What's going on? World Trade Center, Pentagon, Old Executive Office Bldg

[Bill Stewart]

At 10:48 AM 09/11/2001 -0400, Greg Newby wrote:
>Everything's just slashdotted.  Forget the Internet, this
>is television's game, or try the radio (shortwave or
>domestic).

even Akamai is slashdotted....  Here's the SF article printer-friendly version;
sorry about the formatting.

Planes crash into World Trade Center, creating horrifying scene; no word on 
casualties

Tuesday, September 11, 2001
)2001 Associated Press
URL: 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2001/09/11/national0920EDT0530.DTL 

(09-11) 06:39 PDT (AP) --
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two planes crashed into the upper floors of both World 
Trade Center towers minutes apart Tuesday in what the President Bush said 
was an apparent terrorist attack, blasting fiery, gaping holes in the 
110-story buildings. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.
The president ordered a full-scale investigation to "hunt down the folks 
who committed this act"
The twin disasters which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right 
around 9 a.m.
In Washington, officials said the FBI was investigating reports of a plane 
hijacking before the crashes.
Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above the gaping holes in the side 
of the 110-story twin towers, one of New York City's most famous landmarks, 
and debris rained down upon the street, one of the city's busiest work 
areas. When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, 
leaving a huge hole in the glass and steel tower.
"Today we've had a national tragedy," Bush said. He called it "an apparent 
terrorist attack."
Ira Furber, former NTSB spokesman, discounted likelihood of accident.
"I don't think this is an accident," he said on CNN. "You've got incredibly 
good visibility. No pilot is going to be relying on navigational equipment."
"It's just not possible in the daytime," he added. "A second occurrence is 
just beyond belief."
The towers were struck by terrorist bombers in February 1993, killing six 
people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
All New York City-area airports were shut down, and several subway lines 
were immediately shut down. Trading on Wall Street was suspended.
"The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight 
angle," said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.
"I was watching TV and heard a sonic boom," Jeanne Yurman told CNN. "The 
side of the World Trade Center exploded. Debris is falling like leaflets. I 
hear ambulances. The northern tower seems to be on fire."
Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over 
Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 
agency is pursuing reports that one or both of the planes were hijacked and 
that the crashes may have been the result of a suicide mission.
The source stressed that the reports are preliminary and officials do not 
know the cause of the crashes.
"It certainly doesn't look like an accident," said a second government 
official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 
79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
In Sarasota, Fla., Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m. 
when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president 
briefly turned somber before he resumed reading. He addressed the tragedy 
about a half-hour later.
)2001 Associated Press