Metal Detectors

A law firm representing Sept. 11 victims' families released a security video on Wednesday that showed three hijackers setting off a metal detector at Washington Dulles International Airport the morning of the attacks. Airport screeners quickly checked them, apparently found nothing that raised suspicions, and allowed the hijackers to board American Airlines Flight 77, which plowed into the Pentagon less than 2 1/2 hours later.

Four departing flights were delayed at Long Beach Municipal Airport on Tuesday night after federal safety officials determined that a walk-through metal detector was not working properly. Passengers who had already boarded two of the planes were brought back into the terminal and the boarding of two other planes was stopped, said Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration. All of the affected flights were operated by JetBlue Airways.

The funeral of former President Reagan will be steeped in military and diplomatic tradition except for one concession to the times: Washington will cover itself in a blanket of security for the first presidential funeral since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Beginning at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Reagan will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, which will stay open around the clock to allow the public to pay its respects before Friday morning's funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

Citing a shooting in Riverside City Hall more than five years ago and a general concern over terrorist threats, San Bernardino County supervisors on Tuesday increased security at their meetings. Private security guards posted in front of the supervisors' chambers began for the first time to search the purses and briefcases of people entering the weekly meeting. Metal detectors will be installed in the next few weeks.

MOST of us never have a chance for the Big Triumphs in life -- winning an Oscar, winning the Super Bowl, winning the lottery. So we settle for the small triumphs that our everyday lives occasionally offer. I had one such victory not long ago on a flight to London. For years, as I wrote recently in this space, I've taken my own food and wine on any cross-country or transatlantic flight.

When she's being herself, Angie Bayer likes to wear attention-grabbing chunky jewelry, killer stiletto boots with metal straps and a studded belt slung dangerously low on jeans. Today, though, she's in gauzy drawstring pants, pink tank top and plastic flip-flops, her outfit for staying below the radar -- a look that lets her breeze through airport security without triggering a beep, a hand wand inspection or removal of her shoes.

The first Independence Day since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will certainly be one of the most security-conscious in recent memory, with those repercussions to be felt by a few of the more than a dozen televised events planned to commemorate the holiday, running from early morning till well into the evening. For the first time in its history, those attending PBS' "Capitol Fourth 2002" celebration, which will be telecast Thursday from the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

Airline passengers have grown accustomed to long lines at security checkpoints as they wait to pass through metal detectors. Most accept the inconvenience patiently--even patriotically--as a necessary consequence of increased security. But it turns out that many of the delays are the result of obsolete equipment rather than keen vigilance. They stem from metal detectors that can't distinguish pocket change from a pistol, government and industry officials say.

A siege at the Church of the Nativity that commanded world attention for five weeks ended early this morning as more than 120 Palestinians began trudging out, one by one, tired and hungry, some waving and signaling victory, others kneeling to pray. . Nearby, church bells pealed as the 13 Palestinians considered by Israel to be the most dangerous of the group started leaving the 4th century compound, passing through a metal detector on their way to waiting buses.