9/11/11 timeline: Scenes, recaps, flashbacks
NEW YORK — As the nation and the world mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Associated Press journalists are tracking down the most salient details of the day, and capturing the mood, from ground zero to Afghanistan and everywhere in between.
Here, in real time, are the latest updates on how the day is unfolding, together with occasional flashbacks to AP reports distributed on Sept. 11, 2001. The archival material has been left as it was transmitted 10 years ago, including the original typos, as well as information from AP sources that later turned out to be incorrect.
All times EDT.
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4:54 p.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 4:54 P.M.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON United States suspects Osama bin Laden in terrorist attacks, two U.S. officials say.
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4:51 p.m.
Military jets escorted a flight to a safe landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after three passengers locked themselves in the bathroom, officials say.
A law enforcement official says it isn't thought to be terrorism.
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4:40 p.m.
Las Vegas firefighter Gregg Burns found new life for an American flag that he received in a parade this morning marking the 9/11 anniversary.
He stuck it to his helmet for a 108-story climb a couple of hours later up the Stratosphere casino tower on the Las Vegas Strip.
Around his neck, the 49-year-old wore the names of New York firefighters Thomas Gambino Jr. and Stephen E. Belson, who died in the collapse of the 110-story World Trade Center towers.
"Bottom line, this is for them," Burns said, as he and 290 others prepared to ascend the tallest building in Las Vegas, in memory of the firefighters and police officers who died climbing the twin towers decade ago.
"This is nothing like what those guys went through," Burns said. "People need to be reminded."
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4:15 p.m.
AP's Chris Hawley has continued to walk the streets of New York, trying to get a sense of the city's mood.
He may have gotten some clues on Seventh Avenue, where a female rapper in platform shoes and knee-length dreadlocks threw down rhymes accompanied by a drummer banging on plastic buckets.
"How you doing? How you doing? You got a job and that's a great thing to be pursuing!"
She directed her rhymes at a man carrying a bundle of newspapers on his bicycle. The man looked straight ahead, but cracked a smile.
"I know it's Sept. 11, but it's also a great morning," said the rapper, who goes by The Artist Annisha. "We have to stay positive here."
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4:02 p.m.
AP reporter Leanne Italie went to a New York Fashion Week show for Edun, the label of Bono's wife, Ali Hewson, and she tweeted a couple of quotes — one from Bono, the other from Sting about 9/11:
Bono: "On a day like this we're all American."
Sting, on mourning the victims: "We have to embrace it and go on. What else can we do?"
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3:47 p.m.
AP's Tamara Lush paid a visit to Robert's Western World, a honky-tonk that bills itself as "Hillbilly Heaven" in downtown Nashville, Tenn., where she came across a five-piece country band playing traditional gospel songs for a few dozen people drinking coffee. Some, who were homeless, received free cookies and coffee.
Ron Blakley, the tall, goateed singer and steel guitar player, is an Evangelical Episcopalian preacher. Robert's — which is usually filled with beer- and whiskey-drinking tourists and country fans becomes Blakley's church on Sunday mornings. He quoted Scripture and talked about Sept. 11 between songs.
"We can't avoid the suffering that life brings," he said. "But good things can happen on a bad day."
The band then launched into "Will the Circle be Unbroken," a traditional hymn.
"I'm gonna ask the Lord to just bless your socks off," he said.
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3:31 p.m.
President Barack Obama is at the Pentagon, taking a moment to remember those killed there on 9/11. It the third stop of the day for Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
The Obamas paid their respects at a memorial at the point where the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Each of the 184 victims is memorialized with a bench and accompanying reflecting pool.
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3:30 p.m.
AP reporter Eric Tucker took to the skies today to see how people feel about flying on airliners on the 9/11 anniversary.
One traveler, Canadian native Patrick Bienvenue, dressed in red pants and a blue-and-white checked shirt to show his affection for the United States, his home for the past three decades.
"I spoke to many business people who would wince when they heard I was traveling on 9/11, but I don't want to do that," Bienvenue said.
John Hollenbeck of Canyon Lake, Calif., is also flying today — exactly 10 years after his flight on 9/11 was canceled by the attacks.
"I have no concerns over terrorism," he said. "Not that I have no concerns over terrorism — I have no concern that security's inadequate."
Alan Jefford of Wales, who was getting ready to fly from London to New York, didn't sound terribly concerned about the date on the calendar.
