FBI, Homeland Security Warn of Small Airplane Terror Threats

The FBI and Homeland Security have issued a nationwide warning about al-Qaida threats to small airplanes, just days before the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

There is no specific or credible terrorist threat for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, authorities said. But they have stepped up national security as a precaution.

Al-Qaida was considering ways to attack airplanes, as recently as earlier this year, according to a five-page law enforcement bulletin issued Friday.

The alert, issued ahead of the summer's last busy travel weekend, said terrorists have considered renting private planes and loading them with explosives.

Color-Coded Terror Warnings Get The Red Light

by The Associated Press
The nation's color-coded terror warning system will be phased out beginning this week, according to government officials familiar with the plan. The officials requested anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement scheduled Thursday by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The Homeland Security Department and other government agencies have been reviewing the Homeland Security Advisory System's usefulness for more than a year. One of the most notable changes to come: The public will no longer hear automated recordings at U.S. airports stating that the threat level is orange.

The Obama administration will take the next three months to roll out a replacement, which will be called the National Terrorism Advisory System. The new plan calls for notifying specific audiences about specific threats. In some cases, it might be a one-page threat description sent to law enforcement officials describing the threat, what law enforcement needs to do about it and what the federal government is doing, one of the officials said.