Terrorist News Archives
February, 2005[Some Links May Unexpectedly Drop]
· Radioactive, Chemical Sensors Part of Daytona Racing Security. Technology to detect radioactive, biological or chemical agents in the air has been acquired to help secure the Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500 and other races. 
· New submarine can tap fiber-optic cables. The USS Jimmy Carter, set to join the nation's submarine fleet Saturday, will have some special capabilities, intelligence experts say: It will be able to tap undersea cables and eavesdrop on the communications passing through them.
· 'Mouthy' traveler gets luggage blown up. Get "snippy" with an airlines' ticket agent and you may never see your luggage again. That's the experience of Dr. Esha Khoshnu, a New Jersey psychiatrist traveling to San Diego. While changing planes in Phoenix, Khoshnu got testy at a Mesa Airlines ticket counter, reports KGTV news, saying, "If I had a bomb, you wouldn't find it."
· U.S. tourism may be casualty of war on terror. Some U.S. travel executives - including those who run Disneyland and Walt Disney World - think the government needs to do more to improve the country's image with foreign tourists who increasingly are choosing other places for their vacations.
· Bush Nominates Negroponte As Intel Chief. President Bush on Thursday named John Negroponte, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and currently the administration's top representative in Iraq, to be America's first national intelligence director.
· Officials Warn of Future Terror Attacks. Speaking with one voice, President Bush's top intelligence and military officials said terrorists are regrouping for possible new strikes against the United States. Offering few specifics on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned that the government could reasonably predict attacks would come from terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and other means.
· Teacher Instructed Students On Bomb-Making. A, Orlando, Florida high school chemistry teacher was arrested after students claimed he taught his class how to make a bomb, the sheriff's office said.
· Civil rights attorney convicted in terror trial. A New York jury on Thursday convicted U.S. attorney Lynne Stewart and two other defendants of helping terrorists and lying to the U.S. government. Stewart was found guilty of all five counts naming her, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, providing and concealing material support, and making false statements.
· Airline Pilot Accused Of Wanting To Crash Plane Into Wall Street. A United Airlines pilot who also flew for the National Guard told a woman that he wanted to crash a plane into Wall Street because some people made "easy money" there, court documents allege. Robert Feneziani, 44, of San Diego, was arrested Wednesday by FBI agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force of Western New York and charged with lying on a military application for a security clearance. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $10,000 bail.
· New Report: FAA Had 52 Warnings Before Sept. 11. Federal Aviation Administration officials received 52 warnings prior to Sept. 11, 2001, from their own security experts about potential al-Qaida attacks, including some that mentioned airline hijackings or suicide attacks.
· Security super tight for Super Bowl. As more than 80,000 fans pack Alltel Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday, dozens of state-of-the-art cameras will be focused on them -- and a team of highly trained officers will be alert for suspicious activity.
· NY-Bound Flights Get False Hijack Threats. Two Delta Air Lines Inc. flights were held briefly after landing in New York on Friday after authorities received false hijack threats, police said.
· Terrorist explosive blows up without flames. An explosive sometimes used by terrorists does not burn when it detonates. Instead, its molecules simply fall apart. The chemist who has discovered this is so concerned by its implications that he has decided to abandon this line of research.
· Families want college to cancel speaker. Families of victims of the World Trade Center attacks want an upstate New York college to cancel the speaking appearance of a controversial professor who has compared the victims to Nazis and said they got what they deserved.
· Man Accused Of Threatening Super Bowl With 'Big Bang.' A man accused of leaving voice mail on the City Council president's phone saying "killing 100,000 people would get people's attention," was arrested Thursday, accused of making a bomb threat.
· Former ambassador: U.N. funds terror. The former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations says the global body, through several of its agencies, is funding terrorist organizations.
· Boston terror threat probed. Federal and state authorities are investigating a nuclear terrorist threat against Boston after a man calling from Mexico told California police that he smuggled two Iraqis and four Chinese over the border, the Boston Herald has learned.
· Limousine Terror? As Washington gears up for the first Inaugural of the post-9/11 era, one potential security threat has emerged as a particular focus of concern: vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, or VBIEDS, possibly disguised as limousines.
· U.S. Sends BA Flight Back to Britain. U.S. authorities told a British Airways flight bound for New York to turn back because they did not want a passenger on board to land on American soil, a BA spokeswoman said on Wednesday. U.S. sources said a name on the passenger list matched a that of a suspected member of a Moroccan militant group. British police have given no details about the man.
· Cat Stevens Still Not Allowed In. U.S. Yusuf Islam is still barred from entering the United States because of intelligence that identifies him as a security threat. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the intelligence is the same and the reasons the U.S. rejected Yusuf Islam several months ago still exist.
· US Lawyer Helped Spread Terror Message. A U.S. criminal defense lawyer was part of a plot to help her militant Muslim client smuggle messages out of prison calling for a return to violence in Egypt and the killing of Jews wherever they are, a federal prosecutor said.
· Defense secretary's remark to troops fuels conspiracy theories. A comment Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made during a Christmas Eve address to U.S. troops in Baghdad has sparked new conspiracy theories about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But in his remarks, Rumsfeld referred to the "the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania."
· Hijacking Joke Causes Terror Scare. An Italian tourist aboard a flight from Sydney to Vienna caused an international security alert when he sent a joke text message from his cell phone to his wife claiming his plane had been hijacked by terrorists, the Australian government confirmed Sunday.
· Purported new bin Laden tape surfaces. A new audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden and referencing the December 6 attack on the American consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, appeared on Arabic Web sites.
· Government Says Terrorists May Use Lasers. Terrorists may seek to down aircraft by shining powerful lasers into cockpits to blind pilots during landing approaches, federal officials are warning in a bulletin distributed nationwide.
· WTC Destruction 2 Events for Insurance Purposes. A federal jury ruled Monday that the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center was two occurrences for insurance purposes, meaning leaseholder Larry Silverstein stands to collect up to $4.6 billion.
· Canadian transport minister to investigate missing airport uniforms. More than 1,000 airport security uniforms and parts of uniforms were lost or stolen, and nearly 100 security badges went missing over a nine-month period.
· Jet Searched in L.A. for Missing Explosives. Police at Paris' top airport lost track of a passenger's bag in which plastic explosives were placed to train bomb-sniffing dogs, police said Saturday. Warned that the bag may have gotten on any of nearly 90 flights from Charles de Gaulle, authorities searched planes upon arrival in Los Angeles and New York.
· Wife of $149 million winner wants out of marriage. Juan Rodriguez, who collected a $149 million windfall in the Mega Millions lottery last month, is now on the outs with his wife, the New York Post reported Saturday. Iris Rodriguez wants a divorce from her husband of 17 years, and she filed the paperwork just 10 days after Juan bought the winning ticket on November 19.
· First U.S. Muslim TV Channel Hits Airwaves. new Muslim-oriented cable television network is broadcasting from Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday presenting news coverage, dramas, children's shows, classic movies, and programs about food, travel and culture.
