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FBI: No Credible Threat, but Be Vigilant Saturday March 11, 2006 3:01 AM By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI said Friday there is no specific, credible threat of a terror attack aimed at college basketball arenas or other sports stadiums, but acknowledged alerting law enforcement to a recent Internet posting discussing such attacks. The FBI and Homeland Security Department distributed an intelligence bulletin Friday to state and local law enforcement nationwide describing the online threat against sporting venues, said Special Agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. ``We have absolutely no credible intelligence or...

NORMAN - A Norman police bomb expert said Tuesday he does not believe University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III committed suicide by blowing himself up outside a packed football stadium. "I believe he accidentally blew himself up," Sgt. George Mauldin said. Mauldin said Hinrichs, 21, an engineering student, had two to three pounds of triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, in a backpack in his lap when it exploded Oct. 1. When asked if he believed Hinrichs meant to enter the stadium with the explosives, Mauldin replied, "I don't believe he intended for an explosion to occur at...

The D.C. Council voted to reject a baseball stadium lease agreement last night, then reconsidered four hours later and approved the deal after a plea from Mayor Anthony A. Williams and a threat from Major League Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy. The dramatic about-face came at 12:40 this morning after the council added its own price cap to the lease, limiting the District's spending to $611 million for the project along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington. With the cap in place, the council voted 9 to 4 for emergency legislation that approved the lease deal....

The D.C. Council rejected a baseball stadium lease agreement last night after failing to agree on a spending cap, sending the future of the Washington Nationals into doubt and prompting Major League Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy to declare that baseball will pursue arbitration today. After a day of negotiating, the council voted 8 to 5 to turn down the lease deal that had been negotiated between baseball officials and Mayor Anthony A. Williams's administration. Without a lease, the city will be unable to issue bonds to build a stadium along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, and baseball will...

MANILA, Philippines A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila, killing at least 88 people, and injuring 280, the Philippine Red Cross reported. About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium for the program "Wowowee" when the mayhem erupted, said Vicente Eusebio, the mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred. The mayor said the melee erupted as the crowd pushed and surged toward the gates, thinking they were open, pinning and trampling those in front. One survivor said some people in the crowd became rowdy when they could not enter. "The gates...

Let’s assume for the moment that the latest audiotape of Bin laden is not, as many have opined, simply an attempt to make himself relevant as he sees the methodical dismantling of his Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Instead, let’s assume for the moment that there is something to his bravado. That he isn’t just bluffing. But that the long-feared worst-case scenario has been achieved by his cohorts: that Al-Qaeda now has in its possession a dirty bomb. And more importantly, that this bomb is now in the targeted geographical location awaiting simply the designated hour for its detonation. Is that an...

Norman, Oklahoma (population 100,923), is as American heartland as it gets. So on October 1, 2005, when Joel Hinrichs III, a 21-year-old Colorado Springs, Colorado engineering student at the University of Oklahoma strapped explosives to his body and blew himself up outside the college stadium where 84,000 fans were watching a Saturday-night football game, thus earning the town the distinction as home to America's first suicide bomber, I was, well, curious. Within 24 hours of the event, three players in the unfolding story issued statements aimed at quashing rumors that the bombing was terrorist related. University President David Boren, in...

"I'll be back." That pledge from the Terminator traditionally has had special meaning in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. But now — after the California governor refused to spare two convicted murderers in a row from their death sentences and showed no signs of relenting in another case up next month — the romance is over between Schwarzenegger and Graz, Austria's second-largest city. Acting on Schwarzenegger's orders two weeks after the Dec. 13 execution of former Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, city leaders Tuesday deleted all references to the bodybuilder-turned-governor on Web sites linked to Graz. Over the weekend, they also...

Arnold Schwarzenegger's name has been expunged from the websites of his Austrian hometown in the latest chapter of the row over the US death penalty. The editing came a day after the California governor's name was removed from Graz's main football stadium. Local politicians berated Mr Schwarzenegger - one of Graz's most famous sons - after he refused to pardon a prominent US death row inmate. The governor subsequently made clear he wanted nothing more to do with Graz. He returned a "ring of honour" the city awarded him in 1999 and demanded his name no longer be used in...

Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams. Late Sunday night or early Monday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out...

