, it should be that,” he said.
NYC students learn lessons of 9/11 through parents, teachers
Kathleen Curatolo keeps memories of her brother, Robert Curatolo, close. His badge number is tattooed on her ankle and pinned to her dress.
Robert was an FDNY firefighter who responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
“When the second tower fell, he dove under a fire truck as he was trained to do. But, of course, it was crushed. For us, we believe it’s a miracle he was found two days later because there are people still waiting to recover loved ones,” said Curatolo, the principal at St. Patrick Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge.
Twenty-five years after the attacks, 9/11 is a difficult but important part of the school’s curriculum.
“Most of the parents in this school are firefighters, they’re police officers, they’re medical professionals,” Curatolo said.
However, teaching this history a quarter century later presents a unique set of challenges. None of the school’s current students were alive that day. But many have parents or loved ones who witnessed the attacks, responded to them or helped save lives.
2,977 drones recreate Twin Towers in NYC skyline
A drone show lit up the skies over Lower Manhattan earlier this week.
The display brought 2,977 lights over New York Harbor and the 9/11 memorial, one light for each person killed in the attacks. It recreated the outline of the Twin Towers at full height. The drones first swirled in a helix, spiraling upward, before revealing their final shape.
It was part of an art exhibit commemorating 25 years since the terror attacks.
How security, threats have changed since 9/11
CBS News National security contributor Samantha Vinograd, who was inspired to go into a life of public service after 9/11, said on Friday the security protocols that undergird our security today were really born out of the attacks.
“We saw a huge sea change in the physical security requirements to travel, to access government buildings, mass gatherings, monuments and more,” she said.
“We saw structural shifts, of course – the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, where I served, the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Counterterrorism Center, the consolidation of data sets of terrorists into one list. Again, all to try to create cohesion and integration and to avoid inefficiencies,” she said.
The U.S. also saw an expansion in government surveillance powers and presidential authority to engage in the use of force, she said.
She also noted that “the threat landscape has materially changed” since 2001, when “we saw primarily foreign terrorist organizations with relatively large physical footholds overseas, with strong hierarchies in place and direct command and control.”
“Today, what we see is technology enabled, foreign terrorism and a real explosion in the domestic terrorist threat here in the homeland,” she said.
View live updates of 9/11 coverage here.
