New York City: Military jets escort plane

Military jets escorted a jet Tuesday night to LaGuardia Airport after a passenger became alarmed by others passing notes, officials said.

About 15 minutes before American Trans Air Flight 204 was due to arrive from Chicago, a passenger told a flight attendant that seven others were engaged in “suspicious activity,” passing notes and changing seats, Port Authority spokesman Alan Hicks said.

The flight attendant notified the pilot, who alerted federal aviation authorities. Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the plane a Boeing 757 with 98 passengers plus a crew to the ground. The plane landed five minutes late, and no one was hurt.

The seven passengers, who are from India, were being questioned, the Port Authority spokesman said.

Texas: Bombs accidentally dropped in rural areas

An Air Force stealth fighter accidentally dropped three dummy bombs into rural areas near the Texas-New Mexico border, including one that might have struck a home, officials said Tuesday.

No injuries were reported.

Monahans Police Chief Charles Sebastian said Air Force personnel were headed to the area to retrieve the objects.

Tech. Sgt. Paul Coupaud, a spokesman for Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, N.M., said the fighter had been on a training mission. He said he was unaware of how far the intended target was from where the munitions fell.

The bombs fell in remote areas of Monahans and Pecos, Tex., and Maljamar, N.M., according to the Air Force.

Virginia: Moussaoui indicted third time

Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the Sept. 11 attacks, was indicted for a third time Tuesday so prosecutors could specify the alleged conduct that would warrant his execution.

The indictment said Moussaoui acted in “an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner,” with premeditation to cause death and commit terrorism.

Prosecutors have told a judge they would seek to execute Moussaoui if he were convicted of conspiracy to commit terrorism and other charges related to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

They returned to the grand jury because the Supreme Court ruled last month that juries, not judges, must make the crucial decisions on life or death.

Geneva: WHO drafts tobacco treaty

The U.N. health agency on Tuesday released a treaty proposal that would set international standards for controlling the supply and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The 22-page document includes recommendations designed to cut both demand and supply of tobacco, which the World Health Organization says is a major threat to global health.

The draft treaty commits ratifying countries to “adopt and implement effective legislative … measures to reduce, with the view to gradually eliminating the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.”