Good evening everyone. We are watching and grieving right along with you, but it is our job now to bring you up to date on the news across the country and more specifically here in Las Vegas. Along with Beth Fisher, I'm Kendall Tenney. Jim and Nina are on assignment in light of this tragedy. We'll be talking with Nina coming up in just a bit. This is News 3 Nightside at 11. Another explosion on the right hand side. Another building has gone. Another building has gone. The search is on for survivors right now. The mayor of New York City says some people are still trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center using cell phones to ask for help. Thousands of people could be injured or killed. We have now learned at least 300 firefighters are missing on the south side of Manhattan. Crews plan on working around the night to try and save victims. Meanwhile, President Bush is promising to avenge the deaths of those who died in New York and Washington when hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbored them. News 3 has team coverage for you tonight. We're going to begin with Steve Krupe. Yeah, he is out at one of the blood centers here in Las Vegas. Blood centers all over the U.S. have people showing up, standing in very long lines trying to help the victims of the bombings. Las Vegas, no exception to that, Steve. Yeah, Kendall, huge crowds all over the valley today here at United Blood Services on West Charleston. Over 300 people at times, lines literally around the building, still dozens of folks waiting to get in here outside. Those lucky enough to make it inside have been waiting between five and eight hours to have their names called. The response from the community, indeed, has been amazing. All day long and well into the night, Las Vegans answered the call for help. They waited up to eight hours to donate blood, and by the hundreds they gathered at the West Charleston and the East Charleston locations of United Blood Services. It's amazing. The people that come here to show that they care and want to do something to help people, it just touches your heart, too. It's amazing how people do that. I'm O-negative, so for something like this, this blood is good for anybody. The shelves here are filling up quickly, but will any of this blood actually reach New York City? That has yet to be decided. There is a nationwide network of blood banks, and if the call goes out, this blood is ready to be sent to New York. This is amazing. This is fantastic. All these people showing up to give blood. We stick together, you know, and it's just a symbol of that. A lot of people are coming in. A lot of stores are donating, and everybody's helping out the best they can. The need for blood is not expected to disappear anytime soon, and if you cannot wait in line, appointments can be scheduled for the days and weeks ahead. And some breaking news tonight regarding the blood supply. This is a military C-130 jet that just landed within the past hour at Nellis Air Force Base. This jet loaded up with blood samples from Las Vegas. That jet then took off, headed to Phoenix, Arizona, where the samples will be tested, and based on the results of those tests, it will be determined whether or not the supply here in Las Vegas is ready to be shipped off to wherever it might be needed. But again, with all of the aircraft grounded across the country, this is a very unusual moment here with an aircraft actually landing in Las Vegas tonight, and then this giant military jet once again taking off, carrying a large supply of blood from all over the West Coast for testing to make sure the supply is ready to be sent to New York or wherever it is needed. That is the latest live from United Blood Services on West Charleston. I'm Steve Krupe. Back to you in the studio. All right, Steve, thank you very much. You know, in the midst of this tragedy, it's somewhat comforting to see all those people standing in line, and that's just one example of how people here at home are pulling together during this national tragedy. Anquinet Moon continues our team coverage. She is live from down on the Las Vegas Strip, and Anquinet, you talk to people all over the valley who've been watching all of this unfold in disbelief. Beth and Kendall, today has become a day we'll all look back on and say, do you remember where you were when it happened? I'm sure my story is like so many other stories out there. The phone rang and woke me up at 630 this morning, and the voice on the other end said turn on the television. The date, 9-1-1. The nation in a state of emergency. Images unfathomable. Terror that struck our very home. Not in the United States. It's not supposed to happen in the United States. This is supposed to be the shield over the United States. It wasn't there today. I guess it's probably the greatest American tragedy on our soil. In America's playground, marquees that normally entice people to have fun now illuminate a simple and somber message. God bless America. And fear has drawn people to their faith. I just couldn't stop thinking about them. They had no choice. At churches all over the valley, heads are bowed, people are praying. We have many things to continue to pray about. Our hearts are heavy, but we have hope in Christ. Just pray that the message of