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I thought that even though the alert level is being lowered there were eight unnamed cities (in addition to DC, LA and NYC)that were under scrutiny. I haven't been able to find any list or partial list of those cities.

That is why I said you might be able to research that info at the individual local gov sites here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1013726/posts?page=9568#9568

Vegas, Houston, Miami, I think Phoenix and Detroit too, but I'm not certain about those 2.

he US government yesterday lowered the national terrorism threat level from "high," or orange, to "elevated," or yellow, except for four cities and at sites in critical industries, such as airports and nuclear facilities.

The Department of Homeland Security kept the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Washington on high alert. In Massachusetts, public safety officials said the state will maintain security at or near the orange level at Logan Airport and energy sector facilities in the state but decrease the attention at other locations.

It was the first time since the inception of the color-coded advisory system that the general threat level was lowered while specific geographic and industrial sites were kept on higher alert. Previously, the alert was lowered nationwide.

The terror level was raised to the system's second-highest level Dec. 21, when Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned that intelligence reports indicated the threat of holiday attacks was greater than at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It was the fifth time that the terror alert level has been raised from "elevated" to "high" since system was created in March 2002.

"With the passing of the holidays and many large gatherings that certainly occur during this time, we have made the decision to come down to yellow," Ridge said. "Yellow still means that we are [at] an elevated risk of attack. And we will maintain particular vigilance around some critical resources and locales."

The repeated adjustments to the national alert level have engendered criticism from security specialists that the alert system is ineffective -- raising public fears, they say, while wasting money to broadly ramp up security. During the most recent period of heightened alert, the US government relayed news of potential threats to airlines, causing the delay or cancellation of several international flights to the United States. Ridge said he did not know whether any specific plots were foiled.

He said airlines will remain at a higher state of alert, but cited security concerns in declining to specify which other sectors will do so. "We don't want to broadcast to everybody where we're going to be doing this," he said.

Certain airports will continue to have increased security, an unnamed Homeland Security official told the Associated Press. A few of the many hundreds of dams, bridges, and chemical plants that received heightened protection during the higher alert will continue to be treated with extra vigilance, the official said.

Nuclear facilities and ports also are expected to maintain higher vigilance.