Free Republic

Royal Palm Beach · Police issued a bulletin Monday morning after receiving a report that six men were overheard discussing plans to travel to the Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport and "blowing things up." No government agency reached Monday could confirm the veracity of the report. No arrests or incidents at the airport in Broward County had been reported late Monday. (snip) The resident said the men were talking at a shopping center at Southern Boulevard and Royal Palm Beach Boulevard about 10 a.m. and transferring black bags from one vehicle to another. "They were speaking in Arabic about blowing...

One relative describes him as immature and says he was set up. But federal prosecutors say he threatened to blow up the White House and a Florida power plant. Safraz Jehaludi was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents on Monday at Kemper Risk National Services in Plantation, where he worked as a data entry technician. Federal prosecutors say the Miramar man, 22, sent an anonymous tip from his work computer to the FBI Internet desk on May 31, saying he had overheard “Safraz Jehaludi” state he was planning to blow up a Florida Power & Light Co. power plant and...

The former leader of the Fort Lauderdale mosque where Jose Padilla worshiped said Sunday that the terrorism suspect's transformation to extremism probably came after he left South Florida for Egypt.Raed Awad, who served as imam of Masjid Al-Iman from 1994 to 2000, said Padilla was eager to learn more about Islam and had won a scholarship to Al-Azhar University in Egypt.''There are programs at universities in Egypt where converts can go and study about Islam and learn Arabic,'' Awad said. ``The plane ticket to fly over there is only a couple of hundred dollars. I myself have studied in Egypt.''Awad,...

Home News Sports Entertainment Classified Business Weather Shopping INSIDE NEWS Nation/World South FloridaCuba State legislatureObituariesTraffic Lottery resultsEducationColumnistsPhoto GalleriesConsumer newsCondo Law COMMUNITY INFO Property RecordsMulticultural Directory Next Generation CHANNELS CLASSIFIEDCareers, Homes, Apartments, Cars, Personals, NEWSSouth Florida,Nation/World, Cuba, Columns, Education, Lotto, ObituariesTRAFFICWEATHERHurricane 2002 Web camSPORTSDolphins, Marlins, Heat, Panthers, High school, College, Golf, OutdoorsBUSINESS Stocks & portfolios, CalculatorsSHOPPINGShopping Guide: Shop local merchants AdvertisersFurniture RowTRAVELTHE EDGE Multimedia games and graphics. ENTERTAINMENTDining, Movies, Festivals, Music, TV, Stage, Attractions, ContestsHEALTHFEATURES/LIFESTYLEFood, Home & Garden, BooksCOMMUNITYCalendarEDITORIALS/LETTERS Chan Lowe cartoonsOTHER SERVICESMaps, Directions, Archives, Newspaper customer service, News by email Canadian Jew posed as Islamic convert to snare terror...

José Padilla’s conversion to Islam could have helped him leave behind a life of violence and thuggery that saw him in and out of jails. Instead, his new religion and his old ways apparently combined to make him the perfect candidate for terrorism, according to prosecutors who say the former South Floridian, 31, plotted with al-Qaida to build a radioactive bomb that could have rained nuclear material over city blocks. A decade ago, he was planning a new life for himself and his future wife. Both converted to Islam and Padilla took it very seriously, asking questions and attending local...