300 California Guard Members Called Up, Head To Three Major Airports
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Three-hundred California National Guard troops are scheduled to be at three key airports by ten p-m Pacific Time in response to the terrorist plot uncovered in Britain.
The head of California’s Guard, Major General William Wade, says the troops will be in uniform, carrying their rifles.
Governor Schwarzenegger ordered the troops to San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles international airports, where direct flights from Europe land. The Highway Patrol is supplementing security at other airports.
Officials emphasize there’s no specific threat to any airport, but the threat level is at “red” for the airports involved. Wade says the troops will be on duty until the level is back down to “yellow.”
The soldiers were called to active duty this morning. They reported to their assigned armories before heading to the airports.
————————
UNDATED (AP) – Passengers at some of the nation’s busiest airports are taking stricter security checks in stride today.
It’s the second day of extra security after authorities foiled a terror plot in London.
Passengers get a second security check at airport gates to bar anyone from carrying liquids onto planes. Officials want to remove any substance that could be used in an explosion.
One woman at Washington’s Reagan National Airport tells AP Radio that losing travel-size lotions is “no big deal.”
It’s taking about 15 to 20 minutes to get through security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, travelers are spending up to an hour in security lines.
————————
WASHINGTON (AP) – A top White House counterterrorism official is trying to balance reassurance about flying safety with official concern that some of the players in an alleged airline bomb plot may still be out there.
Frances Townsend, President Bush’s homeland security adviser, says the precautions being taken should make people feel safe about air travel. But while British authorities have rounded up two dozen alleged plotters, Townsend won’t rule out that more might be at large — possibly in the US.
During a whirlwind round of interviews today, Townsend says investigators are “looking for connections between anyone in the United States and the plotters in the U-K.” She adds there’s no evidence of an active U-S cell.
In the meantime, the U-S airline system remains on high alert.
————————-
BOSTON (AP) – Maple syrup to mouthwash, fine wine to expensive perfumes.
Those are just some of the liquids that became carry-on contraband Thursday when the government heightened airport security in the wake of what British and U-S officials say was a thwarted terror plot.
Because the alleged plot is said to have involved ingredients for liquid bombs, travelers were forced to unpack their carry-ons, then donate or discard all liquids and gels before boarding.
In Oklahoma City, one passenger was told to get rid of a container of applesauce.
Travelers at the Burlington International Airport in Vermont were forced to discard souvenir jugs of maple syrup. In New Orleans, half-used bottles of hot sauce lay in garbage bins.
A woman arriving in Tampa, Florida, from Jamaica muttered “I’m no terrorist.”
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