"You can get knocked down by a bus or a car any day. If it is meant to be, it is meant to be."
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3:20 p.m.
Of all the American cities marking the 9/11 anniversary, Dearborn, Mich., is a little different.
The Detroit suburb is widely recognized as the capital of Arab America, and many locals and institutions are reflecting on a decade spent trying to deal with rising fear, misconceptions and suspicions, AP's Jeff Karoub reports from Dearborn.
The city's Arab American National Museum is offering free admission today, capping off several days of 9/11-themed events and activities.
Ali and Alwan Kassem, who came to Dearborn as teenagers from their native Yemen, are at the museum today. They said they found it reassuring to learn about the contributions of fellow Arabs to the U.S. and the world through science, medicine and art.
"There is a big difference between them and those who attacked on 9/11," Alwan Kassem said.
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3 p.m.
The Secret Service is investigating three threatening messages that were posted on the White House's Facebook page. The messages, which are no longer visible, included a picture of Osama bin Laden and said, "We'll come back 11/9/2011 to kill u all."
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2:53 p.m.
An update on the suspicious bag belonging to a man detained at at Kansas City International Airport: FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton says the bag was X-rayed and no explosives were found. One of the airport's three terminals remains shut down from the security scare. Patton says the man is in the custody of airport security.
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2:50 p.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: President Bush arrived at Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
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2:35 p.m.
Not unlike Sept. 11, 2001, the eerie pall that grips the city is mixed with activities New Yorkers normally enjoy on a Sunday.
Just blocks from the World Trade Center, people are eating al fresco. Bicycles fill the path along the Hudson River. And families are strolling in the balmy September weather.
On the water, sailboats catching a river breeze are passing ground zero and the dock where emergency vessels evacuated survivors a decade ago.
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2:24 p.m.
Around the world, people have gathered at memorial events:
— KYRGYZSTAN: A ceremony was held at a U.S. air base in this central Asian country. "This tragedy consolidated humanity and brought it together in the fight against the common enemy of terrorism," President Roza Otunbayeva said.
— BELGIUM: At NATO headquarters, a French soldier played taps and the flags of 28 alliance states were lowered to half-staff as a tribute to the victims. About 130,000 NATO troops — two-thirds of them Americans — now serve in Afghanistan, and more than 2,700 service members have died in that war.
— ITALY: In Rome, the Colosseum was lit up late in the day in a show of solidarity with 9/11 victims.
— ISRAEL: In a forest outside Jerusalem, where a bronze sculpture of the American flag stands in memory of the 9/11 victims, Miriam Avraham remembered her daughter Alona, who was on board United Airlines Flight 175 when the plane plowed into the South Tower: "Sept. 11 is everything. My daughter was killed. My world was destroyed. For me, every day is Sept. 11."
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2:02 p.m.
"It's still a raw pain that will never go away. It's a missing link in the chain," said Linda Zelky, whose nephew died on 9/11. She was at ground zero today.
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1:58 p.m.
Federal agents in Missouri are questioning a man after a suspicious device was found in his carry-on bag at Kansas City International Airport.
Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz says transportation security agents stopped a man going through the checkpoint and asked to examine something in his bag. He says the man refused to cooperate and was taken into custody, and a bomb squad was called to examine the device.
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1:41 p.m.
Swedish police have arrested four people on suspicion of preparing a terror attack.
Police in Goteborg, the country's second-largest city, said they evacuated the Roda Sten arts center, located beneath the city's landmark half-mile (930-meter) Alvsborg bridge.
"Your thoughts go to 9/11, because it was just after midnight. But you don't know. It could be anything," said Mia Christersdotter Norman, the head of Roda Sten.
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1:25 p.m.
The ceremony at ground zero has ended with the playing of taps. A couple of TV networks pulled away earlier — CBS and Fox are well into the first quarter of NFL games.
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1:17 p.m.
Debra Burlingame, whose brother, Charles, was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, cried when she found his name on the memorial at ground zero.
"These are all his crew," she said of the names grouped with his. "I know all their families. These passengers, I knew their families. These people are real people to me. It's very touching to see all these people here together."
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1:14 p.m.
Within hours of the Sept. 11 attacks, Tony Miller, an iron worker in Michigan, had quit his job and was in a car heading to New York.
"Almost immediately, I knew that I wanted to do something," he said. "I wanted to be able to help somehow. I knew that iron workers had built those buildings. It was obvious to me that iron workers would deconstruct them, so I started focusing on trying to get to New York City."
