News Wrap: UN peacekeepers released by Syrian rebels

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• GWEN IFILL:

  In other news today, the nation marked the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and honored the nearly 3,000 people killed that day.

  Names of the victims were again read aloud in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in a much larger ceremony in York City. In Washington, President Obama led a moment of silence at the White House. Then he joined Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and military leaders at the Pentagon.

• PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

  Thirteen years after small and hateful minds conspired to break us, America stands tall and America stands proud. And guided by the values that sustain us, we will only grow stronger. Generations from now, no matter the trial, no matter the challenge, America will always be America.

• GWEN IFILL:

  This year, for the first time, the National September 11 Memorial Museum is now open at the site where the Twin Towers once stood. And a new tower, One World Trade Center, is nearly complete.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Syrian rebels linked to al-Qaida have released 45 U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji whom they'd held captive for two weeks. The troops were captured by al-Nusra Front fighters in the Golan Heights, a disputed buffer zone between Syria and Israel.

  Today, a convoy of U.N. vehicles carried the peacekeepers back to a U.N. base in Northern Israel. U.N. officials said they were all in good condition.

• GWEN IFILL:

  In South Africa, a judge ruled today that track star Oscar Pistorius cannot be convicted of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. But the double-amputee Olympian may yet be convicted of a lesser crime.

  Rohit Kachroo of Independent Television News reports from Pretoria.

• ROHIT KACHROO:

  Evidence of murder that had taken months to build was dismantled in moments, and this was the consequence.

• JUDGE THOKOZILE MASIPA:

  The accused is charged with premeditated murder. In respect of this charge, the evidence is purely circumstantial.

• ROHIT KACHROO:

  She agreed that there was no planning, no plot to kill his girlfriend. And, in court, the emotion now was of man who had learned that he is not guilty of the gravest charges against him.

  But the judge finished by warning that she will reveal tomorrow whether he is guilty of manslaughter.

• THOKOZILE MASIPA:

  He failed to take any step to avoid the resulting death. I am of the view that the accused acted too hastily and used excessive force. In the circumstances, it is clear that his conduct was negligent.

• ROHIT KACHROO:

  He could still be given a severe sentence for killing Reeva Steenkamp or for the three gun-related charges that he faces. He left court to hear the sound of cheering fans, but he will return tomorrow, when more of those remaining questions at the heart of this case will be answered.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Prosecutors had argued that Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp after an argument. The athlete testified he mistook her for an intruder when he fired through a closed bathroom door.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The European Union announced today that it's imposing new penalties on Russia for aiding rebels in Ukraine. As of tomorrow, expanded sanctions will target Russia's energy and high-technology sectors and freeze the assets of more top government officials. The United States plans to announce new sanctions on Russia tomorrow.

• GWEN IFILL:

  On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 19 points to close at 17,049; the Nasdaq rose five points to close well over 4,591; and the S&P 500 added one point to finish at 1,997.