US marks 9/11 anniversary at tributes shadowed by virus
Americans commemorated 9/11 on Friday as a new national crisis — the coronavirus pandemic — reconfigured anniversary ceremonies and a presidential campaign carved a path through the observances.
In New York, victims’ relatives gathered Friday morning for split-screen remembrances, one at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza at the World Trade Center and another on a nearby corner, set up by a separate organization.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation objected to the memorial’s decision to forgo a longstanding tradition of having relatives read the names of the dead, often adding poignant tributes. Memorial leaders said they made the change as a coronavirus-safety precaution on the 19th anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.