September 15, 2001 Diary: America Responds

An Online Diary President Urges Readiness and Patience President Addresses Nation in Radio Address United We Stand

Cockpit voice recorder found at Pa. crash site could show if passengers fought back
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Saturday at 8:36 p.m.) Searchers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from United Flight 93 that could reveal whether passengers tried to overpower the hijackers.

First arrest announced hours after Bush visit
Saturday, September 15, 2001
As authorities on Friday announced the first arrest in the terror attacks investigation, sopping-wet search crews slogged through the rubble of the World Trade Center under gray skies that mirrored their dwindling hopes for miracle rescues.

Friday night lights bright
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The Rogers High School football team ran onto the field behind two players carrying a big U.S. flag in recognition of the terrorist attacks 3,000 miles away. "It was totally to honor the victims of the tragedy," Jim Fry, athletics director at the Spokane school said of the Thursday night display.

Bush braces Americans for sacrifice, tells military to `get ready' for war
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Saturday at 6:22 p.m.) President Bush ordered U.S. troops to get ready for war and braced Americans for a long, difficult assault against terrorists to avenge the deadliest attack on the nation. "Those who make war against the United States have chosen their own destruction," he declared Saturday.

Pakistan agrees to full list of U.S. demands for possible attack on Afghanistan, sources say
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Web Posted Saturday at 12:02 p.m.) Pakistan has agreed to the full list of U.S. demands for a possible attack on neighboring Afghanistan, including a multinational force to be based within its borders, Pakistani military and diplomatic sources said Saturday.

Reservists called up for 'home defense'
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The Pentagon will call thousands of reservists to active duty for "homeland defense," including Cold War-style patrols of U.S. airspace from coast to coast, officials said Friday. The call-up of as many as 50,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve was authorized Friday by President Bush, who said in a formal declaration of national emergency that the extra troops are needed in light of a "continuing and immediate threat" of further terrorist attacks on the United States.

A day of prayer
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

With the rest of America, Lawrence mourned. People here mourned the dead, the missing and the sense of security ripped away by terrorists. They mourned with tears, words of assurance and vows of justice. They mourned to "Amazing Grace," "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America."

Don't deny feelings — take steps to respond in healthy ways
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Mental health professionals say people respond differently to traumatic situations, regardless of how close each is to the event. Because this tragedy is especially horrific, even people who do not have friends or family involved may feel overwhelmed and frightened — especially because the illusion of safety and invulnerability has been shattered.

Attack aftermath
Saturday, September 15, 2001
As the stunning numbness wears off and the surreal images of the horror in New York City, Washington, D.C. and rural Pennsylvania sink in as reality, expect the anger. And the physical signs of uneasiness. The driving need to do something. And the fear and paranoia that will come when we do what we used to do without a second thought.

Global messages help lift spirits
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Chad Lawhorn

The letters help. For the 60 employees at Lawrence-based Maupintour Inc., the first scenes of Tuesday's terrorists attacks produced all the same emotions as they did for everyone else — fear, anger and sorrow.

Residents display their flags
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Dave Ranney and Joel Mathis

Casey Liebst doesn't have a flag pole, but she was determined Friday to show the colors. Friday was a national day of remembrance for the victims of the terrorist attacks on America, and it also spawned an unofficial "Flags Across America" day. So the management intern for the city of Lawrence turned to her wardrobe — wearing blue jeans and a red-and-white striped blouse to work.

Solich recalls playing after JFK's death
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Nebraska coach Frank Solich has played a football game as the nation mourned. He's not going to have to coach in one. All Div.-I football games scheduled this weekend were postponed Thursday, one day after Nebraska had already decided to move its game against Rice to next Thursday.

Justice Department says second arrest warrant issued in terrorist attack
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Saturday at 6:06 p.m.) A second arrest warrant for a material witness in the hijackings investigation was issued by federal prosecutors in New York, the Justice Department said Saturday.