He ended up helping with demolition at the World Trade Center site for six weeks.
Miller, who lives in Peshawbestown on the reservation of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, told the Traverse City Record-Eagle (http://j.mp/o55s4f) that he is haunted by memories.
"There's no words to describe that place," he said. "It was smoking, stinking. You could feel the particles, whatever was floating through the air, you could feel it hit you."
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1:07 p.m.
At the south memorial reflecting pool at ground zero, AP's Cristian Salazar came across Peter Rauss, who stood with his family near where his uncle's name is inscribed in bronze.
"It's hard to know what to think," said the 19-year-old from North Babylon, N.Y., who wore a badge with a photograph of his uncle, stockbroker Philip Ognibene. Rauss was in fourth grade on 9/11.
"I think the strangest thing for me is hearing the moments of silence."
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1:03 p.m.
As a memorial ceremony marking the 9/11 anniversary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his argument that Iran's nuclear program must be stopped.
"The possibility that the world's most dangerous weapons will fall into the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes is too real," he said.
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the attacks a "complicated, designed game" to pave the way for invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Iranian leader has repeatedly questioned the official version of the events surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks, calling it a "big lie."
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12:53 p.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 12:53 P.M.
APNewsAlert
BARKSDALE AFB, La. — Bush says military on high-alert status
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12:43 p.m.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, director of fashion at Lincoln Center, was working for Vogue at New York Fashion Week during 9/11 — and now realizes she's with the same group of people 10 years later.
The 9/11 anniversary, she said, has put intense pressure on designers for today's Fashion Week shows.
"From my conversations from designers, they are excited to share something magical with their new collections, but at the same time be respectful of those that have lost people and people that are frightened."
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12:41 p.m.
Tom Brokaw, who anchored NBC News' 9/11 coverage 10 years ago and is working as an NBC commentator today, briefly struggled for composure after watching Paul Simon sing "The Sound of Silence."
"Music is such a critical part of these kinds of ceremonies," he said. "It evokes memories, speaks to us in a way that our everyday language cannot."
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12:30 p.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 12:30 P.M.
BULLETIN
World Trade Center collapses in terrorist attack; Washington hit by apparently coordinated attack
By JERRY SCHWARTZ
AP National Writer
In one of the most audacious attacks ever against the United States, terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in a coordinated series of blows Tuesday that brought down the twin 110-story towers. A plane also slammed into the Pentagon, bringing the seat of government itself under attack.
Thousands could be dead or injured, a high-ranking city police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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12:30 p.m.
The anniversary of 9/11 is prominent — but not dominant — in the online world right now.
Nine of the top 10 trending searches on Google are related to 9/11 and today's ceremonies — everything from "God Bless America," ''twin towers" and "Paul Simon" (who performed in New York) to "911 conspiracy."
Of the top Twitter trends at the moment, only one — the hashtag GodBlessAmerica — has anything to do with 9/11. Other trends include "Happy Grandparents Day" (which happens to be today) and "Today is 9-10-11" (which, of course, it isn't).
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12:23 p.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 12:23 P.M.
APNewsAlert
NEW YORK — High-ranking city police official says the number of people killed or injured could be in the thousands.
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11:59 a.m.
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama laid a wreath at the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pa., stood for a moment of silence, then walked away to applause and chants of "USA! USA!"
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11:52 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 11:52 A.M.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve reports it is prepared to provide additional money to nation's banking system as needed following terrorist attacks.
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11:51 a.m.
Here, as provided by the White House, is the full text of President Barack Obama's remarks at this morning's ceremony at ground zero, where he read from Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, there's a river whose streams shall make glad the City of God, the holy place of the Tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her.
She shall not be moved.
God shall help her just at the break of dawn.
The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved.
He uttered his voice.
The earth melted.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the Earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the Earth.
He breaks the bough and cuts the spear in two.
He burns the chariot in fire.
Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the Earths.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
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11:50 a.m.
Maybe it's the years of artists' renderings that were distributed before the memorial was built. Or maybe it's the knowledge of what used to be there. But from the vantage of TV cameras positioned high on neighboring buildings today, the site almost resembles a drawing.
Reality sets in at ground level, where families mill about, touching names, taking pictures and breaking down in tears.
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11:42 a.m.
