Flight 93 National Memorial

The United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks Friday with ceremonies at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump attended the Pentagon observance, while former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden joined Vice President JD Vance at the New York ceremony, where victims' relatives read the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed. For the first time, organizers added a moment of silence honoring those who later died of cancer and other illnesses linked to toxic dust from the towers' collapse.

The anniversary drew attention to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, who faced criticism from some Republicans and victims' families for attending the ceremony but said he wanted the day focused on victims' families and first responders. The attacks reshaped U.S. security policy, air travel and foreign policy, launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Sept. 11 remains observed nationally as Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.