US marks 20th anniversary of 9/11: Live updates | CNN (2024)

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are in attendance for the wreath-laying ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial this afternoon.

Also at the ceremony are Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Leon Panetta (right) during his interview with Jim Acosta on September 11, 2021

Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta said he’s glad that former President Bush called out domestic terrorism in his speech at the Flight 93 memorial today.

He also said said President Biden should “focus on the future” regarding Afghanistan.

“I really think it isimportant for President Biden tomove on.He made a decision, whether youagree or disagree with thedecision, he made it.I think what’s important now isfor the President to focus onthe future and how is thiscountry going to make sure that9/11 never happens again,andthat we will protect our countryfrom terrorists abroad andterrorists here at home.I think that’s the key messagehe has to send to the Americanpeople,” Panetta said.

Earlier today in Pennsylvania, Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., waiting to greet Vice President Kamala Harris at Oakland International Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, to campaign for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces removal from office in a Sept. 14 recall election.

Rep. Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization for the use of force in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, acknowledged the anniversary in remarks and compared the unified response to the terrorist attack to the need to unite in the face of the pandemic.

Lee’s remarks were made during an event for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces a gubernatorial recall election next week.

“Now we are working together through this tragedy of the pandemic, of the inequities that we have within our system, and that means we have to make sure that we continue to work to beat back this recall and make sure that Gavin Newsom continues to be our governor, because he has fought to hard, so hard to close these inequities, to unify this state,” Lee said.

Ivilina Popova and her twin sister, Elmira, came to the US from Bulgaria in 1991. After working at universities in different cities, they left academia so they could be together. The pair moved to New Jersey, Ivilina said, and landed jobs on Wall Street. When the second plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, she said she felt numb and as though darkness took over as she fled with her sister.

Listen to Popova’s story, in her own words:

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President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media as he visits the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department in Shanksville, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.

President Biden spoke briefly with reporters Saturday while visiting the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, where he reflected on the day’s events.

The President spoke about a friend of his from Delaware, who lost a son on 9/11, acknowledging he, “like a lot of people, is probably having a tough day today.”

Biden also offered praise for a group of passengers on board United Flight 93, who seized control of the co*ckpit and redirected the plane to an empty field in Pennsylvania, marveling, “Talk about genuine heroism.”

The president also offered praise for former President George W. Bush’s remarks earlier at the Flight 93 Memorial.

“I thought President Bush made a really good speech today, a genuinely good speech, about who we are, we’re not—the core of who we are is not divided, it’s just this notion of, I don’t know how to explain it,” Biden said.

Sept. 11, 2001, was a wakeup call, said Sadia Sheikh, who moved to the US in 1978 from Pakistan. When she turned on the TV that morning, what she saw on the screen hit her hard. At that moment, as a Muslim American, she said she knew her life would never be the same again.

Listen to Sheikh’s story, in her own words:

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Deena Burnett Bailey, the wife of a Flight 93 victim, speaks with CNN from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11. She is joined by her daughters.

Deena Burnett Bailey, the wife of a Flight 93 victim, said this year’s Sept. 11 anniversary is different for her — not because it’s been 20 years since the attack but because her daughters are all now grown adults.

“And so to be able to come backto Shanksville, to bring them,to show them where it allhappened and to be able to sharethat experience with my adultdaughters … it brought us fullcircle,” she said.

This is the first time all three of her daughters have gone to the memorial, she said. Her twin daughters were 5 and her younger daughter was 3 when her husband, Tom Burnett, was killed.

On Sept. 11, 2001, they talked to each other at least three times while he was on the plane, she said.

“He started sharing theinformation I was giving him tothe people around him.He just sounded very matter-of-fact, like he was just gatheringthe information and trying tosort it out,” she said.

“He called again a third time andhe told me that he put a plantogether to take back theairplane.They were waiting until theywere over a rural area to takeback the co*ckpit.He said not to worry,” she said.

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The Tribute In Light shines into the sky from Lower Manhattan during a test on September 07, 2021 as seen from the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

As part of the 20-year remembrance of9/11, CNN will air“Shine A Light,” hosted by anchor and chief Washington correspondentJake Tapper.

