US and Canada mark 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

Communities across the United States and Canada marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Friday with ceremonies focused on remembrance, honoring first responders, and passing memories to a new generation. At the Peace Arch border crossing in South Surrey, British Columbia, hundreds of people, including dignitaries and first responders, gathered for an annual memorial. Four retired New York City first responders who served on 9/11 were honored at the event. Retired NYPD Lieutenant Kevin Lynch shared his personal account of witnessing the second plane hit the World Trade Center and assisting in evacuations. "It's incredibly important to remember, first of all, but also to share," Lynch told the crowd. "In the world that we live in today, where there's a tremendous amount of strife... to come here and just feel all the warmth from everybody is incredibly healing." In New Mexico, firefighters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe performed memorial stair climbs beginning at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the North Tower. They climbed to represent the 110 floors of the Twin Towers, honoring the 343 firefighters and other first responders killed.