Rescue workers continue a fourth day of combing through the ruins of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in a race against time to find survivors.
Heavy rain did not keep hundreds of rescue workers from their search for survivors. But the weather and weakened structures in several nearby buildings slowed the rescue operation. Despite around-the-clock work by thousands of volunteers and public safety workers, only a handful of people have been found alive.
Some volunteers were sent home on Friday, told that the focus of operations would be the removal of debris. Hundreds of construction workers from New York City and beyond volunteered for their services in that effort.
So far, more than 150 trucks have taken over 10,000 tons of rubble from the devastated site.
New York State Governor George Pataki says the state and city have been inundated with contributions from the public. "It is just incredible to see this outpouring of public support for the families and for all of those who are going through this difficult recovery," the governor said. "The city has the Twin Towers fund. The United Way has its September 11 Fund and the State has set up a fund, the World Trade Center Relief Fund, to take in all of those contributions that have been made from across the state."
Mr. Pataki says a headquarters has already been set up to help with New York's economic recovery.
New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani says funds pledged by the state and by the federal government will be a big help to businesses damaged by the terrorist attack. "We ordinarily have lots of incentives and other programs that the state and the city do together to keep businesses in New York and encourage business to come to New York," he said. "All of those packages are now going to be assisted by the legislation that was passed in Albany yesterday and the legislation that apparently is going to pass in Washington that will make substantial amounts of money available to the city and state for exactly this purpose."
Mr. Giuliani says anyone discovered fraudulently soliciting money for the recovery effort will be arrested, as will individuals responsible for a rash of hoaxes that have led to repeated evacuations of major New York transportation centers and large buildings.