Search and rescue teams dug nine survivors out of the rubble of the World Trade Center towers Wednesday while federal investigators said they believe they have identified several of the men who hijacked four transcontinental flights and crashed three of them into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, near Washington, D.C.
Eighteen teams of search and rescue workers were slowed in their work, however, by the partial collapse of the 54-story One Liberty Plaza building across the street from the World Trade Center.
New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said in a press briefing that 82 deaths have been confirmed in New York so far, but New York City requested 6,000 body bags from the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
'The numbers we are working with are in the thousands,' Giuliani said. 'The best estimate we can make ... is that there will be a few thousand people left in each building.'
Three hundred city firefighters, 40 city police officers and more than 30 Port Authority police officers are among those missing and presumed dead.
In addition, the Greater New York Hospital Association said its emergency rooms have treated more than 1,500 people.
More than 40 bodies had been removed from the Pentagon rubble through dusk Wednesday, and army officials expected that number to climb above 100, although it was unclear whether that figure included the 64 people aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when it dove into the building. At least 94 people have been admitted to area hospitals.
As rescue efforts proceeded, federal investigators tried to learn more about the hijackings and followed up leads along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida.
Officials also announced they had intercepted a communication between members of Al Qaeda, the terrorist group supported by Osama bin Laden, that mentioned successful hits on two U.S. targets. The CIA named bin Laden as a leading suspect in a congressional briefing Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a press conference Wednesday that between three and six individuals hijacked each plane using knives, box cutters and bomb threats. He also indicated that the Pentagon may not have been the original target of the plane that hit it.
'Our government has credible evidence that the White House and Air Force One were targets,' Ashcroft said.
Four thousand FBI agents and 3,000 support personnel are working on the case, Ashcroft said. Agents are reported to have identified up to 50 people who have participated in or supported the hijackings, 40 of whom have been accounted for.
The FBI detained three men for questioning in a raid at the Westin Hotel in Boston; one Vero Beach, Fla., man who was acquainted with a man who attended Flight Safety International school there; and several people in Venice, Fla., who were associated with the Huffman Aviation International Flight School. Amanullah Atta Mohammed and a man identified as 'Marwan,' who investigators believe were among the hijackers, were students at the Huffman school.
These actions coincided with Ashcroft's statement that 'a number of the suspected hijackers were trained as pilots in the United States.'
Law enforcement officials also searched the home of the detained Vero Beach man and that of his next-door neighbor, another flight-school student named Adnan Bukhari, who moved out of the house with his wife and three children over the weekend. A car parked at Boston's Logan International Airport, the departure site of two of the hijacked planes, was seized and 'suspicious materials' were found inside. A car at the Portland, Maine, airport was taken into custody because officials believed it may have been driven to the airport by two of the hijackers, who then flew from Portland to Logan International.
?Although one man was arrested on a weapons charge when officials stopped a Boston-to-Providence, R.I., Amtrak train, he was not suspected of being a part of the attack.
Elected officials respond
Wednesday morning President Bush referred to the terrorist attacks as 'acts of war.'
'This enemy hides in the shadows and has no regard for human life,' Bush said. 'This is an enemy that preys on innocent and unsuspecting people and then runs for cover. But it won't be able to run for cover forever.'
Later Bush visited the Pentagon, surveying the site where Flight 77 crashed into it Tuesday.
'I am overwhelmed by the devastation and destruction,' Bush said, according to MSNBC. 'Our country cannot be cowed by terrorists, by people who don't share our values.'
After Bush spoke, the crowd began singing 'God Bless America.'
Meeting for the first time since the attacks, both houses of Congress passed resolutions addressing the attacks and introducing emergency funding legislation.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously passed resolutions supporting the president and law enforcement officials in finding and punishing the people responsible.
Congress also passed resolutions stating the United States was 'entitled to respond under international law,' and 'the people of the United States will stand united as our nation begins the process of recovering.'
Bush and Congress agreed to set aside $20 billion for rescue, repair and counterterrorism efforts. Congress members hope to have the emergency bill ready for the president to sign today.
Secretary of State Colin Powell met with NATO Secretary General George Robertson, who announced that NATO allies would support an American military response.
'The [NATO] council agreed that if it is determined that this was an attack directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article V of the Washington Treaty, which states that an attack against one ally is and attack against them all,' Robertson said, according to MSNBC.
Another building collapses, two more in danger
Around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday pieces from the exterior of One Liberty Plaza. The building housed The Nasdaq Exchange's new headquarters.
Rescue efforts were hindered by the falling debris, which prompted National Guard troops and police to move the media personnel and onlookers farther north.
According to fire officials, two other structures, building 5 of the World Trade Center and the Millennium Hilton Hotel, also across the street from the Trade Center, are in danger of collapsing.
Diverted flights permitted to finish routes
The Federal Aviation Administration decided to allow limited numbers of commercial air flights Wednesday, but said normal air travel will not resume until this evening at the earliest.
Only flights that were diverted after the FAA's Tuesday order to ground all flights were given permission to return to the sky to finish trips to their original destinations.
'Safety is always of paramount importance, and in these extraordinary times we intend to be vigilant,' Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a statement. 'We remain committed to resuming commercial flights as soon as possible.'
When airports do reopen, Mineta said, increased security measures will be instituted for all flights. More thorough security checks will be performed on all planes before anyone boards aircraft, curbside check-in at airports and off-airport check-ins will be prohibited, only passengers with tickets will be allowed past metal detectors and parked vehicles at airports will be watched more closely. Mineta said armed 'air marshals' will also be present on all flights.
