October 31, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

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Cross-contamination possibility raised
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
A hospital worker lay gravely ill with inhalation anthrax Tuesday as the growing list of victims prompted investigators to worry that the bacteria might be spreading at postal facilities from one piece of mail to another.

Anthrax found at Kansas City, Mo., postal facility
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 10:31 p.m.) Preliminary tests on trash at a specialized Kansas City postal facility were positive for anthrax, health officials said Wednesday night.

Consumer confidence drops to 7-year low
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Consumer confidence plunged in October to its lowest level in 7 1/2 years as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and anthrax fears sapped Americans' optimism about job security and the economy.

U.S. must dare to win terrorism struggle
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
By Jim Hoagland
Washington Post Writers Group

Dear Mr. President, Please excuse the effrontery of an open letter. But these are extraordinary times that override custom and routine.

Blair rallies Westerners to fight terror
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
The al-Qaida terrorist group will kill again unless it is stopped, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday in a speech urging Western nations to support the war in Afghanistan. Blair issued a rallying cry amid signs of public unease over the air campaign against Afghanistan, saying evidence linking Osama bin Laden to the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States was "a flood confirming guilt."

Strikes intensify against Taliban
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
An American bomb blasted huge plumes of smoke 1,000 feet into the skies over Afghanistan's front lines Tuesday in an unusually mighty airstrike. The Pentagon said U.S. forces were with the northern opposition and directing fire against the Taliban.

Americans try to adjust to state of alert
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
In Pennsylvania, a courthouse worker made a wish for his office to be spared a terrorist attack. In Virginia, an anxious mother kept her two small children away from the mall. Try as they might to take the latest national terrorism alert in stride, many Americans were on edge Tuesday.

Security alert prompts moves at Statehouse
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Concrete barricades replaced parked vehicles Tuesday as state officials tightened Statehouse security. The action was prompted by Monday's FBI warning that there was credible evidence of a terrorist attack on the United States in the coming days.

Ashcroft announces immigration crackdown
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
(Web Posted Wednesday at 2:21 p.m.) Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a sweeping new immigration crackdown Wednesday, designating 46 terrorist groups whose members and supporters will be banned from entering the country.

1941 vs. 2001: Coverage doesn't compare
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
The Associated Press news flash ran on the wire at 2:22 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 7, 1941, reporting that the White House had announced that Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Most radio stations didn't interrupt their programming.

Clamp down on immigration
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services

The American psyche, if not American resolve, has been deeply shaken by the events of Sept. 11 and the subsequent anthrax scare. President Bush has warned that victory over the Taliban will not come quickly and the war against terrorism may never end.

Speaking out is American way
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
By E.R. Shipp
New York Daily News

One of the more disturbing aspects of our post-Sept. 11 reality has been an imposed unity, the apparent instant erasure of differences, of principled dissent. We've heard of columnists being fired and a television wiseacre being chastened because they did not toe the expected line of "Rah, Rah, U.S.A.!"

N.Y. activist tries to boost black-Jewish relations
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
It's not often that the flamboyant Rev. Al Sharpton walks into a room full of black faces and is utterly unknown. But for a time Tuesday, the firebrand minister was just a black man with a suit and an entourage, someone obviously important, who sat in Fanta Beru's living room eating hot Ethiopian flatbread with his hands like everybody else.

Report: Peace initiative splitting Peres, Sharon
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is preparing a peace initiative that reportedly calls for Israel to dismantle its settlements in Gaza, a move opposed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, his partner in Israel's brittle government.

184th bomb wing to convert duties despite war effort
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Kansas Air National Guard's 184th Bomb Wing remains poised for combat involving the B-1B bomber, even as it readies for the conversion to flying KC-135R supertankers. "Everyone is ready to participate, at whatever level is required," said Col. Ed Flora, commander of the 184th.

Rumsfeld: U.S. troops in Afghanistan guiding air attacks
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 10:31 a.m.) American soldiers are in Afghanistan advising anti-Taliban forces and helping guide bombs to their targets, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said as he prepared to visit the region this weekend.

Hospital worker dies of inhalation anthrax
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 2:06 p.m.) A hospital worker with a mysterious case of inhalation anthrax died early Wednesday, the nation's fourth fatality in a month of bioterrorism.

Bush urges nation to remain resolute
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
(Web Posted Wednesday at 11:54 a.m.) President Bush urged the nation on Wednesday to remain resolute against terrorism while U.S. troops fight in Afghanistan and investigators seek answers to anthrax scares at home.

Nation Briefs
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
• WASHINGTON: Information from Canada led to FBI's terrorism alert
• WASHINGTON: Red Cross stops appeals for Liberty Fund donations
• Maryland: President asks schools to invite veterans to speak
• WASHINGTON: Aviation security vote pushed off until Thursday