NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — In a speech marking the Sept. 11 attacks on America, President Donald Trump will say that the victims will forever be a reminder that “no matter the threat, no matter the odds, America will always rise up, stand tall and fight back.”
Trump will soon deliver a sobering, patriotic speech in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania where Flight 93, hijacked by terrorists, crashed in a field, killing all 40 on board.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is to visit Shanksville later Friday after attending the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s annual commemoration at Ground Zero in New York.
Trump will say that during the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in Shanksville, New York and at the Pentagon, the world witnessed American courage and sacrifice. He will honor first responders and is to say that the “deadly strike at the heart of American democracy was the courage and resolve of 40 men and women – the amazing passengers and crew of Flight 93.”
___
9:55 a.m.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are attending the ceremony to remember the 40 passengers and crew who died after terrorists commandeered Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania marks the spot where the plane crashed in a rural area at 10:03 a.m.
Before stepping off the plane, the president and Melania Trump observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., marking the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center 19 years ago.
___
9:30 a.m.
NEW YORK — Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, read Bible passages at the 9/11 commemoration organized by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Before the beginning of the ceremony at nearby ground zero, Pence and Joe Biden greeted each other with an elbow bump.
Both men wore face coverings.
___
9:05 a.m.
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump and the first lady observed a moment of silence aboard Air Force One at 8:46 p.m., marking the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center 19 years ago.
Some reporters traveling with the president were invited to join the couple in the plane’s conference room.
Everyone stood.
The president was en route to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where he is scheduled to speak at the annual event commemorating the site where the hijacked Flight 93 crashed in a field, killing all on board.
Trump’s 2020 Democratic rival, Joe Biden, will be visiting the site late Friday.
___
8:46 a.m.
NEW YORK — The chime of a bell at the World Trade Center memorial plaza has signaled the start of commemorations of the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
New York is observing a citywide moment of silence to mark the moment a hijacked plane struck the Trade Center’s north tower.
Five more moments of silence will follow in the ceremony. They recognize the moments when other aircraft struck the second tower, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, and when each Trade Center tower collapsed.
A dispute over coronavirus precautions means there are two commemorations in New York Friday.
At the official ceremony on the memorial plaza, organizers concerned about bringing too many people together are playing a recording of people reading the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.
At a simultaneous ceremony up the street, loved ones will continue the tradition of having those names read in person.
___
8:25 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Vowing to never forget the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11, President Donald Trump headed on Friday to Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
His Democratic challenger Joe Biden was traveling to New York, saying that he will be taking a break from politics to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Trump tweeted that the United States is honoring a commitment made in 2001 to always remember the nearly 3,000 “innocent Americans who were senselessly killed.”
Biden told reporters before boarding a plane in Wilmington, Delaware, headed for New York that his campaign has taken its advertising down and won’t be holding any press conferences. The former vice president plans to visit Shanksville later in the afternoon.
___
8:25 a.m.
NEW YORK — Kathy Swift, 61, arrived early to the Tunnel to Towers ceremony.
Swift, of Jersey City, wore a T-shirt honoring her brother Thomas Swift, who was 30 and working for Morgan Stanley when he died in the South Tower.
A dispute over coronavirus-safety precautions is leading to two simultaneous remembrances Friday, one at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza at the World Trade Center and another on a nearby corner, held by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Another brother, Patrick Swift, will be among the readers.
“We’ve still gotta come,” Kathy Swift said. “We still have to remember ... The whole country’s going downhill. It’s one thing after another, and now with the COVID. I’m glad they’re still having this, though, Tunnel to Towers."
—-
1:30 a.m.
On the anniversary of 9/11, Bernard Kerik, Former NYPD Commissioner and a member of the Advisory Board of Donald J. Trump For President Inc., issued the following statement on behalf of the Campaign:
“Today we honor the memories of the nearly 3,000 Americans who perished on September 11, 2001 at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists. Those Americans will be forever remembered. Nor shall we forget the extraordinary heroism of our first responders and the ordinary Americans who gave everything to save others on that terrible day. We are also eternally grateful to the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in defense of our freedom and flag since then.”
___
1 a.m.
Americans are set to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with tributes altered by the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden both plan to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania Friday, though not at the same time.
In New York, a dispute over coronavirus precautions is leading to separate remembrances.
The National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum cancelled its tradition of having relatives read the names of the dead aloud. It will offer a recording instead to those gathered at the World Trade Center site.
Some victims’ relatives felt the change robbed the observance of its emotional impact. A different 9/11 group, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, set up a simultaneous ceremony.
Vice President Mike Pence plans to attend both events. Biden will also attend the main New York observance before heading to Pennsylvania.