USA

Moments of silence, readings, candlelight vigils, and cultural events across the nation already were marking today's anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. President Bush is to visit ground zero in New York, where more than 2,800 people died in the destruction of the World Trade Center. Gov. George Pataki (R) is scheduled to read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and ex-mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Secretary of State Powell will be among dignitaries reading aloud the names of victims. Bush also will attend ceremonies to commemorate the hijacked aircraft that crashed into the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.

Military jets are patrolling the skies over major US cities, and security was beefed up at nuclear plants, airports, and monuments as the administration raised its terror-alert level to orange, the second-highest. The State Department advised Americans abroad to be especially vigilant. The Navy warned that Al Qaeda may be planning an attack on oil tankers in the Middle East.

Despite White House opposition, majority Democrats in the Senate expected to pass $6 billion in drought aid for farmers by a wide margin, winning over some Republicans. Incumbent lawmakers from farm states such as Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Missouri, and Arkansas face close races in November. The administration has pressed for spending cuts to offset the relief, contained in an amendment to a bill providing $19.3 billion for the Interior Department. A vote was due as the Monitor went to press.

A prominent Islamic religious leader in Portland, Ore., was due back in court Tuesday, after being arrested by an antiterrorism squad at the city's airport over the weekend. Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, a US citizen born in Somalia, was preparing to leave with his family for a teaching post in the United Arab Emirates. In arguing against his release, a federal prosecutor said an explosives residue was found on Kariye's luggage. He has pleaded innocent to unlawful use of a Social Security number and other fraud charges.

The daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is being investigated by police after staff at a drug-treatment center reported finding two grams of cocaine in her possession. Noelle Bush, niece of the president, was arrested in January for trying to buy medication with a fake prescription. Her father asked journalists to respect a private family issue, but noted: "The road to recovery is a rocky one for a lot of people."