The National September 11 Memorial Museum opened this week to outrage among some victims' families over a gift shop at the site and a black-tie reception held close to the unidentified remains of people killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Jonathan Best might never step inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which was dedicated Thursday in a ceremony led by President Barack Obama.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Best was in charge of Regional Medical Transport, one of the largest ambulance companies in New York. He lost several friends who were first responders trying to help people out of the World Trade Center towers before they collapsed. More.

Frank Fetchet, of New Canaan, stayed away from the somber ceremony at the new 9/11 Memorial Museum, but his presence is all around the 110,000-square-foot underground gallery that was dedicated Thursday by President Barack Obama as a symbol that says of America: "Nothing can ever break us."

It was a particularly somber morning for many in Greenwich as television and radio channels switched to broadcast the ceremony at the new 9/11 Memorial Museum, dedicated Thursday by President Barack Obama as a symbol that says of America: "Nothing can ever break us."

Mary Fetchet's mission began on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when her 24-year-old son, Brad -- an equity trader -- was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. She has since devoted her life to making America safer.

"We need to know systematically the truth about what these failures were, government failures across the board that made us so vulnerable," she said. More.

The Needham 9/11 Memorial Committee announces that Needham Bank has become the lead sponsor of the upcoming First Responders Party.

In addition to their donation, Needham Bank has offered a challenge to help the committee meet their goal: For anyone who doesn’t currently have a checking account at Needham Bank and who chooses to open one by June 14, Needham Bank will donate $100 to the 9/11 Memorial for First Responders. Just mention this offer when you open your account. More.

For the staff of the National September 11 Memorial Museum, finding the answer took nearly two years. They explored the question from every angle. Perhaps the starting point for visitors should be the 1993 bombing at the Twin Towers. Or maybe it was the construction of the two buildings in the late 1960s. Or did they need to go all the way back to the Crusades?

Nothing about the National September 11 Memorial Museum has been easy. Its location, its financing and its exhibitions have all been the subject of rancorous controversy and relentless negotiations.

Now, with just weeks to go before its formal opening on May 21, the museum, beneath the World Trade Center plaza, has another potential political and emotional minefield to cross: the opening ceremony. More.