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Strikes resume on Afghanistan

(CNN) -- The U.S.-led air campaign against Taliban forces in Afghanistan resumed early Saturday. Witnesses reported hearing explosions in Kabul, the country's capital.

Planned attacks were canceled Friday for the Muslim day of prayer. That respite came after overnight airstrikes that witnesses called the fiercest of the campaign, now six days old.

Warplanes struck six facilities before dawn Friday, using about 15 carrier-based strike planes and 10 land-based bombers, said Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Conditions on the ground prevented airdrops of humanitarian aid over Afghanistan, but drops were expected to resume Friday, he said.

"We know that we have found some concentrations of Taliban and al Qaeda forces, and we know that they are moving -- that their life is more difficult, and the places where they have stayed, some of them have disappeared," Rumsfeld said.

Latest developments

• In New York, Delta Air Lines Friday evening canceled a nonstop flight to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in what airline officials called a "security-related issue." According to sources, two men, described as Middle Eastern, bought one-way tickets on Delta flight 80 and two others inquired about one-way passages. The FBI detained the two before boarding began at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Passengers were booked on another Delta flight to Amsterdam.

• If U.S. troops in the Balkan peacekeeping force were needed on the front lines in Afghanistan, NATO troops from other member nations would gladly take their place, said NATO Secretary-General George Robertson. He spoke Friday on CNN's "Larry King Live."

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• The FAA Friday partially lifted the ban on flights of private planes near 30 major metropolitan areas, reversing a temporary policy put in effect following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Beginning Monday, private flying will gradually resume in and around Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; and St. Louis, Missouri.

• Anti-Taliban forces are making gains on the battlefield in the wake of the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan, two senior Pentagon officials indicated Friday, citing U.S. intelligence. Those officials said they believe reports that opposition forces have captured Chaghcharan, a major town on the main road from the capital Kabul to the western city of Herat. (Full story)

• The widow of a victim of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center is suing those whom the U.S. government holds responsible. The suit was filed late Thursday on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff, named Jane Doe, whose husband, is named as "T.S."

• An Arizona resident of Middle Eastern descent was indicted Friday on charges of lying to the FBI about his alleged relationship with Hani Hanjour, whom authorities believe was the terrorist pilot who crashed an American Airlines flight into the Pentagon on September 11. Faisal Michael Al Salmi of Tempe was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix for repeatedly denying any association with Hanjour. Faisal Michael al Salmi is also charged with lying about another acquaintance of Hanjour. (Full story)

• The House Friday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give broad new powers to law enforcement to go after suspected terrorists. It authorizes roving wiretaps and makes harboring terrorists a crime. The bill is similar to one passed by the Senate one day earlier. Both now head to a conference committee. (Full story)

• The nation's largest airport screening company, Argenbright Holdings Ltd., faces a court hearing to answer charges that it has violated a court order against hiring screeners without doing background checks, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Friday. He said violations had occurred at 13 airports, including two where hijacked flights originated on September 11.

• An envelope containing a white powder and addressed to NBC "Nightly News" anchorman Tom Brokaw was opened by a female staff member who later tested positive for cutaneous (skin) anthrax infection, authorities said Friday. NBC said the woman is in good condition and is expected to recover. The suspicious substance has been tested three times and found negative for anthrax. (Full story)

• Uzbekistan has formally agreed to let the United States use its airspace and the "necessary military and civilian infrastructure" at one of its airports for the U.S.-led military campaign against Afghan targets, the two nations announced Friday.

• The Bush administration added 39 names Friday to the 27-strong list of individuals and organizations whose assets in the United States are being frozen because they are suspected of providing financial support to terrorist groups. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill signed the "blocking order" Friday. The administration is providing the list to other governments as well, asking them to join the international crackdown on terror financing. (Full story)

• Five NATO airborne warning and control aircraft arrived at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to help patrol the skies over the United States, U.S. and NATO officials told CNN. The deployment marks the first time non-U.S. airplanes have been used for military purposes in U.S. airspace. (Full story)

• In Pakistan, thousands of angry anti-American protesters gathered in the cities of Islamabad and Quetta. Other demonstrations took place in Iran, Indonesia and Turkey, a NATO ally. (Full story)

• Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Thursday that Secretary of State Colin Powell will seek to "lower the temperature" between India and Pakistan when he visits the region this week. Powell will caution India not to take any action against Pakistan while its attention is diverted to the current U.S. military campaign against Afghanistan, a senior administration official told CNN. (Full story)

• A memorial was dedicated Friday in Norfolk, Virginia, to the 17 sailors who died, one year ago on October 12, in the bombing attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. (Full story)

• Retail sales in the United States plunged in September, the government said Friday, as the aftershocks of last month's terrorist attacks cut far deeper into consumer spending than analysts expected. (Full story)