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Cities Mark 25th Anniversary of 9/11 With Ceremonies

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 10:51 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. cities hold public ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Santa Barbara, California, holds a 9 a.m. remembrance at the Courthouse Sunken Garden on Friday.
Aurora, Colorado, schedules a 7:30 a.m. ceremony at its police department with the Honor Guard on Friday.
Retired Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman says 70 percent of his Ground Zero team later developed respiratory problems or cancer.

History

Historical Context

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing, a terrorist attack detonated on February 26, 1993, exposed the towers' vulnerability and killed six people. FEMA allocated $1.5 billion for building upgrades, while the New York City Fire Department recorded 1,200 injuries among responders and mandated new safety protocols. Similarly, 2024 commemorations in Santa Barbara, Aurora, and Menlo Park honor 9/11 victims as surviving firefighters like Harold Schapelhouman report 70 percent developing respiratory illnesses. These remembrances intensify debates over emergency-response health protections and spur legislative proposals to expand benefits for afflicted first responders nationwide.

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Story summary

U.S. cities hold public ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Santa Barbara, California, holds a 9 a.m. remembrance at the Courthouse Sunken Garden on Friday.
Aurora, Colorado, schedules a 7:30 a.m. ceremony at its police department with the Honor Guard on Friday.
Retired Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman says 70 percent of his Ground Zero team later developed respiratory problems or cancer.

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