Explosives screening for all bags to start

The nation's airlines said Monday they will start inspecting all checked baggage for explosives at the end of the week, as required by a new federal law.

"The traveling public can rest assured that all checked bags will be screened," said Debby McElroy, president of the Regional Airline Association, the trade group for smaller airlines.

The RAA made the announcement with three other airline organizations, including the Air Transport Association, which represents major carriers.

Little League honors dead firefighter, Giuliani

A firefighter killed in the World Trade Center collapse will be inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence along with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Both Giuliani and Michael Cammarata played Little League baseball as children.

Michael Cammarata, 22, was with Ladder Company 11, based in Lower Manhattan, when it was called to the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11. He was last seen going into the Mariott hotel between the trade center towers. He was declared dead Monday.

Combat air patrols over U.S. cities may be cut

The U.S. military is considering stopping around-the-clock antiterrorism patrols that fighter jets have been flying over American cities since the Sept. 11 attacks, defense officials said. There have been more than 13,000 flights costing more than $324-million. The military has been authorized to order pilots to shoot down commercial aircraft if necessary.

Although officials in Washington cited the strain on aviators and military aircraft as a reason for possibly reducing the homeland security patrols, the proposal also might signal that the U.S. feels safer from attack as the result of the stunning series of military defeats delivered to al-Qaida terrorists and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In other news . . .

ON THE SMALLPOX FRONT: The nation's top infectious diseases official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, on Monday called the possibility of a smallpox attack in the United States a "real threat" but said he does not support the vaccination of every American as a preemptive measure.

Fauci said the federal government is stockpiling a dose of vaccine for every American and plans to dip into the supply only if an outbreak occurs.

AND ANTHRAX: The nation's sole maker of the anthrax vaccine said Monday that it has met federal production requirements at its laboratory and is on the verge of resuming shipments to the Pentagon, possibly by month's end.

FAKE PILOT ON TRIAL: An Egyptian man who arrived at Kennedy Airport a week after the terrorist attacks with a fake pilot's uniform, license and a forged flight school certificate went on trial Monday on charges of lying to authorities.

While admitting they have no evidence linking him to the attacks, prosecutors says Wael Abdel Rahman Kishk, 21, lied to federal agents by claiming he was in the country to attend business school when he really intended to take flying lessons.

JAILED CHARITY LEADER: An Arab community leader who has been in custody since Dec. 14 accused of immigration violations is being moved to Chicago from a suburban Detroit jail, a federal official said.

The man, Rabih Haddad, 41, of Ann Arbor, Mich., is a co-founder of the Global Relief Foundation Islamic charity based in Illinois that federal officials say may have links to terrorist activity.

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