The Associated Press reports that the CIA "thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden... The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said." UPDATE BELOW: The FBI says the public was never in danger. more ›

A federal jury has found a Queens man guilty on all charges related to a 2009 plan for suicide attacks on the NYC subways, conspiring to join the Taliban and training with Al Qaeda. Adis Medunjanin now faces up to life in prison. more ›

Move over, Occupy May Day actions, there's actually a federal advisory about the May 1st anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. Newsday reports, "The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Northern Command issued an internal intelligence bulletin late Wednesday stating terrorists would consider an attack on the May 1 anniversary as 'a symbolic victory.'" more ›

The NYPD held its annual pre-Passover briefing, which, according to the NYPD's press release, is "an annual conference at which religious and community leaders are provided information on the current threat environment and implications for New York City during the upcoming religious holiday." The release does not have any details about any specific threats, but NYPD Director of Intelligence Analysis Mitchell Silber said they're all over that mysterious Internet post showing a composite image of New York City's skyline, landmarks and One Police Plaza with the message, "Al Qaeda Coming Soon Again in New York." more ›

Israeli and American security officials in the U.S. are reportedly on high alert in the wake of an explosion near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi that wounded an Israeli diplomat's wife and three others. Israel has blamed Iran for the blast, which occurred weeks after an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in Tehran in a similar manner: with a magnetic explosive device tossed from a passing vehicle. Iran blames Israel for that murder, and analysts say the two nations are locked into an intensifying "yet publicly deniable campaign of violence." more ›

The AP has filed another piece looking at the NYPD's tactics spying on Muslim communities (Muslims who change their names, Muslim college kids), which are questionable from a civil rights perspective. Noting how Rep. Peter King has asked people to stop "smearing" the NYPD, by saying, "To date, under Commissioner Ray Kelly’s leadership, at least 14 attacks by Islamic terrorists have been prevented by the NYPD." But the AP would like to disagree! more ›

Lori Berenson, the New York native who spent over 15 years in a Peruvian prison after her 1996 conviction in a foiled terrorist plot, arrived at Newark Liberty Airport this morning as part of a sanctioned holiday visit. Before finally taking off in Peru with her 2-year-old son Salvador, she told an AP reporter, in reference to her mandated January 11 return date, "I just hope we don't get caught in a snow storm." more ›

After being inexplicably denied at the airport in Lima, Peru early Saturday morning, New York native and paroled terrorist collaborator Lori Berenson will be allowed to fly to NYC to visit her family until January 11. "She called and said, 'I've got the permission to leave' and the next step is for her to get on a plane and get here," Berenson's father Mark told the AP. "I'm just glad they finally resolved the thing." more ›

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says that U.S. agencies foiled an Iranian plot to commit "significant terrorist act in the United States"—killing Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the U.S., Adel A. Al-Jubeir, and bombing the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington D.C. ABC News reports, "Bombings of the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were also discussed, according to the U.S. officials." more ›

Earlier today, the U.S.-born al Qaeda leader and terrorist recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen by a missile fired from an American drone aircraft. In the wake of the death of al-Awalki, the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that an American citizen had been deliberately targeted and killed by American forces, Ron Paul is not happy: "If the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the President assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it's sad." more ›

A Massachusetts resident is accused of plotting to damage the Capitol building and Pentagon in Washington D.C. remote controlled planes filled with C-4 explosives. According to the Washington Post, "Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S.-born citizen of South Asian background, traveled to Washington last May to conduct surveillance and intended to launch three small GPS-guided aircraft from East Potomac Park — two against the Pentagon and one against the Capitol, according to a detailed plan he gave to the FBI." more ›

In a post on his New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal," Nobel-prize winning economist and Times columnist Paul Krugman asks, "Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?" He then goes on to explain why: "What happened after 9/11…was deeply shameful. Te [sic] atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heros like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror." Krugman then declares that "the memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it." more ›

