Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island), who heads the Homeland Security Committee, is getting ready for tomorrow's hearings on Muslim radicalization and was on CBS's The Early Show and tried to address criticism that they were racist. King promised to "run a good hearing. I will run an honest and fair hearing." But what about his support of those white guy terrorists, the IRA? more ›

An explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport has left at lead 31 people dead and 130 injured. The explosion reportedly occurred in a baggage area, and CNN reports, "In a post on its website, the Russian Investigative Committee is blaming terrorists for the attack." According to the NY Times, "The airport, southeast of the capital, is Russia’s largest hub for international travelers, with more than 20 million passengers passing through last year... Russian news agencies, citing witnesses, said airport halls were filled with so much smoke that it was difficult to count the dead." more ›

It was reported last year that a terrorist tried (and failed) to assassinate Saudi Arabia's counter terrorism chief by detonating explosives in his anus. That turned out to be merely an underwear bomb attempt, not a surgically-implanted bombing, but the fear of body-bombing remains, at least in the media. In March, Fox reported that "female homicide bombers are being fitted with exploding breast implants which are almost impossible to detect," according to MI5 sources. And now the SITE Intelligence Group has picked up chatter that "Al Qaeda affiliates" are working to match doctors with suicide bombers in search of exploding implants. more ›

The first U.S. citizen to make the CIA's "Kill or Capture" list in almost a decade is American-Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was added earlier this year. The government says he's a bad guy who has forfeited his right to due process under the law because he allegedly helped Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian suspected of attempting to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day. But before all that, al-Awlaki's name showed up on another list—the guest list at a Pentagon luncheon, just months after the 9/11 attacks. more ›

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has admitted to planning the September 11, 2001 attacks and who may or may not be tried in NYC, is the subject of a feature in this week's New Yorker. An abstract of the article by Terry McDermott says, "Insofar as we know Mohammed, we see him as a brilliant behind-the-scenes tactician and a resolute ideologue. As it turns out, he is earthy, slick in a way, but naïve, and seemingly motivated as much by pathology as ideology." more ›

A 52-year-old American was arrested in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border and claimed he was hunting Osama bin Laden. CNN reports, "The Californian named Gary Faulkner was carrying a pistol, a sword, night-vision equipment and Christian religious books, said Mumtaz Ahmed, a police chief in the area... He told police that he had been looking for bin Laden since 9/11 and had traveled to the area several times before." more ›

So that apparently poorly constructed, possibly amateurish car bomb left in a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder parked on West 45th Street in Times Square? Now the Washington Post reports it "increasingly appears to have been coordinated by several people in a plot with international links, Obama administration officials said Tuesday. Emerging from a series of briefings, several officials said it was premature to rule out any motive but said the sweeping, multi-state investigation was turning up new clues." more ›

Back in law school gubernatorial hopeful Steve Levy had a mustache AND a beard! The bushy hair on his face—along with the towel on his head and the rifle slung over his shoulder—was integral to his 1983 terrorist Halloween costume, dug up recently from the St. John's University Law School yearbook, and exposed via the Daily News. more ›

Officials are honing in on the health care reform opponent who caused the anthrax scare at Rep. Anthony Weiner's Kew Gardens office two weeks ago. According to the Post, the letter came from the 11235 zip code, which includes Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach (and rules out Jon Stewart). The note was written in block letters and included threats related to Weiner's health care vote, and the white powder turned out to be antacid. more ›

Despite invasive full body scanners popping up at our nation’s airports, Janet Napolitano says you’ll still have to take your shoes off to get through security. According to the Homeland Security Secretary, shoes are so impenetrable that they can’t be fully screened while they’re on your feet, reports the AP. Too bad these never caught on. During a live video chat session, she also spoke to the shortage of air marshals on domestic and international flights, and about incidents, like the Newark airport kisser, where non-passengers cause security meltdowns by entering unauthorized areas. She said that for now only ticketed travelers would be allowed in secure areas but that "It may be possible to change that as we move forward." more ›