· Al Qaeda's Zawahri Says Will Keep Fighting U.S. Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a videotape broadcast Monday al Qaeda would continue to attack the United States until Washington changed its policies toward the Muslim world.
· Kerry Says UBL Tape Cost Him Election. John Kerry believes he lost to President Bush because of the video from Usama bin Laden that surfaced just days before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
· Mike: Let WTC illegals stay. Mayor Bloomberg urging President Bush to let relatives of illegal immigrants killed at Ground Zero remain in the United States without fear of being deported.
· Terror Alert for Financial Institutions Lowered. Federal authorities lowered the terror alert status for areas around financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J., saying Wednesday that additional security precautions had reduced the threat.
· 9/11 Compensation Totals $38.1 Billion. Victims of the Sept. 11 attacks received $38.1 billion in compensation, with insurance companies picking up the largest portion of the tab, according to a study released Monday.
· U.S. Unsure if Election Terror Plot Foiled. More than 700 people were arrested on immigration violations and thousands more subjected to FBI interviews in an intense government effort to avert a terrorist attack aimed at disrupting the election.
· Osama's deadly warning to 'red' states. Osama bin Laden warned in his October Surprise video that he will be closely monitoring the state-by-state election returns in tomorrow's presidential race — and will spare any state that votes against President Bush from being attacked, according to a new analysis of his statement.
· Osama kin smells money. Forget Chanel No. 5. The next big thing may be "Bin Ladin 9/11." Though that's not the name of the new fragrance being touted by Yeslam Bin Ladin, Osama Bin Laden's big brother, he's hoping to cash in on the notoriety of the Sept. 11 attacks.
· Feds Decide Against Raising Terror Alert. U.S. officials decided against raising the nation's terror alert after two tapes surfaced this week, one from Usama bin Laden and the other from a man who identified himself as "Azzam the American."
· CNN Calls President Bush & First Lady 'Asshole.' In a not-so-surprising move on the part of CNN employees, they placed images of President Bush and his wife Laura on their homepage, and named the photo images asshole.jpg and moron.jpg.
· Bin Laden Condemns Bush, Says New Attacks Possible. Osama bin Laden burst into the U.S. election campaign on Saturday, releasing his first video tape in more than a year to deride President Bush and warn of possible new Sept. 11-style attacks.
· Utah Students Charged in School-Bomb Plot. Two students were charged Friday in an alleged plot to bomb the commons of their high school in eastern Utah and kill classmates and teachers.
· American Muslim scumbag speaks out. A Muslim man wearing dark glasses and an Arab headdress said "The magnitude and ferocity of what is coming your way will make you forget all about September 11th,” the man calling himself "Azzam the American” says on the video. “After decades of American tyranny and oppression, now it's your turn to die. Allah willing, the streets of America will run red with blood, matching drop for drop the blood of America's victims.”
· Al-Jazeera Says Will Play Bin Laden Tape. The Arab television station Al-Jazeera said Friday it would broadcast a tape from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on an evening newscast.
· 'Azzam the American' Threatens U.S. A man wearing dark glasses and an Arab headdress wrapped around his face claims to be an American member of Al Qaeda and promises attacks that will make the streets of America "run red with blood" in a video aired Thursday night.
· Kerry: Color 'em gone. John Kerry ridiculed President Bush's color-coded terror alert system and his wartime leadership yesterday as both candidates abandoned their domestic issue scripts to trade insults on national security.
· FBI Investigating Punctures Found In US Airways Jets. The FBI is investigating whether someone intentionally punched small holes in the bellies of two US Airways airliners. Airline officials described the holes as similar to those made by a screwdriver and said the punctures were unlikely to be caused by normal wear and tear.
· Turning a corner 3 years after 9/11. The "help wanted" signs are back up all across New York. After three long and painful years, the city's job market is humming, with 51,000 new jobs created this year in the private sector and another 70,000 expected in 2005.
· Report faults TSA spending. The government agency in charge of airport security spent nearly a half-million dollars on an “unnecessarily expensive” awards ceremony at a lavish hotel, including $81,000 for plaques and $500 for cheese displays, according to an internal report obtained by The Associated Press.
· Mayor slams fed terror funding. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken his shots at Wyoming and American Samoa for getting more than their fair share of homeland security funding - and now he's fixing an icy glare on Alaska.
· Sen. Dayton closes Capitol Hill office over terror worries. A Democratic senator said he will close his Capitol Hill office until after the November 2 election, fearing a possible terrorist attack that could harm his staff or visitors.
· Mathematicians Offer Help in Terror Fight. A small group of thinking men and women convened at Rutgers University last month to consider how order theory - a branch of abstract mathematics that deals with hierarchical relationships - could be applied to the war on terror.
· U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat. The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.
· Is US buying up Terror Town? The United States Department of Homeland Security is buying a tiny town in the western state of New Mexico to turn it into a lab for terrorism response training.
· Families Hold Memorial for 9/11 Victims. On the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, dignitaries, community leaders and relatives of victims stood at ground zero and gave voice to the names of the dead. Last year, the children of victims took up that task.
» Pain still fresh for 9/11 kin. The first year they were numb. The second they gathered enough strength to pull what was left of their families together. Now it's the third anniversary and the anguish of life forever without their husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, children and grandchildren has become painfully real.
» Nobody's raising cash for memorial. Eight months after the World Trade Center memorial design was unveiled, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have yet to find a prominent person willing to lead the foundation that's raising the money to build it.
· Four governors sent letters rigged with matches. Governor's offices in at least four states received letters Thursday that contained matches rigged to burn when the envelopes were opened, authorities said.
· Hijackers Force Plane to Land in Sudan. Hijackers forced a plane carrying about 70 Eritreans from Libya to land in the Sudanese capital on Friday before surrendering to security forces, according to a U.N. refugee agency official.
· Explosives Found in Jet Wreckage. Traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of one of two airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously earlier this week, the Federal Security Service said Friday, a day after a top official acknowledged that terrorism was the most likely cause of the crashes.
· Toy In Candy Bag Appears To Depict 9/11 Attack. A bag of candy shocked a local grandmother and will most likely shock you. The toy inside looks like a plane flying right into the Twin Towers. It doesn't stop there, though. That grandmother was surprised, again, when she read the numbers imprinted on the toy.
» Group claims responsibility for Russian jet crashes. A website known for militant Muslim comment today published a claim of responsibility for the crashes of two Russian airliners, connecting the action to Russia's fight against separatists in Chechnya.
· Russia Seeks Cause of Deadly Jet Crashes. A Russian airliner crashed and another apparently broke up in the air almost simultaneously after taking off from the same airport, killing all 89 people aboard and raising fears of a terrorist attack.
· British Police Charge 8 in Terror Roundup. Police on Tuesday charged eight men with conspiracy to murder and other terrorist offenses, two weeks after they were rounded up in raids connected to a sweep in Pakistan and terror alerts in the United States.
· Federal Agents Raid Mosque in Albany. Federal agents and Albany police raided a Muslim mosque overnight Wednesday and arrested two men for helping someone they thought was a terrorist, a law enforcement official said.
