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CBS

Heightened Security Presence In Place At Penn Station; Attack Could Cripple Transit Between Boston, Washington

Cops, Feds Armed With M16s On Patrol For Forseeable Future

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The world’s economic fears were violently pushed aside on Wednesday by another global threat — terrorism.

A massive coordinated attack was launched in Mumbai, India just hours after the FBI warned that Al Qaeda may be targeting New York’s subways and railroads.

If Al Qaeda terrorists have their way there will be chaos and mayhem here this holiday season, a mass transit bomb plot that would probably affect all the subway and train lines at Penn and Grand Central stations.

“The threat is serious, the threat is significant, and it is plausible,” said Congressman Peter King, R-Long Island, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Uniformed officers, including this NYPD Counter Terrorism Squad members and Amtrak cops with M-16s, flooded Penn Station Wednesday after the FBI said it had received a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report that Al Qaeda operatives discussed a plan two months ago to bomb New York City’s mass transit system.

The report said: “These discussions reportedly involved the use of suicide bombers or explosives placed on subway/passenger rail systems.”

Sources told CBS 2 HD the plot involved the Long Island Rail Road. If the explosion went off in Penn Station, the source said, it would affect transportation of Amtrak’s northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, LIRR service and New York City subway service.

“This is definitely linked to Al Qaeda and they had very significant details about exactly how they would carry out the attack, where they would carry it out — that’s what makes it sound so plausible,” Rep. King said.

The NYPD and Metropolitan Transportation Authority said they were on high alert and adding extra manpower. Even before the threat became public Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he was adding more cops.

“We always have to be concerned when we have large gatherings like on Thanksgiving,” Kelly said. “We always have to have sufficient deployment of police officers.”

New Yorkers had this reaction to the new threats.

“I’ve got to get on a train, but that’s horrible,” commuter Carolyn Tobin said. “I mean … the memory … but just like after 9/11, we just kept going on.”

Added Ryan Barreiro: “I’m not too worried about it. That’s exactly what they want. If they’re gonna get you, they’re gonna get you.”

“I’m not afraid,” Rick Hendrickson said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, in Manhattan, so has my wife and we just take life as it comes along.”

Riders can expect a heightened law enforcement presence — cops, federal agents, canine teams and inspectors.

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The Associated Press

By BEN EVANS – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.

“It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s the one who proposed this national security force,” Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”

Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

“That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.”

Obama’s comments about a national security force came during a speech in Colorado about building a new civil service corps. Among other things, he called for expanding the nation’s foreign service and doubling the size of the Peace Corps “to renew our diplomacy.”

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set,” Obama said in July. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”

Broun said he also believes Obama likely will move to ban gun ownership if he does build a national police force.

Obama has said he respects the Second Amendment right to bear arms and favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault weapons and concealed weapons. As an Illinois state lawmaker, Obama supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on firearms generally.

“We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential.”

Obama’s transition office did not respond immediately to Broun’s remarks.

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U.S. troops on domestic mission. The assignment of a combat-ready team to contain civil unrest raises a flurry of questions.

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TheHill.com

Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest.

Public safety officials said in interviews with The Hill that the election, which will end with either the nation’s first black president or its first female vice president, demanded a stronger police presence.

Iraq Veterans Against the War

One hour before the final presidential debate of the 2008 campaign, fourteen members of IVAW marched in formation to Hofstra University to present questions for the candidates. IVAW had requested permission from debate moderator Bob Schieffer to ask their questions during the debate but got no response.

The contingent of veterans in dress uniforms and combat uniforms attempted to enter the building where the debate was to be held in order to ask their questions but were turned back by police. The IVAW members at the front of the formation were immediately arrested, and others were pushed back into the crowd by police on horseback. Several members were injured, including former Army Sergeant Nick Morgan who suffered a broken cheekbone when he was trampled by police horses before being arrested.

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asahi.com

To stem the increase in bank-transfer scams, about 56,000 police officers were dispatched to 81,000 ATM locations Wednesday when 40 million seniors received 6.5 trillion yen (＄64 billion) in pension benefits.

Police monitored ATM usage and warned people about the danger of the scams. The patrols, covering about 80 percent of ATM locations in Japan, were part of the National Police Agency’s October campaign month against fraud.