September 11, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

WASHINGTON —  President Bush will lead a moment of silence at the White House in honor of the 3,000 people who died Sept. 11, 2001, in the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

The ceremony on the South Lawn will occur at 8:46 a.m., the time that terrorists flew the first commercial jetliner into one of the Twin Towers of World Trade Center. The second plane crashed into the other tower at 9:03 a.m.

Bush will then head to the Pentagon in Washington to dedicate a memorial to each life lost when American Airlines Flight 77 hit that building — a symbol of American military prowess — in the third strike that morning.

The Pentagon monument consists of 184 benches, one for each victim, that overlook small reflecting pools. The Defense Department’s headquarters were struck about an hour after the attacks in New York.

A fourth plane that was apparently headed for the White House or the Capitol building in Washington crashed prematurely in a field in Shanksville, Pa.; a ceremony will also be held there.

Joining the president will be first lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne, members of Congress, Cabinet members, military officials and about 3,000 White House employees and guests.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420762,00.html

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September 11, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

On Wednesday as part of military maneuvers, the government said, announcing an unprecendented deployment to a new ally at a time when both nations are involved in tense relations with the U.S.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the two Tupelov-160 Blackjack Bombers flew to Venezuela on a training mission. It said in a statement carried by the Russian news wires that the planes will conduct training flights over neutral waters over the next few days before heading back to Russia.

It was not immediately known whether the bombers were armed.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — an unbridled critic of American foreign policy — said Wednesday the bombers were welcome in Venezuela, and that he hopes to “fly one of those things” himself.

Chavez called the Russian planes’ visit part of a move toward a “pluri-polar world” — a reference to moving away from U.S. dominance. “The Yankee hegemony is finished,” Chavez said in a televised speech.

Also Wednesday, NATO said it ended a routine exercise by four naval ships in the Black Sea. Russia had denounced the exercise as part of a Western military buildup sparked by the Georgia conflict.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420522,00.html

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