News digest: Sept. 26, 2001

The day's events | Losses

THE DAY'S EVENTS

• Tomorrow, President Bush is expected to announce new airline security measures, including stationing armed air marshals on commercial flights and the installation of stronger cockpit doors.

• Markets closed sharply down today. The Dow declined 92 points and the Nasdaq 37 points.

• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, said today that Iran would not support military action against its Muslim neighbor, Afghanistan. Rejecting Iranian involvement in a U.S.-led, anti-terrorism campaign, Khamenei said the United States was not "competent and sincere (enough) to lead any global campaign against terrorism."

• Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to improve cease-fire efforts and to resume security cooperation. Several incidents have flared since the cease-fire was called last week.

• Thousands of anti-U.S. Afghans set fire to the abandoned U.S. Embassy in Kabul today. They also burned an effigy of President Bush to protest American threats to retaliate for the terrorist attacks.

• Delta Air Lines, the last of America's six largest carriers to cut its staff, announced 13,000 staff cuts and a 15 percent reduction in its schedule today.

• Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the FBI has begun a massive nationwide records check on all truck drivers licensed to carry hazardous materials, including explosives and poisons. "Terrorism is a clear and present danger to Americans today," he said.