The one-hour event will pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the9/11attacks, their families, survivors, rescue and recovery workers and volunteers, and those in the military.

The program will feature discussions with young adults who were affected by the events of9/11and its aftermath.

The event will also include musical performances by Brad Paisley, Common, H.E.R., and Maroon 5 and appearances byRobert De Niro,Leonardo DiCaprioandEli Manning.

“Shine A Light”willair on CNN, CNN Internationaland CNN en Español at 8 p.m. ET.

Former President Donald Trump visited the NYPD's 17th police precinct in New York on Saturday Sept. 11, 2021.

On the 20thanniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, former President Trump visited the New York City Police Department’s 17thprecinct in Manhattan’s Midtown East neighborhood.

Trump issued multiple statements attacking President Biden Saturday, and unlike Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Trump was not in attendance at the National September 11thMemorial in Manhattan.

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media as he visits the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11.

President Biden defended his administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in brief remarks to the press pool in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Saturday.

Biden, who was visiting the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department where first responders were among the first on the scene at the United Flight 93 crash in a nearby field in 2001, asked reporters traveling with him, “If you had told anybody that we were going to spend $300 million a day for twenty years to try to unite the country after we got bin Laden, after Al Qaeda was wiped out there—could Al Qaeda come back? Yeah, but guess what, it’s already back other places.”

“What’s the strategy? Every place where Al Qaeda is, we’re going to invade and have troops stay in? Come on,” Biden said.

Some context: In an interview earlier Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended America’s capabilities to address threats in Afghanistan, telling CNN it is more “difficult, but not impossible” to address threats in Afghanistan without the presence of US troops on the ground.

Biden has already made stops today at the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan and the United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville—he’s expected to make one final stop at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, though he is not scheduled to give remarks there.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden made an unannounced stop at theShanksville Volunteer Fire Department after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the United 93 memorial.

There were some cheers as the President stepped out of the motorcade. The President met with dozens of people at the firehouse, which was set up to serve hot dogs and hamburgers.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul attends a 9/11 security briefing at One Police Plaza in New York on September 10.

See Also

September 11 Attacks: Facts, Background & Impact | HISTORY9/11 Timeline - Videos, World Trade Center Attacks | HISTORYWhat happened on 9/11? - BBC NewsTimeline: The September 11 terrorist attacks | Miller Center

To mark the 20thanniversary of 9/11, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed three pieces of legislation aimed at helping World Trade Center first responders apply for benefits, her office said in a news statement Saturday afternoon.

In addition to first responders who were at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the new laws will also include emergency dispatchers and communications personnel.

“We will ensure they receive thesupportand benefitstheydeserve,” Hochul said in the statement.

Gordon Felt, the president of the Families of Flight 93, speaks at a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11.

The “ripple effect of Sept. 11 is unfathomable,” said Gordon Felt, the president of the Families of Flight 93 at anobservance ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks.

Felt’sbrother, Edward, was among the passengers who died in the crash of Flight 93.

“To date, an additional 2,000 first responders that took part in [the] immediate rescue and continued recovery efforts have died from related illnesses, and with every month, we continue to lose more,” Felt said.

Felt echoed the calls of fellowvictims’families urging government officials torelease classified information related to the attack.

Some context: Last week, President Bidenordered a new declassification review of documents related to the attacks, including the previously classified documents related to Saudi Arabia’s involvement.

“The real question that we must all ask ourselves is: Have we as a society moved on and left the hard-earned lessons of Sept. 11 behind?” Felt said.“Have we become desensitized to what really happened that fateful morning?”

“In the aftermath of Sept. 11, we saw beyond our differences, sothat in unity we could survive the devastation of the day,” Felt said.“E pluribusunum —out of many, we became one.”

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden lay a wreath at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11.

President Biden participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the United 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

He was joined by first lady Jill Biden and was seen speaking with Gordon Felt, the president of the Families of Flight 93.

Biden gathered with families of the United 93 victims in a rural Pennsylvania field. Forty passengers and crew died on that day in 2001.

The President is not expected to give public remarks today. He will next travel to the Pentagon to attend a wreath-laying ceremony there.

