911 memorial news live Biden lays wreath at Pentagon as Trump teases 2024 run

George W. Bush says US faces violence threat 'from within' at Pennsylvania 9/11 memorial

Joe Biden visited the Pentagon to attend a wreath laying ceremony with First Lady Jill Biden. The president spent the majority of Saturday attending memorials, first at Ground Zero in New York, then at the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and finally at the Pentagon in Washington DC.

Mr Biden praised former President George W Bush’s speech during an unannounced stop at a Shanksville, Pennsylvania fire department. Mr Biden commended Mr Bush for encouraging American unity, calling it “a genuinely good speech, about who we are, we’re not.” He went on to say that “he core of who we are is not divided, it’s just this notion of, I don’t know how to explain it.”

Former President Donald Trump did not visit Ground Zero Saturday to attend the 20th anniversary ceremony commemorating the 9/11 terror attacks. He did release a video earlier in the day attacking Joe Biden for the Afghanistan troop withdrawal, and later visited an NYPD precinct where he visited with police officers. During his visit to the police precinct he hinted that he would run for president again in 2024.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President George W Bush addressed families at the United Airlines Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a memorial recognises passengers who brought down the plane after learning two others had been used to attack the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September, 2001.

An earlier ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center collapse in New York City recognised the victims who were killed, as the names of the nearly 3,000 victims were read aloud over several hours. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also attended the ceremony.

Show latest update 1631393109A widow whose husband was the pilot of one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 recounts her memories of the day

A widow whose husband was one of the pilots whose plane was hijacked on 9/11 recounts her memories of the terror attacks 20 years ago.

“As Victor’s plane struck, we realised we were a nation at war,” Ellen Saracini told The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe.

Read the story below...

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:451631392209Remembering Jon Stewart’s blistering condemnation of Congress over 9/11 first responders’ healthcare

Last year, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart testified at the US Capitol on behalf of 9/11 first responders who were struggling with their healthcare needs nearly 20 years after the terror attacks.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon reported Mr Stewart’s fiery speech and examined the difficulties 9/11 first responders encountered while seeking treatment for the ailments and injuries they incurred from the attack.

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:301631392169Biden lays wreath at Pentagon during 9/11 memorial

Joe Biden attended a memorial service at the Pentagon on Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Mr Biden was joined by his wife, First Lady Jill Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attend a wreath laying ceremony as they pay their respects to 9/11 victims at the Pentagon, Virginia, September 11, 2021. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:2916313916739/11 remembrance in photos

A person mourns at the 9/11 Memorial on the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, New York, U.S., September 11, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

A firefighter wearing the photo badge of a victim on his helmet, pauses for a moment of silence as he participates with first responders, victim's family members and supporters in the 2021 Colorado 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre on September 11, 2021 in Morrison, outside Denver, Colorado. - Participants walk nine laps around the Red Rocks Amphitheater, which is equivalent to the 110 floors of the World Trade Center. (Photo by Chet Strange / AFP) (Photo by CHET STRANGE/AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

A U.S. Army band bugler stands ready on the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial site for a ceremony with President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at the Pentagon in Washington, on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, opened in 2008, commemorates the lives lost at the Pentagon and onboard American Airlines Flight 77. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Port Authority Police Color Guard march during a Port Authority Interfaith Remembrance Service on the 20th anniversary of September 11th at the North Oculus Plaza on September 11, 2021 in New York City. Port Authority held its annual remembrance service in honor of the 84 members of the agency including 37 members of the Port Authority Police who were killed during the terror attacks on the World Trade Center. The ceremony also honored those who perished in the 1993 WTC bombing. The nation is marking the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

(Getty Images)Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:211631391309Read the incredible story of the “brothers for life” who were the only two people above the 175th floor of the World Trade Centre to survive

Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath were the only people above the 175th floor of the World Trade Centre - the floor where one of the hijacked planes impacted the building - to survive on 9/11.

The Independent’s Nathan Place recounts the tale of how one of the men saved the other’s life and became “brothers for life” as they made their escape from the crumbling tower.

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:151631391210Joe Biden attends Pentagon wreath laying ceremony in Washington DC

Joe Biden is attending a wreath laying ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington DC, the third site struck by the 9/11 hijackers 20 years ago.

He is joined at the ceremony by Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:131631390584Donald Trump suggests a 2024 presidential run is in the works as he visits NYPD officers on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

Though former President Donald Trump did not attend a memorial ceremony at Ground Zero on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, he did visit an NYPD precinct, where he told officers that they will be “very happy” if they are hoping to see him run for office again in 2024.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward examines Mr Trump’s not-so-subtle hint at his political future in the story below...

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:031631390409A look back on The Independent’s coverage of 9/11

The Independent’s Nathan Place examines the paper’s coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks 20 years ago, examining how reporters and columnists at made sense of the world-shaking event at the time.

“If I ever need to imagine what a nuclear hell must look like, I have seen it today. Hollywood could never conjure this. Thick smoke continues to fill the area, fed by fires on what was the No 7 building in the World Trade complex, a 40-storey block that collapsed later on Tuesday afternoon. Occasionally, the smoke clears to reveal the remains of the towers. Segments of what used to be the steel sheathing of the towers are standing, pointing upwards towards the sky like snapped-off teeth. Otherwise, nothing is recognisable.”

Read Nathan’s piece below...

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 21:0016313892099/11: 20 years of conflict and terror on Independent TV

Tune into Independent TV for a 20 year retrospective on the 9/11 terror attacks and the ensuing violence that resulted after the US went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Watch: 20 years of conflict and terror since 9/11

The 11 September, 2001 terror attacks spawned 20 years of international conflict and terrorism across much of the West and Middle East. The wars launched in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11 caused fragility in the region. The ensuing Arab Spring, Syrian civil war and rise of Isis exacerbated the bloodshed and chaos. The recent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and subsequent swift takeover of the country by the Taliban has ensured that trouble in the region is far from over.

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 20:401631388309Survivors and family members of those lost on 9/11 recall the attacks

The Independent’s Josh Marcus spoke with survivors and family members of those who died on 9/11, recounting their tales of the past 20 years living in the shadow of the attack.

“On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, or the 20th commemoration as some prefer to call it, The Independent spoke with some of these survivors and family members. Their experiences are a mosaic, not a monolith,” he writes.

Read their stories below...

Graig Graziosi11 September 2021 20:25

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