Source: Clinton to commission New York

WASHINGTON (AP) - 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.

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.

Public tours of the ship began Wednesday.