Obama, Bush to attend Sept. 11 ceremony

NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will be part of a ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.

Bloomberg, in a CNN report, said efforts have been taken to make sure the event doesn't become a political platform for the small group of politicians invited to participate in the ceremony in New York.

In his weekly radio address Friday, Bloomberg said the names of all the victims would be read aloud at the ceremony and there would be "no speeches whatsoever."

Also invited and expected to attend are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former New York Gov. George Pataki, who was in office when the attacks were launched, and Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor of New York on Sept. 11, 2001.

"There's an awful lot of people who would like to participate, and you can't do that," Bloomberg said.

Each speaker will read a passage or recite a poem and the readings will be timed to mark each of the day's tragedies, including the moment the planes hit each tower of the World Trade Center and when the buildings collapsed, Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg said the event would be the most "solemn" of all the Sept. 11 ceremonies announced to date.

"We're going to read all the names for the first time, including those people who died in Washington and in Pennsylvania," Bloomberg said.