VIENNA -- Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under the cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Californian Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian home town of Graz removed his name from the city's stadium over Christmas, amid anger over his decision to deny clemency to a death row inmate. Austrian news agency APA showed the stadium's entrance displaying only its historical name, "Graz-Liebenau," and quoted an anonymous city official as saying Schwarzenegger's name had been removed overnight to avoid a public furor. Graz city officials were not reachable on Monday, a holiday in Austria. Left-wing politicians launched a petition drive in Graz to have the town rename the stadium because the Austrian-born governor allowed the...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown quietly removed his name from a soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor's demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. Authorities late Sunday night or early Monday removed the large metal letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from the 15,300-seat stadium in the southern city of Graz, taking advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of...

(CBS) CHICAGO The year is winding down with a jolt for Chicago sports fans. A new football team and a new stadium? CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports the mayor has big plans to lure big sporting events to town. The idea came straight from City Hall, and according to the Chicago Tribune, Mayor Daley himself has been talking about it with key Chicago business leaders. In an effort to attract the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, they mayor would like to build a domed stadium and possibly bring a second NFL team to the city. "I don't know much about that....

Austrian mayor tries to woo Schwarzenegger WILLIAM J. KOLEAssociated PressVIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to end ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance. Siegfried Nagl, mayor of the southern city of Graz, said he dashed off a letter to Schwarzenegger pleading with him not to return a ring of honor bestowed on him by officials in his birthplace in 1999 and reassuring him that most residents still admire him. "I hope that very soon we'll hear you say, 'I'll...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday told officials in his hometown in Austria to remove his name from a sports stadium and stop using his name to promote the city. The governor's request came after politicians in Graz began a petition drive to rename the stadium, reacting to Schwarzenegger's decision last week to deny clemency to condemned inmate Stanley Tookie Williams. Opposition to the death penalty is strong in Austria. In a letter that began "Dear Mister Mayor," Schwarzenegger said he decided to spare the Graz city council "further concern" should he be forced to make other clemency decisions...

When Yogi Berra said, "It's like déjà vu all over again," he might as well have been describing this week's D.C. City Council vote on the deal negotiated by the city and Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals' stadium. Last year around this time, Mayor Williams and the council acquiesced to the league's demands by agreeing to build a brand new, baseball-only stadium to be financed largely by a new tax on local businesses. Now the council is being asked to agree to a stadium lease that keeps MLB from having to pay more than $20 million of...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants and Jets today took another step toward building a new jointly owned stadium next door to their existing home when Giants Stadium LLC and Jets Development LLC jointly submitted a preliminary Master Site Plan for the New Meadowlands Stadium and its surroundings to the New Jersey Sports Authority. > VIEW SELECT RENDERINGS FROM THE JOINT PROPOSAL The stadium, which is expected to seat approximately 80,000 people, will be the centerpiece of one of the most innovative and memorable spectator environments in professional sports. The parties continue to work on design and financing details for...

Sometimes we need others to tell us when we have gone too far. Parents pull their children away from hot stovetops, a referee tells an athlete if he has stepped out-of-bounds, and politicians need reminders when they want government to do more than it ought. Like the allure of a hot stovetop to a child, many politicians seem drawn to spending money on projects outside the core purpose of government. For example, Washington is paying off $591 million for Qwest Field (Seahawks), $427 million for Safeco Field (Mariners), $139 million for the Key Arena remodel (Sonics), $200 million to retire...

STADIUM FOOD VENDOR MAKES CONCESSIONS IN HEALTH DEPARTMENT MEETING

Discussion and commentary.

IRVING - Mohammed Wasiq sat in the end zone of Texas Stadium, as if he were resting up for a goal that was a hundred yards away. Perhaps his target is even further, but Mr. Wasiq imagines a time when Muslim Americans are important constituencies in American politics, and their religion and culture better understood by politicians and citizens alike. "We definitely believe our vote bloc can make a difference in the future," said Mr. Wasiq, a 30-year-old systems engineer from Plano. Mr. Wasiq spent Sunday with about 7,000 Muslims who gathered in Irving for what organizers dubbed the Muslim...

At 9:50am today 6/17/2002 I was traveling west on HWY 183 just west of Texas Stadium (Dallas Cowboy Football). A low flying turquoise single engine Cessna-like plane flew real low about 150 ft. above the highway. It was flying west away from the stadium on the south side of the highway and then rapidly did a banking u-turn back towards the stadium. I noticed this as I thought the plane was in trouble being so low and thought the plane was going to land/crash in the road either in front of me or after the u-turn, in back of me...

