<\/div>\n

“The character of sacrifice and love, of generosity and grace, of strength and resilience,” he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Biden also recalled how in the hours after the attacks, Queen Elizabeth II — who died Thursday at age 96 — sent a touching message to the American people.<\/p>\n

“She pointedly reminded us: ‘Grief is the price we pay for love,'” Biden said.<\/p>\n

Al-Qaeda hijacked a total of four planes. The third hit the Pentagon and the fourth, Flight 93, crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers launched a revolt onboard.<\/p>\n

First Lady Jill Biden attended a ceremony there Sunday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– ‘Secure our democracy’ –<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vice President Kamala Harris and Mayor Eric Adams were among dignitaries attending the New York event, where relatives hugged and wept, placed flowers at the memorial and held placards with images of their lost loved ones.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

“While the grief recedes a bit with time, the permanent absence of my father is just as palpable as it ever was,” the son of Jon Leslie Albert said after reading several victims’ names, including his father’s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

September 11 marked a foreign attack on American soil, but Biden has warned the country faces anti-democratic turmoil from within, notably from his predecessor Donald Trump’s supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 seeking to overturn the 2020 election.<\/p>\n

On Sunday he subtly touched on the issue, urging Americans to “secure our democracy together.”<\/p>\n

“It’s not enough to stand up for democracy once a year or every now and then,” he said. “It’s something we have to do every single day.”<\/p>\n

Condolence messages arrived from foreign dignitaries including NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called September 11 “one of the most tragic days” for the US and the world.<\/p>\n

“Facing missile attacks daily, Ukraine\u00a0knows well what terrorism is and sincerely sympathizes with the American\u00a0people,” Zelensky tweeted.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

New York was illuminated late Saturday by a “Tribute in Light” that showed two blue beams, symbolizing the Twin Towers, projecting into the night sky.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In addition to those killed on September 11, thousands of first responders, construction workers and residents have since fallen ill, many of them terminally, as a result of inhaling the toxic fumes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States on Sunday observed the 21st anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks, with President Joe Biden recalling Americans’ sacrifice and New Yorkers honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes destroyed the Twin Towers. Relatives of victims, police officers, firefighters and city leaders gathered at the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, where the names of those who died were read aloud in an hours-long ritual that has occurred annually since the deadliest single attack on US soil. They rang bells and held moments of silence six times, including at 8:46 am and 9:03 am (1246 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[588,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-states-of-america","category-yeswecantv-news"],"yoast_head":"\n