A Quarter Century Later, 9/11 Still Haunts the U.S.

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people across New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, the human toll of that day continues to grow.

The U.S. is marking the quarter-century anniversary today with ceremonies across the country, including at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, where the names of those killed in the attacks were read.

The original attacks claimed 2,977 lives. More than 2,700 of those victims were killed at the World Trade Center, including 343 New York City firefighters, 23 city police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers, according to CNN. 

Since then, more than 57,000 responders and survivors enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program have been diagnosed with cancer. By March 2024, nearly 7,000 people enrolled in the programme had died.

The long-term health consequences have also created a much larger population of people requiring monitoring and treatment.  

This year’s anniversary has also brought renewed scrutiny over what officials knew about the conditions around Ground Zero. New York City recently released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records concerning air quality following the attacks.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump marked the anniversary at the Pentagon, where one of the four hijacked planes crashed on September 11, 2001. 

A quarter century later, the U.S. continues its effort to heal from the 9/11 attacks.