World Trade Center in New York

From Joe Siegler.. "My generation wasn't around for Pearl Harbor. I think we have a new date that will live in infamy. If you haven't heard already, there's been several (presumed) terrorist attacks on the US - the twin towers of the World Trade Center are gone. I was planning on leading with a news story with some more Max Payne reviews, but quite frankly, I don't feel like writing about that today. Get off the computer and go watch CNN or MSNBC or some other news station - most of the news related web sites are overloaded and unreachable."

UPDATE @ 1PM: As a lot of the "real" news sites like CNN, MSNBC are overloaded, here's some pieces of the ongoing news story (this was copied from the CNN site):

In the first attack, a plane hits the north tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan shortly before 9 a.m., followed by another plane into the second tower about 20 minutes later. Both towers later collapse.

� About an hour later, a plane crashes into the Pentagon, part of which later collapses.

� American Airlines tells CNN that it lost two planes, both en route to Los Angeles: American Flight 11 from Boston with 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard is lost. This is believed, but not confirmed, to have been one of the planes that crashed into the trade center. ... American Flight 77, a Boeing 757 from Washington Dulles airport to Los Angeles with 58 passengers and six crew is unaccounted for. The jet that crashed into the Pentagon may have been this one, but that is still unknown.

� United Airlines loses two planes: United Airlines Flight 93 airliner headed from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, crashes near Somerset, Pennsylvania -- police say initial reports indicate no survivors. ... United confirms the crash of Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles with 56 passengers and seven crew aboard. It's possible, but not confirmed, that this is the second plane that hit the World Trade Center.

� The Pentagon, the White House, the State Department, the Justice Department, the Capitol, the CIA and all other government buildings in Washington are evacuated.

� President Bush calls the crashes "a national tragedy." Later in the day, Bush issues a statement from Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, Louisiana. "Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

� In the first-ever national ground stop of aircraft, all flights nationwide are stopped at their departure airports.

� International flights are initially diverted to Canada; FAA says later, however, that 22 U.S.-bound international flights will be allowed to land.

� Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, says in reaction to the terror attacks that "we want to tell the American children that Afghanistan feels your pain and we hope that the courts find justice."

� In New York, more than 10,000 rescue personnel rush to the scene. Evacuation of lower Manhattan begins.

� Israel evacuates all of its missions around the world.

� The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is evacuated. CDC prepares bioterrorism teams in case they become necessary.

� Philadelphia landmarks are evacuated.

� In Chicago, the Sears Tower is evacuated; United Nations in New York is evacuated.

� The New York Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels into the city.

� U.S. stock markets close after the New York attacks.

� NATO sends home all non-essential personnel from its Brussels, Belgium, headquarters.

� The Immigration and Naturalization Service puts the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada on highest state of alert.

� Los Angeles International Airport is evacuated.

� Disney closes its parks in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

� FEMA implements plan established for such events: FBI leads investigation, and Justice Deptartment heads crisis management.

� Three Palestinian groups -- Hamas, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad -- deny responsibility for the attacks, but blame U.S. policies in the Mideast.

� Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, D.C., declares a state of emergency.

� A Delta flight makes emergency landing in Cleveland and all passengers are safely evacuated. Federal officials search the plane for a possible bomb.

George W Bush had this to say about the tragedy:

Today we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the vice president, to the governor of New York, to the director of the FBI, and I've ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act.

Terrorism against our nation will not stand.

And now if you join me in a moment of silence.

May God bless the victims, their families and America. Thank you very much.

Posted by Joe Siegler on September 11, 2001 at 11:15 AM | Permalink
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