Man sentenced in subway bomb plot

Shahawar Matin Siraj, 24, was arrested on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Though there was no proof he obtained explosives or was linked to any terror organizations, prosecutors said he wanted to blow up the Herald Square station, a transportation hub beneath Macy's flagship department store.

Siraj claimed he was entrapped by a paid police informant.

New York

Big stink blamed on New Jersey

A mighty stench that blanketed swaths of New York City, forced building and school evacuations, disrupted commuter train service — and even stoked fears of a terrorist attack — appears to have come from New Jersey.

While the exact source and cause of the odor are still not clear, Charles Sturcken of the city Department of Environmental Protection said the agency was "pretty sure" it came from New Jersey's heavily industrialized Hudson County waterfront with its chemical plants and port terminals.

Seven people in the Garden State were briefly hospitalized as a result of exposure to the stench.

The big stink didn't cause any injuries in New York and was mostly gone by midday, but it put a scare into a city that lives with constant reminders of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Austin, Texas

Dead birds litter downtown streets

Police shut down 10 blocks in downtown Austin for several hours Monday after 63 birds were found dead in the street, but officials said preliminary tests found no threat to people.

Workers in yellow hazardous-materials suits tested for contaminants in a cordoned-off section near the state Capitol and the governor's mansion before authorities finally gave the all-clear in the afternoon.

Although officials could not immediately determine whether poison or something else killed the birds, "there's no threat to humans at this point," said Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald.

The dead grackles, sparrows and pigeons will be tested. Some experts said the most likely cause of the die-off was a deliberate poisoning.

Miami

Suspicious package only sprinkler parts

The Port of Miami was hit by its second terrorism scare in two days Monday when a package that was to be loaded onto a cruise ship tested positive for plastic explosives. Authorities later determined it was just a box of sprinkler parts.

The package was initially tested six times, and each time it came back positive for the military-grade explosive known as C4, the Coast Guard said. The package was destroyed.

Meanwhile, a judge Monday dropped all charges against three Middle Eastern men whose miscommunication with guards at the Port of Miami had sparked a terrorism scare. Officials initially said that the three men were caught trying to slip past a security checkpoint in a cargo truck on Sunday and that the driver had said he was alone. Federal investigators and a bomb squad were called in, and authorities eventually determined the freight was harmless.

Seattle Times news services