25 Years Ago, America Changed Forever

Americans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, remembering the shock, the dead, and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaeda attacks on symbols of US might and prosperity. The AP notes that Friday's milestone anniversary will bring memorial rituals—wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils, and readings of victims' names—and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of US adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll. For others, it's an occasion for private reflection—or, in many schools, education—about the attack that unfolded in a single morning but left nearly 3,000 dead and a decades-long trail of aftermath, from personal grief to far-flung wars. More:

• The BBC pays tribute to the victims of the attacks in New York City at the World Trade Center; in Washington, DC, at the Pentagon; and in Pennsylvania, where passengers forced terrorists to crash a fourth plane in a field in Shanksville. The New York Daily News, meanwhile, honors "the heart and generosity of New Yorkers" it says endures to this day.
• President Trump is set to attend a memorial event at the Pentagon on Friday, per the AP. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, will attend observances in New York City, and other administration officials will head to Pennsylvania.
• There are usually six moments of silence held on 9/11 anniversaries, to represent when the terrorist-flown airplanes crashed into the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, and for when each of the towers collapsed. CNN reports that this year, there will be a seventh moment of silence added in—this time, for the thousands who've died of diseases they contracted due to exposure to the toxic debris and ash in New York.
• There will be no shortage of reflection on this somber day. Journalists Diane Sawyer and David Muir look back on their reporting then for Vanity Fair, while NBC Washington talks to people who were in DC on Sept. 11 for their own recollections. NBC News has more from other Americans on their memories.

• The New York Times notes that President Trump "personifies a nation moving on," with a shift in how we're now approaching the war on terror.
• The Guardian and Times get more existential: the former with a look at 9/11's "dark legacy," and the latter asking: "Did 9/11 really change everything?" "Were the terrorist attacks that day the end of an idyllic era? The beginning of our current dystopia? Or just a middle chapter?" the Times asks.
• Meet Elizabeth L. Hillman, the CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum who's holding fast to the "never forget" mantra by teaching new generations about the attacks. "It's the kind of thing that had such powerful resonance and has so many layers that I could spend a lifetime trying to understand it," she tells the Times. "The museum is dedicated to that."
• The day, and the threat, may now seem distant, but ABC News reports that a federal bulletin was recently issued noting that foreign terror groups "continue to encourage attacks in the United States."
• Reuters has pulled together stunning photos from 9/11.
• The New York Post, meanwhile, flags a haunting video that's gone viral showing the live NY1 broadcast from the morning of Sept. 11, which "shows the world suddenly change in real time—as the news segment shifts from mundane to terrifyingly tragic."
• PBS has more on how to watch the day's tributes and services. The outlet has also compiled what it says are 25 "essential" documentaries and podcasts about 9/11.