When American 11 struck the World Trade Center at 8:46, no one in the White House or traveling with the President knew that it had been hijacked. While that information circulated within the FAA, we found no evidence that the hijacking was reported to any other agency in Washington before 8:46. Most federal agencies learned about the crash in New York from CNN. Within the FAA, the administrator, Jane Garvey, and her acting deputy, Monte Belger, had not been told of a confirmed hijacking before they learned from television that a plane had crashed. Others in the agency were aware of it, as we explained earlier in this chapter. Inside the National Military Command Center, the deputy director of operations and his assistant began notifying senior Pentagon officials of the incident. At about 9:00, the senior NMCC operations officer reached out to the FAA operations center for information. Although the NMCC was advised of the hijacking of American 11, the scrambling of jets was not discussed. In Sarasota, Florida, the presidential motorcade was arriving at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School, where President Bush was to read to a class and talk about education. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told us he was standing with the President outside the classroom when Senior Advisor to the President Karl Rove first informed them that a small, twin-engine plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. The President's reaction was that the incident must have been caused by pilot error. At 8:55, before entering the classroom, the President spoke to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, who was at the White House. She recalled first telling the President it was a twin-engine aircraft-and then a commercial aircraft-that had struck the World Trade Center, adding "that's all we know right now, Mr. President." At the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney had just sat down for a meeting when his assistant told him to turn on his television because a plane had struck the NorthTower of the World Trade Center. The Vice President was wondering "How the hell could a plane hit the World Trade Center" when he saw the second aircraft strike the South Tower. Elsewhere in the White House, a series of 9:00 meetings was about to begin. In the absence of information that the crash was anything other than an accident, the White House staff monitored the news as they went ahead with their regular schedules.

What airplane crash did most federal agencies learn about through CNN, rather than their own internal reporting channels?

The White Rajahs of Borneo: In the 19th century, Borneo remained relatively undeveloped. Balanini pirates, fervent Muslims, disputed the coast of northeastern Borneo (modern Sabah) with the sultanate of Brunei. Sarawak's coast and jungle interior were controlled by the IbanSea Dayak pirates and Land Dayak slash-and-burn farmers. (The Dayaks practiced head-hunting, a ritual that was believed to bring spiritual energy to their communities. ) The region was unproductive and without great resources, except for the Sarawak river valley, where the Chinese mined for gold and antimony. Brunei chiefs traded the metals through Americans in Singapore. In 1839, the governor of Singapore sent James Brooke (18031868) to promote trade links with the Sultan of Brunei. He had been an audacious cavalry officer in the Anglo-Burmese wars and now exploited the situation for his own benefit. In exchange for helping the regent end a revolt of uppity Malay chiefs, Brooke was made Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, with his capital in Kuching (founded by the Malays just 11 years earlier). He tried to halt the Dayaks' piracy and head-hunting while defending their more "morally acceptable" customs. His attempts to limit the opium trade met with resistance by the Chinese in Bau, who revolted. His counter-attack with Dayak warriors drove the Chinese out of Bau and across the Sarawak border. Thereafter, Chinese settlement was discouraged and did not achieve the commercial dominance it enjoyed on the peninsula. In 1863, Brooke retired to Britain, handing Sarawak over to his nephew Charles. More reserved and remote but a better administrator and financier than his uncle, Charles Brooke imposed on his men his own austere, efficient style of life. He brought Dayak leaders onto his ruling council but favored the time-honored colonial practice of divide-and-rule by pitting one tribe against another to keep the peace. Northeast Borneo (Sabah) was "rented" from the Sultan of Brunei by British businessman Alfred Dent. Dent was operating a royal charter for the British North Borneo Companya charter similar to that of the EIC.

Which groups fought for control of Borneo in the 19th Century?

(CNN) -- Horror-meister, Stephen King calls George Pelecanos "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." His stories are set in Pelecanos' hometown of Washington, D.C., but this is not the side of the U.S. capitol that you see portrayed on TV with white marble monuments, lawyers and lobbyists. Pelecanos is more interested in working families struggling to get by, the racial tensions in its ethnic neighborhoods and the low-lifes on the edges. His crime-writing peers call Pelecanos the "undisputed poet" of Washington's gritty side. The best-selling and award-winning author is out this week with his 17th and latest novel, "The Cut." It's the first in a new series featuring Iraq war veteran and private investigator Spero Lucas. When he's not working for a Washington defense attorney, Lucas recovers stolen property for a 40% cut. Now, a high-profile crime boss hires Lucas to find out who's been stealing from him, and it could turn out to be Lucas' biggest payday or an untimely end. While Pelecanos made his bones in the noir tradition, there's a definite "Western" feel to "The Cut." The new novel takes place in a morally gray and often violent world. It's peppered with pitch-perfect dialogue and captures the sights, sounds and taste of Washington in rich detail. In short, Pelecanos reads like the real deal. Pelecanos knows a thing or two about capturing the authenticity of urban America with an ethnically and socially diverse cast. In addition to his success as a novelist, Pelecanos is a producer and writer for HBO's New Orleans-set, "Treme." He was previously a producer and Emmy-nominated writer on the hit series "The Wire" and the miniseries "The Pacific." Read an excerpt from "The Cut" CNN recently spoke to Pelecanos about his new novel. The following is an edited transcript. CNN: Tell me more about your new character, Spero Lucas.
Who is the Iraq war veteran that works for an attorney?