· Terror attack to be in early September. More financial institutions than previously disclosed may be at risk of attack, and an al-Qaida operative has told British intelligence that the group's target date is to hit the U.S. in early September, intelligence sources said yesterday.
· Terror Threat Level Hiked in N.Y., N.J. and D.C. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the threat alert level Sunday for the financial sectors in Washington, D.C., New York and northern New Jersey.
· Terrorists welcome at ACLU. The ACLU withdrew Saturday from a program that allows federal workers and military personnel to contribute to charities because it requires participating nonprofit groups to check their employees' names against a government watch list of suspected terrorists.
· First victim died a hero on Flight 11. The man who was likely the first killed in the 9/11 attacks was a veteran Israeli commando and dot-com millionaire who died fighting to stop ringleader Mohamed Atta from taking over his plane.
· 9/11 Report to Dispel Myths, Offer Lessons. The Sept. 11 commission has long been vocal about the government's mishandling of terror-related intelligence prior to the attacks, but its final report will contain several significant revelations.
· Cops rip judge: 'It's giving an open door to terrorists.' NYPD cops blasted a federal judge's ruling aimed at stopping them from searching demonstrators' bags outside the Republican National Convention, saying the decision gives "an open door to terrorists."
· Heathrow anti-terror plans "found in road." Police have launched an inquiry into how a secret police dossier went missing that according to a newspaper report contained counter-terrorist plans for Heathrow airport. The dossier, found lying in a road, showed 62 sites at the airport where al Qaeda was most likely to launch anti-aircraft missile strikes, the London Sun said in its Monday edition.
· CIA's Acting Chief Says Threat Highest Since 9/11. The terrorist threat against the United States in the run-up to the November election is as serious as at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said.
· Ridge warns of higher terror risk before election. There is an increased risk of a large-scale terrorist attack against the United States by al-Qaida prior to the Nov. 2 election “in an effort to disrupt our democratic process,” Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday, citing “credible” but non-specific intelligence.
· Plane that caused Capitol evacuation nearly shot down. The top general at the North American Aerospace Defense Command was on the telephone and prepared to order an F-16 fighter to shoot down an unidentified plane that turned out to be carrying the governor of Kentucky to President Ronald Reagan's funeral last month, according to two federal security officials briefed separately about the incident.
· Officials Warn of Summer Terror Threats. The United States made it through the July 4th weekend without a terror incident but there's still a long, hot summer ahead and U.S. officials say they know that Al Qaeda is determined to strike.
· FBI Warns Police to Be on Alert for July 4 Attacks. The FBI on Thursday warned police of potential July 4 attacks by al Qaeda using tactics like assault teams, car bombs and suicide bombs, although it said it had no credible threat for the holiday.
· Coke's Global Positioning Device Not Welcome In Secure Areas. A soft-drink company's promotion offering prizes to customers who buy special cans equipped with a global positioning device has raised concerns at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
· FBI warns of possible deadly floating material. The FBI issued a warning last week for state and local authorities to be on the lookout for booby-trapped floating material in and around the nation's marinas, warning they could contain explosives.
· How the bad guys won. Chaos and confusion followed the catastrophe. The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks yesterday laid bare the failures and foulups after Al Qaeda pierced America's defenses, and played a recording of head hijacker Mohamed Atta's voice for the first time.
· 9/11 panel member: Myths will be dispelled. A member of the commission investigating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks says "a number of urban myths about 9/11" will be dispelled.
· Al Qaeda Originally Envisioned Plot With 10 Jets. The terrorist attacks carried out on Sept. 11, 2001, were originally envisioned as an even more spectacular assault involving 10 jetliners on the east and west coasts, but the plan was scaled back and was nearly derailed on several occasions by setbacks and squabbling among senior al Qaeda officials, according to a new report released this morning.
· Internet attack wipes out Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, and Apple. Huge Internet backbone firm, Akamai called it a "large scale international attack on the Internet's infrastructure". Akamai said the attack was primarily aimed at the large search engines - of which it runs the three largest, Yahoo!, Google and Lycos - which meant that people were unable to access the sites.
· 9-11 fund approaches deadline. Officials overseeing the fund set up to settle victims' claims from the September 11 attacks will make their final decisions Tuesday for awarding money to those injured or killed.
· Ashcroft forgets to tell Homeland Security Dept. of security threat. The Homeland Security Department was surprised by the announcement Wednesday by Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller that a terrorist attack was increasingly likely in the coming months, officials said.
· Al Qaeda eying attack this summer. Al Qaeda operatives or their terror allies may have infiltrated the U.S. with plans to launch a major attack this summer, counterterror officials warned yesterday.
· McDonald's Targeted in Two Bomb Plots. McDonald's was targeted in bomb plots Thursday in Turkey and Italy, with a small bomb damaging cars in a parking lot in Istanbul and firefighters defusing two explosives outside an outlet in Rome.
· FBI warns of possible suicide attacks. The FBI is warning state and local partners to be on the alert for suicide bombers.
· Rocket Launcher Found Near Atlanta Train Station. A military rocket launcher was found Tuesday near a rail-transit station just outside Atlanta. The shoulder-held launcher was found by the Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA station west of Atlanta by transit employees around 2 p.m., said Gene Wilson, MARTA police chief.
· New evidence of Saddam link to 9-11. New evidence about a meeting in Prague between September 11 plot leader Mohamed Atta and Iraqi intelligence officer Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani has been uncovered, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.
· Oregon attorney held in connection with Madrid bombings. A lawyer in Portland, Oregon, has been taken into custody by the FBI in connection with the March 11 terror attacks in Madrid, law enforcement sources say.
· Oregon Man Arrested in Madrid Bombings Probe. A Portland, Ore., man was arrested by FBI agents Thursday as part of the investigation into the deadly train bombings in Spain, federal officials said.
· L.A.-Dulles flight seen as terror target. Federal officials have pinpointed an airline flight from Los Angeles to Washington as a potential terrorist target in the past two weeks and have begun scrutinizing the flight crew's luggage and using security agents to follow pilots preparing for the flight.
· UN bans WMD sales to terrorists. The United Nations Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution aimed at keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists.
· Feds issue terror warning for L.A. mall. A terrorism task force was investigating an "uncorroborated" threat to a Los Angeles area shopping mall where federal officials say an attack may have been planned for Thursday.
· Miami Airport Checkpoint Closed After Security Officers Get Ill. A security checkpoint at Miami International Airport was shut down Saturday when six federal workers became ill, officials said.
· Public or Private, Airports Still Not Secure. Three years after President Bush signed legislation federalizing airport security, all airports will be able to return to private baggage screeners, a plan that some officials say is premature considering the long way security still has to go at U.S. airports.
· Bin Laden Shows Resilience Despite U.S. Reassurances. The nation's top counterterrorism and intelligence officials have reassured Congress repeatedly about the significantly diminished capabilities of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
· Former NFL Great Pat Tillman Killed in Afghanistan. 'Gave up millions in the NFL to become Elite Army Ranger.' Former NFL player Pat Tillman was killed in action while serving in the elite Army Rangers on duty in Afghanistan.
