New York marks the 25th anniversary of the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks on Friday, with a ceremony marked by US President Donald Trump’s absence and right-wing outrage at the attendance of the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Trump will pay his respects at the Pentagon, not New York, where hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center and killed most of the 2,977 total victims on that world-altering day.

Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s four living predecessors — Republican George W. Bush, who was in office during the attacks, and Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — are all expected at the “Ground Zero” site in lower Manhattan.

No one will give speeches at the ceremony, while bereaved family members will read out the names of all of those killed and a bell will be rung to mark major moments during the attack.

“Memorials like this and discussions about those events are an important part of keeping it alive and understanding how we prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again,” said Robert Kafka, a Chicagoan in his 60s visiting the 9/11 Memorial.

Alongside the former presidents will be Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor, despite a campaign urging him to stay away, spearheaded by the right-wing New York Post and former mayor Rudy Giuliani.

A petition, which has gathered more than 100,000 signatures, accuses Mamdani of associating with unspecified individuals who are “dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies”.

“It’s concerning to me that the mayor is being treated differently simply because he is Muslim,” city council member Shahana Hanif told CNN.

Mamdani won plaudits, however, for recently revealing thousands of documents showing what city officials knew about toxicity levels of the air in Lower Manhattan following the attacks.

After the initial dust cloud that followed the collapse of the World Trade Center, months of pollution and lingering dust ensued, causing cancers from which thousands of New Yorkers still suffer today.

‘Toxic Air’

“People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said Tuesday.

Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four planes on that nearly cloudless day in 2001.

Two jets slammed into the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers, causing the iconic 110-story buildings to collapse.

A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.

Beyond those killed on September 11, more than 9,400 other people have died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to the federal programme established to provide medical care to those affected.

Some 100 million Americans were not even born or are too young to remember the tragic events.

Logan Miller, 32, lost his uncle during the attacks, and his grandfather to 9/11-related illness in the aftermath.

“I think the next generation just can’t fathom what actually transpired and how someone could be impacted by that, and so I actually find them asking more questions,” he told AFP.

Huge crowds are expected to gather in Lower Manhattan for the memorial service.

The Secret Service has erected a security ring of steel around the site of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Police commissioner Jessica Tisch said an anti-drone team would be deployed as a precaution, but stressed there was no intelligence of a specific threat to the gathering.

Al-Qaeda meanwhile has marked the anniversary by releasing a video showing images of late leader Osama bin Laden and his son Hamza, who Trump said in 2019 had also been killed.

Ahead of the memorial, a drone show with 2,977 lights rose above New York Harbor, one for each person killed in the attacks.

At least five people were killed when an Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway after it landed Sunday at Miami International Airport, crashed into vehicles and caught fire, officials said.

Miami-Dade County fire chief Ray Jadallah told reporters that in addition to five fatalities, three people were transported to trauma centers “in critical condition” and two more were treated at a local hospital.

“The airplane did strike a couple of vehicles,” which left “a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles,” Jadallah said.

“A complex extrication with our technical rescue team” was needed, “including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft.”

Jadallah did not clarify whether the pilot or co-pilot survived, and officials declined to answer questions after brief statements were made.

Video showed thick smoke billowing from the blue and white Boeing 767 after it arrived at 1:58 pm (1758 GMT) from Puerto Rico, as fire trucks raced to the scene.

Officials investigate the scene where a Prime Air cargo plane overran the runway and crashed into other vehicles at Miami International Airport at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on September 6, 2026.

The plane operating as Prime Air Flight 7598 caught fire as a result of the “crash,” fire officials said.

“A total of 60 fire apparatuses arrived, just short, just shy of 200 men and women from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, to begin the actual search and rescue and firefighting,” Jadallah said.

“The actual cause of the incident will be determined by the FAA and the NTSB,” he added, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

In a statement posted to X Sunday evening, fire officials said they used foam to extinguish a fire in the engine compartment.

“One person was trapped under one of the involved vehicles and had to be extricated by specialized technical rescue personnel. Specialized hazardous materials (HazMat) units safely shut down the aircraft’s engine and worked to control a fuel leak,” the statement said.

Investigation Launched
The NTSB said in an X post on Sunday that the B-767-300 cargo airplane was flying into Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and they have “launched a go team to investigate Sunday’s runway excursion accident.”

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement the tech giant will cooperate with any investigation into the incident.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss,” Nantel said.

Miami Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told reporters Sunday that her officers encountered a “really tragic scene,” but there was “no apparent threat to public safety.”

The airport closed all runways and taxiways because of the incident and posted an update to its website Sunday evening that travelers should check directly with their airline before heading to the airport.

After hours of holding all flights at the international airport Sunday, with numerous delays and canceled flights for commercial airline passengers, the Miami Herald newspaper reported that two of the airport’s four runways had reopened Sunday.

In a statement on X, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked first responders for their speedy response, saying “our fire rescue team was there within seconds of the crash, so we’re deeply grateful.”




AFP

US President Donald Trump’s name-changing spree found an unlikely new target on Sunday when he suggested the state of New Mexico could become “New America.”

His proposal, which was immediately dismissed by the state’s governor, comes days after he signed an order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in the middle of a trade war with neighboring Canada.

“Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico… to NEW AMERICA,” the Republican president posted on social media. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

The White House reposted an image showing the Mexico part of the state’s name crossed out and replaced with “America.”

Some US media reports said the idea originated as an internet hoax.

State governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Fox News that the name “isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed.”

She said the president wanted to “distract Americans” from issues such as soaring gas prices.

Trump last week suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait” as the war with Iran continues — then hours later implied he was not serious about the plan.

He renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on his first day back in the White House in 2025 in a move rejected by Mexico.

Canada has also rejected the attempt to rename Lake Ontario.




AFP