Wednesday, July 3   People with terrorist ties downloading stadium images ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- The FBI has issued a ''very vague'' alert warning that people with ties to terrorist groups are downloading images of U.S. stadiums from the Internet, an agency official said Wednesday. The intelligence bulletin was sent in recent days to law-enforcement agencies nationwide. ''There's no specific threat,'' said Bill Eubanks, head of the FBI's St. Louis office. ''They just simply accessed the Web site.'' Images downloaded from www.worldstadiums.com. included the Edward Jones Dome, home to the NFL's St. Louis Rams, and the RCA Dome,...

Angry fans have bombarded the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers with plastic seats and drinks at the first competitive football match between clubs from the neighbouring countries. Sukru Sina Gurel and George Papandreou were making a pre-match tour of the Istanbul stadium when they came under a hail of missiles from Greek fans and were forced to take cover. The Turkish side Fenerbahce later drew 1-1 with Athens side Panathinaikos in the Uefa Cup second round match. Before the kick-off two Greek fans were slightly injured by flying objects when they unfurled a banner of Fenerbahce's arch-rival, Galatasaray, the Associated...

Thursday, November 7, 2002 FBI asked to stop blasts at stadium Counter-terrorism training frightened city By Dan Horn The Cincinnati Enquirer If Hamilton County officials get their way, the next explosion at Cinergy Field will be the one that demolishes the stadium Dec. 29. County officials asked FBI agents Wednesday to stop using explosives as part of counter-terrorism training exercises the agency is conducting at the stadium. Downtown residents and office workers were alarmed Tuesday as loud explosions at the ballpark shook buildings and rattled windows. At least seven blasts were heard between 5:30 and 8:40 p.m., prompting worried office...

VICKSBURG — Police arrested a 20-year-old student today following an afternoon fatal shooting outside Vicksburg High School, authorities say. "It wasn't a Columbine High School or Pearl High School situation," said District Attorney Gil Martin. "This apparently was something personal between the two of them." Martin said the victim, also 20, was not a student at the school. Police spokesman DaVon Grey would not releast the names of the victim or the shooter. Grey said there was no indication others were involved in the shooting, which occurred in a grassy area next to the school's football stadium. The victim, shot...

Tehran Azadi Stadium turns into battle groundSMCCDI (Information Service) Nov 13, 2003 Hundreds protested and clashed with the Islamic regime's security forces, yesterday evening, at the issue of the unfinished game between the Iranian and N. Korean National Soccer Team. The clashes started as the security forces attacked tens of youngs shouting slogans against the regime and its leaders. The crowd angered by the injuries and arrests made among the protesters attacked the security forces patrol cars and tens of buses parked in the Azadi stadium's parking by dammaging them. The "calm" was re-established following the intervention of the Special...

HOUSTON -- As Super Bowl XXXVIII closes in, security at Reliant Stadium gets tighter. One of the final security sweeps was conducted Saturday night. Federal agents and dozens of bomb-sniffing dogs went over every inch inside the stadium. Fans hoping to get a glimpse of the outside of the stadium quickly found out that they would have to take pictures from afar. No pictures were allowed on the stadium's property. "Do you want me to take that tape out of there? You cannot film on this property," a security guard told sightseers who got too close. Roadblocks prevent drivers from...

New Soccer Stadium Funding Discussed, Security And Health Issues Addressed AR RAMADI, Iraq - Civil Affairs personnel have made the final payment of $8,600 to fund the construction of a new soccer stadium in Nassir Wa Salaam. Once complete, the project will provide a first-class recreational facility and meeting place for the 153,000 residents of the area. The money distributed was provided by the 82nd Airborne Division's Commander's Emergency Relief Payment program. In an effort demonstrating the Coalition's commitment to the Iraqi Police, civil affairs personnel with 1st Brigade of the 82nd verified completion of a CERP-funded project to...

ANN ARBOR - Ohio State's athletic department took another hit yesterday. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, whose Wolverines were upset by the Buckeyes 37-21 Saturday in Columbus, launched an all-out blitz at Ohio State officials. Carr criticized the Buckeyes' brass for making the Wolverines wait outside Ohio Stadium before the game Saturday while police and police dogs searched the bags of every player and coach. And he questioned the credibility of Ohio State's athletic department, which already has its hands full with Maurice Clarett's recent allegations and NCAA investigators. Carr said the unusual pre-game search, which lasted between 10 and 15...

