US marks September 11 with modest tributes, new monument to victims

Americans commemorate the September 11 attacks with mournful tributes, volunteer projects and a new monument to the victims, after a year in which two attacks demonstrated the continuing threat of terrorism in the country's largest city.

Thousands of 9/11 survivors, survivors, rescuers and others are expected at the World Trade Center's anniversary ceremony on Tuesday, while President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will visit the two. other cities, 2001, in the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil.

President and First Lady Melania Trump are planning to join the September 11th Memorial Observation in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a new "Voice Tour" was held on Saturday. Pence attends a ceremony at the Pentagon. Trump, a Republican and native of the New Yorker, took advantage of last year's birthday to issue a stern warning to extremists: "America can not be intimidated."

Nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11 attacks, while international terrorism hit a country like it had never before. September 11th is still shaping American politics, politics and everyday experiences in places ranging from airports to office buildings, even though public presence is less consistent after 17 years.

A brutal reminder came shortly after last year's birthday: a truck killed eight people on a bike path a few blocks from the World Trade Center on Halloween.

In December, a potential kamikaze threw a bomb into a subway crossing near Times Square, authorities said. They said the suspects of both attacks were inspired by the extremist Islamic State group.

The commemoration of 9/11 is now a familiar ritual, centered on reading the names of the dead. But each year, on the ground, the relatives of the victims breathe personal messages of remembrance, concern and inspiration.

"What I can say today is that I do not lead my life with complacency," Debra Epps said last year while remembering her brother, Christopher Epps. "I am united that this world will change for the better."

Hours after the ceremony, two powerful beams of light will fly into the night sky from lower Manhattan in the annual "Tribute in Light".

The anniversary of this year comes as a warm mid-term election cycle gets under way. But there have long been efforts to separate the solemn birthday from politics.

The 9/11 Day group, which promotes volunteering on the occasion of a birthday that has been declared a national service day in 2009, regularly asks candidates not to campaign or broadcast political ads for the day. The organizers of the ground zero ceremony allow politicians to participate, but since 2011 they are prevented from reading the names or commenting.

The September 11th memorials continue to grow in Shanksville, where the Tower of Voices will eventually include a wind chime for each of the 40 people killed and the ground zero, where work will soon begin on a way in honor of the rescuers.

It will honor those who have fallen ill or died from toxins released during the collapse of the Trade Center Twin Towers. The researchers documented high rates of respiratory illness, post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses among people who spent time in the rubble.

About 38,500 people filed for compensation and over $ 3.9 billion in claims were approved.

Meanwhile, reconstruction continues. A subway station destroyed on September 11 finally reopened on Saturday. In June, the doors of the 80-story 3 World Trade Center, one of many rebuilt office towers built on the site, were opened. A performing arts center is developing.

However, work was suspended in December to replace a Greek Orthodox church crushed in the attacks; the project has encountered financial problems.