# 25 years on, New York marks 9/11 and fights about it > The 25th anniversary brought sunlight through the Oculus, a bell in a Pennsylvania field, and a shouting match outside City Hall. - Title: 25 years on, New York marks 9/11 and fights about it - Summary: The 25th anniversary brought sunlight through the Oculus, a bell in a Pennsylvania field, and a shouting match outside City Hall. A quarter century later… - Keywords: 9/11, new york, memorial, politics, mamdani, news, entertainment, years, York, marks, fights, Dailymail - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/news/article-16121773/911-flight-attack-day-twin-towers-memorial-anniversary.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-09-11T19:00:48+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: 9/11, new york, memorial, politics, mamdani, news, entertainment ## Twenty five years later New York, Shanksville and the Pentagon marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Friday, with ceremonies running through the morning and protests by afternoon. ## What happened that day Al-Qaeda hijackers took four planes, flying two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. Passengers fought back on the fourth and it went down in a Pennsylvania field. ## At least 2,977 dead That is the toll the attacks are counted at, across the two towers, the Pentagon and the field near Shanksville. ## Reading the names At Ground Zero, relatives read the names of the dead aloud while mourners stood in silence around the Memorial Plaza. ## An NYPD daughter speaks Patricia Smith read the name of her mother Moira Smith, an NYPD officer credited with saving dozens of lives before she was killed. > My mother died the way she lived, surrounded by people she wanted to help ## Twenty three officers lost Moira Smith was one of 23 NYPD officers who died responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center. ## Light through the Oculus The 'Wedge of Light' returned to lower Manhattan. Two beams fall through the skylight, tracking across the floor between the moments the towers were struck and fell. ## Libeskind's design Architect Daniel Libeskind built the effect into the Oculus so the two streams of sunlight stand in for the Twin Towers themselves. ## A bell in Shanksville Hundreds gathered in Pennsylvania for the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93. Families read each name and a bell rang for every one. ## A flag on the rock A color guard folded a US flag at the boulder that marks where the Flight 93 debris came down. ## They stopped it short The passengers brought the plane down before it could reach Washington DC, which is why the memorial sits in a field and not in the capital. ## Families confront three presidents With Bush, Obama, Biden and Vice President JD Vance feet away, 9/11 families accused them of shielding Saudi Arabia rather than the victims' relatives. > And still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder ## A widow's accusation Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the attacks, drew cheers as she accused the Saudi kingdom of fomenting anti-American terrorism and backing the hijackers. ## Giuliani versus Mamdani Rudy Giuliani, 82, said it offended him that Zohran Mamdani, 34, the city's first Muslim mayor, would attend the service at all. ## 170,000 pages released Days before the ceremony, Mamdani put out confidential 9/11 records and accused former city leaders of lying about the air quality at Ground Zero after the collapse. ## The handshake The two mayors shook hands on the Memorial Plaza anyway. A lip reader hired to study the clip said Giuliani wished Mamdani well. ## Caught laughing Mamdani and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were filmed laughing together while names were being read. The clip spread fast and readers called it a slap in the face. ## Cruz piles on Senator Ted Cruz posted on X demanding to know how anyone laughs while the names of the murdered are read aloud. > How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud? ## Ugly scenes at City Hall A crowd rallied outside City Hall where far-right activist Jake Langley held a sign reading 'deport all Muslims'. A Muslim man in the crowd shouted 'Allahu Akbar' back at them. ## Trump at the Pentagon The president skipped Manhattan after being told he could not speak at the museum, though his team had scouted it. He spoke at the Pentagon instead, calling Iran the world's top sponsor of terror. ## Key takeaway A quarter century later, the grief is still exact and personal, but the politics around 9/11 have never been louder.