Angela Mistrulli’s father, Joseph, and her mom were set to go on their first real vacation together on 9/11, but he got called into work first. He was a carpenter working at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.

Seventeen years old at the time of his death, she said the unexpected fallout she continues to deal with after his loss has made it difficult to heal.

Listen to Mistrulli’s story, in her own words:

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Actor Robert De Niro said he hopes the 9/11 memorials will teach the next generation that a similar attack could happen again.

De Niro lived just blocks from Ground Zero on Sept. 11 and called himself “a New Yorker through and through.” He helped found the Tribeca Film Festival to assist with the recovery of downtown Manhattan.

“The neighborhood, downtown,Tribeca, has come back.Now we have the pandemic.That’s another horriblesituation.But we’ll get through that, too.It’s just all the loss of lifeand sadness and unhappiness inbetween,” he said.

People enter a chapel at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba on September 11.

Twenty years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a group of military members, family members of 9/11 victims and observers gathered in a chapel in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at the same time the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center to honor the almost 3,000 lives lost that day.

The small ceremony dedicated to the lives lost, especially the lives of two victims whose family members traveled to Guantanamo to spend the anniversary, recounted the events of September 11 as they occurred that morning, retelling them in small fragments interrupted only by the single toll of a bell.

Elizabeth Berry, the sister of Capt. William “Billy” Francis Burke, Jr., gave a speech to those gathered in the chapel, describing the sacrifices her brother made that day as the leader of his fire department, Engine 21, in Manhattan.

Burke led his firefighters to Ground Zero after the towers were struck, she said. He was on the 27thfloor of the North Tower, trying to evacuate people from the building, when the South Tower fell.

After the South Tower fell, a mayday call went out on the radio, Berry said. Burke told his firefighters to evacuate the building and get to safety, but he stayed behind with two men, one of whom was in a wheelchair and couldn’t be evacuated.

Because he told two companies of men to leave, they all survived. Burke stayed behind with the two men until the tower collapsed. His remains were never found, Berry said.

Berry is one of five family members that traveled to Guantanamo Bay this week to observepretrial hearings in the military commission caseof five people accused of plotting and executing the 9/11 attacks. The case has been in pretrial litigation since 2012 when the five men, who are detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison, were arraigned.

Berry and her husband, Paul, still hope that one day the case will be brought to trial and there will be some level of justice for her and other family members that survived victims of the attacks.

“I think justice for each of us has a very different definition. I will speak for me, only me, justice is telling the world in a trial what these terrorists did to murder so many people,” Paul Berry said. “That’s justice, and from that the verdict will be what the verdict is.”

Honoring lives lost: The Naval base held a commemorative 9.11km run in the morning, followed by a raising of the flag from the Naval base headquarters with the base’s commanding officer and a ceremony at the base’s chapel.

Sept. 11, 2001 never really ended for Tom Canavan, who was evacuated from the North Tower’s 47th floor after the plane hit and then was buried when the South Tower came down. He dug his way free and became one of the fewer than two dozen people to survive the collapse. It’s still hard to sleep because of what he saw, he said. He previously worked with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to educate others and preserve the legacies of those who died.

“Most people say, ‘Oh, you were part of 9/11’. I just tell them, ‘You know what, 911 is part of me,’” Canavan said.

Listen to Canavan’s story, in his own words:

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US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin speaks during a remembrance ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 11, 2021.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reflected on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 in the wake of the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan and US forces leaving the country just weeks ago.

Austin said that while there is no longer an on-the-ground presence in Afghanistan, it’s “difficult but not impossible” to track movements in the country. He also shared a message for troops who served in Afghanistan and who may be going through complex emotions right now.

Austin said he hopes there will be more flights to evacuate American citizens who want to leave Afghanistan, like the ones this week.

When asked if he thinks the US is safer now than 20 years ago, he said “yes.”

“I think if you look atthe fact that our capabilitiesare greatly increased from whatwe had 20 years ago, if you lookat the fact that the way that weoperate in the inner agency isfar beyond what we would haveever imagined 20 years ago, Ithink we are safer altogether,yes,” he told CNN.

Some context: In April, President Biden originally set today’s date as the day US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan.

Left: Cait Leavey, the daughter of a New York City Fire Department captain killed on 9/11. Right: A photo of Leavey with her father.

