London

British police stage simulated terror attack

Police staged a chemical weapons attack on the London Underground on Sunday, simulating a terror strike underneath the heart of the financial district near the mayor’s residence.

Hundreds of police and emergency services personnel conducted the drill in the Square Mile to test how well emergency services would react to a terrorist strike. Police closed off a subway station and surrounding streets for the exercise.

The Department of Transport said the drill, the first large-scale exercise since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, was not a response to a specific threat.

In the simulation, a subway train stopped in a tunnel on its approach to Bank station as if a chemical weapon was released on board.

New York City

Service conducted for 9-11 WTC firefighter, last of 343

Firefighters in formal dress and others in work attire were among hundreds of people who gathered Sunday to pay respects to Michael Ragusa, the last firefighter killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center to receive a memorial service.

The 29-year-old’s remains have never been identified, so his family chose to bury a vial of blood he had donated to a bone marrow center. A funeral was scheduled today.

Many families of the 343 firefighters killed Sept. 11, 2001, had services before remains were identified, but Ragusa’s family delayed an official ceremony.

North Carolina

Edwards to give up Senate to pursue presidential bid

John Edwards will not run for re-election to the Senate in 2004 so he can concentrate on seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, a state party official said Sunday.

The North Carolina senator wrote a letter received Sunday by state Democratic Party chairwoman Barbara Allen announcing his decision, state party executive director Scott Falmlen said.

“I … decided that I will not seek re-election to the United States Senate in order to devote all of my energy to running for president,” Edwards wrote Allen.

Edwards was first elected to the Senate in 1998 but announced in January he would seek the presidential nomination.

North Carolina law allows him to run for president and Senate simultaneously, and state Democratic officials were getting restless while Edwards mulled his decision on whether to run for one or two jobs.