nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijackers crashed planes into the world trade center and the pentagon, as old as 85, as young as just 2 years old. lights illuminated the sky, though, late last night in tribute here. they're going to be turned on again this afternoon in honor of the people who died. >> for a lot of people involved the wounds have not healed even 15 years after. it's the sight of the twin towers collapsing is too painful for many to watch. victims without graves, now memorialized as names on that permanent memorial that i know so many people have seen there in new york. >> most people when they lose someone, they have a grave to go to and that brings them closer to that person. but for us, this is our parents' grave. so it brings us closer and makes us feel connected to that parent. >> a lot of our parents' bodies weren't found after 9/11. so that literally could be where our father's bodies lay to this day. it is a memorial, but it's our grave. we can go there and communicate with the people we lost. that's our safe spot with them. >> a group of first responders are commemorating the day outside a memorial in jerusalem. it is the only such memorial outside the u.s. that lists the name of every victim. >> both presidential kanlcandid are going to pay their respects at ground zero this morning. a british newspaper and new york radio station are claiming the clinton of today is vastly different than the clinton we got to know during the 9/11 tragedy or that new yorkers got to know. i want to show you a photo from the day of the disaster, the then new york junior senator seen listening to firefighters as they toured ground zero. and now audio has been released showing hillary clinton's reaction to those attacks. edward, thank you so much for being with us. i understand you listened to these recordings of hillary clinton. what truck ystruck you most abo at that time? >> we kind of immersed ourselves in what hillary clinton said at the time. it was very revealing. two things came out of it. one very familiar thing about hillary and one much less familiar thing. the familiar thing was that she immersed herself in the detail. she got really into it. she learned all about the medical conditions that arose for the first responders, is s respiratory problems. they called her a sponge for information. i think that's a side of hillary that we all will know well, a politician who likes to be incredibly well-briefed on any subject before she talks about it. the less familiar thing was that she also came across as incredibly impassioned, angry, very very much, sort of a visceral person who's really in contact with the people she's dealing with. and even you spoke to who were with her at the time, particularly firefighters and police officers said she had a one to one connection with her that was very powerful and that they have never forgotten. that's a side of hillary clinton that's much less familiar to us here today in 2016. >> that's what i wanted to ask you about, edward, because i was reading the article and i know that you talked about -- i wanted to ask you about firefighter richard als. somebody that you've talked to. he had been at ground zero 20 minutes after the second tower collapsed. he was there for two days, two nights. he called hillary clinton and his reaction with her -- he said she was compassionate. he called her a fighter. you had the former firefighter's union president peter goreman saying the same thing about her, that she was effective, that she was an empathetic leader. he also said she may not be the most natural politician. do they see her differently today than they saw her back then? >> yeah. a little bit of context is help fu helpful here. bear in mind that the firefighters of new york are not natural hillary clinton supporters. they tend to have a conservative bent. many of them nowadays would be donald trump supporters. this is not a natural political alliance. yet they talked about very strongly post-9/11 this personal connection they had with hillary clinton. and they were genuinely puzzled but how much she's struggling to get her message across on the wider national platform and that they regretted the fact that americans across the country didn't seem to get her, to understand her like they had managed to do having this very close relationship to her. that chimes a bell with what's happening in this political cycle. the polls suggest that she's still struggling with her favorability rate, which is pretty low. in trump, she has an extraordinary riflval. whether you love him or hate him, there is no lack of connection. everybody in america, whether fans or foes of his, seem to have their electric fan stuck in the wall with them. she on the other hand is finding that difficult. >> she has said, i know i can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional, but i had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions and that's a hard path to work. i think there are a lot of women who do understand that, woman who are in business and even those who are not, we learn to keep our emotions to ourselves and therefore become walled off. you say her work at 9/11 gives us a glimpse of what we can expect if she wins the white house. she's clearly evolved like we've all evolved over 15 years. >> i think in a way that point about her need to have detail, to grasp detail, i think that's what comes across for me still 15 years later. she remains a politician who likes to be on top of her brief, who likes to understand a subject before reaching decisions on it. in a way i think that's perhaps the more important point, that faced with whatever dilemma you get in the oval office, she would learn about it, study and make decisions