Cait Leavey, the daughter of a New York City Fire Department captain killed on 9/11, said her dad “loved his family, loved thefirehouse.”

Leavey said one organization that helped her through the healing process was Tuesday’s Children, “a charity formed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States to help the more than 3,000 children who lost a parent that day,” its website stated.

Hear their story:

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US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a 9/11 commemoration at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2021.

Vice President Kamala Harris honored the victims of Sept. 11 at the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, saying they embody heroism, unity and courage.

“What happened on Flight 93 toldus then — and it still tells us —so much about the courage ofthose on board who gaveeverything they possibly could, about the resolve of the firstresponders who riskedeverything, and about the resilience of theAmerican people,” Harris said.

She said that while Americans need to look back to 9/11, they should also look forward to the future.

She also said that unity is possible and essential in America.

“And by unity, I don’t meanuniformity.We had differences of opinion in2001 as we do in 2021.And I believe that in America,our diversity is our strength,” Harris said. “At the same time, we saw after9/11 how fear can be used to sowdivision in our nation.”

She added: “In a time of outright terror, weturned toward each other.In the face of a stranger, wesaw a neighbor and a friend.That time reminded us [of] thesignificance and the strength ofour unity as Americans.”

Watch:

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Former US President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush hold hands as they attend a 9/11 commemoration at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2021.

Former President George W. Bushmade an appeal for unity and honored 9/11 victims during the remembrance ceremony at the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

“In the weeks and monthsfollowing the 9/11 attacks, Iwas proud to lead an amazing,resilient, united people.When it comes to the unity ofAmerica, those days seem distantfrom our own,” Bush said in a speech this morning.

“Malign force seems at work inour common life that turnsevery disagreement into anargument, and every argumentinto a clash of cultures.So much of our politics hasbecome a naked appeal to anger,fear and resentment.That leaves us worried about ournation and our future together.I come without explanations orsolutions.I can only tell you what I’veseen.On America’s day of trial andgrief, I saw millions of peopleinstinctively grab for aneighbor’s hand and rally to thecause of one another.That is the America I know,” he said.

Bush also called on Americans to continue to be vigilant against terrorism both at home and abroad.

Bush also honored the passengers aboard Flight 93.

“This is not mere nostalgia.It is the truest version ofourselves.It is what we have been and whatwe can be again.20 years ago, terrorists chose arandom group of Americans on aroutine flight to be collateraldamage in a spectacular act ofterror.The 33 passengers and seven crew ofFlight 93 could have been anygroup of citizens selected byfate.In a sense, they stood in for usall.The terrorists soon discoveredthat a random group of Americansis an exceptional group ofpeople,” Bush said.

“Whenever we need hope andinspiration, we can look to theskies and remember,” he added.

Watch:

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Former US President George W. Bush speaks during a 9/11 commemoration at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2021.

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Attack on America | September 11, 2001 | HISTORY

Former President George W. Bush spoke in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the Flight 93 Memorial, remembering how 20 years ago today “the world was loud with carnageand sirens.”

Bush added: “There was horror at the scale ofdestruction and awe at thebravery and kindness that roseto meet it.There was shock at the audacityof evil and gratitude for theheroism and decency that opposedit.In the sacrifice of the firstresponders and the mutual aid ofstrangers, in the solidarity ofgrief and grace, the actions ofan enemy revealed the spirit ofa people.We were proud of our woundednation.”

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Many Muslims in the United States point to September 11, 2001, as the day their relationship with the country changed.

Islamophobia had always existed, but the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia seemingly made it worse – much worse.

Muslims of all stripes – citizens, immigrants and refugees – faced backlash. Many were ostracized and harassed, some physically assaulted and even killed. Charged rhetoric, successive wars and attacks further inflamed the situation.

Feeling condemned for crimes they didn’t commit, some Muslims changed their names and clothing to conceal their identities, while others clung even tighter to their faith. A few became outspoken advocates for the community.

Every Muslim in America has a story to tell. Here is one of them.

Ruwa Romman

Ruwa Romman, 28, is a Palestinian American community organizerand policy analystliving in Duluth, Georgia.