hope comes out to all believers and to those who are non-believers. At businesses and in neighborhoods, flags fly at half-staff. The spirit of America shaken, but still sound. I think that I'm going to be looking over my shoulder a little more often than I have before. It's amazing. I always said I felt so safe in America, and I still do, but it's just a creepy feeling to actually be seeing this happen. It's surreal. It really is like a dream. All of our lives have changed now because we all live in a country that prides itself on its freedom. As the president said earlier today, freedom has been attacked by a nameless, faceless coward. Now we all wonder if or even when it will happen again. So now our feeling of freedom is also mixed with a little bit of fear. Reporting live, I'm Ann Quintana Moon. Beth and Kendall, back to you in the studio. All right, Ann Quintana. Tonight, all flights are canceled at McCarran Airport, just as they were and are all across the U.S. You're going to take a look now at a live picture of McCarran Airport from our Mandalay Bay cam. You can see all the planes are grounded, nothing going on there. We're told no airplanes will be allowed to take off until 9 in the morning at the earliest. The first priority, if that happens, is going to be all the flights that were diverted, and the airport will be on its highest state of alert, so things are going to move very slowly in the beginning, and you want to call ahead and check with your airline to see how things are going. Ben Correa was at the airport earlier today where he found this attack shocked many and left thousands with nowhere to go. I work at night. I don't know where she is. She works at the Trade Center. Fearing the worst and cell phone glued to his ear, Bryant Battista tries to contact his mother. I can't get a hold of her at all. I left a message on her answering machine. I've emailed her. I mean, I'm off work. I just left. I punched out and said, I'm late. Later, I got to find my mom. Inside McCarran, thousands of passengers are left stranded. Payphones are a hot commodity as people get in touch with family and friends. This is the United States. You don't touch the United States. This attack takes an emotional toll on all these passengers. I was in the plane with the lady that was on her way back to New York, actually, after she left St. Louis, and she found out her daughter and mom was in the World Trade Center. My heart and prayers are with everybody. It's just horrible. I can't even imagine something like this could happen in the United States, not without us knowing about it, not with all the systems they have here, especially in the airports. All flights in and out of McCarran are canceled. Was that 39? Metro makes their presence known, making sure nobody gets through these gates. They also keep a close eye on the entire airport. You're looking at the ticketing area outside McCarran. Yes, it's a ghost town here. Officials say flights in and out of this airport will not resume until tomorrow morning. Right now, the parking garage is closed and police are screening vehicles as they enter the airport. So the best thing for you to do to get information is either over the phone or on the internet. Reporting from McCarran, Ben Correa, News 3. And one of the ways to get information over the phone is to use the 800 number set up by United and American Airlines. They're on your screen right now. 932-8555 is the 800 number for United. 2450999 is the toll-free number for American Airlines. Again, this is if you think you might have family or friends that were on any of those four flights that crashed. Again, right now, no flights taking off from McCarran International Airport and no flights taking off anywhere, for that matter, in the United States. We've also just received word the Thunderbirds have canceled their appearance at a California air show this weekend. Airport officials in the meantime say they don't expect any flights, as we've said, to resume before 9 a.m. tomorrow. That would be the very earliest. And even then, the Federal Aviation Administration is estimating only a small percentage of flights will actually get up in the air. And Kendall, a source of mine from McCarran Airport, told me tonight that even at McCarran, they don't plan on resuming service 100 percent tomorrow. So if you're planning to fly out of McCarran or hoping to fly out of McCarran tomorrow, be prepared. The airport, it's my understanding from my source, the airport is not planning on operating all flights. Business will not be as usual tomorrow. As we've been saying, three of the four planes that crashed today were bound for Los Angeles when they were hijacked and then crashed. News 3's Nina Ratatich is on assignment at LAX tonight, where Nina, I'm sure family and friends of those people killed at some point went to the airport looking for information. And right now, Beth, many of those victims' families are staying at hotels, several different hotels that are actually close to the airport. Those hotels are crawling with security personnel. We actually tried to go into several of them, hoping to maybe find somebody from United or American Airlines that would speak to us, even some spokespeople from the different victims' families. Obviously, right now, those folks