NYSE computers, communications systems working, trading to resume Monday morning
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Web Posted Saturday at 1:30 p.m.) The New York Stock Exchange completed a successful test of its computer and communications systems Saturday, clearing the way for trading to resume as planned on Monday.

Taliban warns U.S. about attack
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The ruling Taliban on Friday threatened revenge if the United States attacks Afghanistan for shielding suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. "If a country or group violates our country, we will not forget our revenge," Taliban spokesman Abdul Hai Muttmain said in telephone interview with The Associated Press.

First arrest made
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Law-enforcement authorities made their first arrest Friday in the worldwide investigation of this week's terrorist attacks, apprehending a suspect in New York thought to have relevant information. The man was arrested as a material witness in the World Trade Center attack, New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told a news conference there Friday night.

Attacks challenge aviation business
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Wichita, the so-called aviation capital of the nation, is poised to feel some of the economic ramifications of this week's terrorist attacks, industry observers said. Boeing Co. as well as general aviation manufacturers with plants here — Raytheon Aircraft Co., Cessna Aircraft Co. and Bombardier Aerospace — have a lot to gain, and lose, from the turmoil in the wake of the attacks.

Insurance commissioner predicts massive payout
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Insurance losses from the terrorist attacks are expected to be $20 billion. The figure, based on estimates from the insurance industry, came Friday from Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius. She is president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Terrorist attacks take toll on economy
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The total financial impact of Tuesday's attacks may not be apparent for months, but estimates for losses in some industries already are stretching into the billions of dollars. Analysts agreed that there are still too many variables and too little data to know how high the cost will be to the U.S. economy.

Reservist prepared to leave
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Mike Belt

Steve Smith has his bags packed, and now he waits by a telephone. Smith, a 40-year-old Lawrence firefighter, said he was told Friday that his Air Force reserve unit is one of those targeted for imminent call-up. "It could come any time," he said.

City shows heart
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Dave Ranney

Few businessmen can match Joe Nobo's love for the United States. "I was born and raised in Cuba," he said. "When I was 15 years old, my parents put me on an airplane bound for the United States. They wanted me to be free, and I am. I know that."

Kansans pause to remember lives lost in attacks
Saturday, September 15, 2001
In groups, in churches, by themselves, Kansans paused to offer their prayers to the thousands of victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Prayer served not just to provide comfort but to reinforce that all religions feel the pain.

National prayer service speakers put faith in God and country
Saturday, September 15, 2001
On a day that saw sunshine briefly peak through dark skies, President Bush led the country in prayer Friday, expressing resolve in responding to evil. "This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others," said Bush, referring to Tuesday's suicide attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "It will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing."

Afghan opposition leader dies, dealing major blow to anti-Taliban alliance
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Web Posted Saturday at 1:07 p.m.) Afghan opposition leader Ahmed Shah Massood died Saturday of injuries suffered in a suicide bombing last weekend, his spokesman said — a major blow to the fractious forces battling the country's Taliban rulers.

War bonds could aid U.S. crusade
Saturday, September 15, 2001
War bonds, which helped defeat the Nazis, could be used again to finance America's crusade against terrorism. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana introduced legislation Friday authorizing war bonds to help pay for "recovery and response efforts" and possible military action.

FBI seeks help in capturing terrorists
Saturday, September 15, 2001
As authorities put names Friday to the hijackers who destroyed the World Trade Center and flattened part of the Pentagon, they asked local police to hunt down more than 100 people wanted for questioning about the terrorists and urged everyday Americans to help find anyone who knew them.

Bin Laden targets abound
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Agha Gul, a businessman familiar with this part of eastern Afghanistan, pointed to an arid outcropping over a thick stand of trees. "The Arabs are over there, hundreds of them," he said. "That's one of Osama's big camps."

China nears membership in WTO
Saturday, September 15, 2001
China clinched one of its top economic and political goals Friday, with an agreement on the terms of its membership of the World Trade Organization after 15 years of tough and complex talks.