When the terrorists attacked, she was 8 years old and had just recently immigrated to the US with her parents. But the dream she had of building a new life in America quickly turned into a nightmare.

Still, she recalls the long list of insults hurled at her as a child: “terrorist” and “sand n****r.” Some even asked if she was related to Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda mastermind behind the attacks.

Romman says she can’t remember a single day in elementary school when the bullying stopped. High school wasn’t much better – with one teacher pulling her out of class to ask if her family belongs to a terrorist group.

Outside of school, a close friend’s family banned her from their home because she was Muslim and “dangerous,” she said.Airport travelrequired numerous bag checks – sometimes three times during a single trip.

The bullying and harassment set Romman on a path to educate and advocate for her community, even at a young age.

In 2016, Romman joined the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, as their communications director. She’s since become a community organizer, policy analyst and consultant working on related issues.

Romman says advocating for US Muslims and the issues they face is daunting, but sees hope in every small victory.

“We will continue to be politically engaged and unapologetically so.” Romman said. “Muslims are no longer willing to carry that burden. None of us committed 9/11. Why should we carry that burden?”

Read more here.

Port Authority Police officers look over a 9/11 memorial during a 9/11 memorial service and dedication of a display case at Port Authority Bus Terminal on September 09, 2021 in New York City.

In the aftermath of 9/11, New York City law enforcement officials developed a strategy designed to gain intelligence and develop technology to prevent any more attacks.

Twenty years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, those same strategies and technological advancements are used to solve crimes.

The NYPD has made significant technological changes since the destruction of the World Trade Center, adding more cameras, installing license plate readers at points of entry as well as in police cars, and giving their officers smart phones that have access to records and information, officials said. These advances, among others, were developed using federal funding.

Since 2017, the NYPD has spent over $300 million each year on intelligence and counterterrorism, according to the city’s independent budget office. The tab for 2021 is also expected to be above $300 million, a spokesperson said.

And since 9/11, the NYPD has stopped 51 terror incidents that have either emanated from New York City or where the city was the target, according to John Miller, deputy commissioner for intelligence and counter-terrorism. And 25 of those incidents have happened within the last five years, according to Miller.

The department’s anti-terror tools also are being used to solve more run-of-the-mill crimes.

Read more here.

The ringing of the Bells of Remembrance has begun inShanksville,Pennsylvania, in honor of the victims ofUnited Airlines Flight 93.

Memorial officials read the names of the passengers and crew and rang bells for each person.

Clark welcomed dignitaries in attendance at the start of the ceremony, which include:Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff;President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush; andPennsylvaniaGovernor Tom Wolf.

The opening prayer was led byReverend Dr. Margaret GrunKibben, chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, who said 20 years ago, “our nation’s peace was shattered…our country fractured by the devastation.”

Clark asked that everyone in attendance “join us is wearing a face covering.”

“We have come together with the families as passengers and crew members to honor the 40 heroes of Flight 93, by observing this precaution we can best protect ourselves, and look out for each other,” said Clark.

The United States Marine band played the National Anthem at the start of the somber event.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley speaks during a remembrance ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 11, 2021.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley honored the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, and the US service members who died in the Afghanistan War on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“All of the values and principlesembedded in our Constitutionand made real in our daily liveswere paid for with the blood ofthe fallen on this place at 9:37on Sept. 11, 2001,” Milley said, speaking at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

In his remarks, he implored Americans to never forget the victims and to stand up to hatred.

Milley said US service members have fought “tirelessly” against terrorism since the attacks, including the 13 who died during the Kabul airport attack on Aug. 26.

“Their talent andtheir efforts and their courage,their personal valor has carriedthis fight day and night.We did not fear what was infront of us, because we love what was behindus.800,000 of us in uniform servedin Afghanistan in the last 20years.Tens of thousands more servedelsewhere, in the collectivefight against terrorism.And thousands more stand watchtoday, all around the world.2,461 of us gave the last fullmeasure of devotion, including13 just two weeks ago,” he said.

Watch:

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Former US President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush attend a 9/11 commemoration at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2021.

The Shanksville,Pennsylvania,observance ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is now underway.

