National and International News-Friday, Sept. 1st

UNDATED - Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected later today in Virginia, where there's already a state of emergency. Forecasters predict up to eight inches of rain, after it saturated NorthCarolina with eight inches before even making landfall. It continues to rain there, prompting flood warnings.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The union says big airports are sometimes short of air traffic controllers, making either safety or service suffer. The government says overall, there are enough controllers, but admits some smaller airports may be short staffed.

WASHINGTON (AP) - An A-P-Ipsos poll suggests one-third of Americans think terrorists may be winning the war. Half of Americans question whether the costs of the anti-terror campaign are too great. And in late 2003, 67 percent thought Osama bin Laden would be caught. Now that's down to 46 percent.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Operators of underground coal mines in West Virginia are on notice that there may be something wrong with their emergency air packs. Officials say testing of nine packs carried by state mine inspectors found decay. The packs didn't have a heat-damage indicator as some now do.

UNDATED (AP) - A wildfire continues to spread in southern Montana, after burning 35 homes and other buildings. Occupants of 500 homes in Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties were told to evacuate. The wildfire has burned some 156-thousand acres. In southeast Washington state, wet and cool weather helped slow alarge fire.