Aviation options take flight
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Mark Fagan

Bret Stouder's employees fly commercial when getting to computer-installation jobs in Oklahoma, South Carolina or anywhere else more than a few hours away. But in the wake of terrorist attacks this week in New York and Washington, D.C. — where hijackers turned commercial airplanes into instruments of doom — the director of Atipa Technologies has called a temporary moratorium on such travel.

Students pay tribute to victims
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Tim Carpenter

Kennedy School students Friday delivered haunting sketches of catastrophe, letters full of gratitude and hope, and sweet cookies to Lawrence firefighters and police in honor of their fallen brethren. "I think they were brave to risk their lives to save other people," said sixth-grader Megan Wolgast, who had a great aunt and second cousin die when a jet struck the World Trade Center.

'Black box' recorder found at Pa. crash site
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Search crews Friday found the cockpit voice recorder from United Flight 93 that could reveal whether passengers tried to gain control of the hijacked plane before it crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

Attack identifies true American heroes
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Mark Shields
Creators Syndicate

"It is better," a Spanish woman revolutionary once said, "to be the widow of a hero than the wife of a coward."

Baseball implements security measures
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Baseball fans will need extra time to get into stadiums and will find it more difficult to bring their own food when games resume Monday. Major league baseball announced several additional security initiatives Friday — including the banning of coolers, backpacks and large bags — that will be put in place when games resume for the first time since Tuesday's terrorist attacks that shut down the sports world.

Small colleges in region to play today
Saturday, September 15, 2001
With songs and silence, they will remember. In helmets and pads, face paint and school sweat shirts, they will move forward. Although all but three games in NCAA Div. I have been postponed or canceled after Tuesday's terrorist attacks, smaller schools across Kansas and Missouri will play a full slate of games today.

White Sox gather for prayer
Saturday, September 15, 2001
While other teams took off to honor the national Day of Remembrance on Friday, the Chicago White Sox wanted to be together. "We had really experienced it, probably more than any other team, so we wanted to have everyone together," manager Jerry Manuel said.

CART, F1 pay respects
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The first CART race in Europe was renamed "The American Memorial" in tribute to victims of terrorist attacks in the United States. CART already scheduled several memorial events and plans a religious service before today's race at Klettwitz, Germany, which had been called the German 500.

Colleges doing their part
Saturday, September 15, 2001
When college football players and their fans pause to honor victims of terrorism, the sounds of remembrance will go beyond prayers and patriotic songs — to the rustle of bills and the clink of coins into collection jars.

Professional athletes pitching in
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Keyshawn Johnson is donating a week's pay to the Red Cross. The PGA Tour is contributing at least $2 million to various relief funds. Mark Cuban is giving $1 million to the families of police officers and firefighters.

Davis Cup matches postponed
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The U.S. Davis Cup matches against India were rescheduled for next month because of the terrorist attacks, the first time since the Gulf War that American play in the Davis Cup was postponed.

Woods cancels trip to Paris
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Tiger Woods canceled a trip to Paris next week for the Lancome Trophy, saying on his Web site Friday that it was inappropriate to play competitive golf and he was concerned about travel safety.

Iran holds minute of silence
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Iran, a once bitter enemy of the United States, held a minute of silence before Friday's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain to honor those killed in Tuesday's terrorist attacks. The crowd of about 60,000 sat quietly, players stood on the field and TV announcers kept silent.

Private aircraft allowed to fly
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The air travel system moved a little closer to normal Friday as private planes were cleared to fly and limited jetliner service was restored. Boston's Logan Airport got permission from the government to reopen today. That leaves Reagan National Airport, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., as the only major airport that will remain closed indefinitely.

In attack aftermath, tension fills Air Force One
Saturday, September 15, 2001
U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam had barely settled into his seat on Air Force One on Tuesday when he got the news that terrorists apparently had set their sights on the plane. The orders were swift and terse: Turn off your pagers and cell phones. Don't pick up the Air Force One phones.