are off limits to the media. The Red Cross, we're told, has several mental health workers on hand for those people. They've already helped two to three families and are prepared, well prepared, to help even more than that. As you mentioned, McCarran Airport is shut down. Los Angeles International Airport has been in a state of lockdown all day. But despite that fact, one flight did land here this afternoon. It was an American Airlines flight carrying a group of care workers who also is on hand to help the victims' families. Other than that, LAX is a virtual ghost town. You should be hearing the roar of jet planes. Instead, this. One hundred seventy-eight planes on the ground at LAX. The airport closed until further notice. The buildings are secure and we're ready to commence planning. Actually, we have already started planning for the wind-up operation to get things going again when we get the word from the FAA. When air travel resumes, passengers should expect to see some changes. I think there'd be a strong indication that at least in the very beginning, we would probably restrict the passengers only to go through the screening stations. And I think that just allow a lot of time for that. But the airport's reopening is the last thing on the minds of victims' families. This man is as close as we'll get right now to those at the center of this tragedy. It's hard to speak about this and it's a very tough time and I think we just have to all hold together and we'll be fine. I think everything else is too early to speak about. They're pulling together at places like this. Hotels near the airport with an intense police presence. The media not allowed to intrude at this delicate, devastating time. And my heart goes out to all the people, especially the children, that have to deal with this, you know, going through time and all the orphans that there will be from this tragedy. An attack of terrorism on the East Coast that reaches every city in America. Beth mentioned that McCarran Airport may open to limited flights tomorrow morning. We're told by the director of operations at LAX that it is going to be some time before we get our entire air travel system up and running. He said that is a major undertaking. He said here's how it's going to start. Because we have to reposition hundreds of planes, hundreds of planes that were stranded in Las Vegas, here in Los Angeles, some in Canada, some in Mexico, all over the country planes were stranded. We're going to have to reposition those planes first. That means ferrying them back and forth across the country without passengers a little bit at a time. Then little by little adding passengers to those flights. So it could be quite some time before our air travel system is back up and running. We'll be back out here tomorrow and let you know when Los Angeles International is scheduled to open. Reporting live from Los Angeles, I'm Nina Ratajic. Beth, back to you. Nina, a very long day for you as you got up early this morning and headed to LA. Thank you. Again, the word we have right now is that air traffic will resume on a limited basis tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock local time, noon East Coast time. But stay tuned to News 3 for the very latest because as we've been telling you, that could all change. Yeah, in the meantime, Jim Snyder, because there are no flights, is driving to New York City right now. We'll be hearing from him all day tomorrow as well. Our nation's military bases are under extremely tight security, including Nellis Air Force Base. Nellis is on the highest alert possible threat condition delta. That means cars are being searched at the main gate for bombs and weapons. They are limiting access to the base to essential personnel only. This is in an effort to avoid becoming a target of terrorism. General, any reason to believe that you may be a target? Well we always have to presume day to day and certainly today that we might be a target. That was Major General Johnston who says some jets took off from Nellis this morning securing the airspace above the base and southern Nevada. Meantime traffic at Hoover Dam has been shut down since this morning's attack. It is still shut down. All traffic is detoured on U.S. 95 through Laughlin. The curator of the Hoover Dam Museum says it's necessary to keep everyone safe. Just the water alone that goes through Hoover Dam from Lake Mead, the power that's produced for Southern California, all of those, the transportation route across the crest of the dam, those are all good reasons that someone may want to destroy it. Traffic over the dam will open again at about seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Mayor Oscar Goodman is asking the city for a moment of silence tomorrow morning at 845. This is to remember those lost in today's attacks. He says we cannot live in fear after this tragedy. How we deal with the aftermath of this situation will define the character of our nation. Terrorist acts like this can potentially change our behavior. If we allow that, then our enemy achieved partial success. We will not stand for that. The freedoms that we enjoy under our democracy must be free and everlasting. Anything less than that is also unacceptable. All citizens, please join me in sending thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. Again the mayor is asking valley residents to participate in a moment of silence at 845 tomorrow morning. He says if you still want to help in other ways, you should donate blood. Governor Cuddy Gwynn also speaking out saying his heart goes out to the victims and their families and he was just as surprised by the attack as the rest of us. When terrorists attack you, they want to do physical damage, but even beyond that, their guerrilla warfare strategy is to upset you mentally and physically and disturb a country like America to put you at the highest rate of fear you can be in. I don't want to say that we're at fear, but we have a higher sensitivity level, but if we close everything, it looks as though we're doing exactly what they want. Firefighting aircraft battling the wildfires near Reno were forced to land for a while as part of a nationwide grounding of aircraft, but governor Gwynn says that order has been lifted for firefighting aircrafts and during daylight at least they were back in the air. Not everyone is mourning this tragedy. Some Palestinians are taking to the streets to celebrate the attacks on the World Trade Center in the Pentagon. People cheered in the streets at the news of the attacks on America. Suspicions about pro-Palestinian involvement started circulating just minutes after the attacks because of militants convinced and earlier, or convicted I should say, in earlier World Trade Center bombings. However, the PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, says he deplores these bombings and he says he will call President Bush to express his condolences. Those are disturbing pictures. The local Islamic community is reacting to today's attack. The Islamic Society of Nevada issued a statement saying, they condemn the attack against the United States. They offered prayers and condolences to the victims and their families and hope that the attacker will be brought to justice. They're asking Las Vegans to avoid generalizations that point the finger at the innocent just because they might be from the same part of the world. Instead, they want everyone to work together to get the people who carried out the attacks. The attack on the U.S. is putting oil refineries nationwide on heightened alert. And across the U.S., consumers are also feeling the effect. In some cities, the price of gas rose past $6 a gallon tonight. Gerard Romolo is live at the Chevron on Lake Mead and Las Vegas Boulevard. And Gerard, it almost seems trivial to talk about gas prices at a time like this, but this is one more effect that this tragedy has had on our country. You're right about that, Kendall. And right now the concern is that there will be some gas runs. Right now, what authorities don't want, of course, is for people to become hysterical. You can take a look at this particular Chevron marquee and see that the price for a gallon of unleaded right now stands at $1.63. That's probably about average across Las Vegas right now. But there's a nationwide rumor going around that local gas supplies will soon run out. And because of the bombing, gasoline imports will be placed on hold. Now, none of that, of course, is confirmed, but a lot of people aren't taking any chances. By mid-afternoon, cars were lined up at gas stations across the country. In Iowa, drivers rushed to fill up on fuel that rose to nearly $4 a gallon. In Illinois, prices soared to nearly $5 a gallon. There were confirmed reports of $7 a gallon gas in Oklahoma. And right here in Las Vegas, the lines were also long, and customers argued about who was next to pump. What? What? You're going to start some **** with me? AAA confirms the price of crude oil went up $6 a barrel right after the New York bombing. I don't know what is the problem. While some were confused, others rushed to store up as much as they could. Well, we saw on the news that the prices were going up through the states. So I told him, I said, let's go fill up tonight. This argument was eventually broken up, but those in line behind them were disgusted. I think it's ridiculous that they're getting so upset because there's a line waiting for gas when all these other people have a much more chaotic situation with these buildings being blown up. Right now, state authorities say gas runs are unwarranted. The widespread panic, they say, is fueling a fuel shortage that may not exist at all. Now some of those cities that we told you about, the gas stations and other cities have already reportedly been fined for raising prices too high. I certainly don't want to add to any of the panic out there, but News 3 tonight did receive a call from two local gas stations who say that they have completely run out of their gas supply. They're expecting shipments sometime tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see if that actually happens. Of course, we're going to stay on top of this situation. Reporting live, I'm Gerard Vermallo, News 3. Gerard, thank you. And we are told that even if the gas prices do go up, it shouldn't last more than a couple of days or so. Today's attack is being called the second Pearl Harbor, but a local Pearl Harbor veteran says nothing compares to this. Andy Hoover was just 19 when he watched Japanese suicide bombers attack Pearl Harbor. He thought