Ceremonies will be held in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
NEW YORK -- Friday marks 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Another 9,000 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses over the last 25 years.
Victims' families, first responders and politicians will gather on Friday for annual remembrance ceremonies as Americans across the country pause to remember and reflect.
President Donald Trump will attend the 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon in Virginia and will not be at the New York City ceremony at ground zero, according to a White House official.
Vice President JD Vance will go to Ground Zero, an official said, adding that the three ceremonies at the Pentagon, ground zero and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, will all have administration officials in attendance.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will attend Friday's remembrance ceremony, where the names of the victims will be read, despite some victims' family members and politicians calling for him to skip the ceremony and then attend a 3 p.m. interfaith service at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church near Ground Zero.
He also released a video, calling the anniversary a "sacred obligation" to honor those "who were stolen from us" by caring for one another.
Mamdani has attended Sept. 11 ceremonies over the last week at firehouses and police precincts, and has joined volunteers to pack meals as part of a Sept. 11 day of service.
Those who have publicly called for the mayor not to attend, including former Mayor Giuliani, former Gov Pataki and former Fire Commissioner Thomas von Essen, all of whom responded on Sept. 11th, are also expected at Ground Zero for the ceremony.
WABC-TV Eyewitness News anchor Michelle Charlesworth was the first reporter to arrive at the scene of the 9/11 attacks 25 years ago. She shared her reflections with viewers.
Fellow Eyewitness News reporter Nina Pineda arrived a short time later and described obtaining video from a man on the street with a camcorder. His video showed the first plane hitting the towers. She shared her reflections of that day.
Federal authorities are warning that foreign terrorist organizations "continue to encourage attacks in the United States and have released 9/11-related propaganda in advance of previous anniversaries of the 9/11 attacks," according to a bulletin reviewed by ABC News.
According to the bulletin, the FBI is concerned that terrorism actors in the U.S. may be inspired to conduct violence or engage in hoax threats in response to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and those actors have showed willingness to act with little to no warning.
Messaging by foreign terrorist organizations "in combination with ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could heighten existing grievances against the United States and contribute to mobilization to violence," according to the document.
Earlier Thursday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the U.S. is facing "a heightened and increasingly complex terrorism threat environment," adding that the environment has "changed significantly since the attacks of September 11, 2001."
"Before 9/11, the primary concern came from centralized international terrorist organizations. Today, those groups remain a threat, but the landscape is broader and more dispersed," according to a DHS spokesperson. "Individuals and small cells now plot attacks independently, often motivated by a range of ideological and political goals.
Foreign terrorist organizations, such as ISIS and al-Qaeda continue to seek ways to carry out or inspire attacks in the U.S., the spokesperson said.
"At the same time, domestic terrorists continue to plan acts of violence, often driven by anti-government views and a desire to destabilize society," the spokesperson added.
The Department of Homeland Security was born out of the 9/11 attacks with the goal of putting agencies who protect the homeland under one roof.
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