At the memorial ceremony at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vice President Joe Biden offered words of encouragement and hope to families gathered there:
Panetta: "Though 10 years have passed, the wounds are still present, the emotions still raw. You have always carried the memory of that day with you and in its aftermath you have shown a strength and a courage that embodies the character of America."
Biden: "Your physical presence here today gives hope to thousands of Americans who under different circumstances are trying to come to grips with the losses that you had that they're going through. Because when they see you here, you let them know that hope can grow from tragedy and there can be a second life."
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11:23 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 11:23 A.M.
APNewsAlert
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines says it "lost" two aircraft carrying 156 people.
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11:16 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 11:16 A.M.
BULLETIN
World Trade Center collapses in terrorist attack; Washington hit by apparently coordinated attack
By JERRY SCHWARTZ
AP National Writer
In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, and the twin 110-story towers collapsed Tuesday morning. Explosions also rocked the Pentagon and spread fear across the nation.
"I have a sense it's a horrendous number of lives lost," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. "I don't know yet. Right now we have to focus on saving as many lives as possible."
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11:15 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 11:15 A.M.
APNewsAlert
NEW YORK — Mayor Guiliani says: "I have a sense it's a horrendous number of lives lost."
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11:12 a.m.
Mary Bannister was headed to the World Trade Center for a meeting when the first plane struck, said her daughter, Mary Purcell. Bannister survived, but "we didn't know if she was dead or alive until 10 or 10:30 that night," said Purcell, attended a 9/11 ceremony in Richmond, Va., because her mother was too overcome with emotion to be there in person.
"She couldn't cry that date because she was running for her life," Purcell said. "This weekend, though, is affecting her greatly. She has shed a lot of tears for the fallen."
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11:04 a.m.
The official White House Twitter account has just put out a photo showing President Barack Obama and his daughter Malia preparing food at a D.C. Central Kitchen, a community kitchen in Washington.
The accompanying tweet asks, "How are you serving on (hash)911day?
Here's the photo: http://apne.ws/qxmKZ8
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11:02 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ordered the evacuation of lower Manhattan.
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11 a.m.
The Rev. Michael Carroll delivered a homily today at St. Elizabeth of Hungary parish in Melville, N.Y., saying he did 17 funerals after 9/11. At the last one — in July 2002 — there were no remains, just the fireman's helmet that was found in the rubble.
Carroll told worshippers today, "We can turn this into a celebration of life."
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10:52 a.m.
In Shanksville, Pa., Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said the passengers of Flight 93 "charted a new course, set a new standard for American bravery."
"Over the past 10 years we have heard this place compared to many other places" including the Alamo and Gettysburg, he said. "But the truth is that this place is like no other because the deeds aboard Flight 93 were like no other."
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10:46 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 10:46 A.M.
BULLETIN
A large plane crashed Tuesday morning just north of the Somerset County Airport, airport officials said.
The plane, believed to be a Boeing 767, crashed about 10 a.m. about 8 miles east of Jennerstown, according to county 911 dispatchers, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh reported. The airport is about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
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10:41 a.m.
Paul Simon, who grew up in New York, strapped on his guitar and donned a 9/11 hat to play and sing "The Sound of Silence" at the ceremony at ground zero: "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls ..."
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10:37 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 10:37 A.M.
APNewsAlert
PITTSBURGH — Large plane crashes in western Pennsylvania, officials at Somerset County Airport confirm.
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10:35 a.m.
Rudolph Giuliani, New York's mayor on 9/11, paid tribute to the victims at this morning's ground zero ceremony.
"God bless every soul that we lost," he said. "God bless the family members who have to endure that loss."
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10:30 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT 11, 2001, 10:30 A.M.
(NOTE; This update includes a reference to an explosion at the State Department, which was later determined to be a false report.)
BULLETIN
In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center and knocked down the twin 110-story towers Tuesday morning. Explosions also rocked the Pentagon and the State Department and spread fear across the nation.
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10:29 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 10:29 A.M.
FLASH
NEW YORK — Second World Trade Center tower collapses.
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10:23 a.m.
The crowd at ground zero applauded when 12-year-old Patricia Smith paid tribute to her late mother.
"Mom, I am proud to be your daughter," she said. "You will always be my hero."
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10:21 a.m.
In Joplin, Mo., 9/11 is being remembered in conjunction with another tragedy — the massive tornado that tore through the city in May, killing 160 people and reducing 2,000 buildings to rubble.