· NORAD exercise had jet crashing into building. Sometime between 1991 and 2001, a regional sector of the North American Aerospace Defense Command simulated a foreign hijacked airliner crashing into a building in the United States as part of training exercise scenario, a NORAD spokesman said.
· Oklahoma City Bomb Anniversary. Nine years after the Oklahoma City bombing, survivors and victims' relatives gathered to grieve again while bombing conspirator Terry Nichols hoped to avoid death row for his role in the blast.
· 'Al-Qa'eda plot would have killed 20,000.' Terrorists linked to al-Qa'eda were poised to detonate a chemical bomb in the heart of Jordan's capital, Amman, that would have killed 20,000 people and contaminated a large area, it emerged yesterday.
· NORAD had drills of jets as weapons. In the two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, the North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted exercises simulating what the White House says was unimaginable at the time: hijacked airliners used as weapons to crash into targets and cause mass casualties.
· FBI Warns of Stolen French Passports. Nearly 10,000 blank French passports were stolen in February, leading the FBI to warn U.S. law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout.
· 'Bin Laden' Offers Europe Truce. In a recording broadcast on Arab satellite networks Thursday, a man who identified himself as Usama bin Laden offered a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers leave Islamic nations.
· Student Goes on Trial for Web Terror Charges. A Saudi graduate student accused of setting up Web sites to help Islamic militants recruit followers went on trial Tuesday in a key test of a Patriot Act provision that bars the giving of expert advice to terrorist groups.
· Charge Reduced in Hidden Box Cutter Incident. Prosecutors have reduced the charges against a college student accused of hiding box cutters on four airliners last year to expose weaknesses in airport security.
· White House releases bin Laden memo. The White House declassified and released Saturday the daily intelligence briefing delivered to President Bush a month before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
· Rice Defends Bush Pre-9/11 Terror Plans. Under contentious questioning, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testified Thursday "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented" the deadly terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and disputed suggestions that President Bush failed to focus on the threat of strikes in advance.
· New al-Qaida plot to burn U.S. forests. An Arabic-language jihadi website posted a message purporting to be "al-Qaida’s plan of economic attack" on the U.S. that included setting forest fires.
· Hamburg Releases Only Convicted Sept. 11 Plotter. A Hamburg court ordered the release Wednesday of the only Sept. 11 suspect ever convicted, his lawyers' offices said, following last month's overturning of a guilty verdict against him on charges of aiding the suicide pilots.
· Police lose track of 'suicide bomber' as radios fail in subway. Police lost track of a suspected suicide bomber because their radios do not work on London Underground. After an anonymous tip-off that an Asian man was on his way to detonate a suicide bomb, officers located the suspect as he entered a Tube station.
· Fla. Airport Getting Luggage Tracking Technology. Jacksonville International Airport will be one of the first in the country to track luggage with radio frequency identification tags, which officials believe will increase security and help reduce the number of lost bags.
· Three Madrid Suspects Killed in Blast. Three suspects in the Madrid terror bombings blew themselves up Saturday in a building surrounded by police, according to Spain's Interior Minister.
· Plot Twarted: 26-Pound Bomb Found on Madrid Rail Line. A Spanish railroad inspector found a 26-pound bomb hidden in a bag on a busy high-speed line Friday, and police said the device may contain the same dynamite used in last month's Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people.
· Feds Warn of Transit Terror Attacks. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent out warnings Thursday night saying there is uncorroborated information pointing to possible attacks on buses and trains, specifically, near major U.S. cities.
· U.S. now regards terror threat to Olympics as military challenge. The United States now sees securing the Olympic Games in Greece as a military challenge that will require NATO participation.
· Most not prepared for attack. Most Americans have not followed the government's advice to prepare for terrorism by stocking food and water, making a plan to contact family members and identifying a "safe room" in their homes, a poll shows.
· Bomb threat prompts search at 4 U.S. airports. A bomb threat prompted searches Tuesday of four Northwest Airlines planes at airports in Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, and Memphis, Tennessee.
· Chicago, L.A. towers were next targets. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, al Qaeda's purported operations chief, has told U.S. interrogators that the group had been planning attacks on the Library Tower in Los Angeles and the Sears Tower in Chicago on the heels of the September 11, 2001, terror strikes.
· Terror bombs seized. A major terrorist attack on London has been foiled when hundreds of officers swooped on suspected al Qaeda terrorists equipped with half a ton of ammonium nitrate - the same bomb-making material used in the Bali nightclub blast.
· FBI Warns Texas Oil Refineries of Possible Attack. The FBI warned the Texas oil industry that it may be a target of possible terror attacks, but the agency has no specific, corroborated details about any potential threats, FBI officials said.
· Explosive Found in French Railway Bed. A French railroad worker found an explosive device buried in the bed of a passenger line between France and Switzerland on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said.
· Bush, Clinton Aides Set for 9/11 Hearing. A federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks says a two-day hearing will focus on the Bush and Clinton administrations' failed response to the threat from al-Qaida amid new allegations that Bush officials didn't do enough to prevent the tragedy.
· Ridge announces train security plans. Calling the March 11 Madrid bombings "a solemn reminder that terrorists continue to exploit our vulnerabilities," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced a series of initiatives to improve train and subway security.
· Al-Qaida No. 2: We Have Briefcase Nukes. In an interview scheduled to be televised on Monday, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said Ayman al-Zawahri claimed that "smart briefcase bombs" were available on the black market. It was not clear when the interview between Mir and al-Zawahri took place.
· White House dismisses former adviser's charges. The White House is dismissing as a "red herring" charges from the administration's former counter-terrorism coordinator that President Bush has been more focused on Iraq than al Qaeda.
· Terror Cases Expected To Cause Surge In Witness Protection. The witness protection program is entering a new phase, with people who testify in terrorism cases expected to join the Mafia henchmen, motorcycle gang members and drug dealers who receive changed identities courtesy of the government.
· 'Attack on London is inevitable.' London's police chief warned yesterday of the ever-widening terrorist threat to the capital, stressing that bombers could strike not just on the rail or tube network but virtually anywhere - pubs, nightclubs, buses or roads.
· Nations ask: Are we next terror target? From Poland to Australia, countries with troops in Iraq fear they could be the next terrorist target as signs increase that Islamic extremists were behind last week's carnage in Spain.
· Officials Worry of Pre-Election Attack. Even before the bombings in Madrid, White House officials were worrying that terrorists might strike the United States before the November elections.
· Madrid Suspect Had Ties to 9-11. Months before bombs tore through commuter trains in Spain, authorities had suspicions about Jamal Zougam - a Moroccan being questioned in the worst terrorist attack in Europe since World War II.
· Al Qaeda behind bombings. Spanish police are analysing a video tape that claims the Madrid train bombings were carried out by al Qaeda.
· Five Arrested in Madrid Train Bombings. Spain arrested three Moroccans and two Indians on Saturday in connection with the Madrid train bombings, the strongest indication yet of a possible Islamic link to the attack on one of Washington's staunchest allies in Iraq.
