How the 9/11 attacks shaped the last 25 years

Twenty-five years after two hijacked planes brought down the World Trade Center, Lower Manhattan has been rebuilt and is now more residential and active, with new bars and restaurants in the Financial District. One World Trade Center’s observatory sits atop the U.S.’s tallest building at 1,776 feet, while the 9/11 Memorial & Museum draws about 9,000 visitors daily. At the Pentagon, more than a million people visit an outdoor memorial each year, including 184 benches in the path of the third plane. Across the U.S., debates over post-9/11 policies remain, from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to Homeland Security and ICE tactics, and the Guantanamo case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whose trial is set for June 5, 2028.