The Latest: US Open champ Wawrinka notes 9-11 in victory

The Swiss Wawrinka’s statement on court followed that of American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who won the women’s doubles title with Lucie Safarova (SAH’-fah-ROH’-vuh) of the Czech Republic. She appeared to choke up during her victory speech, telling the crowd “It’s a special day today here for everybody in New York.”

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7:45 p.m.

Two giant towers of light are illuminating the night sky in lower Manhattan as a visual memorial to those who lost their lives on 9-11.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum’s “Tribute in Light” art installation just south of the World Trade Center site switched on just after sundown Sunday.

The beams from the 88 searchlights represent the twin towers.

They were first put in place six months after the attack and are now a yearly tradition.

They’ll stay lit until dawn.

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5:20 p.m.

A moment of silence was observed at the U.S. Open to mark the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Broadway performer Norm Lewis, who was set to sing the national anthem in Arthur Ashe Stadium prior to the men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, asked the crowd to observe the moment “in memory of those lost 15 years ago today.”

A huge American flag was unfurled over the court, presented by a Brooklyn-based U.S. Marine Corp battalion. Another gesture was painted on the middle of the court: 9-11/01

Earlier, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who wore star-spangled socks and sweatbands while winning the doubles title with Lucie Safarova, of the Czech Republic, choked up during her victory speech, saying, “It’s a special day today here for everybody in New York.”

2:50 p.m.

Players and coaches from around Major League Baseball are wearing caps with American flag patches to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The league says proceeds from sales of those caps will be donated to the 9-11 Memorial and Museum, the Pentagon Memorial and the Flight 93 Memorial.

The anniversary was marked at Yankee Stadium on Sunday before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi and pitcher Dellin Betances placed a wreath at the 9-11 Monument in Monument Park.

A New York Police Department pipe and drums corps performed “America the Beautiful.”

Firefighter Frank Pizzaro sang the national anthem while fellow firefighters unfurled a large American flag in centre field.

1:15 p.m.

A video taken by a bystander shows Hillary Clinton wobbling and being held up by three people as she left a ceremony at the World Trade Center marking the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Clinton’s campaign says the Democratic presidential nominee left the ceremony in New York early after feeling “overheated.”

The video showed her stumbling while getting into a van.

A senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the matter said Clinton was observed “fainting.” That official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn’t authorized to disclose information publicly.

A few hours later, Clinton walked out of daughter Chelsea Clinton’s apartment on her own, saying she was “feeling great.”

She waved and posed for a photo with a young girl before getting into her motorcade.

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12:50 p.m.

The ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks has come to an end.

After the reading of the final name on the list of those killed on 9-11, a musician played taps.

Among those reading the names, several said the loss of their loved ones still felt as if it had happened yesterday, not 15 years ago.

Tom Acquaviva, who lost his son, Paul Acquaviva, said, “It doesn’t get easier. The grief never goes away. You don’t move forward — it always stays with you.”

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12:35 p.m.

Some family members reciting the names of loved ones killed on 9-11 have spoken about how their losses have inspired them to do good for others.

Jerry D’Amadeo was 10 years old when he lost his father, Vincent Gerard D’Amadeo. He was the opening speaker. He said he worked this summer with children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 children and adults were massacred in 2012.

He said, “Sometimes the bad things in our lives put us on the path to where we should be going.”

Ryan Van Riper said he planned to honour his slain grandmother, Barbara Shaw, by serving the country.

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11:30 a.m.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign says the Democratic presidential nominee left the 9-11 anniversary ceremony in New York early after feeling “overheated.”

The campaign says she’s “feeling much better.”

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill says in a statement Sunday that the former secretary of state attended the morning ceremony for 90 minutes “to pay her respects and greet some of the families of the fallen.

He adds, “During the ceremony, she felt overheated so departed to go to her daughter’s apartment, and is feeling much better.”

The statement offered no additional details.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also departed the ceremony before its conclusion.

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10:25 a.m.

President Barack Obama says the nation will never forget the lives of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Obama said at a Pentagon memorial service that he is inspired by the resilience of the victims’ families.

He quoted Scripture: “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the table of your heart.”

Obama also praised America’s diversity and urged Americans not to let their enemies divide them. He called the day “difficult” but one that “reveals the love and faithfulness in your hearts and in the heart of our nation.”

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10:08 a.m.

Hundreds are gathering for the 9-11 anniversary observance in Pennsylvania where one of the planes hijacked by terrorists crashed in a field 15 years ago.

They gathered at Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville as ceremonies were also taking place Sunday in New York and at the Pentagon. Forty passengers and crew members died in the Pennsylvania crash.

For the first time, the Shanksville ceremony is being held outside the visitor centre that opened last year rather than at the granite mall that runs along the crash site. The names of the victims will be read and bells ring in their memory.

The United Airlines flight was heading from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco when it crashed after passengers and crew members fought the terrorists for control of the plane.

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This story has been corrected to show Pennsylvania centre opened last year, not this year.

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9:22 a.m.

The government’s homeland security secretary says the United States is safer now than it was in 2001 against what he calls “another 9-11-style attack.”

But Jeh (jay) Johnson — making the rounds of the Sunday news shows — says the country is “challenged when it comes to the prospects of the lone-wolf actor, the homegrown violent extremists.”

He tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that requires “a new, whole of government response and public participation and vigilance.”

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8:55 a.m.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are attending the Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony in New York.

The presidential candidates greeted supporters on Sunday as they entered the downtown Manhattan memorial. They’re not expected to make public remarks at the event, and both have promised to suspend campaign activities to mark the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

Clinton — a former New York senator — has frequently highlighted her efforts, including in a campaign ad released Friday, to aid those affected by the World Trade Center collapse.

Trump — a New York real estate mogul — has said he donated construction equipment to the recovery effort and gave $100,000 to the memorial after touring it for the first time earlier this year.

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8:46 a.m.

The commemoration of the 15th anniversary of 9-11 has begun at ground zero.

Sunday’s ceremony began with a moment of silence and tolling bells at 8:46 a.m., the time when a terrorist-piloted plane slammed into the World Trade Center’s north tower.

After the silent period, victims’ relatives began reading the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed when four hijacked aircraft hit the trade centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. It was the deadliest terror attack on American soil.

President Barack Obama will speak at an observance at the Pentagon. Hundreds of people also are expected at a ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump are attending the anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center.

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8:20 a.m.

Family members of those lost on Sept. 11 are arriving at ground zero for the ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

Some are going into National September 11 Museum, which is open only to victims’ families until Sunday afternoon, when the public will be allowed to enter.

About an hour before the official commemoration start, police officers in uniform and bagpipers rehearsed part of the ceremony involving a display of the US flag.

As it has every year, the remembrance will mainly focus on the reading of the names of those killed in the attacks. It will also include moments of silence and the tolling of bells.

Other ceremonies are being held at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

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12:20 a.m.

Relatives and loved ones of 9-11 victims will convene Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks.

Organizers have planned some additional music and readings to mark the milestone anniversary at ground zero.

But they are keeping traditions that have made the ceremony a constant in how America remembers Sept. 11, even as ground zero and the nation changes.

The customs include moments of silence and tolling bells, an apolitical atmosphere and the reading of the nearly 3,000 names of those killed in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

President Barack Obama will speak at an observance at the Pentagon. Hundreds of people also are expected at a ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

The Latest: US Open champ Wawrinka notes 9-11 in victory

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