The Agencies Confer When they learned a second plane had struck the World Trade Center, nearly everyone in the White House told us, they immediately knew it was not an accident. The Secret Service initiated a number of security enhancements around the White House complex. The officials who issued these orders did not know that there were additional hijacked aircraft, or that one such aircraft was en route to Washington. These measures were precautionary steps taken because of the strikes in New York. The FAA and White House Teleconferences. The FAA, the White House, and the Defense Department each initiated a multiagency teleconference before 9:30. Because none of these teleconferences-at least before 10:00- included the right officials from both the FAA and Defense Department, none succeeded in meaningfully coordinating the military and FAA response to the hijackings. At about 9:20, security personnel at FAA headquarters set up a hijacking teleconference with several agencies, including the Defense Department. The NMCC officer who participated told us that the call was monitored only periodically because the information was sporadic, it was of little value, and there were other important tasks. The FAA manager of the teleconference also remembered that the military participated only briefly before the Pentagon was hit. Both individuals agreed that the teleconference played no role in coordinating a response to the attacks of 9/11. Acting Deputy Administrator Belger was frustrated to learn later in the morning that the military had not been on the call. At the White House, the video teleconference was conducted from the Situation Room by Richard Clarke, a special assistant to the president long involved in counterterrorism. Logs indicate that it began at 9:25 and included the CIA; the FBI; the departments of State, Justice, and Defense; the FAA; and the White House shelter. The FAA and CIA joined at 9:40. The first topic addressed in the White House video teleconference-at about 9:40-was the physical security of the President, the White House, and federal agencies. Immediately thereafter it was reported that a plane had hit the Pentagon. We found no evidence that video teleconference participants had any prior information that American 77 had been hijacked and was heading directly toward Washington.

Question: "What was the Secret Service's initial reaction to the second plane hitting the WTC?"

Response: "Keeping the President safe"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A: no

Though prehistoric remains from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Ages have been unearthed in the Manzanares Valley, prior to Madrid's sudden elevation to capital city in 1561 its history was rather undistinguished. Over a period of many centuries crucial in Spanish history, Madrid's significance was negligible. The Romans built their most advanced outpost on the Iberian peninsula, but left nothing of consequence in Madrid. Armies of North African nomads, intent on disseminating Islam, invaded the peninsula in a.d. Within 10 years, they had overrun most of Spain. If Madrid played any role in these pivotal events, no record of it remains. The first solid references to this obscure settlement on the Castilian plateau, guarded by the looming Guadarrama mountain range, appear in the 9th century. The Arabic name for "place of many springs," variously recorded as Magerit, Mayrit or Magrit, eventually evolved into Madrid. The hamlet entered historical chronicles for its military significance; it was located near the main line of resistance to the Christian reconquest. Over centuries of struggle, the defending Moorish army built a full-scale fort, or Alcazar, on the heights of Madrid commanding the Manzanares valley. After several unsuccessful skirmishes, the Christian forces of Alfonso VI captured Madrid in 1083. The Alcazar became a fort of the crown of Castile. During a counter-offensive in 1109, the town was overrun by the Moors, but the Christianized fortress held. The Moors were expelled from the town, but they remained in control of southern Spain for almost four centuries. Meanwhile, Madrid enjoyed brief prominence in 1308 when king Ferdinand IV and his Cortes, an early version of parliament, held a formal meeting in the fledgling town. From then on, the kings of Spain began to visit Madrid, where the air was invigorating and the hunting excellent. Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic monarchs that united all the provinces of Spain, first visited Madrid in 1477.

Question: "Who overtook the Romans?"

Response: "Armies of African Nomads"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A: yes

Rivers flowing over gentle slopes move more slowly. They move much more slowly than a mountain stream. These slow moving streams create different types of features than mountain streams. Slow moving water erodes the sides of their channels more than the bottom. Also, large curves in the stream form. These curves are called meanders. Meanders are caused by erosion and deposition. Remember, faster moving water causes erosion more quickly. Slower moving water erodes material more slowly. If water is moving slowly enough, the sediment being carried may settle out. This settling out, or dropping off, of sediment is deposition. The curves are called meanders because they slowly wander over the land. As meanders erode from side to side, they create a floodplain. This is a broad, flat area on both sides of a river. Eventually, a meander may become cut off from the rest of the river. This forms an oxbow lake.

Question: "Will water flowing over gentle slopes erode more of the sides of their channels or the bottom?"

Response: "Yes"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A:
no