Officials: bin Laden Guiding Plots Against the U.S.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A plot to carry out a large-scale terror attack against the United States in the near future is being directed by Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda members, senior intelligence officials said Thursday.

Bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are overseeing the attack plans from their remote hideouts somewhere along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, according to senior intelligence officials.

"This type of plotting, this type of operational activity, is being done with the direct direction and authorization of that senior leadership," said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Democratic senator who attended Thursday's CIA and FBI briefing said, "It is the most worrisome situation since 9/11" without elaborating specifically.

Arrests of terror suspects in Europe and the Middle East resulted in the new warning, said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

"We lack precise knowledge about time, place and method of attack," he said. "But along with the CIA, FBI and other agencies, we are actively working to gain that knowledge."

A senior U.S. intelligence official said the warning was based on "a very strong body of intelligence."

The planned attack is "an effort to disrupt the democratic process" before November's elections, Ridge said.

Ridge said he had no specific or credible information about threats to the upcoming political conventions. The four-day Democratic convention kicks off July 26 in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Republican National Convention begins August 30 in New York City.

He also said the nation's color-coded terrorist threat level will remain at yellow, or elevated, he said.

"We have more protective measures in place at yellow today than we did six months or a year ago," Ridge said. "And there will be more put in place on a day-to-day basis every single day, for as long as the department exists."

"We know they have the capability to succeed and they also hold the mistaken belief that their attacks will have an impact on America's resolve," Ridge said.

Market Spooked by Renewed Terror Threat

WASHINGTON: World oil prices jumped and US markets slumped Thursday after a shock warning from US Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge that terrorist network al-Qaeda was planning another major attack on US soil in an "effort to disrupt our democratic process."

"Since September 11, 2001, we have had intelligence that al-Qaeda intends to launch more attacks against the homeland," Ridge told reporters here.

"Credible reporting now indicates that al-Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the United States in an effort to disrupt our democratic process," he said.

"Based on the attack in Madrid and recent interdictions in England, Jordan and Italy, we know that they have the capability to succeed and hold the mistaken belief that their attacks will have an impact on America's resolve," Ridge said.

"We lack precise knowledge about time, place and method of attack," Ridge
added. "But along with the CIA, FBI and other agencies, we are actively working
to gain that knowledge."

Al-Qaeda carried out the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks that killed about 3,000 people in New York, Washington and a Pennsylvania field.

Shortly after Ridge spoke, New York's benchmark light sweet crude oil contract for delivery in August soared 1.25 dollars to close at 40.33 dollars a barrel, the first finish above 40 dollars since June 1.

Iraq : Militants Vow to Kill Bulgarian Hostages

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants in Iraq threatened on Thursday to kill two Bulgarian hostages within 24 hours unless U.S.-led forces freed prisoners, stepping up pressure on Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's new interim government.

The Arabic satellite television station Al Jazeera said the tape was from the Tawhid and Jihad group headed by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has been accused by Washington of links to Osama bin Laden al Qaeda.

The tape showed two men, identified as Bulgarians, sitting in front of masked captors, two of them wielding automatic weapons while a third read a statement.

"The group said the Bulgarian government bore responsibility over the safety of its citizens because it has sent troops to Iraq," said Al Jazeera.

No immediate comment was available from Bulgarian officials, and it was not clear whether the captive Bulgarians were military personnel or civilians.

Bulgaria has been an ally of the United States over Iraq, contributing around 470 troops to U.S.-led forces.

Women to Swoon Over Veeps (Edwards) Sex Appeal

His Ken-doll looks and sex appeal are drawing him comparisons to presidential playboys John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.

Though 51, he looks more like a shipshape 35, and is the most recent Beltway boy to be dubbed People magazine's "Sexiest Politician.''

But while newly minted vice presidential candidate John Edwards [related, bio] may make some women swoon, it's his wholesome, hard-working family-man image more than just his cover-boy face that could sway female voters.

"He's easy on the eyes and he's a good person,'' explains Liz Sporkin, assistant managing editor of People, which is running a candid profile of Edwards in Friday's issue.

"I think his whole story factors into people's voting habits. I don't think just his looks do. That's just the icing on the cake.''

People magazine included Edwards in its 2000 "Sexiest Man Alive'' issue, in which theNorth Carolina senator was named "Sexiest Politician.''