Pakistani officials say they’ve arrested the California-born al qaeda leader who, since attending training camps in 2004, has been the terrorist group’s mouthpiece in half a dozen videos. Just today Adam Gadahn spoke in a video commending the army major who opened fire at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas killing 13 people. "You shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in America and the West. On the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage," said Gadahn. more ›

Judges squabbled over what to do with 70-year-old civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart, who's been convicted on charges of helping a jailed client communicate with his followers after he plotted to bomb NYC, but faces a resentencing in April. All wanted a lower-court judge to extend her sentence, but, unusually, each issued a statement criticizing how the others had handled the case. According to the AP, Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs said the judge should start his sentence from scratch since Judge John Koeltl didn't take into account the terrorist consequences of Stewart's case, but another judge fired back. more ›

DMV employees in NYC made over $1 million issuing fake identification to convicted criminals, including one man who appeared on "America's Most Wanted." Cops cuffed six members of the ID operation today, including its suspected ringleader Wilch DeWalt. According to Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara more than 200 people were sold stolen identities for $7,000 to $10,000 apiece. [PDF] "The fraud ring's client base was essentially a rap sheet," he said, adding that "The integrity of any security system, no matter how elaborate or expensive, is only as good as the integrity of the people who carry it out." more ›

Yesterday accused terrorist Najibulllah Zazi pleaded guilty, describing his motives and plot in detail. His confession confirmed much of what investigators suspected, but the candor with which Zazi describes his negative feelings towards the U.S.—his "unapologetic, matter-of-fact manner"—was surprising. "I would sacrifice myself to bring attention to what the United States military was doing to civilian in Afghanistan by sacrificing my soul for the sake of saving other souls," Zazi explained to the judge. more ›

UPDATE BELOW: Former airport shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi—who's accused of plotting a 9/11-type attack on the city using homemade bombs—is set to plead guilty today in Brooklyn Federal Court, law enforcement officials say. According to the AP, there may be a plea deal, and better yet he's cooperating with investigators. Three anonymous sources say the 24-year-old volunteered information during a recent interview with his lawyer and federal prosecutors. more ›

In a move that seemingly acknowledges the growing backlash against the plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected 9/11 plotters in a Lower Manhattan courthouse, President Obama has said he will play a bigger role in the selection of a venue for the trial. The Washington Post reports that after initially tapping Attorney General Eric Holder to determine the site of the trial, Obama himself will become more involved so he can secure congressional funding for the case before opponents launch efforts to strip the trial of financing. more ›

As we noted yesterday, ABC News is slowly releasing some of the 2,779 new photos of the 9/11 attacks obtained from the archives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The images speak for themselves, but today Newsday published an interview with the NYPD helicopter pilot who took many of the photos, including the one seen here. Detective Gregory Semendinger spent three hours flying about the site that morning, doing double duty as a co-pilot and photographer, scanning the rooftops in hopes of spotting someone to save. more ›

At his arraignment today, the father of accused terrorist Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing the investigation of his son by destroying evidence—glasses, chemical bottles and masks that could have been the materials for homemade bombs. The hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court was kept secret and not marked on a public calendar, but there was a recording. After pleading not guilty, Mohamed Wali Zazi was told he'd no longer be released on bail (before today he was being monitored electronically). Prosecutors were against letting him free because of the "gravity of his charges" and the "risk of flight," reports the Post. more ›

Even as his plans to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected 9/11 plotters in a Lower Manhattan courthouse seem to be unraveling, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder insists that "[h]istory will show that the decisions we've made are the right ones." In a New Yorker profile, Holder claims that some of the politicians who have blasted the Obama administration for its policies on terror have "a desire to ignore the facts to try to score political points." more ›

