Nine days after the terrorist hijacking of four U.S. airliners, the country is still in a state of transition.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 11, four commercial flights were hijacked in the attacks on New York and Washington. Three of the flights struck the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington; the fourth hijacked jet crashed in Pennsylvania, when passengers apparently fought and overpowered the hijackers.

Nine firefighters were saved from the wreckage in New York last week, but more than approximately 5,400 citizens remain unaccounted for in the tragedies.

Businesses watched as stocks-especially airline shares-suffered losses after reopening Monday. Drops, however, were not as damaging as the crash of 1987.

After Tuesday, signs of American patriotism have grown in ways that haven’t been apparent in years. American flags adorn houses and buildings nationwide.

National effects: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday that the terrorists behind the attacks are likely to have received support from other governments. Emerging from a visit at the Pentagon that was badly damaged by last week’s attacks, Ashcroft raised the possible involvement of other countries.

Currently, federal authorities are searching for more than 190 people they have identified as individuals who may have information about last week’s attacks. At least 75 people are in the custody of Immigration and Naturalization Service and are being questioned.

Global news: The Taliban government said that God would protect it if the world tried to “set fire” to Afghanistan for sheltering terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden. On Tuesday, Taliban leaders called on all Muslims to wage a holy war against America if it attacks.

In another direction, the U.N. pronounced a form of support for the United States. The U.N. General Assembly formally postponed its annual gathering of world leaders. On Wednesday the 189 countries adopted by consensus a motion to delay the event which was to have started Monday. A new date will be discussed in coming weeks.

Local news: The Boeing Co. will probably be subject to layoffs in the near future. Boeing says it will lay off between 20,000 and 30,000 workers in its commercial jet unit by the end of 2002 as a result of dwindling orders in the wake of the terrorist attack against the United States.

Most of the major airlines have reduced their schedules in the past week after the terrorists’ attacks. Boeing had expected to deliver 538 aircraft in 2001. It said that that number could now decline to 500, depending on airlines’ ability to take delivery in the near term. For 2002, Boeing said deliveries are estimated to be in the low 400s, compared with the 510 to 520 it previously forecast.

Boeing employs about 199,000 workers. No announcement was made on what effect the layoffs could have on the St. Louis division of the company. Boeing shares fell $2.66 Tuesday, to $33.14.

New York: More than a week after the terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Tuesday the likelihood of finding any more survivors in the rubble is “very, very small” but that “those chances are not totally ended or over.”

Giuliani revised the confirmed death toll in the attacks to 218. Of those, 152 have been identified. The number of missing is now at 5,422 people.

New Yorkers remain hopeful that more survivors will be found. Makeshift memorials and thousands working around-the-clock at the disaster scene are signs of people who have not given up.

Some emergency workers are being ordered to take time off after being on the job virtually nonstop since the attacks. News reports note that many rescue workers are disheartened due to fatigue, and no new survivors have been found for days.

Nine search and rescue teams worked at the site Tuesday, and two more teams were being deployed. Another four teams should be sent today.

Officials continue to refer to the operation at ground zero as a “rescue mission,” emphasizing the possibility that victims could be found alive in the seven-level underground complex, which housed a subway station, commuter train station, retail shops and restaurants.

At the site of the World Trade Center, fires continue to burn under the rubble. So far, about 49,553 tons of debris has been removed, but city officials said 20 times that much probably remains.

The Environmental Protection Agency is removing asbestos from streets and buildings and set up monitoring stations around the site and in New Jersey.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts it will take 45 days to complete the job.

New York City’s Office of Emergency Management is putting teams together to assess what structural damage was caused to the buildings around the World Trade Center complex.

The destroyed buildings include: the twin towers; the 22-story World Trade Center Marriott Hotel; 5 World Trade Center, which housed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and various judicial offices; and 7 World Trade Center, which housed the U.S. General Accounting Office, the OEM, the Secret Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The partially collapsed buildings are 4 World Trade Center and 6 World Trade Center, the U.S. Customs House. Five other buildings have possible structural damage, including the American Express building in the World Financial Center and the Bankers Trust building, both across the street from the 2 World Trade Center, the south tower.

Thirteen other buildings in the vicinity may have suffered less serious damage. Electricity is being restored to streetlights and small businesses, and officials expect the area to be back to normal for all businesses by Saturday morning.

Pentagon: Rescue efforts continue at the Pentagon. Washington officials said they were considering ending the search for survivors a week after hijackers slammed a plane into a section of the U.S. military headquarters. Pentagon officials had not decided Tuesday whether to officially end the search for survivors.

Four rescue teams of about 60 members each, along with dozens of medical personnel and firemen, have been working in the area.

A Pentagon employee died Tuesday of injuries received in the attack, Pentagon officials said. The projected death toll from last week’s attack has risen from 188 to 189, including those who died on the airliner. Only 11 bodies have been identified so far.

The Pentagon plans additional security with U.S. military troops, defense officials said.

The troops will be used to augment security provided by the Defense Protective Service, which is the Pentagon’s civilian police force, and by military police who have already taken up posts inside the Pentagon building.