At 10:03 a.m. ET, the momentUnited Airlines Flight 93crashed, the names of the 40 passengers and crew members who perished will be read aloud.

Former President George W. Bush will deliver keynote remarks in a ceremony open to the families of those killed on United Flight 93 and invited guests.

Anthoula Katsimatides, the former assistant vice president for family relations at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), spoke about her “larger-than-life” brother John who worked on the 104th floor of Tower One on Sept. 11, 2001.

Katsimatides added: “The whole country seemed to putit* arm around us.And that lent me just enoughstrength to get up the next dayand the day after that, and theday after that, and I realizedthat all this kindness andgiving reminded me of mybrother. My larger-than-life, live-out-loud big brother, who loved tomake people laugh, and he wasalways there, whenever somethingwas needed.”

Jeremy Booth was just coming in to his finance job at San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica Pyramid building when the Twin Towers were struck.

Watching coverage of the rescue efforts later, what he saw of the FDNY’s heroic response set him on a dramatically different path.

After years of training, he is now a captain with the Richmond Fire Department in California and says those scenes still impact how he does his work.

Listen to Booth’s story, in his own words:

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A man looks out at the early morning skyline on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan in New York, on September 11, 2021.

Twenty years after9/11, the changes the attacks brought to American life still reverberate across political and demographic lines.

A new CNN Pollconducted by SSRS finds that 57% of Americans saythe attacksimpacted the way they live their life today and 68% say the attacks had an impact on Americans’ individual rights and freedoms.

While the share who say the attacks affected rights and freedoms has dropped in the last decade (an AP-NORC Poll conducted in 2011 found that 86% of Americans thought the attacks had affected individual rights and freedoms), the percentage who say 9/11 changed the way they live their lives today has held relatively steady over time.

Five years after the attacks, in 2006, an AP-Ipsos survey found a 50-50 split over whether 9/11 affected the way Americans live their lives. By 2011, 57% said their lives had been impacted by the attacks in an AP-NORC poll, and 63% felt that way two years later.

That a majority feels the attacks had some effect on the way Americans live their lives today holds across demographic and political divides, but there are some differences in the extent to which different groups feel their lives changed.

Older adults, who were 45 or older in 2001, are least likely to say the attacks had “a great deal” of impact on how they live their lives now (13% say so). Among those who were children, teenagers or not even born yet at the time of the attacks, 24% say 9/11 had a great deal of impact on their lives.

Overall, about 1 in 5 (20%) say September 11 had a great deal of impact on their life today, while 37% say it was just some impact.

The sense that the attacks affected individual rights and freedoms is also consistent across demographic divides, though Republicans (72%) are a bit more likely than Democrats (64%) to say that rights and freedoms were affected by the attacks.

Read more about the polls here.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff walk off of Air Force Two on arrival to Johnstown, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, en route to Shanksville, Pa., to attend a memorial for the passengers and crew of United Flight 93, on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Vice President Kamala Harris will honor the lives lost and heroism of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday in her remarks at the observance event.

“What happened on Flight 93 tells us so much. About the courage of those on board, who gave everything. About the resolve of the first responders, who risked everything. About the resilience of the American people,” she will say, according to her prepared remarks.

She will also make an appeal for national unity at a time of heightened political polarization.

“On the days that followed September 11th, 2001, we were all reminded that unity is possible in America. We were reminded, too, that unity is imperative in America. It is essential to our shared prosperity, our national security, and to our standing in the world,” Harris will say.

Harris is set to speak at 10:45 am ET.

New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen performed his song “I’ll See You In My Dreams” after the second moment of silence was observed at the National September 11th Memorial in Manhattan.

Springsteen’s 2002 album “The Rising” was a response to the attacks.

“The idea of those guys going up the stairs, up the stairs, ascending, ascending. I mean you could be ascending a smoky staircase, you could be in the afterlife, moving on,” he told “Nightline” when the album was released.

Family members are reading the names of all the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11thMemorial in Lower Manhattan to honor them 20 years later.

Last year, the annual name-reading ceremony was altered to the Covid-19 pandemic, with prerecorded names played over speakers to avoid close contact.

Mike Low, who lost his daughter on 9/11, spoke in lower Manhattan following the moment of silence about how the site where the World Trade Center once stood is now “a quiet place ofmemory.”

