Miranda rights

Axelrod: Obama 'Open To' Changing Miranda Rule (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 11, 2010, 9:50AM

David Axelrod

President Obama is open to changing the decades-old Miranda rule that bars prosecutors from using information from interrogations of suspects before they are informed of their right to remain silent, top White House political adviser David Axelrod told CNN Monday night.

"I think the president is open to looking at that issue," Axelrod told Wolf Blitzer. "The question is whether the public safety exception that allows a delay in administering those rights is -- how elastic is that and do we need to make any sort of adjustment to it."

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Times Square Bomb

Ex-ATF Agent: Shahzad 'Was Not The Valedictorian Of The Bomb School'

Justin Elliott | May 11, 2010, 8:34AM

A timer clock used on the failed Times Square bomb and Faisal Shahzad.

With top Obama Administration officials now saying that alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was trained in Pakistan, the natural next question is: what kind of terrorist training results in what was by all accounts an extremely crude bomb that not only failed to go off, but also included 250 pounds of nonexplosive fertilizer?

TPMmuckraker put the question to explosives expert James Cavanaugh, who recently retired after more than three decades with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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Faisal Shahzad

FBI Releases Diagram Of Alleged Times Square Bomber's Car

Jillian Rayfield | May 5, 2010, 3:57PM

'93 Nissan Pathfinder

The FBI has released a diagram of the vehicle Faisal Shahzad allegedly used in his attempt to bomb Times Square, and it explains where the explosives were placed in the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder.

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Times Square Bomb

The One That Almost Got Away: How The FBI Nearly Lost Faisal Shahzad

Ben Frumin | May 5, 2010, 10:17AM

An Emirates airplane with Faisal Shahzad (inset)

Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was put on the U.S government's no-fly list at approximately 12:30 p.m. Monday, and airlines were notified of the change three minutes later. At about 3 p.m. the FBI began surveilling Shahzad at his Connecticut apartment. And yet, several hours later -- after somehow eluding the FBI surveillance team -- he received a boarding pass for a flight from JFK to Dubai and made it on board before he was stopped. How'd that happen?

While details are still coming to light, it seems to be a failure at two levels: the FBI surveillance team tracking Shahzad somehow lost track of him, and the United Arab Emirates' national airline apparently didn't catch his name on an updated no-fly list until it was nearly too late.

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Barack Obama

Obama First Briefed On Attempted Bomb At 10:50 Saturday Night

Rachel Slajda | May 4, 2010, 6:50PM

John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, briefs President Obama on the attempted Times Square car bombing in the Oval Office on May 3, 2010

President Obama was first briefed on the attempted Times Square bombing -- which was discovered about 6:30 p.m. Saturday -- at 10:50 that night, according to a White House official.

Administration officials, who today detailed the president's involvement in the attempted attack over the past few days, said White House officials, National Security Staff and the NYPD were in touch before the president was notified.

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Peter King

Rep. Peter King Uses Times Square Bomber To Go Back On The Attack

Zachary Roth | May 4, 2010, 5:35PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Another attempted terror attack, another chance for Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) to try to gain a political advantage.

In recent years, the New York Republican has gained a reputation for demagoguing every terror incident by hyping the threat of radical Islam and suggesting that Democrats' policies are putting Americans' lives at risk. And now he's back at it.

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Faisal Shahzad

Did Times Square Bomb Suspect Almost Get Away?

Zachary Roth | May 4, 2010, 2:06PM

Faisal Shahzad

Did the suspect in Saturday night's failed Times Square bombing attempt come close to getting out of the country before he could be apprehended?

The Washington Post reported that according to "a source close to the United Arab Emirates," Faisal Shahzad's name was put on the U.S. government's no-fly list around midday Monday. But despite that, the source added, Shahzad was able to buy a ticket to Dubai through Emirates Airlines, check in at JFK Airport, pass through security, and get on a plane. Shahzad was taken into custody last night by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officials, after being pulled off Emirates Airlines Flight 201, which had just left the gate, government officials have said. It appears that Shahzad bought his ticket while driving to the airport. A loaded handgun was found in the car he drove, which was parked in the airport parking lot.

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Times Square

The Failed Times Square Bomb: What Do We Know (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 3, 2010, 10:12AM

The bomb squad at work in Times Square, May 1, 2010

At around 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, a green 1993 Nissan Pathfinder driving west on 45th street stopped west of Broadway in New York's Times Square.

T-shirt vendor Lance Orton noticed smoke coming out of the SUV and pointed it out to a police officer. He called backup, the area was evacuated, and the bomb squad came in. While several popping sounds emanated from the SUV, which filled with smoke, the makeshift bomb did not go off.

Here's what we know about the investigation and what happened:

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