· Homeland Security Issues Transit Alert. Homeland Security officials issued a bulletin advising state officials, police and transit and rail agencies to be vigilant in light of the bombings in Spain.
· Fines Against Passengers Draw Fire. Susan Brown Campbell doesn’t consider herself a threat to the friendly skies. But a steak knife mistakenly left in her shoulder bag before a July flight from Baltimore thrust her in the position of defending herself to federal security officials — and slapped with a $300 fine.
· Al Qaeda Said to Be Behind Spain Attacks. Al Qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in Madrid Thursday that left at least 190 people dead and 1,240 wounded, just three days before Spain's general elections.
· Madrid Train Terror Blasts Kill 190. Ten terrorist bombs tore through trains and stations along a commuter line at the height of Madrid's morning rush hour Thursday, killing 190 people and wounding 1,240 others before this weekend's general elections. Officials blamed Basque separatists for the worst terrorist attack in Spanish history.
· Maryland Woman Accused Of Spying For Iraq. An American woman is under arrest - on charges that she spied for Saddam Hussein's government.
· Security Gates Going Up At Disneyland. Reality is [finally] coming to Disneyland's fantasy world, in the form of permanent security gates. Bowing to terrorism fears, the Walt Disney Co. plans to build the gates at the Disneyland Resort next fall.
· Tenet warns of al Qaeda's 'spectacular attacks' plans. CIA Director George J. Tenet warned Congress yesterday that the threat of al Qaeda terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction is growing and the group continues planning "spectacular attacks" against the United States and its allies.
· Sentencing set in missing plague case. A former Texas Tech University professor who started a bioterrorism scare when he reported plague bacteria missing last year should be sentenced to probation and community service for his crimes, his lawyers said.
· Hijacker of Achille Lauro dead. Abu Abbas, head of a Palestinian splinter group, who masterminded the 1985 hijacking of an Italian passenger ship in which an American tourist was killed, has died in U.S. custody in Iraq, Palestinian officials said.
· High-tech snooping for bin Laden. U.S. forces searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan will soon implement high-tech surveillance tactics in the region, enabling them to monitor the area 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
· Terrorists May Use Pen Guns, FBI Warns. The FBI is warning that terrorists could potentially use pens filled with cartridges of poison as weapons, according to a recent FBI bulletin.
· Retrial ordered for 9/11 suspect. A German appeals court has ordered a retrial of the only person convicted in connection with the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
· Man Nabbed for Jumping White House Fence. A man yelling "I'm a victim of terrorism" jumped a fence and ran across the North Lawn at the White House on Wednesday before being caught by Secret Service officers.
· Bin Laden Lieutenant Taunts Bush on Tape. Audiotapes purported to be from Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant aired on Arabic TV stations Tuesday, one taunting President Bush and threatening more attacks on the United States, the second criticizing France's decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools.
· Six security screeners curious about their brains face disciplinary actions for misconduct. A security screener at Denver International Airport has been reprimanded and several others at airports across the country put on administrative leave for sending their bodies through checkpoint x-ray machines to see what their brains look like.
· 9/11 Panel Probing 1999 Tip on Hijacker. The federal commission reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks is examining whether the United States failed to aggressively track one of the hijackers after obtaining his first name and phone number more than two years before the attacks.
· U.S. terror watch list keeps eye on all groups. The U.S. master terror watch list, used to stop suspected terrorists from entering the country, includes not only suspected al Qaeda members but other suspects from a wide spectrum of organizations around the world, a top federal law enforcement official says.
· Airline passengers to face fines. Anyone trying to sneak a knife onto an airplane could be fined $250 and a passenger with an explosive could get as much as $10,000 under new guidelines.
· Controversial Terror Research Lives On. The government is still financing research to create powerful tools that could mine millions of public and private records for information about terrorists despite an uproar last year over fears it might ensnare innocent Americans.
· Report claims Bin Laden 'surrounded.' A British newspaper is claiming Osama bin Laden has been found and is surrounded by US special forces in an area of land bordering north-west Pakistan and Afghanistan.
· Leaked Pentagon report warns climate change may bring famine, war. A secret report prepared by the Pentagon warns that climate change may lead to global catastrophe costing millions of lives and is a far greater threat than terrorism.
· Diverted flight passenger charged over hoax. A man who claimed he was being abducted - leading to the diversion of a Moroccan jetliner after it left a New York airport - was charged Friday evening with making false statements to the FBI, a statement from the Justice Department said.
· New Radical Islamic Terror Tape Surfaces. A new videotape has surfaced on the Internet from a radical Islamic group claiming to be directly tied to Al Qaeda in Iraq.
· Japan Takes Security Alert To Highest Against Possible Terror. Japan raised its terror alert to its highest level on Friday, mobilizing heavily armed police around airports, nuclear plants and government offices to guard against a possible attack, an official said.
· Air Scare Mystery: 'I've Been Captured.' Federal authorities tried Friday to unravel the story of a Chicago investment banker who vanished on Valentine's Day, may have gone to New York and then reappeared Thursday night on a Morocco-bound flight, where he claimed he had been kidnapped by Al Qaeda.
· Islamic extremists invade U.S., join sleeper cells. Islamic radicals are being trained at terrorist camps in Pakistan and Kashmir as part of a conspiracy to send hundreds of operatives to "sleeper cells" in the United States, according to U.S. and foreign officials.
· Battle over Twin Towers insurance. A US federal jury has begun hearing a case to decide whether the leaseholder of the World Trade Center can claim insurance for one attack or two.
· 18,000 Airport Screeners Didn't Get Background Checks. A new report revealed that thousands of airport screeners didn't get required background checks.
· German Court Acquits Alleged 9/11 Helper. A Moroccan man accused of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers was acquitted by a Hamburg court Thursday following a 5-month trial that was only the second trial ever of a suspect in those terrorist attacks carried out by Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.
· Police Probing White Powder Found in Senate Building. A white, powdery substance found in a Senate office building Monday has tested positive for a hazardous substance in preliminary test, U.S. Capitol police said.
· Lady Liberty's stairwells may never be full again. The Statue of Liberty has been closed since 9/11, longer than any time since its dedication in 1886 due to terrorist concerns.
· 'Credible threat' cancels flight to Houston. A Continental Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Houston was canceled today after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security advised the airline of a "credible threat" that terrorists might target the flight.
· U.S. attacked on air data privacy. The United States, which is gathering personal data of millions of air travellers in a bid to fight terrorism, does not do enough to protect privacy rights of non-U.S. citizens, EU privacy watchdogs say.
· British Airways Cancels 3 U.S. Flights. British Airways (BAB) has canceled three flights from Heathrow Airport to Washington, D.C., and Miami because of security concerns, the airline said.
· European Airliners Again Target of Threats. New intelligence indicates that British Airways flights from London to Washington and Air France flights from Paris to an unspecified U.S. city could be terrorist targets, U.S. officials said.