Blaming 'liberals' for attack reprehensible, clergy says
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Mindie Paget

Anyone who claims to know why a tragedy such as Tuesday's terrorists attacks took place is playing God. That's just one reason Rev. Paul Gray of Heartland Community Church, 619 Vt., said he disagrees with comments made by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson during a Thursday broadcast of the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club," of which Robertson is the host.

Markets face uncertainty when trading resumes
Saturday, September 15, 2001
When Wall Street resumes trading — presumably on Monday — the stock market will face extraordinary circumstances and even greater uncertainty than usual. The market is on edge as it waits to see how investors react on the first day of trading following Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Industrial production plummets
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Industrial activity plunged in August, extending what is now the longest decline in factory output in three decades. The discouraging economic news intensified fears that the ailing economy — shaken by the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history — could tip into recession.

IRS postpones tax payment deadline
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The IRS on Friday delayed upcoming tax deadlines for a week nationwide as millions of taxpayers struggle to meet their obligations in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. A Monday deadline facing people who make quarterly estimated tax payments was moved to Sept. 24.

Statehouse security plans to be scrutinized
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Some legislators are planning to dust off a two-year-old report on Statehouse security because of this week's terrorist attacks on the East Coast. The report, prepared by a consultant, went to legislative leaders in 1999 and detailed the weaknesses of Statehouse security, making recommendations for improvements.

Response to terrorism a defining moment for Bush presidency
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Few United States presidents have begun their presidencies under the pressures faced by President George Bush. The phrase "trial by fire" certainly applies to Bush's first seven months in the White House.

Firefighters grieve, work for fallen co-workers
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The firefighters from Engine 202 in Brooklyn called themselves the brothers from Red Hook. At the firehouse, they tried out new recipes on one another. They named their softball team the Red Hook Raiders and started a cigar club that allowed them to puff on Macanudos at their adopted hangout, Smokey's.

KU declines fan's idea for prayer at stadium
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Dave Ranney

Late Thursday night, Dannette Seymour came up with a good idea. Wouldn't it be great, she thought, to turn today's postponed Kansas University vs. Wyoming football game into a giant prayer and fund-raising rally for the victims of the terrorist attacks earlier this week?

Kansas soccer game to be played Tuesday
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Kansas University's soccer team will face Saint Louis at 4 p.m. Tuesday at SuperTarget Field. The match with SLU was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed because of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

Tragedy puts sports in perspective
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Bill Mayer

Further reminders that the field of sports is the toy department of life came from the ghastly events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania this week. How vital is a touchdown, a three-point shot, 71 home runs or a four-minute mile when ghostly cowards do what was done to so many innocent and decent people?

Muslims wary of hostility
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Instead of pointing fingers, at least a few Kansans are holding out flowers to the Islamic community. Two people sent flowers to the Islamic Center of Lawrence on Thursday with an apology "for narrow-minded people who might do bad things."

Others carry postal load
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Mail movement — slowed or halted in some areas by the ban on commercial aviation — is resuming, but delays continue to occur. Even as the Postal Service obtains additional space on Amtrak trains and contracting for additional space with 7,000 trucking companies, customers still should expect delays, spokesman Mark Saunders said Friday.

Information leak angers White House
Saturday, September 15, 2001
A senior senator's disclosure of highly classified information about the U.S. terrorism investigation has infuriated Bush administration officials and led to a clamp-down on how much the White House will share with lawmakers.

Crews uncover victims, memories at Pentagon
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Amid the melted computers, shattered glass and broken walls of the puzzle-like portion of the Pentagon created by the work of suicide hijackers, there exist unsettling signs of what should have been just another day at the office.

Forensic workers rely on DNA to identify victims
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Shivering in the rain on her 35th birthday, Victoria Cabezas turned over her father Jesus' toothbrush, hairbrush and dental records Friday to death investigators. It was an act of science and fate.

