AP source: Clinton to commission USS New York

By PHILIP ELLIOTT

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A White House official says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will represent the administration at Saturday's commissioning of a Navy assault ship built with steel from the felled World Trade Center towers.

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The USS New York passes is guided to her berth in New York, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 by the Ellen McAllister, left, and Rosemary McAllister tugs. The new Navy assault ship, built with World Trade Center steel, has arrived in its namesake city with a 21-gun salute near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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The new Navy assault ship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel, arrives in New York, Monday Nov. 2, 2009. The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

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The new Navy assault ship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel, passes Statue of Liberty as it arrives Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Clinton, who represented New York state before becoming President Barack Obama's top diplomat, will join the ceremony in New York City. The White House official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the schedule before it was announced to the public.

The USS New York arrived in its namesake city on Monday. The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the towers destroyed by hijacked jetliners in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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November 04, 2009 08:31 PM EST

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