New York firefighters and ground zero construction workers are joining tornado survivors in a ceremony here. The New York contingent brought with them a large American flag recovered a decade ago from a building near the World Trade Center.
Survivors of another tornado in Greensburg, Kan., began repairing the flag in 2008, using remnants of flags from their community. Other disaster survivors have continued the work, and the final stitches are being placed in Joplin.
Once the flag is complete, it will be delivered to the 9/11 memorial in New York.
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10:19 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 10:19 A.M.
(NOTE: Reports from sources about an explosion or fire at the State Department turned out to be incorrect.)
BULLETIN
The State Department was evacuated Tuesday due to a possible explosion or fire amid a rash of explosions in New York and Washington.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident appeared connected with two plane crashes at the World Trade Center, an explosion at the Pentagon and the evacuation of the White House.
"Something has happened at the State Department," the source said. "We don't know what yet. We hear it might have been a plane."
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10:14 a.m.
A choir sang before a crowd of about 5,000 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, at the site where one of the airliners hijacked on 9/11 crashed into a field after passengers stormed the cockpit.
The crowd listened to a reading of the names of the 40 passengers and crew killed aboard the plane.
Flight 93 knifed into a field after some of the passengers overcame the plane's four hijackers, helping prevent a likely attack on Washington.
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10:11 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 10:11 A.M.
BULLETIN
Two planes crash into World Trade Center in apparent terrorist attack; tower collapses to the ground
By JERRY SCHWARTZ
AP National Writer
In a horrific sequence of destruction, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center and one of the towers collapsed Tuesday morning in what the President Bush said was an apparent terrorist attack. A witness said he saw bodies falling from the 110-story towers and people jumping out.
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10:03 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: Flight 93 crashes in Pennsylvania field.
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10 a.m.
After a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m. — the moment, 10 years ago, when the Pentagon was hit by a hijacked airliner — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta noted that more than 6,200 members of the U.S. military have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Because of their sacrifices, we are a safer and stronger nation today."
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9:59 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: South tower of trade center collapses.
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9:57 a.m.
As the memorial ceremony takes place at ground zero, AP reporter Chris Hawley has been wandering the streets of New York to see what life is like today in the city most deeply and violently affected by 9/11.
One man he came across was Sean Harris, 45, who was panhandling on Broadway. Harris, who spent last night at LaGuardia Airport, has been homeless for the last eight years.
For many New Yorkers like Harris, Hawley is finding, today is no different than any other day.
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9:53 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:53 A.M.
BULLETIN
By RON FOURNIER
Associated Press Writer
An aircraft crashed near the Pentagon Tuesday, and the Capitol and White House were evacuated after bomb threats.
President Bush said the two earlier plane crashes into the World Trade Center were "an apparent terrorist attack on our country."
The Federal Aviation Administration shut down all airplane traffic nationwide.
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9:45 a.m.
A tweet from AP reporter Heidi Vogt in Afghanistan: At bagram, 9/11 ceremony is small, interrupted by fighter jet buzzing overhead.
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9:45 a.m.
I don't know no love songs." — James Taylor is at ground zero, singing "Close Your Eyes" before a hushed crowd.
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9:44 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:44 A.M.
BULLETIN
An aircraft crashed near the Pentagon and the West Wing of the White House was evacuated amid threats of terrorism.
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9:43 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:43 A.M.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON — An aircraft has crashed into the Pentagon, witnesses say.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON — West Wing of White House evacuated amid terrorist threats.
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9:42 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: FAA ordered all aircraft in U.S. space — more than 4,500 — to land at nearest airport.
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9:42 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:42 A.M.
BULLETIN
One of two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center was hijacked after takeoff from Boston, a U.S. official said, citing a transmission from the plane.
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9:41 a.m.
Some touch the names. Others bestow a gentle kiss. And some adorn the words with roses, sliding the stems through openings created by the carved letters. The families of 9/11 victims are finding their own relationship with the memorial.
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9:40 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:40 A.M.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON — First plane to hit World Trade Center was hijacked after takeoff from Boston, U.S. official says.
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9:37 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: Flight 77 crashed into Pentagon.
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9:34 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:34 A.M.
BULLETIN
By RON FOURNIER
Associated Press Writer
President Bush said Tuesday that two plane crashes into the World Trade Center were "an apparent terrorist attack on our country."
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9:33 a.m.