about it. the other point about how you relate to individual americans is of course supremely important in an election year. it's all about how you win the election and get into the white house. once you're there, what's more important, how she comes across in terms of style or the decisions that she makes as president? two very interesting sides of her that people need to think about carefully as they decide who they want to vote for for president. >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. also this morning new york police commissioner bill bratton will join us to talk about the heightened security in new york and to answer the most important question. are we safer now than we were then. also how the surviving officers on the force are handling that tragedy today. plus cnn photographers, producers, reporters are going who recount where they were 15 on that day 15 years ago. >> turns out that my dad was at the pentagon that day. i immediately called my family and he was missing. also regretful, maybe not necessarily sorry, how the clinton campaign is trying to defend her basket of deplorables comment. this car is traveling over 200 miles per hour. to win, every millisecond matters. both on the track and thousands of miles away. with the help of at&t, red bull racing can share critical information about every inch of the car from virtually anywhere. brakes are getting warm. confirmed, daniel you need to cool your brakes. understood, brake bias back 2 clicks. giving them the agility to have speed & precision. because no one knows & like at&t. hei don't want one that's haded a big wreck just say, show me cars with no accidents reported find the cars you want, avoid the ones you don't plus you get a free carfax® report with every listing i like it start your used car search at carfax.com scalpel. i have no idea what i'm doing. i'm just a tv doctor. i never went to college. 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(vo) a lifetime commitment to getting them home safely. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. did you know people can save over $500 when they switch to progressive? i got your nose! i got your nose right here. i know that's your thumb, grandpa. talent! learn about it! to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of trump's supporters into what i call the basket of deplorables, right? the racists, sexists, homophobics, xenophobic, isl islamophobic, you name it. >> clinton's characterization of half of donald trump's supporters sparking that. heat led clinton too walk back those comments just a bit. she said i was grossly generalistic and that's never a good idea. i regret saying half. that was wrong. it's deplorable donald trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices. gentlem gentlemen, good morning. scott, let me start with you. we heard there or read there that statement expressing regret. her running mate tim kaine says there really is no reason for her to apologize. i wonder why you think she expressed regret and do you think she should have or needed to? >> i think she did it because it was the right thing to do. painting these groups of supporters by half with a number, even with the qualification of being grossly generalistic really wasn't the right thing to do. i think to keep the political upper hand, but also the ethical and moral upper hand. that being said, this whole paranoia, this whole prejudicial effect of what he's peddling is an important wedge issue for the democrats. hillary clinton was really talking to the other group of trump supporters who believe they've been left behind economically, who are uncomfortable with his racist, sexist comments. >> let me read for you congressman what trump tweeted. while hillary said horrible thing s about my supporters, still respect them all. right after that clinton replied, except for african-americans, muslims, latinos, womens, veterans and any so-called losers or dummies. trump has made comments that have offended many of these groups. at least we see here that hillary clinton expressed regret for her comments and the offense that some have taken. donald trump has not done that for those specific groups. >> i think hillary has lost all of her quasi moral ground when she can say that trump does race baiting or whatever it is. it's obvious not just what her comments were but what bill clinton's comments were. he said if you're white and southern, you know that make america great is a code word. when the economy is looking so bad and when your foreign policy is in the tank, then tough resort to name calling. for me to be called a racist, a sexist, islamophobe. we're in the green room watching the 9/11 observation. real people don't talk like this. we have healthy respect for each other because of her different philosophical views and the role of government. that's what we should be talking about. >> the post says it has a memo sent out by the clinton campaign to its supporters. it says if pushed, focus on the media saying it's well pastime the press stops grading grown up on a curve. are they going to hold hillary to a different standard again? the trump supporters will say that hillary clinton is the one who is getting the lighter treatment here. you know on this show we hold both candidates to account. but they're going to turn now and blame it on the media? >> no, i don't think that. i think that most of us who are democrats believe there is a double standard. if you look at the commander in chief forum, it manifested itself very well there. i think you hold both of these candidates accountable. at the same time, donald trump, because he has been so racially divisive, so offensive to so many of these groups, we have almost become kind of numb to