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (Madrid) Evacuated for Bomb Threat Security agents of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium have ordered the evacuation of the stadium, host to the game between the Real Madrid and the Real Sociedad [Spanish soccer teams], because of an alleged bomb threat. A call to the newspaper Gara de San Sebastian [in the Basque region] announced the placement of an explosive device in the Madrid stadium. The caller claimed that it would explode at 9:00 p.m. The approximately 75,000 spectators present were told over the PA system to leave the premises, although they were not informed of the reason,...

MADRID (AFP) - More than 70,000 people were evacuated from Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium following a bomb scare, club sources confirmed. The alert came after an anonymous caller to the Basque newspaper Gara claimed that the armed separatist movement ETA had planted a bomb in the stadium which was hosting a Primera Liga game between Real Madrid and Basque side Real Sociedad and it would explode at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT). Police informed the referee just a minute before the game was due to finish with the score at 1-1. The players returned to the locker rooms and...

3 videos on the right-hand video listing. Summary: Hinrichs spent time in the same Norman mosque as Moussaui Ticket to Algeria was found linking back to his Pakistani roommate 5 others possibly involved Hinrichs attempted to enter the stadium and may have had a ticket to the game

Ten days have passed since a 21-year-old University of Oklahoma engineering student was killed when a bomb he was carrying exploded 100 yards from the stadium where Oklahoma and Kansas State were playing football before a crowd of 84,000 – and there are still more questions than answers to exactly What? and Why? As The Oklahoman said in its October 9 edition, the explosion “left Oklahomans wondering whether it was an individual suicide or if it was intended to be an act of terrorism targeting football fans October 1.” There is evidence the student, Joel Hinrichs III of Colorado, was...

en days have passed since a 21-year-old University of Oklahoma engineering student was killed when a bomb he was carrying exploded 100 yards from the stadium where Oklahoma and Kansas State were playing football before a crowd of 84,000 – and there are still more questions than answers to exactly What? and Why? As The Oklahoman said in its October 9 edition, the explosion “left Oklahomans wondering whether it was an individual suicide or if it was intended to be an act of terrorism targeting football fans October 1.” There is evidence the student, Joel Hinrichs III of Colorado, was...

TAMPA -- Civics teacher Gordon Johnston tells his ninth- and 11th-grade students about the rights afforded by the U.S. Constitution. So it seemed odd to him when he walked into Raymond James Stadium to watch a football game -- a truly American activity -- and felt those rights were violated. The Fourth Amendment, Johnston said, protects against unreasonable searches. Yet when he went to the stadium, a security guard patted him down -- without cause, in Johnston's view. Johnston, with help from the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking an injunction to end pat-downs at Raymond James...

If you're heading to OU's home game against Baylor Saturday, get ready for something new. The University will give an evacuation plan to fans heading through the gates. OU President David Boren mailed season ticket holders a letter that tells them to get to the game early, because searches will be going on at all stadium gates. This comes after 21-year-old Joel Hinrichs III killed himself with a home-made bomb outside the stadium on October 1. Investigators say the blast was an isolated incident.

NEWARK, N.J. -- Several Muslim football fans claim they were profiled and unfairly detained by stadium security personnel and the FBI at Giants Stadium during a game in September when they were seen praying, alarming other fans who considered their behavior suspicious. Five fans attending the New York Giants-New Orleans Saints game at the Meadowlands on Sept. 19 were removed from their seats and questioned by security personnel after other fans saw them prostrating themselves on the ground as part of daily Muslim prayers, which must be performed five times each day, Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer for one of the...

NEWARK, N.J. -- Several Muslim football fans claim they were profiled and unfairly detained by stadium security personnel and the FBI at Giants Stadium during a game in September when they were seen praying, alarming other fans who considered their behavior suspicious.

President Bush was in the stadium that night EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AP) -- Five Muslim football fans were detained and questioned during a game at Giants Stadium because they were congregating near an air duct on a night former President Bush was in the stadium, the FBI said Wednesday. Some of the Muslims said they did not know they were in a sensitive area, and they complained that they were subjected to racial profiling while they were praying, as their faith requires five times a day. "I'm as American as apple pie and I'm sitting there and now I'm...