· Panel Reveals U.S. Missteps Ahead of 9/11. At a two-day hearing this week, the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks revealed U.S. authorities had numerous opportunities to stop the hijackers, including many face-to-face encounters.
· Cyanide, arsenal stirs domestic terror fear. William Krar and Judith Bruey assembled a frightening arsenal in three rented storage units in this East Texas town, and federal authorities are trying to figure out why.
· FBI, DHS Warn of Possible Subway, Rail Attacks. There is a continuing terrorist threat against U.S. subways and railways, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said in a bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies.
· NASA Says Second Mars Rover Experiencing Problems. As NASA scientists pored over striking new photos from Mars revealing finely layered formations of ancient bedrock, engineers labored on Tuesday to diagnose problems with two robotic rovers on opposite sides of the Red Planet.
· Agency to Offer Free Cyber Alerts. Aiming to increase Internet security, the government is now offering Americans free cyber alerts and computer advice from the Homeland Security Department.
· 9/11 commission hears flight attendant's phone call. The flight attendant's voice was calm and composed, but her telephoned words to the American Airlines operations center the morning of September 11, 2001, were chilling.
· Hijackers said to use mace, knives. The hijackers of Sept. 11, 2001, blasted mace or pepper spray at flight crew members and passengers to keep them away from the cockpits and wielded knives in their orchestrated takeovers of the aircraft, according to a report issued yesterday by the commission investigating the attacks.
· 9-11 Panel: Hijack Scenario Downplayed. The Federal Aviation Administration focused on the danger of explosives aboard planes rather than a suicide hijacking before the Sept. 11 attacks even though its own security officers warned terrorists might try to crash an airliner, a federal panel said.
· Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional. A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations.
· Sept. 11 Panel Explores Border Security. Some of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were allowed into the country despite carrying fraudulent visas and being questioned by customs agents, an independent commission investigating the terrorist attacks said Monday in releasing new details about the attack.
· Woman passes airport security with stun gun, knife. A woman passed through security screening at New York's LaGuardia Airport with a stun gun and knife in her purse - but later discovered the mistake herself and alerted authorities.
· Cell Phones That Kill. A mobile phone that masquerades as a gun may sound like a device concocted for 007, but it's the latest hidden weaponry to show up on the radar of law-enforcement folks.
· Getaway Gunman Shoots Chemical Plant Guard. A security guard at a BASF Corp. chemical plant was shot in the shoulder Saturday after he approached a suspicious truck and talked to a man of Middle Eastern descent who said he had been taking pictures.
· Cheney: Direct threats require 'decisive action.' Democratic nations must join together to fight terrorism and the spread of the world's most dangerous weapons, but if diplomacy fails, they must be prepared to use force, Vice President Dick Cheney said.
· Al Qaida is 70 percent gone, their 'days are numbered.' "The Al Qaida of the 9/11 period is under catastrophic stress," State Department counter-terrorism coordinator Cofer Black said. "They are being hunted down, their days are numbered."
· Officials suspect detainee may be 20th hijacker. A prisoner at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is among a handful of people suspected of being the so-called 20th al Qaeda hijacker planned for the September 11 attacks.
· Sept. 11 Fund Claims Top 98 Percent. Ninety-eight percent of the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have applied for federal compensation, the special master of a government fund said.
· Passenger jets intercepted 1,700 times since 9/11. U.S. and Canadian military aircraft have scrambled nearly 1,700 times to intercept or divert suspicious aircraft since Sept. 11, 2001, but routine drills illustrate how attackers could penetrate the airspace around the U.S. capital.
· Park Police Bomb Their Terrorism Test. In broad daylight on Sept. 11, 2003, somebody deposited what could have been a "dirty bomb" at the Washington Monument. U.S. Park Police never noticed.
· New Intelligence Source on Al Qaeda Led to Orange Alert. The nation's terror alert level was raised to orange in the weeks leading up to the holiday season because of threats that Al Qaeda was possibly looking to use explosives on Air France flights.
· Plane Diverts to Dulles Because of Bomb Threat. The FBI took one passenger into custody Saturday after an American Airlines commuter flight was diverted to Washington's Dulles International Airport (search) because of a security threat.
· U.S. to Lower Terror Alert Level. The U.S. will lower the national terror alert level from "high" to "elevated" on Friday, a Homeland Security official said.
· 'Dirty Bomb' Was Major New Year's Worry. With huge New Year's Eve celebrations and college football bowl games only days away, the U.S. government last month dispatched scores of casually dressed nuclear scientists with sophisticated radiation detection equipment hidden in briefcases and golf bags to scour five major U.S. cities for radiological, or "dirty," bombs, according to officials involved in the emergency effort.
· Memorial to 9/11 Victims Is Selected. A design consisting of two reflecting pools and a paved stone field has been chosen for the World Trade Center memorial after an eight-month international competition that drew more than 5,000 entries.
· Saudi charged for firecrackers in luggage. A Saudi man is facing federal felony charges after three small "firecracker-type" pyrotechnic devices were found during a search of his backpack after he arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts.
· U.S. Begins Foreign Visitor-Tracking Program. Foreigners entering the United States through airports and seaports began getting their fingerprints scanned and photographs taken Monday as part of a new U.S. initiative to protect the homeland from terrorists.
· Bin Laden Tape Blasts U.S., Saddam, Palestinians. The voice on an audiotape calling for Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East is likely that of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden.
· Cities Work to Secure New Year's Celebrations. As cities and states across the country prepare to ring in the New Year while the country is on high alert, some homeland security actions are more visible than others.
· Drunk Woman Allegedly Tries to Choke Air Marshal. A woman allegedly tried to choke a federal air marshal after she became disruptive on a flight from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis, authorities said.
· Final Set of WTC Transcripts Released. Minutes after hijackers slammed planes into the World Trade Center, police alerted airport control towers that they considered it "a criminal act," prompting flight restrictions that quickly spread across the nation, according to newly released transcripts.
· U.S. to Put Air Marshals on Some Overseas Flights. With the terror alert level still at high, U.S. government officials announced Monday they are requiring armed, trained air marshals on some international airlines that fly over the United States.
· FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs. The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.
· Grandmother Charged With Carrying Gun At Orlando Airport. A grandmother charged with carrying a loaded pistol through security lines at Orlando International Airport says it was an accident.
· France warning tipped off terrorists. One or more terror suspects may have escaped due to a premature disclosure in France of the security concerns behind the cancellation of Christmas flights to Los Angeles, U.S. officials said yesterday.
· Feds Eye New Year's Terror Possibilities. U.S. counterterrorism officials are turning their attention to New Year's celebrations with bioweapons monitors in place and special disaster-response teams activated.
· U.S. wants to question Air France no-shows. U.S. officials say investigators would like to talk to people who did not show up for the postponed Air France flights - and are still interested in 13 passengers who were interviewed by French authorities, and were on U.S. terror watch lists.
· After Year of Push and Pull, 2 Visions Meet at 1,776 Feet. "The [new WTC] design was enhanced, and the master plan was better served by enforcing the spirit of consensus," said Mr. Rampe, the development corporation president.
