Events at a Glance

ANTHRAX

Exposure to anthrax widened as health officials said one State Department mail worker has the inhaled form of the disease and a second employee has suspicious symptoms, although neither is known to have visited a contaminated postal facility or handled an anthrax-laced letter.

MILITARY FRONT

U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan have significantly reduced the Taliban’s ability to defend itself against opposition forces but have moved the United States only marginally closer to finding Osama bin Laden, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.

CONGRESS

Galvanized by threats to homeland security on multiple fronts, Congress cleared a major counter-terrorism crime bill and readied itself for further action on bioterrorism and aviation safety.

SECURITY

When President Bush signs into law new anti-terrorism legislation, the Justice Department and the FBI will immediately launch a law enforcement offensive as all-consuming as the one Robert F. Kennedy waged against organized crime 40 years ago, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said.

POLITICS

Concerned that a victory by the Northern Alliance would bring “a new phase of bloodshed and disorder” to Afghanistan, a conference of Afghan elders and former resistance commanders urged the country’s former king to take the lead in forming a post-Taliban government.