September 11 attacks news
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Americans marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept.
A generation born after 2001 now inherits the grief and the altered world the attacks left behind.
Background
On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people. The attacks brought down the twin towers and blew a hole in the Pentagon; the fourth plane went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew stormed the cockpit. Twenty-five years later, about half of U.S. adults call 9/11 the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll, while a generation has grown up too young to remember it but fundamentally shaped by it.
How it unfolded
- Sep 11, 2001al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people. The twin towers fell, the Pentagon was hit, and United Flight 93 went down after 40 passengers and crew fought the hijackers.
- Sep 12, 2001The last presidential daily brief, titled Situation Report: Bin Laden's Tracks, was dated the day after the attacks.
- Sep 10, 2026PBS News published how to watch the 9/11 memorial events as the U.S. prepared to mark the 25th anniversary.
- Sep 11, 2026Americans commemorated the 25th anniversary with wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils, readings of victims' names and volunteer projects. President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon, former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden joined Vice President JD Vance in New York, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum laid a wreath at the Flight 93 National Memorial.
- Sep 12, 2026The CIA released 71 presidential daily briefs spanning February 1998 to September 2001, its largest-ever such release; CIA Director John Ratcliffe called it 'an act of exceptional transparency.'
Who’s saying what
- Official
- President Donald Trump said at the Pentagon ceremony that 'Sept. 11 reminded us of the terrible power of hate,' adding that 'the 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail, and to win.'
- Official
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum hailed the courage of Flight 93's passengers and crew, saying 'the actions they took should inspire us all.'
- Public
- Angilic Casalduc, whose mother Vivian Casalduc was killed, said attending the New York commemoration 'helps to show you're not alone,' and that 'coming here once a year makes it feel just a little bit better.'
- Public
- Elsie Caldwell, mother of victim Kenny Caldwell, recalled her son's final phone call — 'Mom, I just want to let you know that I love you' — and said his remains, like those of many other victims, have never been recovered.
- Analysts
- The newly released CIA briefs add little new information about how the attacks were planned but offer a paper trail of accumulating warnings, with many pages redacted to protect sources.
Still unverified
Officials concluded the fourth plane was headed for Washington, D.C., but this remains a conclusion rather than a confirmed fact. The CIA documents add little new information about how the attacks were planned, and many pages of the released briefs are redacted to protect sources. Saudi Arabia, the homeland of most of the hijackers, denied any involvement in the attacks.