· Suspicious Passengers Questioned In France. "The only big city near this route is Las Vegas, which they would consider a nice, attractive target," one informed government official said. But officials said Los Angeles could have been the target, too.
· Security Concerns Force Flight Cancellations from France. Six commercial flights from Paris to Los Angeles were canceled Wednesday because of security concerns, French officials said.
· Man Arrested With Blades In Shoes At Fla. Airport. A man carrying a razor blade and a hacksaw blade in his shoe was arrested at Miami International Airport as he tried to pass through security checks Monday, Miami-Dade police said.
· Nation's Threat Level Rises to Orange. The government on Sunday raised the national threat level to orange, indicating a high risk of terrorist attack, and said threat indicators are "perhaps greater now than at any point" since Sept. 11, 2001, with strikes possible during the holidays.
· 9/11 Chairman: Attack Was Preventable. For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented.
· Signal jammers saved President Musharraf. Special security equipment installed in vehicles in the motorcade of President Pervez Musharraf saved his life when a bridge was blown up just after he crossed it.
· Baggage screeners find gunpowder in bag, let man board flight. A man who packed gunpowder and a fuse in his bags was allowed to board his flight when airport security officials accepted his explanation that the unusual materials were used for his harmless hobby of shooting golf balls out of cannons.
· Saddam Hussein Captured by U.S. Troops. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was captured in a farmhouse cellar by U.S. troops during a raid near Tikrit, U.S. officials said in a news conference in Baghdad today.
· 9-11 chief trained by Saddam. Mohammed Atta, the hijacker believed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was trained in Baghdad by Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, claims Iraq's coalition government.
· First Steel Beam Goes Up at WTC. The first steel beam that will support the weight of office space was erected Thursday at 7 World Trade Center. The occasion marked the first beam of its type to be raised since the 9/11 attacks.
· Teen Convicted in Threat Against Statue of Liberty. A juvenile court judge Wednesday convicted a 17-year-old boy of committing an act of terrorism by threatening to blow up the Statue of Liberty.
· Documents Destroyed in Terror Case Against Professor. Trying to cut down on clutter, clerks at a federal courthouse accidentally destroyed search warrants in the case of a University of South Florida professor charged with aiding terrorists.
· French video game outrages WTC victims. Families of Sept. 11 victims are outraged by a French Internet video game in which players shoot down passenger jets before they hit the World Trade Center towers.
· Part of Anti-Terror Law Overturned. In a potential blow to the Bush administration's legal strategy in the war on terror, a federal appeals court overturned part of a sweeping law the government has increasingly used to arrest or prosecute suspected terrorists.
· U.S. Arab Population Is Surging. The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to the Census Bureau's first report on the group.
· Sept. 11 Commission to Get New York's 911 Records. The federal commission studying the Sept. 11 attacks reached an agreement with New York City Wednesday that will give the panel access to unedited 911 tapes and transcripts of firefighter interviews.
· French magazine publishes photos of attack on DHL plane in Iraq. French weekly magazine, Paris Match, is to publish exclusive pictures of what it says are Iraqi rebels launching a missile attack on a German DHL cargo plane over Baghdad that led to a shutdown of commercial air traffic to the Iraqi capital.
· Security Sweep Nets More Than 25 Suspects in U.S. Embassy Bombing. More than 25 key suspects have reportedly been arrested in connection with Al Qaeda's deadly 1998 car bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
· Official: Al-Qaeda plans something big. A top counterterrorism official says al-Qaeda operatives dropped plans this year for several small attacks in the USA to focus on plotting a "more spectacular" assault comparable to the Sept. 11 attacks.
· Angry granny scrambles fighter jets at Miami airport. Fighter jets were scrambled at Miami airport after an elderly woman threw a fit on an American Airlines plane and flight attendants thought she would attack them, police said.
· Al-Qaida terrorists to gas U.S. subways? Al-Qaida terrorists have developed a crude device designed to spread deadly cyanide gas through the ventilation systems of crowded indoor facilities such as subways, according to a closely held security directive issued to law enforcement by the U.S.
· USS Cole Mastermind Nabbed. One of the top Al Qaeda members in Yemen was captured by security forces Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said, calling him a suspected mastermind of the homicide bombings of the USS Cole and a French oil tanker off the country's coast.
· Machine-guns found on airliner. When a New York-bound Czech Airlines flight was diverted to land in Iceland after a bomb threat was e-mailed to the U.S. Embassy in Prague, no bomb was found – but, according to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, two tons of machine-guns were discovered in the baggage hold.
· Anti-Terrorism Funds Buy Wide Array of Pet Projects. Two years after Congress approved a massive infusion of cash to help gird the Washington area against terrorism, much of the $324 million remains unspent or is funding projects with questionable connections to homeland security.
· Terror plot reportedly thwarted. A chemical firm alerted authorities to a potential terrorist plot after a London-based group tried to buy half a ton of a toxic substance.
· Government warns of increased terrorist threat. Americans at home and abroad are being warned about increased risk of terrorist attacks as U.S. intelligence is reporting a rising volume of threats, especially concern that al-Qaeda could hijack cargo jets and crash them into targets.
· 9/11 Commission Orders New York to Hand Over Documents. The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks announced today that it had subpoenaed New York City for a variety of police tapes and other material about the attacks. It said that the city's refusal to hand over the material had "significantly impeded the commission's investigation."
· Plane Diverted After Threatening Note Found. A plane bound for London returned to Kennedy Airport early Friday after a flight attendant found a threatening note on a seat in the aircraft, authorities said.
· White House Briefly Evacuated. Parts of the White House were evacuated Thursday, wire services reported. The Secret Service said the evacuation was due to an "emergency situation."
· Proposals for World Trade Center memorial displayed. The eight finalist designs in the World Trade Center memorial competition unveiled Wednesday remember the dead with quiet gardens, reflecting pools, inscribed names and lights for lost lives.
· A Chilling Message From The Port Authority. There’s been an apparent oversight by the people who ran the World Trade Center. A message that has shocked every person who has heard it. “Go upstairs to the World Trade Center mall....” says the recording.
· 'Homeland Security' officers disciplined for fishing on duty. Five police officers were supposed to be protecting a Central Texas power plant against possible terrorism, but decided to go fishing instead.
· Private Plane Flies Into Restricted White House Air Space. Air Force fighter jets were scrambled Monday to intercept a privately owned plane that flew too close to the White House, the Secret Service said.
· Al Qaeda Blamed for Riyadh Bombings. A top U.S. diplomat warned Saudi leaders that close cooperation on terror is needed to prevent more Al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom following a car bombing that killed at least 17 people in Riyadh.
· Terrorism Patriot Act used to shut down strip club. The investigation of strip club owner Michael Galardi and numerous politicians appears to be the first time federal authorities have used the Patriot Act in a public corruption probe.
· First-grade teacher charged in school bomb threat. A 42-year-old first-grade teacher at Washington-Reid Elementary School wrote a note claiming there was a bomb in the building, Prince William County police said.
