No suspects yet in NYC car bomb case
NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- U.S Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Sunday said authorities had yet to determine who put a bomb-rigged car in New York City's Times Square.
"We're taking it very seriously," Napolitano told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"It's too early to tell who was responsible, who or what groups were responsible."
Asked if it appeared to be an act of terrorism, Napolitano said, "It certainly looks that way; it certainly looks like it was intended to be that way."
Napolitano said it was a "big device" but added she couldn't say how powerful a blast it could have created.
The Manhattan hot spot was reopened Sunday after a bomb squad disarmed the car bomb that forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists for more than eight hours.
"We are very lucky," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an early-morning news conference. "We avoided what could have been a very deadly event."
The White House Sunday said President Barack Obama had been kept informed of the events unfolding while he attended a Washington dinner Saturday night for White House correspondents.
In a statement, the president praised the "excellent work" of New York police and pledged federal support for the investigation.
Thousands of tourists were evacuated following the discovery of the Nissan Pathfinder about 6:30 p.m. parked at the curb on 45th Street near Seventh Avenue with its engine running, its hazard lights on and smoke coming from vents near the back seat, The New York Times reported.
Inside the car, the bomb squad found canisters of propane, two 5-gallon cans of gasoline, fireworks and two clocks with batteries, Bloomberg said.
"It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said.
Surveillance cameras had picked up the sport utility vehicle at 6:28 p.m., police said. But the Times quoted authorities saying the tinted windows could have made identifying an occupant difficult, and no one was reported seen running from the vehicle after it was left parked in the heart of the "crossroads of the world."
"We have no idea who did this or why," Bloomberg said.
A law enforcement official said the Nissan's license plates had been registered to a Ford pickup taken to a Bridgeport, Conn., junkyard within the past two weeks. Authorities are investigating the junkyard, and the FBI interviewed the previous owner of the Ford but it did not appear he was a suspect, the Times said.
Boston-area waterline leak plugged
BOSTON, May 2 (UPI) -- A water pipe break that left 2 million people in the Boston area without potable water was plugged Sunday but a boil-water order continued, officials said.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority said the leak site had been excavated and repairs were under way on the 10-foot diameter pipe. The authority said pressure in the system was stable with the Carroll treatment plant providing water to Boston and 29 surrounding cities.
The authority said communities were being asked to collect coliform samples to test for safety and the boil-water order would remain in effect until communities are notified otherwise.
The Boston Globe reported the massive break Saturday had sent 8 million gallons an hour gushing out, causing local officials to declare a state of emergency.
Gov. Deval Patrick asked bottled water companies and the National Guard to help make clean water available to those affected.
"This is everyone's worst nightmare in the water industry," Frederick A. Laskey, the authority's executive director, told the Globe.
Officials said the cause of the break in the 7-year-old pipe 20 feet down in the ground had not been determined.
Ahmadinejad says U.S. aids terrorists
TEHRAN, May 2 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the United States of fomenting terrorism, state-run media reported,
"We have documents that prove (Washington) is the root of world terrorism," Press TV reported Ahmadinejad as saying in a speech in Tehran Saturday. "It has been aiding and abetting extremist groups over the past years."
CNN said the semi-official FARS news agency reported Ahmadinejad reiterated his country "cuts any hand that signs a document against Iran."
The Iranian leader headed to the United States Sunday for a United Nations summit on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that opens Monday in New York. Ahmadinejad's top adviser said the Iranian leader plans to offer proposals to allow Iran to maintain its nascent nuclear program.
Iran is under international pressure to submit to inspections of its nuclear program, which Western nations fear will lead to nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains its nuclear program is meant only for peaceful purposes.
Ahmadinejad called on the United States to negotiate with his government, saying "companionship is better than confrontation," FARS reported.
Meanwhile, Mehr News Agency reported Sunday Washington has denied visas for Iranian reporters who intended to accompany Ahmadinejad to New York.
Ahmadinejad, who is being accompanied by his foreign minister, senior adviser, chief of staff and head of the Iranian nuclear program, is scheduled to speak at the twice-a-decade conference to review global progress in fulfilling disarmament obligations set out in the 40-year old treaty.
Egypt beefs up border security
CAIRO, May 2 (UPI) -- Egypt has strengthened its security presence along its border with Gaza, officials say.
The Egyptian government raised its alert level Saturday after receiving information Palestinians planned a march to protest the closing of the Rafah crossing and the possibility of Hezbollah fighters trying to infiltrate the border along the southern Sinai border and the Suez Canal area, Ynetnews.com reported Sunday.
Egyptian authorities had announced they intend to open the Rafah crossing on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But that goodwill gesture was clouded by last week's deaths of four Palestinians in a smuggling tunnel that led Hamas and other Palestinians to accuse Cairo of using gas to poison them. Egypt has denied spraying poisonous gas in smuggling tunnels.
Cairo newspaper al-Masry al-Youm Egyptian reported security forces have beefed up their presence in the southern Sinai and Suez Canal areas, fearing Hezbollah will try to avenge the tunnel victims, Ynetnews said.
"These are natural steps following the harsh verdicts handed down against the Hezbollah cell members in Egypt," an unnamed security official told the newspaper. "This requires boosting the security measures ahead of the possible ramifications of these sentences."
The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported the de facto government in Gaza Sunday said it has created a panel to investigate the tunnel deaths and called on Cairo to do the same.