it. we report on it. he's still in the 40s. he can't get to the 50s. with hillary clinton, if she makes one mistake versus his 20 mistakes it seems like the world comes down on her shoulders. we almost tolerate and have come to know that donald is going to make these outrageous statements as part of this presidential campaign that makes it unique. >> we would absolutely trade press treatment immediately if you think that there is a bias. we would absolutely trade the press treatment with you. but the reality is here's someone who claims she wants to unite america, and she calls millions and millions of people racist, sexist, homophobes. be sure to watch state of the union this morning for an exclusive interview with hillary clinton. i know you'd remember this. it was an iconic photo that came to symbolize american resilience after 9/11, three firefighters raising an american flag at ground zero. and then something happened to that flag. >> somewhere between 9/11 and the yankee stadium ceremony, the flag went missing. what if a company that didn't make cars made plastics that make them lighter? 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(1940s aqua music) (burke) and we covered it, february third, twenty-sixteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ it's an iconic image that i think is wrapped in so much emotion for every individual that looks at it and really takes us back to 9/11. >> there are some people who compare this image to the image of the iwa jima flag raising. the flag disappeared. 15 years later, it's now back home. cnn's deborah feyerick has the story. >> reporter: on 9/11 in the burning ashes of the world trade center, three firefighters raised an american flag. it was 5:00 p.m. on a day that changed history. >> this picture became how we said patriotism post 9/11. >> reporter: the flag taken by firefighters from a yacht near ground zero was taken. its fate remained a mystery until now. in everett, washington, a stranger identifying himself as a former marine named brian turned over the flag to local firefighters. >> brian was purporting the flag to be the missing 9/11 flag. >> reporter: and so began a two-year process to confirm the flag was authentic and get it back home to the original owner. there was a level of secrecy as to what you potentially had. why? >> i was concerned that there was the potential that a lone terrorist if they believed there was an american icon in a city of 110,000 people, they may want to either try to steal it or destroy it. >> reporter: lead detectives the created a sketch of brian, hoping to ask him more questions. all they knew is that he was allegedly given the flag on veterans day in 2007 by a man who had received it from a 9/11 firefighter's widow. did you ever generate any leads? >> no, we did not. >> reporter: the break came from a scientist who analyzed photos, fibers and thousands of particles, comparing them to original ground zero dust. >> the key things would be the composition of the building materials themselves. >> reporter: critical and ultimately conclusive. as detectives prepared it for the injury journey home, he had retired nypd officer to hold it. >> he said that's the smell that i remember from that day. >> reporter: the flag back with it began 15 years ago. >> he can still smell there in the fabric. >> you wouldn't forget it. >> for a lot of muslim americans, life after 9/11 is very different than life before 9/11. so we'll examine what it's like to be a muslim in america 15 years later. also, an architect known around the world makes his mark on ground zero with an emotional and architectural tribute to the people who died 15 years ago today. 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[ala♪m beeping] ♪ ♪ the highly advanced audi a4. ♪ jennifer martinez just gave herself a raise. $253 a month to be exact. by refinancing her mortgage, jennifer was able to put all that extra money back into her home-based business. month after month. helping her pursue her passion and do what she was destined to do... like a boss. buy in. quicken loans. home buy. refi. power. welcome back. we're so grateful for your campaign. >> today we reflect and remember the lives lost 15 years ago in the september 11th attacks. we've got live pictures now of lower manhattan, the skyline there. you see at the top center of your screen one world trade center freedom tower standing tall in the footprints of the twin towers there at ground zero. >> those footprints lit up with two columns of light, an annual tradition of remembrance. there's going to be a moment of silence followed by the reading of the names of the victims. we've going to bring you live coverage throughout the morning. >> for many muslim americans the attacks of september 11 ushered in a time of suspicion, fear, hatred. what's like to be a muslim living in america now 15 years later? i'm joined by the president and founder of the republican muslim coalition. you were 16 years old then and it was 15 years ago so half a lifetime for you. compare and contrast for us life today after the attacks to life before those attacks. >> well, 9/11 changed lives of muslims all over the world. it definitely had a huge impact on my life. growing up, i was 16 at the time. i saw how people changed and how people treated us differently. within school, i noticed how people just sort of blamed me for 9/11, even though i had nothing to do with it. i know many muslims faced a lot of hate crimes. it continues today, the rhetoric against islam and muslims is horrifying. even though we have nothing to do with the terrorists, they have hijacked our religion. and we hope to take it back from them. you can't blame 1.7 billion muslims for the acts of a few terrorists. we strongly