· Halloween Costume Sparks Capitol Hill Scare. Two Halloween revelers triggered a massive manhunt on Thursday, when the costume they were carrying included a toy gun that breached security at the entrance of a Capitol Hill building.
· Ridge: U.S. and E.U. Should Pioneer Biometrics. The U.S. and the European Union should lead the world in setting international standards for biometrics such as facial recognition technology, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said.
· Box Cutters Ground Flights In Philly, Boston. Box cutters were found Tuesday on US Airways planes in Boston and Philadelphia on Tuesday, and federal officials said they were investigating how the tools made it on board.
· WTC Death Toll Lowered by 42. The names of about 40 people listed on the World Trade Center death toll for more than two years are being removed because the city cannot confirm their deaths or even their existence, a city official said.
· The Rumsfeld Memo. Turns out Donald Rumsfeld harbors some private doubts about the U.S. terrorism war and operations in Iraq and Afganistan, according to a recent memo authored by the Secretary of Defense.
· Idiot II - Second Air France Pilot Lands in Trouble. For the second time in three months, an Air France pilot was detained at Kennedy Airport for making a glib comment about blowing up a plane, federal officials said. "During the course of their inspection, the pilot made several comments which included references to the airplane blowing up, him blowing up and the story ending up on the front page of the New York Times."
· Saddam trained al-Qaida pre-9-11. Saddam Hussein ordered the training of al-Qaida members two months before the 9-11 terrorist attacks, according to an independent Iraqi weekly.
· California man denies hiding knife in shoe at airport. A California man who tried to board a plane out of Newark Airport with an 8-inch dagger in his sneaker pleaded innocent Thursday. Vincent Rosso's lawyer, Joseph Spagnoli, said his 25-year-old client did not even know the knife was buried in the sole of the sneaker because it belonged to his 19-year-old brother.
· Feds Searching All Commercial Airplanes. Authorities are searching every commercial airplane in the United States on Friday after someone left three suspicious bags filled with claylike material, bleach and boxcutters on two Southwest Airlines flights.
· 9-11 Panel Ponders New Intelligence Agency. The independent commission studying the Sept. 11 terror attacks is considering recommending changes in U.S. intelligence that would go well beyond the Bush administration, including creation of a domestic spy agency modeled after Britain's MI5.
· 'Miscommunication' causes hijack scare. Fighter jets were scrambled off the New Jersey coast early yesterday after the crew of a Central American airliner accidentally reported it was being hijacked, Air Force officials said.
· 400 Military Bombs, Weapons Found In Dead Man's Home. Sanford, Fl. police discovered a stockpile of about 400 military bombs and weapons - some live - inside a man's home while investigating his death.
· Al Qaeda Actively Planning Attacks on U.S. Some of the Al Qaeda operatives whose activities led to a U.S. security warning last month have been captured, while others remain at large, U.S. counterterrorism authorities say.
· Woman nabbed after run at Air Force One. An apparently deranged woman who claimed to be "radioactive" barreled her car through a secure tarmac gate at Manchester Airport yesterday - coming within 800 feet of Air Force One, just minutes before President Bush was slated to board.
· Probe Finds Airport Screeners Were Given Test Answers. The written tests given potential baggage screeners at airports never asked applicants to show they could identify dangerous objects inside luggage, and screeners hired by the government to check baggage for bombs were given most of the answers to the tests.
· FBI Sent Hamas Money in Late 1990's. While President Clinton was trying to broker an elusive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the FBI was secretly funneling money to suspected Hamas figures to see if the militant group would use it for terrorist attacks.
· Military Practicing Shooting Down Airliners. At least twice a week, the military practices what two years ago would have been nearly unthinkable: shooting down a civilian airliner hijacked by terrorists.
· Chaplain arrested to protect lives. The Bush administration decided to arrest Army Capt. James J. Yee because it feared he would reveal information that could aid terrorists and endanger the lives of military guards at the Guantanamo Naval Base.
· 9/11 Mastermind: Attack Was Pared Down. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, has told American interrogators that he first discussed the plot with Osama bin Laden in 1996 and that the original plan called for hijacking five commercial jets on each U.S. coast before it was modified several times.
· Customs Fails to Detect Depleted Uranium — Again. For a second year, U.S. government screeners have failed to detect a shipment of depleted uranium in a container sent by ABCNEWS from overseas as part of a test of security at American ports.
· New 'Bin Laden' Tape Praises September 11 Attackers. Al Jazeera television aired on Wednesday what it said was new footage of al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri, and separate audio tapes in which Zawahri vowed more attacks on the United States.
· Air Travelers May Be Assigned Color Codes. The government and the airlines reportedly will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk of every passenger who boards a flight in the United States by using color codes.
· Driver's Licenses for Illegals Spark Security Concerns. Though several immigration issues simmer in California, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis' signature Friday on a bill allowing illegal aliens to obtain a legal California driver's license has sparked considerable controversy.
· Al Qaeda: Worse coming. A new Al Qaeda audiotape broadcast yesterday threatened strikes on the U.S. so devastating that Americans will "forget" the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
· Rare Tape of WTC Attack Surfaces. The only videotape known to have captured both planes slamming into the World Trade Center, and only the second image of the first strike, has surfaced days before the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
· Spain arrests top Arab reporter. Police in the southern Spanish city of Granada have arrested a leading Arabic TV al-Jazeera journalist on suspicion of links to Islamic militants.
· FBI Seeks Four Men for Terror Questioning. The FBI on Friday announced a global search for four men wanted for questioning in an unspecified terror plot against U.S. interests as numerous sources said there has been increased "chatter" recently about possible terror attacks.
· FBI Warns of Potential Poison Attacks. The FBI has warned law enforcement agencies that terrorists may use nicotine and solanine as "mass poisoning agents."
· Ridge: Al-Qaeda network is growing. Al-Qaeda operatives in custody are providing only the barest information on the terror network's activities, often proving too canny to be broken down quickly during interrogation, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said.
· Face-recognition technology fails to flag 'suspects.' Camera technology designed to spot potential terrorists by their facial characteristics at airports failed its first major test, a report from the airport that tested the technology shows.
· Rescue Efforts, Pleas for Help Chronicled in WTC Transcripts. Haunting images of the moments following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center emerged as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released 2,000 pages of transcripts from emergency phone calls and radio transmissions made that horrific morning.
· FBI to Arrest Teen in Internet Attack. The FBI has identified a teenager as the author of a damaging virus-like infection unleashed on the Internet and plans to arrest him early Friday, a U.S. official confirmed Thursday.
· IRS, FBI Agents to Track Terror Financing in Saudi Arabia. FBI and the Internal Revenue Service agents are heading to Saudi Arabia this week to establish a new joint U.S.-Saudi effort to track terrorist financing in the kingdom, a Treasury Department official said.
· Lawmakers Urge More Cargo Screening on Airlines. Almost two years since the deadly Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, airlines are still not inspecting all the cargo shipped on passenger planes, and two lawmakers are demanding to know why.
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