An Obama official confirmed rumors yesterday that the administration is dropping Manhattan as the trial site for alleged terrorists who helped plan 9/11. The wind-down began earlier this week when Mayor Bloomberg started whining about the cost of the trials, while simultaneously announcing massive cuts to the city’s budget including to its jobs sector. The trials—which he once hailed as a powerful symbol for New Yorkers—would cost $1 billion, more than the cash-strapped city can afford. Soon, community boards, downtown residents and Gov. Paterson all withdrew support, and now Obama lackeys say he’s “considering other options.” more ›

Lower Manhattan residents who are fearful of the plan to host the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 plotters in a Foley Square federal courthouse have urged the city to relocate the legal proceedings to Governor's Island. And if that doesn't work, they've drafted a shortlist of other locations including White Plains, West Point, Stewart Airport, and Orange County. more ›

After being thrown out of a Manhattan courtroom for calling a witness a liar yesterday, attempted murder suspect Aafia Siddiqui promised to behave herself. "I'm going to be quiet," said the MIT- and Brandeis-educated scientist, whose courtroom antics have so far included outbursts and pleas for the use of genetic tests to keep Jews off her jury. "It doesn't mean I agree." more ›

Inmate and disbarred lawyer Lynne Stewart has been selected by WBAI listeners to serve on the station's board of directors, even though she doesn't even have access to a radio. The 70-year-old civil-rights fighter was sentenced to 28 months in prison for helping a radical Islamic leader she represented smuggle messages to his followers in Egypt. Stewart claimed she was being a "zealous advocate" for her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, nonetheless she was found guilty of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. more ›

You don't have to get a hip replacement to sneak titanium onto an airplane, according to the Post. A reporter carrying an eight-inch-long piece of the nonferrous metal was able to pass through security twice at Kennedy Airport without setting off metal detectors. more ›

In the wake of a Nigerian man's failed attempt to blow up an airplane as it landed in Detroit on Christmas, Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind is calling on authorities to instate a policy of ethnic profiling to stop would-be terrorists. According to CBS, the Borough Park Democrat — who was last spotted protesting against the inclusion of gays, gypsies, and the disabled at a Holocaust memorial — argues that politicians must "[l]et law enforcement do what it feels is necessary without tying their hands." more ›

In a court case that might turn out closely foreshadowing the much-hyped trials of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected 9/11 plotters, terror suspect Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani has asked a Manhattan judge to dismiss his indictment because authorities denied him his constitutional right to a speedy trial. more ›

A Manhattan Federal Court judge did double duty as the fashion police yesterday, when he ordered a groovy balloon artist who's suing police to go change out of his tie-dyed T-shirt, tie-dyed patchwork overalls, and far-out multicolored sneakers. Russian immigrant Alexander "Sasha" Alhovsky, 40, was in the court room during jury selection for the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages over claims that the NYPD used excessive force when he was taken into custody in June 2006, on suspicion of planting a fake bomb inside an UES Starbucks three days earlier. more ›

President Obama is in town today to meet with the FBI agents credited with stopping a terrorist plot to bomb NYC subways. But that pat on the back at FBI headquarters near City Hall is just the morning's agenda; in the evening it's all about the Benjamins. (Or, rather, the Grover Clevelands.) Tonight the President will speak at a $30,400-per-couple dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle; the event is expected to raise $2 million to $3 million for the DNC. Want to see Barry but dating a deadbeat who can't float the 30 grand for the Mandarin? All is not lost. more ›

export license from the United States Department of Treasury.") The NY Times reports, "The seizure was the latest step in the government’s broader effort to financially suffocate Iran’s biggest banks, several of which have been accused of funneling money to groups like Hamas and financing Iran’s nuclear missile program." Tenants in the building include Citibank and the Juicy flagship store. more ›

It looks like the World Trade Center Memorial has hit a delay. Originally scheduled to open on September 11, 2009, the Port Authority said today that it won't be ready until 2011, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The delays only came to light after construction began and the agency could give a more realistic timeline. A Port Authority spokeswoman said, "We see the reality, and want to operate on responsible timelines. We'll work as aggressively as possible to complete the project as soon as possible." more ›