New York City, Ground Zero | featured news

The plot of land known for a decade as "the pile," "the pit" and "ground zero" opened to the public Monday for the first time since that terrible morning in 2001, transformed into a memorial consisting of two serene reflecting pools ringed by the chiseled-in-bronze names of the nearly 3,000 souls lost.

Days after the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama met New York firefighters on Thursday before a visit to Ground Zero to offer comfort to a city still scarred by the September 11 attacks.

Supporters and opponents of a proposed Muslim cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site rallied in downtown Manhattan on Sunday, kept blocks apart by a heavy police presence.

<

The developers of an Islamic cultural center that would include a mosque near Ground Zero have rejected Gov. David Paterson's offer to help them find a different site. Paterson said today the group is apparently committed to building in the proposed site.

Republicans attacked President Barack Obama on Sunday for his comments on a controversial plan to build a Muslim cultural center in New York, saying he was "disconnected" from the nation in an election year.

The New York City Landmarks Commission unanimously voted to deny landmark designation to the site of a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero. The vote clears the last major hurdle for the controversial project.

More than 800 first responders have staged a disaster drill at the World Trade Center PATH station. The mock explosion happened Sunday morning in the PATH tunnel linking lower Manhattan to New Jersey. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers and members of other New York City agencies took part in the drill.
They secured the scene and then brought the pretend victims out of the tunnel.

The 150 volunteers playing victims wore makeup simulating blood and grime.