Mourners remember loved ones with tributes
Saturday, September 15, 2001
The shrine was silent, and soggy. The day, dreary. June Bae knew it was futile, but she wasn't a rescue worker, so there was little else the 20-year-old could do but strike a match and try to keep the candles lit, even for a few minutes.

Tragedy pulls nation together
Saturday, September 15, 2001
By Acel Moore
The Philadelphia Inquirerv

I never thought I would see a story bigger or experience an event more stunning than the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, and the murder of his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

Friday's post-attack updates
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Here are some of the developments Friday related to Tuesday's terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and crash of jetliner in Pennsylvania:

Boeing manuals, martial arts books, maps found in hijacker's motel room in Florida
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Sunday at 1:18 a.m.) Boeing 757 manuals, three illustrated martial arts books and an 8-inch stack of Coast flight maps were found by a motel owner cleaning out the room vacated by a hijacker two days before he flew into the World Trade Center.

Iranians condemn terror strikes, but no word on joining anti-terrorism coalition
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Sunday at 1:17 a.m.) Iran's reformist and hard-line factions have for once found agreement by condemning Tuesday's terrorist attacks, but it remains unclear whether they would back the United States in a strike against the attackers.

Cuba rallies against terrorism, backs United States
Saturday, September 15, 2001
(Updated Sunday at 1:17 a.m.) During a weekly rally normally reserved to criticize the United States, the Cuban government condemned terrorism Saturday and expressed its support for the American people following the hijackings.

History teaches Afghanistan is no easy target
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Washington's identification of Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect in Tuesday's attack raises the prospect that the United States may decide to strike at him in Afghanistan, the country that shelters him.

Israeli leader rejects Bush's call for talks
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected a request from President Bush on Friday to restart cease-fire negotiations with the Palestinians, an Israeli Cabinet minister said. S haron told the president that he had canceled a meeting planned for Sunday between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat because it would damage Israeli interest, said Communications Minister Reuven Rivlin.

Much of the world mourns with America
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Britain and much of the rest of the world on Friday mourned victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States with prayer services, moments of silence and tributes. Emotions in Arab nations ranged widely. At some mosques, clerics expressed deep sympathy. At others, America was said to have been punished justly.

FAA forced to tackle long-known problems in airport security
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Long before Tuesday's attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration's own tests and orders from Congress warned that the agency had to do a better job of stopping people from sneaking weapons past airport screeners.

6Sports report: That's the way it should be
Saturday, September 15, 2001
A CNN reporter explains why sporting events don't take top priority.

6News report: Local girls raise money
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Tina Terry reports on a group of local kids doing their part for the Red Cross.

6News report: 3,000 gather at Lied Center
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Kim Hall reports on the crowd that gathered at the Lied Center on the KU Campus to remember Tuesday's events.

6News report: Lawrence students give thanks
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Kim Hall reports on a group of Kennedy Elementary students who gave their thanks to local law enforcement and firefighters.

6News report: Local girls get creative
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Josh Garber reports on three local girls showing their patriotism.

6News report: Lawrence remembers
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Kim Hall reports on another local prayer and rememberance service held in Lawrence.

6News report: Comfort arrives in New York
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Josh Garber reports on the arival of the Naval hospital ship USNS Comfort in New York.

6News report: Rain dampens ground, not spirit
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Josh Garber reports on the ongoing rescue efforts at the site of the World Trade Center.

6News report: Bush visits damage in New York
Saturday, September 15, 2001
Josh Garber reports on President Bush's visit to the wreckage of the World Trade Center.

Region shows true colors
Saturday, September 15, 2001

Presidential protection
Saturday, September 15, 2001

Love, not hate
Saturday, September 15, 2001

Selfish response
Saturday, September 15, 2001

Worth the ticket
Saturday, September 15, 2001

Hope for peace
Saturday, September 15, 2001