Frustrations, remorse and pain surface on 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Ceremonies at the Pentagon, Ground Zero, and elsewhere marked 25 years since the September 11 attacks that killed 2,977 people. Condoleezza Rice offered rare public remorse for failing to prevent the attack, while President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth used the anniversary to justify the ongoing, deeply unpopular war with Iran, now nearly seven months old and having killed 18 U.S. service members and thousands of civilians.

Terry Strada, widow of a 9/11 victim, publicly pressed Vice President Vance to hold Saudi Arabia accountable, accusing successive administrations of protecting the kingdom instead of the victims' families. Neither the Saudi Embassy nor the White House responded to requests for comment.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office released roughly 170,000 pages of previously withheld records suggesting officials downplayed toxic air quality after the attacks; the CDC estimates close to 50,000 people have developed related cancers. Firefighter Bob Lee, among those exposed, said he has since lost hundreds of colleagues to illness.

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