President meets with National Security Council; people unite for church services, blood donation

As of 2:25 PM PST, 9/11/01 After President Bush’s
address to the nation from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana,
he took off for the U.S. Strategic Air Command headquarters in
Nebraska for a National Security Council meeting via telephone.
Aides described him as looking forward to returning to
Washington.

After Bush’s address, Washington, D.C., was declared to be in a
state of emergency.

Top congressional leaders have been directed to a safe,
undisclosed location.

Guards with automatic weapons are patrolling the White House and
military aircraft are patrolling above.

Meanwhile, blood donors are lining the street outside a
Washington hospital and thousands across the nation have gathered
for church services.

Shaina Bressman, a first-year student at Barnard College in
Manhattan, said aside from donating blood and offering prayers,
"there isn’t much people feel they can do."

Manhattan is completely sealed off from the rest of New York,
and the college’s commuters will be housed on campus for the
night.

"I don’t think it has hit people yet, but you can smell the fire
from here," Bressman said.