Remember the "Ground Zero" mosque—the controversial community and prayer center that will probably never have enough money to be built a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center site? Don't think just because the project is financially stalled that it ain't gonna happen—the Christian Action Network is making sure Americans know that this is still a threat. The group, which states its mission as "protecting America's religious and moral heritage," is releasing a documentary called Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque. And they've rallied the relatives of 9/11 victims to the cause. more ›

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is just around the corner, and though "there are no guarantees," the Department of Homeland Security doesn't think that Al Qaeda is working on an anniversary plot—but that doesn't mean there aren't folks out there pushing for some blown up buildings and bridges in our neck of the woods. For example, the monitoring service SITE (which was last in the news reporting the alleged targeting of David Letterman) says it has recently come across a posting calling for "those who love blasting and explosions" to strike Gotham landmarks. more ›

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are issuing a warning that terrorists may be renting small planes and filling them with explosives for possible attacks. The bulletin says, "Violent extremists with knowledge of general aviation and access to small planes pose a significant potential threat to the Homeland." more ›

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano spoke to the editorial board of the Dallas Morning-News and believed that if a 9/11-style plot would not happen today. However, she admitted, "There are no guarantees," though there is more intelligence sharing, "better targeting of airline passengers who need 'special attention,'and background checks at flight schools." Also, maybe White House officials should take White House Briefs titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" seriously. more ›

A day after the Associated Press published a lengthy article detailing how the NYPD is running a secretive police intelligence team to investigate Muslim communities as part of counter-terrorism efforts—with possibly civil liberties-infringing tactics, like sending informants to mosques where there's no evidence of wrong-doing—Mayor Bloomberg admitted that the NYPD is working with the CIA. But he defended its practices, “If there are threats or leads to follow, then the NYPD’s job is to do it. The law is pretty clear about what’s the requirement and I think they follow the law. We don’t stop to think about the religion. We stop to think about the threats and focus our efforts there." more ›

[Update Below} Yesterday, Bucky Turco of AnimalNY posted a document on the city's counter-terrorism plans...which he had found sitting in the garbage can in front of the NYPD’s Manhattan South Task Force stationhouse on 42nd Street. The documents, which are labeled "law enforcement sensitive," detailed specific locations and deployment instructions for the NYPD’s Chemical Ordnance, Biological, Radiological Awareness (COBRA) taskforce. But NYPD spokesman Paul Brown isn't that worried: "Granted, we would have preferred it was disposed of more discreetly, but its discovery by a dumpster-diver posed no threat to the public or anyone else." more ›

Authorities announced that they had arrested two men in connection with a terrorist plot to attack a Manhattan synagogue. The two men, whom the NY Post identifies as Moroccan Mohammad Mamdouh and Algerian Ahmed Serhani, are said to be "homegrown" terrorists born in Queens. According to the NY Times, the two men had sought to purchase hand grenades and guns for the attack, but authorities say their plan was still in the "aspirational" stages. more ›

If the President wants to send you a text, you'll be required to receive it on your smart phone under a new emergency alert system that the FCC and FEMA are rolling out in NYC and D.C. by the end of the year. Announced today, the new Personal Localized Alerting Network [PLAN] lets customers who own an enabled mobile device "receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area." If you don't want The Man telling you there's an imminent threat to your safety, you can opt out of a second tier of alerts, such as warnings about less catastrophic natural disasters or AMBER Alerts. But the messages from Obama are going to be shoved down your cell phone's throat, just like health care! more ›

Among the juiciest details released after the successful US operation to kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last weekend was the mention that the military took hard drives from the compound—"10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices which includes discs, DVDs and thumb drives." Investigators have been poring through those files, and have now revealed that Al Qaeda had been considering attacking the US rail system on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. more ›

Five days after President Obama announced that US forces in Pakistan had successfully located and killed Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda confirmed the death of their leader this morning. They posted a statement on jihadist forums today, which was translated by US monitoring group SITE Intelligence, vowing to avenge his death: "We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves who sold everything to the enemies...a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries." more ›