President Barack Obama stood behind bulletproof glass near the 9/11 memorial's white oak trees when he delivered his comments at this morning's ceremony.
Immediately after the moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. — the time when the first jetliner slammed into the World Trade Center 10 years ago — he read Psalm 46 from the Bible.
"God is our refuge and strength," the psalm said. "He dwells in his city, does marvelous things and says, be still and know that I am God."
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9:31 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:31 A.M.
APNewsAlert
SARASOTA, Fla. — Bush calls World Trade Center crashes apparent terrorist attack.
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9:29 a.m.
Donald Rumsfeld, who was secretary of defense at the time of the attacks, has been spotted in the audience at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon, according to a tweet by AP photographer Charles Dharapak.
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9:25 a.m.
An entrance to the Rector Street subway station near ground zero has a new sign: "Rector Street 9/11 Memorial." The number "11" is in a distinctive blue that conjures the twin towers in many signs and logos.
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9:25 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: FAA command center in Herndon, Va., tells headquarters about suspected hijacking of Flight 77.
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9:20 a.m.
Victims' relatives are walking up to the names carved into the memorial.
Many are in tears. Others simply look somber. Still others show little emotion at all — they almost look like tourists.
Most have two things in common, besides the awful fate that brought them together here: They all seem to want to take pictures of loved ones' names, and they're touching the words, pressing their palms to them or running their fingers gently along the letters.
Others are using pencils and paper to make etchings of the names, so they can bring a piece of this memorial home with them.
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9:18 a.m.
Here's a tweet that just came in from AP's Samantha Gross, who's at scene of today's ground zero ceremonies:
The boys who just read their dads' name at the 9/11 ceremony look so young. I wonder if they can remember them, or if they just have stories
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9:18 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT 11, 2001, 9:18 A.M.
BULLETIN
Planes crashed into the upper floors of both World Trade Center towers minutes apart Tuesday in a horrific scene of explosions and fires that left gaping holes in the 110-story buildings.
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9:15 a.m.
An Islamist party in Pakistan has organized several demonstrations for today. In Islamabad, about 100 people chanted and held up banners that repeated conspiracy theories alleging American or Israeli involvement in the attacks. And in the sprawling city of Karachi, another 100 people protested against the war in Afghanistan, launched in response to 9/11.
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9:15 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:15 A.M.
BULLETIN
The FBI is investigating reports that two plane crashes at the World Trade Center are the result of foul play, The Associated Press has learned.
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9:12 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:12 A.M.
APNewsAlert
WASHINGTON — FBI investigating reports of plane hijacking before World Trade Center crashes.
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9:11 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT 11, 2001, 9:11 A.M.
BULLETIN
NEW YORK (AP) — An aircraft crashed into the upper floors of one of the World Trade Center towers Tuesday morning, and black smoke poured out of two gaping holes, witnesses said. Shortly afterward a second plane hit the other tower.
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9:09 a.m.
Former President George W. Bush invoked the loss of life in the Civil War as he memorialized 9/11 victims.
"I pray that our heavenly father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement," Bush read, quoting a letter from Abraham Lincoln to the mother of soldiers who died in the war between the states.
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9:09 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:09 A.M.
APNewsAlert
NEW YORK — Plane crashes into second World Trade Center tower.
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9:05 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:05 A.M.
BULLETIN
An aircraft crashed into the upper floors of one of the World Trade Center towers Tuesday morning, and black smoke poured out of two gaping holes, witnesses said. Shortly afterward a second explosion rocked the other tower.
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9:04 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT 11, 2001, 9:04 A.M.
APNewsAlert
NEW YORK — Explosion rocks second World Trade Center tower.
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9:03 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: Flight 175 crashed into the south tower.
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9:01 a.m.
Family members are crowded tightly into the World Trade Center site. One man holds a bouquet of white roses to his chest. Another is carrying a baby, a pacifier in his mouth and a U.S. flag in his hand. Five people wear yellow shirts bearing the words "Forever Young." Below the words are images of lost loved ones.
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9:01 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 9:01 A.M.
BULLETIN
An aircraft crashed into the upper floors of one of the World Trade Center towers Tuesday morning, and black smoke poured out of two gaping holes, witnesses said.
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8:56 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK: SEPT. 11, 2001, 8:56 A.M.
BULLETIN
Smoke poured out of a gaping hole in the upper floors of the World Trade Center on Tuesday and there were broadcast reports a plane had struck it.