he would never see such a sight like it again, and now at 80 he has. And like everyone, he wonders how this could have happened, but as a veteran, he blames not just the terrorists, but also the people who were supposed to be watching out for them. The State Department and the CIA and those are not taking care of the things the way they should. They're not keeping the rest of the country alerted to the fact that we can be beaten by terrorists this way. Hoover also says he believes the U.S. did not do enough to infiltrate the organizations involved in terrorism, and he says this is one battle the terrorists have won. This morning's horrific terrorist attack at the World Trade Center brings back memories of another plane striking a New York City skyscraper. In 1945, a B-25 bomber smashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. It was a foggy morning on July 28, 1945, when an Army B-25 bomber lost its way in the poor visibility. The plane struck the 79th floor, creating a hole in the building 18 feet wide, 20 feet high. The plane's high octane fuel exploded, sending flames down the side of the building and inside down to the 75th floor. The plane crash killed 14 people, 11 office workers and three crewmen, as well as injuring 26 others. However, the integrity of the Empire State Building was not affected from the crash, and of course tonight it is again the tallest building standing in New York. Well, and you go there today and there's still a memorial for those individuals who lost their lives in that accident so long ago, and people were horrified by that and rightfully so, but images from today's tragedy have stunned people all over the world. Today I found a few pictures that really show you how devastating all of this is. Take a look at this home video. It shows the full impact of the second passenger jet slamming into the second tower. Both towers eventually collapsed as a result of the two collisions. It took some time, but once the structure got so hot that the steel expanded, the walls were actually pushed out, and that caused the floors to pancake one on top of the other. Footage from an amateur cameraman reveals the horror of the aftermath. The videographer was part of a medical team responding to help amid the clouds of smoke and debris that filled the streets of Manhattan's busy core. You can take a look here as he's about to share oxygen with a firefighter, that cameraman, everyone down there doing whatever they can to assist one another in this tragedy. Can I get a toot? I'm just getting a couple of clean breaths. That's good. Okay. I'm back to you. This is the car I hid behind. It's a life. This is the car I hid behind. It saved my life. Maybe it was this one. There's all these noises. I think it... I don't know what it is. They say someone needs help. Yeah, Mike! Mike! Mike, come over here! Yeah! Anybody need a doctor? Where are you? I don't have oxygen. Hello, Doc. Hey, that guy needs some oxygen. Someone can share it with him. They told me just to wait here. They won't let me go any closer. No one can go in to get the people out. There's small explosions still going on. So far, I've just seen some people who needed oxygen from the dust. No point in trauma. I'm going to go wash my eyes out. That almost made it work. Looking north on the west side highway. And just a quick mention, you can hear those alarms going off. They sound almost like maybe crickets chirping in the background. Those are on each of the firefighters. If a firefighter is still for too long, those alarms go off to alert other firefighters that a fireman in most cases is down. But in that case, it's just firefighters stopping to catch their breath, but still those alarms, those warning bells sound. Crews have made it into the rubble at this hour. They're working around the clock trying to find survivors. Those pictures give you a slight understanding of how chaotic it was afterward and the confusion that reigned. And we've been telling you, the U.S. military right now is on heightened alert tonight. In fact, three U.S. military ships have departed Norfolk, Virginia, headed for New York City. The Atlantic fleet ships are going in support of defense and humanitarian efforts in New York City, according to the Defense Department. Cruiser ships are equipped with multiple target response capability. The destroyer vessels are commonly used to safeguard larger ships in a fleet or battle group. Explosions lit up the night sky in Afghanistan's capital city today. You might have seen these blasts earlier tonight. They could be seen in Kabul, and some witnesses say they saw missiles flying across the city. Now, at first, many people thought and many reports indicated President Bush had ordered this attack, but U.S. officials say that is not the case. Instead, it appears the attacks were ordered by anti-government forces in Afghanistan. Moments after this morning's attack, authorities closed U.S. embassies overseas. In Berlin, Germans came to the embassy to express their sadness at the U.S. attacks, burning candles and bringing flowers as a sign of sympathy. The situation was similar in Rome. Embassy guards patrolled the area, setting up security checkpoints there. And in France, the embassy building closed and more heightened security. U.S. embassies are often the site of terrorist attacks overseas. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says today's deadly terrorist attacks were vicious, well coordinated, and aimed against the United States. I know the interest in casualty figures, and all I can say is it's not possible to have solid casualty figures at this time. And the various components are doing roster checks, and we'll have information at some point in the future, and as quickly as it's possible to have it, it will certainly be made available to each of you. In fact, it could be days, possibly weeks, before we get an accurate count on the casualties. Rumsfeld says the Pentagon will be in business tomorrow despite significant damage. When something this tragic happens, it affects every American, regardless of race, religion, or political allegiance. That same sentiment is reflected tonight in the nation's Capitol as all members of Congress come together to give each other support. Senators and House members, Democrats and Republicans will stand shoulder to shoulder to fight this evil that's been perpetrated on this nation. We will stand together to make sure that those who have brought forth this evil deed will pay the price. Today's despicable acts were an assault on our people and on our freedom. As the representatives of the people, we are here to declare that our resolve has not been weakened by these horrific and cowardly acts. Dachshund says Congress will convene tomorrow despite the attacks in New York and Washington. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says America has experienced one of the greatest tragedies ever witnessed on our soil. heinous acts of violence are an assault on the security of our nation. They're an assault on the security and the freedom of every American citizen. We will not tolerate such acts. We will expend every effort and devote all the necessary resources to bring the people responsible for these acts, these crimes, to justice. Ashcroft says now is the time for us to come together as a nation to offer our support, our prayers for victims, and for their families. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quick to speak out in support of the U.S. in the wake of today's tragedy. I'm afraid we can only imagine the terror and the carnage there and the many, many innocent people that will have lost their lives. I know that you would want to join with me in sending the deepest condolences to President Bush and to the American people on behalf of the British people at these terrible events. This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today. It is perpetrated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life. And we, the democracies of this world, are going to have to come together to fight it together and eradicate this evil completely from our world. Mr. Blair was originally scheduled to speak about his plans for public services today but said it would be inappropriate after today's attack. One of our former reporters here at KVBC, Bob DeCastro, is now a reporter in New York City. I had a chance to talk with Bob this morning on the phone and he was walking toward the site where the World Trade Center towers had stood just a couple of hours earlier. It really is surreal. I mean, emergency, as you can hear, ambulances all over the places, all headed down toward that area and back toward the area hospitals. People are in tears. People just standing and looking up right now. It used to be, you know, a landmark here in Manhattan and across the world. The World Trade Center completely gone and nothing but a big cloud of smoke right now. And right now I have to walk toward the scene because obviously all the subways have been shut down. There's no bus service down there and the effort right now is to get everybody out of Manhattan. So there's just a mass exodus of people. Bob says his station lost some of its vehicles and equipment in the blast and as a result of that he had been sent out with a home video camera to get whatever footage he could. One Las Vegas man has a friend who is in Manhattan. Yeah, and he was actually taking some pictures of the World Trade Center at the time of the attack. These images were sent to us by one of our viewers, Matt Esposito, and you can see what's going on right there. He was actually taking photographs of the building when the accident happened. Of course, after the first plane crashed, a lot of people were videotaping and photographing that building. You can see as the commercial airliner approaches the World Trade Center towers, you can see it headed straight for the second tower. And just seconds later this was the result, the explosion that so many of us saw unfold live this morning on television and here it is captured from a different angle. Well, we thank you for watching tonight. We know you have many choices and we appreciate you spending this difficult day with us here at Channel 3. We're going to leave you tonight with members of Congress coming together on the steps of Capitol Hill. Good night and God bless. Thank you, Cyber. Thank you, Iver. Through the night with the light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans. Like with home. God bless America, my home sweet home. God bless America, my home sweet home. And another...