Low’s daughter, Sara, was a flight attendant on the first plane that struck the North Tower.

Low added: “As we carry these 20 yearsforward, I find … continuingappreciation for all of thosewho rose to be more thanordinary people.And a father’s pride in hisdaughter’s selfless act in thelast moments of her life, actingwith heroic calm to help those in theair and those on the ground. A legacy from Sara that burnslike an eternal flame.”

A moment of silence was observed at the National September 11thMemorial to mark the time, 8:46 a.m. ET, when the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower 20 years ago.

Other moments of silence will be observed at 9:03 a.m. ET, 9:37 a.m. ET and 9:59 a.m. ET.

Watch:

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President Biden and first lady Jill Biden were joined by former President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton this morning in lower Manhattan for the commemoration ceremony at the National September 11thMemorial.

Biden will then travel to Queens before leaving for Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

People are still dying because of Sept. 11-related health issues — and they continue to fight to get recognition — according to first responder and survivor advocate John Feal.

Feal worked at the Ground Zero site for over five days and was injured there, he said. He never wore a mask or respirator because no one ever told workers to do so, he said.

“We worked, therewe ate there, we slept, there wecried there, we went to thebathroom there.The absorption through the nose,mouth and skin; we were there24/7, these men and women,uniformed and non-uniformed,never thought while they weresearching and cleaning up lowerManhattan, that their city,state and local governmentswould lie to them,” Feal said.

“9/11 is still killing,” he said.

Some context: As of Aug. 2021, the Sept. 11 Victims Compensation Fund hasreceived claims from individuals in every US state, as well as Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and 31 foreign countries. More than40,000 individuals have received awards totaling more than $8.95 billion in compensation.

Since its re-opening in 2011, the VCF has received more than 67,000 total eligibility claims.

“We had to fight and keep goingback and forth to DC, to gethealth care, and thencompensation, to the same peoplethat lied to us.This is hard to wrap around 20years later.You know, today, I’m going toremain vigilant and pay respectto those who lost a loved one.But tomorrow, we’re back toadvocating,” Feal said.

A person touches an inscribed name at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, in New York.

The US government and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan almost immediately after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, seeking accountability from al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden for murdering nearly 3,000 people. It began what would become a two-decade military odyssey in nation-building that ended messily last month when Americans handed control of Afghanistan back to the Taliban.

But the family members of 9/11 victims are still pursuing accountability from another country — Saudi Arabia — as well as seeking more information hidden by the US government in US courts.

Secrecy has fueled theories.The kingdom has denied any involvement, and the US long ago decided that Saudi Arabia, itsstrategic partner in the Middle East, had no role in the attacks — though15 of the 19 9/11 hijackerswere Saudi citizens. So had bin Laden been, although he had been expelled from the kingdomand his citizenship revoked.

Suspicion of Saudi Arabia has persisted, however, and the dogged efforts of 9/11 families over the past two decades have forced the US, bit by bit, to share early leads that tied the hijackers to Saudi officials but were shrouded in secrecy and hidden from public view as classified information.

Persistence has yielded results.More details on those investigations could be forthcoming as a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia proceeds in court.

That lawsuit exists only because, after a years-long campaign by the 9/11 families, Congresspassed a special law in 2016allowing individuals to sue governments for terror attacks.

President Joe Biden has tried to keep a campaign promise to release FBI information related to 9/11 investigations byordering a review of information at the bureau. A group of 9/11 families had asked him to stay away from Ground Zero unless the documents were released.

Read the full story here.

Nykiah Morgan.

Twenty years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Dorothy Morgan’s remains were officially identified by DNA testing.

Morgan, of Hempstead, New York, was working as aninsurance broker in the North Tower on Sept. 11. She became the 1,646th victim who died in the World Trade Center that day to be identified.

Her daughter described the experience to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday:

She told Cooper that it took her “years” to finally accept that her mother was killed that day.

She would tell herself: “My mom was out there.She was out there, maybe hadamnesia and then was releasedfrom the hospital.I had a whole story in my head.And she was out there livinglife, happy.”

Morgan said she has never been to the World Trade Center site, and will go for the first time today to read out her mother’s name.