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8:53 a.m.
AP FLASHBACK; SEPT. 11, 2001, 8:53 A.M.
APNewsAlert
NEW YORK — Plane crashes into World Trade Center, according to television reports.
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8:52 a.m.
"Gordon M. Aamoth, Jr."
The reading of the names of the 9/11 victims — 2,977 of them — has begun.
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8:52 a.m.
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: An attendant on Flight 175 notified United Airlines of a hijacking.
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8:48 a.m.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at the site of the World Trade Center: "Ten years have passed since a perfect blue-sky morning turned into the blackest of nights."
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8:46 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: Flight 11 crashed into north tower of World Trade Center.
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8:42 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people on board, left from Newark International Airport for San Francisco.
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8:42 a.m.
A flag that survived the attacks on 9/11 has been unfurled and is being held at a slight, upward angle as the national anthem is sung. The president and first lady, as well as former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, have their hands on their hearts.
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8:41 a.m.
Here's a tweet that just came in from AP's Larry Neumeister, who's at scene of today's ground zero ceremonies:
The normally active New York airspace is noticeably absent of planes on this morning. (hash)9/11
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8:37 a.m.
A line of bagpipe players and drummers is marching through ground zero, the scene almost completely silent besides the rhythmic beating of the drums.
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8:37 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: The Federal Aviation Administration notified North American Aerospace Defense Command about a suspected hijacking of Flight 11.
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8:25 a.m.
The Bushes and the Obamas, from opposite sides of the American political spectrum, are walking around the ground zero area and greeting people. It's a striking image — and a glimpse into the role that ex-presidents play as symbols in the United States.
The current and former presidents ran their hands over bronze panels bearing victims' names at the Sept. 11 memorial.
"Ten years later, I'd say America came through this thing in a way that was consistent with our character," President Barack Obama told NBC News. "We've made mistakes. Some things haven't happened as quickly as they needed to. But overall, we took the fight to al-Qaida, we preserved our values, we preserved our character."
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8:20 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 with 64 people on board, took off from Washington Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles.
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8:14 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people on board, left Boston's Logan International Airport for Los Angeles.
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8:10 a.m.
"Time to be a big boy. Time to not let things hold you back. Time to just step out into the world and see how things are."
That's what 17-year-old Elijah Portillo said at the site of today's ground zero memorial ceremony in New York, where he arrived early this morning. It's the first time he's attended a memorial here since the attacks killed his father, an architect named Anthony.
He avoided the ceremonies before because he thought he would feel so angry. This year is different.
"I'm not angry," he said. "I wanted to be here."
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8:03 a.m.
Two dramatically different perspectives on 9/11 came out of Malaysia today.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reiterated an old claim that the U.S. government was behind the attacks, blogging that Arab Muslims are incapable of "planning and strategizing" such attacks, and that the World Trade Center's twin towers "came down nicely upon themselves" and looked more like a "planned demolition of buildings" than a collapse.
Elsewhere in the country, Pathmawathy Navaratnam did something this morning that she's done every day for the past decade: She wished her son, a financial analyst named Vijayashanker Paramsothy who was killed in the attacks on New York, a "good morning."
"He is my sunshine. He has lived life to the fullest, but I can't accept that he is not here anymore," she said. "I am still living, but I am dead inside."
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7:59 a.m.
10 YEARS AGO TODAY: American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people on board, left Boston's Logan International Airport for Los Angeles.
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7:52 a.m.
People are waking up to a reminder of the horrors and reverberations of that day: In Afghanistan, two Afghan civilians were killed and 77 American soldiers were injured in a Taliban suicide truck bombing targeting an U.S. base.
Afghanistan's foreign minister said the Sept. 11 attacks bound Afghans and Americans together in a "shared struggle."
But the Taliban emailed a statement to the media: "Each year, 9/11 reminds the Afghans of an event in which they had no role whatsoever. American colonialism has shed the blood of tens of thousands of miserable and innocent Afghans."
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7:45 a.m.
It's a little cooler today in New York. But there's a familiar feel in the air.
One of the strongest 9/11 memories for many New Yorkers — and for people all along the Eastern Seaboard — was the crisp, sunny weather before the first plane hit the World Trade Center. The day began as a nearly perfect one.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised about this morning's weather — this is usually a pleasant time of the year in this part of the world. But there's a familiar feeling in the air.