condemn it and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. >> there was a woman arrested in new york for allegedly attacking two women pushing baby strollers. she hit the women and yelled get the blank out of america, you don't belong here. a spike in anti-muslim discrimination and hate crimes in recent months, which that group attributes to islamophobic rhetoric used by public figures. when you hear that, what runs through your mind? >> obviously donald trump called for a muslim ban. the rhetoric against islam continues to date. we're missing the point. we've been in wars for the last 15 years and we haven't gotten anymore safer. america is less safe today even than it was on 9/11. we have huge problems with isis and a lot of terrorist groups. the problem is we're not addressing the root cause and the ideology behind it. islam strongly condemns terrorism. we need to take back the debate. >> i see you're the founder of the republican muslim coalition. you're a donald trump supporter. how do you reconcile your support for donald trump and his call for a ban on non-american muslims coming into the country? >> i think he's toned down a lot. it's an unconstitutional and illegal ban he talked about. but at the same time the problems did exist with national security concerns. and the reason i started the republican muslim coalition was to primarily educate republicans about islam and muslims and to take back that debate and own our fate. i think the best way to defend islam and our country is for muslim americans to get involved in policy and change this. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. when an internationally known architect was asked to build a new train station at ground zero, he knew that this was more than just a best of your knowledge -- bunch of materials. >> of course a building like that should be related to the memory of the victims, although in a silent way and probably being more than anything else a monument or remembering how important life is. remember here at ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. who's with me? i'm in. i'm in. i'm in. i'm in. ♪ ♪ one, two, - wait, wait. wait - where's tina? doing the hand thing? yep! we are all in for our customers. ally. do it right. this is the pentagon live this morning. there will be a flag soon lowered from the roof to hang over the side of the building. you'll remember that image. it was a tribute that happened on september 12th, 2001. here's the picture of the beginning of it. it's just a day after 184 people were killed in the attack there. firefighters who were working to put out the embers on the roof lowered the flag as president bush visited the site. today the original flag is preserved at the army center of military history. now, for a lot of people september 11th is not a distant memory. it still affects thousands of people every day. >> a look at how people are remembering the victims. and also let's remember the first responders who died that day to save other people. >> the freedom tower now stands taller here than the twin towers did. and a memorial to nearly 3,000 americans killed in the deadliest attack on u.s. soil exactly 15 years ago today. friday a parade to honor first responders at a ceremony here in lower manhattan. >> on each 9/11 of each year we look back and reflect. >> in washington at the justice department -- >> a decade and a half has elapsed since 9/11. >> and on the steps of the u.s. capital. ♪ god bless america >> reporter: echoing a message of unity in the wake of tragedy 15 years ago. a cnn poll released friday find americans more angry and fearful when they reflect on the events of 9/11 now than five years ago, perhaps because of terror attacks like boston, san bernardino and boston since then and the quick rise of isis. but this day is defined by remembrance, the somer traditions the same each year. moments of silence for the minutes al qaeda hijackers steered each plane into the towers and the pentagon. and when each tower collapsed. and the reading of those lost by the people who loved them. i want to introduce you to a gentleman. he's an internationally known architect. works of his admired all over the world. well now one of his latest designs is in the heart of new york city. you may see it today at ground zero. it's the new world trade center transportation hub. and it pays tribute to the people who died. >> the building like that should be related to the memory of the victims, although in a silent way and probably being more than anything else a monument or a remembering how important life is. >> talk to me about the light, because as i understand it you designed this in such a way that there is light at specific times going to specific places in the building. how did you do that? >> yes. one thing from the very beginning i admire in the master plan was a certain reference to the order of the buildings in crescendo creating a beautiful ensemble around memorial park. also at the sight there was mark tw ing two directions in an item called the wedge of light. i thoughts that an important reference that i have to take. so separating the building and making a single element as i have done and/or yenting it to the second direction of the wedge of light i could transform this beautiful idea of the wedge of light to represent the time in which the sun is situated in the moment of the collapse of the second tower. >> something, the wedge of light is situated there for that light to shine through in the moment of a collapse of that second tower. the work that goes into that is just mind boggling to me. you can watch the rest of the interview coming up in the next hour. also ahead, the story from cnn staffers who were there behind the seecenes, what they saw, what they experienced, the pain of 9/11 from their perspective. >> i just remember having to navigate people who were just walking almost like zombies. you think if you saw a car it wasn't traveling that fast. eyes focused straight ahead, just walking. mornin'. hey, do you know when the game starts? 