The United States has raised the official terrorist warning level for key financial centers in Washington, New York City, and northern New Jersey.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced today (Sunday) "new" and "unusually specific" intelligence indicates al-Qaida is planning to attack financial institutions, likely with a car or truck bomb.
He said such institutions include the New York Stock Exchange, Citicorp buildings in New York, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, and the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed vigilance and said he is deploying what he called "the full array" of counterterrorism measures to protect the city. He urged people to go to work as normal on Monday.
Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams also told residents to "go about their business" on Monday.
The threat level for the financial centers now stands at orange, or 'high', the second-highest step on the five-level color-coded scale. New York has remained at that level since the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The threat level for the rest of the nation remains at the lower yellow or elevated' level.
Information for this report is provided by AP and Reuters.