WASHINGTON — Holiday travelers in New York and Washington Wednesday faced heightened security in subway and rail stations after federal authorities warned of “uncorroborated but plausible information” received in late September about a possible al-Qaida attack. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued the warning to state and local officials, saying that al-Qaida may have discussed targeting New York City transit systems, DHS and New York police spokesmen said. Officials in New York and Washington said transit passengers in both cities and five others with subway systems may see an increased police presence over coming weeks.
Texas: Barbara Bush recovering
Former first lady Barbara Bush was expected to remain in a Houston hospital for the next week as she recovers from laparoscopic surgery for a perforated ulcer, her surgeon said Wednesday. “She did well through the surgery and she continues to do very well,” said the doctor who operated on the 83-year-old former first lady at The Methodist Hospital. Surgeons cleansed her abdominal area with fluid and closed a nearly six-tenths of an inch hole caused by the ulcer, he said.
California: Union bans local boss
The Service Employees International Union has imposed a lifetime ban on the former president of its largest California local and ordered him to repay more than $1 million that it says he misappropriated from the labor organization. SEIU’s president announced the actions Wednesday after reviewing the findings of an internal investigation of Tyrone Freeman’s spending practices as head of the 160,000-member United Long-Term Care Workers and a 30,000-member affiliated chapter, which represent low-wage caregivers.
Oklahoma: Conjoined twins OK
A set of 1-month-old girls believed to be the first known American Indian conjoined twins are doing well and will be separated, doctors said. Preslee Faith and Kylee Hope Wells were born Oct. 25 and are joined at the liver and rib cage, a pediatric surgeon said. “They are very cute and they hold each other,” he said Tuesday of the twins. He said the twins, who weighed a combined 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth, appear to have separate hearts, but doctors in Oklahoma City want to learn if the girls share blood vessels around their hearts before performing the separation.
South Carolina: Tax break on guns
TVs and laptops won’t be the only hot items in South Carolina this Black Friday. The state is offering an unusual perk to shoppers: no sales tax on handguns, rifles and shotguns. The so-called “Second Amendment Weekend” is thanks to a little-debated amendment legislators tacked on this summer to a tax break for energy-efficient appliances. While the energy-efficiency measure doesn’t go into effect until next year, on Friday and Saturday gun buyers won’t have to pay state and local sales taxes that can total 8 percent. Taxes still apply to ammunition and accessories.
Russia: New ICBM passes test
A spokesman for Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces said the military has test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile. He said the RS-24 missile lifted off from a mobile launcher in northern Russia and the missile’s multiple warheads successfully hit their targets at the Kura testing range in the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. Russian officials have boasted that the RS-24 would be able to penetrate any prospective missile defense.
Ghana: 21 die in gas tanker blaze
Police said at least 21 people have been killed after a tanker carrying gasoline overturned on a highway and exploded as people were trying to take the fuel. A regional police commander said the accident occurred 180 miles west of Accra, Ghana’s capital. He said once the tanker began leaking, people rushed to try to collect the gasoline. They died when a spark caused the fuel to explode, engulfing the area in flames.
Indonesia: Elephant kills villager
A man was trampled to death and a home destroyed after 16 wild elephants rampaged through a village on Sumatra island, officials said Wednesday. Villagers in Cot Pangee tried for days to scare away the elephants, yelling and making loud noises, but the animals became more aggressive, a conservation official said. Over the weekend, one elephant trampled a 30-year-old man and 15 animals destroyed a house and tore through several acres of farmland on Tuesday, he said.
Malaysia: Yoga OK for Muslims
Malaysia’s leader assured Muslims on Wednesday they can perform yoga if they do not chant religious mantras — an apparent effort to assuage public anger over an Islamic body’s ban of the ancient Indian exercise. Last week, the National Fatwa Council said that elements of Hinduism in the practice could corrupt Muslims. Recently, the council said girls who act like boys violate Islam’s tenets. The government has also made similar conservative moves, banning the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims earlier this year, saying it would confuse Muslims.
From Herald news services
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