COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

FBI warns N.Y. landmarks may be attacked

The Statue of Liberty was one of the landmarks named in Tuesday's warning.

(CNN) -- New York City authorities are taking new precautions to protect landmarks from new attacks and lawmakers are looking into why a memo noting that Osama bin Laden supporters were taking flying lessons at U.S. schools never surfaced until after September 11.

The FBI, citing an "abundance of caution," warned authorities to be ready for possible terrorist attacks against city landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, sources said Tuesday.

Reports of a suspicious package on the Brooklyn Bridge forced authorities to close the 119-year-old span across the East River briefly early Wednesday while the bomb squad investigated, a spokesman for the New York Police Department said.

New York Police said the package was not dangerous and the bridge reopened.

The new information about possible terror acts in the city was gathered from detainees, but sources said the threats had not been corroborated. The information did not include specifics, such as when an attack could occur.

In a statement Tuesday, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said city officials "are taking all necessary precautions." (Full story)

New York Gov. George Pataki said that while officials were taking the threats "seriously," people should "go on and go about their ordinary lives" and not give into fear.

Otherwise, New Yorkers appeared to go about their usual business on the sunny, crisp spring day, and a planned parade of 19 ships up the Hudson River and into the city's harbor proceeded.

The armada kicked off what is known as Fleet Week, and some of the ships participating recently returned from serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. government's military response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In what was expected to be a poignant moment, the roughly 6,000 military personnel onboard the ships were expected to salute and stand at attention as the vessels pass Ground Zero -- where the World Trade Center once stood -- on the lower tip of Manhattan.

New York City suffered the brunt of the September attacks when two hijacked jets crashed into the center, causing the twin towers to collapse and killing approximately 2,823 people.

Eyes on the Phoenix

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, the so-called "Phoenix Memo" received new scrutiny from lawmakers amid questions over whether the government missed clues prior to September 11 that might have alerted authorities to possible attacks.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Written on July 10, 2001, by FBI agent Kenneth Williams, the memo said law enforcement officials during the Clinton administration began looking into questions about Arab students attending U.S. flight schools -- some 17 months before September 11.

The memo cited "supporters" of bin Laden "attending civil aviation universities/colleges in Arizona." The three-page document also talked about a "fatwa" issued by an Islamic spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed Fostok, in London.

The memo was sent to about a dozen people but never reached the highest levels of the FBI, CIA or Justice Department until after the attacks in New York and Washington.

None of the names in the memo have been identified by the FBI as any of the September 11 hijackers.

Williams and FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared Tuesday before a closed-door session of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers later praised Williams as a thorough agent, but said they were unsatisfied with how the memo fell through the cracks.

"There was no explanation as to why the memo did not go to other places. Nobody knows at this stage, and that is something that has to be pursued," said committee member Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania.

Attorney General John Ashcroft met separately with ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees. Williams is scheduled to appear Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee.

Government sources said Tuesday that Mueller and Ashcroft were not told about the memo until several days after September 11.

The sources said President Bush was not informed about the memo until recently because it was only one piece of a much broader, active investigation and established no link to the September 11 hijackings. (Full story)

Justice Department officials insisted Tuesday they have provided a mountain of material to congressional investigators looking into events leading up to the terrorist attacks and have refused them nothing.

The State Department Tuesday warned Americans of a "growing concern" about possible terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens in northern Africa and the Middle East, specifically those in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.

Officials warned terrorists may seek "softer targets" because of beefed-up security at official U.S. facilities overseas and warned that groups such as bin Laden's al Qaeda network do not distinguish between civilian and government targets.

Feds say no guns in cockpit

As Congress focuses on aviation security, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that commercial airline pilots would not be allowed to carry firearms in the cockpit.

The TSA had been considering the issue for months. Congress gave the agency -- along with the airlines -- the final decision on whether to arm pilots with lethal weapons as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed in November.

The agency is "actively considering" allowing pilots to be armed with non-lethal weapons, including stun guns and Tasers, according to DOT spokesman Chet Lunner.

In a report to Congress on Monday, the TSA said it would need to employ 57,500 people to screen airline passengers and luggage. That number does not include armed air marshals on airplanes or a federal police force to be deployed at airport checkpoints. (Full story)

Other developments