Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/570022
ByJonathanLemire and Jennifer Peltz The Associated Press NEWYORK Duringyearsof going to ground zero every Sept. 11, Paul Acquaviva has seen crowds diminish at the ceremonies commemorat- ing the terror attacks. But his determination to partic- ipate hasn't. "As long as I'm breathing, I'll be here," Acquaviva, 81, said Friday as he arrived to pay tribute to his late son, Paul. More than 1,000 victims' relatives, survivors and re- covery workers marked the 14th anniversary at ground zero with grief, gratitude and appeals to keep the toll front of mind as years pass. "It's a hard day. But it's an important day. I'll come ev- ery year that I can," recov- ery worker Robert Mattic- ola said. But if the private cere- mony is smaller than in its early years, the date also has become an occasion for the public to revisit ground zero, where the memorial plaza now opens to every- one on the anniversary. Around the country, the date was marked with what has become a tradition of lowered flags, wreath-lay- ing, bell-tolling and, in New York, reading the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror strikes at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. One woman at ground zero collapsed during the cere- mony, apparently overcome by grief; bystanders helped her to her feet. Family members praised first responders, thanked the armed forces and prayed for unity and security. They also sent personal messages to their lost loved ones. "You are the reason that I wear this uniform and stand here today," Air Force Technical Sgt. Spar- kle Thompson said of her uncle, Louie Anthony Wil- liams. In Washington, Presi- dent Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out of the White House for a moment of si- lence at 8:46 a.m., when the first of four hijacked planes hit on Sept. 11, 2001, strik- ing the World Trade Cen- ter's north tower. Later Fri- day, the president was ob- serving the anniversary with a visit to the Army in- stallation at Fort Meade, Maryland. The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanks- ville marked the comple- tion of its $26 million vis- itor center, which opened to the public Thursday. At the Pentagon, Defense Sec- retary Ash Carter and other officials joined in remem- brances for victims' rel- atives and Pentagon em- ployees. Sacramento, Califor- nia, commemorated 9/11 in conjunction with a pa- rade honoring three friends who tackled a heavily armed gunman on a Paris- bound high-speed train last month. Two tunnels in Idaho Springs, Colorado, were renamed the Veter- ans Memorial Tunnels, and a cross-shaped steel sculp- ture taken from the rubble of the World Trade Center went on display at Dallas Love Field airport. Some Americans hon- ored the anniversary in their own ways. "I don't go to the memo- rial. I don't watch it on TV. But I make sure, every year, I observe a moment of si- lence at 8:46," electrician Jeff Doran said as he stood across the street from the trade center, where the sig- nature, 1,776-foot One World Trade Center tower has opened since last Sept. 11. The memorial plaza opened in 2011 but was closed to the public on the anniversary until last year, when an estimated 20,000 people flocked there to pay respects in the evening. Moved by the influx, orga- nizers decided to open it more quickly after the cer- emony this year. Some victims' relatives welcome the sense of open- ness at the site, where con- struction fences that once limited access came down last year. "It's a little more comfortable for people to be here," said Alexandria Perez, who attends the an- niversary ceremony annu- ally in memory of her aunt, Ana Centeno. But to Erick Jimenez, a brother of 9/11 victim Eliezer Jimenez Jr., "every year, it's a little less per- sonal. ... But it's still nice to come and share with other people who lost loved ones." This year's anniversary comes as Congress is weigh- ing whether to start provid- ing financing for the me- morial plaza and whether to extend programs that promised billions of dollars in compensation and medi- cal care to Sept. 11 respond- ers and survivors. They're set to expire next year. TERROR ATTACKS On S ep t. 1 1 an ni ve rsa ry , ap pe al s to remember as time passes EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and others pause on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Friday as they observe a moment of silence to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11attacks. A sign displaying the shooter tip line sits above the cars on the Interstate 10and 7th Streets on Thursday in Phoenix. PATRICK BREEN — THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC By Paul Davenport and Brian Skoloff The Associated Press PHOENIX Authorities de- tained two people for ques- tioning Friday in a series of freeway shootings that have rattled Phoenix over the past two weeks. Police were at a con- venience store near In- terstate 10, focusing on a white SUV. Arizona De- partment of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves confirmed the people were being questioned but gave no more details. Eleven cars have been shot since Aug. 29, eight with bullets and three with projectiles that could have been BBs or pellets. One girl's face was cut by glass as a bullet shattered her window. The search for suspects has grown more intense with each shooting, as a panicked public flooding a police hotline with tips. Authorities appealed for help through social media, news conferences, TV in- terviews and freeway bill- boards, whose messages morphed from "report sus- picious activity" to "shoot- ing tips" to the more omi- nous "I-10 shooter tip line." Many of the thousands of tips proved to be false leads based on road haz- ards routine in Arizona, like windshields cracked by loose rocks sent air- borne by the tires of other vehicles. On Thursday alone, drivers reported possible shootings of an armored truck, two cars and two tractor-trailers. Authori- ties and TV crews scram- bled to these scenes, only to discover minor dam- age. The shootings haven't fit any obvious pattern. Most happened on In- terstate 10, a main route through Phoenix. Bullets have been fired at various times of the day, striking a seemingly random assort- ment of vehicles, from an empty bus to tractor-trail- ers to pickup trucks, cars and SUVs. Helicopters have been flying up and down Inter- state 10 as officers scan a wall of TV monitors car- rying live surveillance video from every freeway in the metropolitan area. The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire- arms and Explosives have joined the hunt. "We have a number of officers ... both uniformed, non-uniformed, plain- clothes, undercover vehi- cles, marked vehicles on the road patrolling, look- ing for the suspect, look- ing for leads," Graves said Thursday. Arizona police question 2 in f re ew ay s ho ot in gs PAST 2 WEEKS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B