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The few stories that had remained of one of the towers collapsed during the day, sending up yet another thick plume of smoke. Searchers used picks and axes and moved slowly for fear of bringing down a pile of rubble. ``The air down there is totally toxic,'' said one, Peter Coppola, who said he had found four bodies in 24 hours of searching.

The Pentagon smoldered still. Bush paid a late-afternoon visit, saying the devastation made him sad and angry. ``The nation mourns,'' he said, ``but we must go on.''

``Our country, however, will not be cowed by terrorists, by people who don't share the same values we share.''

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent a morale-building message to the nation's armed forces. Invoking the memories of past heroes - and those who behaved bravely in Tuesday's attack - he said the nation would need more heroes in the not too distant future.

America's NATO (news - web sites) allies bolstered Bush's case for military action, declaring the terrorist attacks an assault on the alliance itself. Bush sought to build a global alliance with phone calls to leaders of France, Germany, Canada, Britain and Russia; he talked twice to Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites).

``An attack on one is an attack on all,'' NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said.

And the world's wealthiest countries pledged a coordinated effort to use their central banks to prevent disruptions to the global economy.

Ashcroft and others described an extraordinary investigation. It stretched from the Canadian border, where officials suspect some of the hijackers entered the country, to Florida, where some of the participants are believed to have learned how to fly commercial jetliners before the attacks.

Locations in Massachusetts and Florida were searched for evidence. Internet service providers said they were complying readily with search warrants seeking information about an e-mail address believed connected to the attacks.