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>> i think it's just beneath the surface for many of the journalists that were in lower manhattan and washington that day. 15 years on, some of the scenes are still too painful for us to bear. you think about new yorkers having to choose at the top of those towers between dying from smoke inhalation and fire or dying by jumping. for cnn journalists who were there, it's something they will always remember. >> so it's somewhat cliche so say, but it was just a normal morning. at that point, terrorism wasn't forefront in our mind. so it was a second thought until the second plane hit. and then we were like, oh, this is definitely a terrorist attack. >> i put up a live shot from on top of the roof here at cnn. and they told me to shoot the capitol. it was kind of weird. telling me to point the camera at the capitol and wait for something to hit it, but essentially that's what i was doing. >> at about 2:00 this afternoon, i finally checked my phone and saw that i had a gazillion missed calls. it turns out that my dad was at the pentagon that day. i was unaware. thankfully my dad was fine. he was on the other side of the building. >> we hoped in our vehicles and drove up to new york from atlanta all day and all night and holeaving our families, whi i didn't want to do at the time. it was such a traumatic story i wanted to be as close to my family as possible. duty calls. >> i was driving to the 59th street bridge and i just remember having to navigate people who were just walking almost like zombies. you think if you saw a car it wasn't traveling that fast, but coming they would move. but they wouldn't. just eyes focused straight ahead just walking. some people you saw covered in dust and debris. they almost looked like they were in black and white which was kind of odd. >> we were told that the leadership was going to come back and make a statement. we were already there. boom, we got center position. we were able to string enough cable to get from our camera position to a live drop. the leadership comes out, they made a statement and then they sang god bless america. ♪ stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above ♪ >> the armory was the spot where people came to report their deceased or lost. at the time, it was lost. i was there with elizabeth cohen and we were doing live shots. i ev i ever never ever forget that day. it was so heartbreaking for me. i for hours on end shot people's photos. at the end of the day i walked into a dunkin donuts and just broke down. it was so stressful for me. the armory was a really, really hard day. >> with 15 years going by, there's a whole generation of americans too young to remember. and oral histories help them to remember what happened that day. >> good point. the other thing that strikes me is how together we were, how collectively. we talk about this divided country now, but my goodness, how together we were. >> there was a time that it was a unifying tragedy. it was apolitical. that time has passed. >> of course our coverage of 9/11 memorial events is continuing for you this morning. at the top to have hour new york city police commissioner william bratton is with us. and we're going to talk about the first responders, what they went through, where some of them might be now. we're going to ask them how safe are we 15 years later. [ fly buzzing ] did you know people can save over $500 when they switch to progressive? did you brush your hair today? yes, mom. why? hmm. no reason. the seattle seahawks revealing their plans for a demonstration of unity before today's season opener. >> there was a lot of talk late in the week about what exactly the seahawks were going to do as a team during the national anthem. doug baldwin says what they do should not be viewed as a protest but instead of a demonstration of unity. >> we are a team comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds. and as a team, we have chosen to stand and interlock arms in unity. we honored those who have fought for the freedom we cherish. and we stand to ensure the riches of freedom and the security of justice for all people. progress can and will be made only if we stand together. >> so according to baldwin, the team is going to stand together locking arms for the national anthem later today for their game with the dolphins. this follows the controversy surrounding colin kaepernick's refusal to stand for the national anthem protesting injustice and police brutality in the united states. the nfl will be holding special 9/11 tributes before every game today. both president obama and president george w. bush recorded special messages to be played before the national anthem today and before the broadcast as well. thank you for starting your morning with us. the next hour of your new day starts right now. ♪ >> you know, we are always so grateful to have you with us. thank you for being here. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor plaque welblackwe. good morning to you. we're going to show you here freedom tower as you look at lower manhattan. it was the worst ever attack on u.s. soil, 15 years ago today. >> thousands were killed when hijackers crashed planes into the world trade center as well as the pentagon, and a plane went down in pennsylvania as well. the victims as old as 85 and as young as just 2 years olds. these are wounds that haven't healed even 15 years later. the site of the