She said that she’s having trouble processing her feelings at this time.

“What’s making me dealwith it is having to go throughthe process of obtaining theremains … [and] I have not begunthat process, because I feel likethat is what makes it real,” she said.

The remains of more than 1,100 victims — about 40% of those who died there — have not been identified, according to the New York City medical examiner’s office.

Watch:

Joe Torre (left) and Bobby Valentine.

The New York Yankees and Mets will face each other tonight at Citi Field as Major League Baseball commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine will throw the first ceremonial pitch to former Yankees manager Joe Torre.

On CNN’s “New Day” Friday, Torre and Valentine recounted how the teams helped bring New Yorkers and the nation together after the attacks.

Torre said some members of his team visited St. Vincent’s Hospital, where firefighters were suffering from smoke inhalation, and the New York City Armory, where families were waiting for any DNA results from missing family members.

The Mets were the first MLB team to play in New York after the attacks.

“Everyone made a consciousdecision to play games in NewYork,” Valentine said.

The Mets were trailing the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning, but Mike Piazza came to the plate and smashed a home run for the Mets.

The sounds of fans shouting with “elation and joy wasmiraculous,” Valentine said, adding that it signaled a message that “we’re here and we’re back.”

Before the Yankees played in New York, they had a game in Chicago, and White Sox fans were holding signs written with messages of “We Love New York,” Torre said.

Torre said the way baseball brought people together after 9/11 is a lesson that should be remembered today:

Watch:

One step at a time, Frank Siller is paying tribute to his firefighter brother and all those who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Siller, the chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, walked over 500 miles across six states in six weeks.

His brother, Stephen Siller, was a New York City firefighter who finished up his shift in Brooklyn and was returning home when he heard a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. He grabbed his 60 pounds of gear and walked through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel into Manhattan. He was one of the more than 300 firefighters to die that day.

On Aug. 1, Siller began walking from the Pentagon. On Thursday, Siller made it back to his home borough of Staten Island. He will finish up his journey of the “Never Forget Walk” today at the site of the Twin Towers in New York City.

He said the walk has been very emotional for him. “Many times I’ve broken down andcried privately,” he said.

Siller said that even when he encountered inclement weather, he thought of his brother.

“He liked to bust chops.So whatever he threw my way, Ilaughed.I said, ‘Steven, I know whatyou’re doing.I know what you’re doing,’” he said.

Watch:

Nineteen men hijacked four fuel-loaded US commercial airplanes bound for west coast destinations on Sept. 11, 2001.

A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the Towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority.

Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,40 passengers and crew membersaboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field. It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that location, rather than their unknown target, after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck.

Here’s a timeline of how the events unfolded that day:

See a full chronology of events here.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a briefing at the White House on September 10.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden will not speak on Sept. 11 because he “felt it was important to visit,” the three remembrance sites in in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Instead, the White House will release a video of Biden to commemorate the 20thyear in advance of his trip.

“Then he’s going to be laying wreaths to commemorate the lives and honor those whose lives were lost. We’re releasing the video today because we want you to hear from him and he wants the American people to hear from him directly on what 9/11 means to him 20 years later.”

Psaki would not read out what calls Biden has made in the lead-up to 9/11 or how he’s prepared his remarks.

Earlier, Psaki said Biden would convey in the video, “the importance of unity,” and how he first learned of the attack.

President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks from the White House on September 9.

PresidentBidenand first lady JillBidenwill travel to all three sites of the9/11terrorist attacks today, marking the 20th anniversary of the deadly day, according to the White House.

The President and first lady will visit New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to Shanksville, the site of the United Flight 93 crash, for a separate event, before joining the President and first lady at the Pentagon.

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama will attend the remembrance ceremony in New York, an Obama spokesperson tells CNN.

Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush will also travel to Shanksville. The George W. Bush Presidential Center announced the 43rd President would deliver keynote remarks in a ceremony open to the families of those killed on United Flight 93 and invited guests.

Former president BillClintonand former Democratic presidential nominee HillaryClintonwill attend the 9/11 remembrance ceremony in New York City on Saturday, according to eachClinton’s spokesperson.

CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this post.