Police stopped one of the young terrorist suspects a week before his arrest for behaving suspiciously outside a Copenhagen football stadium. A Danish-Israeli football match might have been the group's target One of the young men arrested last week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack was stopped two weeks ago, as police discovered him 'behaving suspiciously' outside a football stadium in the Copenhagen suburb of Brøndby. The young man is one of six young radical Muslims arrested in Copenhagen last week, after the discovery of a large suicide bombing arsenal in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo was traced to...

ROME, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said a suicide bomber was plotting to blow him up in a soccer stadium, and he accused his domestic political opponents of exposing Italy to terror attacks. "I am the subject of a direct threat. A suicide bomber in a stadium aiming for me," Berlusconi told Italian newspaper Libero in an interview published on Thursday. "But it is not a question of me. We're also talking about Italy. Aren't people worried about this?" he added in what the conservative daily called a furious and bitter outburst. "We are talking...

Today is the deadline for property owners in Southeast to comply with the D.C. government's demand that they give up their land for the District's proposed Major League Baseball stadium, but club owner Robert Siegel says he plans to keep fighting. "I am scared to death," said the landlord of many of the neighborhood's homosexual strip bars and adult theaters. "And I have lost a tremendous amount of business, and right now we don't even know if the stadium is going to be moved or relocated to RFK Stadium. That's what I want. That's what I am hoping for. And...

The Chargers are expected to tell a City Council panel Wednesday that the high up-front costs associated with the stadium plan being pitched to voters next year have warded off potential development partners they say are needed to proceed with their plan. The reported stumbling block could jeopardize the team's plans to ask San Diego city voters in November 2006 whether they will transfer 60 acres of public land on the Mission Valley site to the Chargers to ensure that the team builds a new stadium without using city funds, Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani said Friday. Fabiani's recent comments regarding...

A suspended Minnesota Vikings player is the defendant in a civil suit filed today in Hennepin County District Court. A 21 year old Richfield woman is accusing Onterrio Smith of sexual assault in another Viking’s apartment on June 12, 2004. In an exclusive interview with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the woman’s attorney spoke about the case and the victim. “I think she’s a credible person. I’ve talked to her family members who saw her the night that it happened. I’ve seen the medical records. I think she’s believable,” said attorney Lori Peterson. The victim alleges that she was drinking with Smith...

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations of criminal sexual conduct by Minnesota Vikings players after a boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka turned into an out-of-control party that included lap dances and sexual acts, an attorney for the charter boat company said Tuesday. Stephen Doyle, a lawyer representing the owners of Al and Alma's, a company that charters cruises on the lake, said cornerback Fred Smoot and another Vikings player, whom he declined to name, reserved a charter for a night-time excursion Thursday. "From our end, I don't know the name of the other primary person, but we turned...

The story has been on the back burner of the news agencies for several months now, but it's finally coming to a head. Let me give you the rundown: The owners of the Washington Nationals want a new baseball stadium in Washington DC. They chose a spot where they wanted to put it, and they made offers to purchase the land from the people who currently own the 21 acres they want. Ten of these landowners never responded to the offers, and of the remaining 13 landowners, many rejected the offers. In a free-market, "ownership society", as George W. Bush...

Officer had clue before OU blast By Randy Ellis and Ty McMahan The Oklahoman NORMAN - Police here last week missed a chance to investigate a University of Oklahoma student three days before he apparently blew himself up Saturday outside the university’s packed football stadium, The Oklahoman has confirmed. Joel “Joe” Henry Hinrichs III raised the suspicions of a Norman feed store manager and an off-duty Norman police officer Sept. 28 when he tried to buy the type of fertilizer used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. The off-duty officer, who just happened to be in...

CHALMETTE, La. (NNS) -- Sailors from USS Shreveport (LPD 12) are restoring Chalmette High School’s football stadium for use as an auxiliary community gathering area. Chalmette is located just a few miles west of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish, La. “After only a few days on the job, they’ve already got the place looking better. The whole track’s been cleaned,” said Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class William Antrican. Observing the ongoing work at the stadium, Rear Adm. Joseph Kilkenny, commander of the Joint Force Maritime Component Command supporting Joint Task Force Katrina, commended Sailors for their progress. He added...