Events at a Glance

MILITARY FRONT

The Taliban has proven to be a tough foe and U.S. forces face a difficult struggle to dislodge the regime’s troops from the crowded cities of Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official said.

ANTHRAX

U.S. Postmaster General John Potter advised all Americans to wash their hands after handling mail, the latest sign that government officials are stepping back from what many believe were overly optimistic public assurances made in the early days of the anthrax threat.

CONGRESS

The House acted to address the economic and security threats faced by the U.S. by taking the first step toward enacting new tax cuts and approving the final version of a landmark anti-terror bill that would give President Bush much of the new law enforcement authority he sought.

SECURITY

The nation may quickly need to begin making a tougher assessment of risk--and determine which defensive measures provide the most benefit for each limited dollar that is available, some experts have warned.

POLITICS

In a sign of the changed political climate, 800 Afghan leaders, politicians and clerics--most of them supporters of exiled monarch Mohammad Zaher Shah and opponents of the Taliban regime--gathered in Peshawar, Pakistan, and called for a new political order to replace the Taliban.