US lowers national terror threat level to yellow

The US government on Friday lowered the national terror threat level to 'elevated' from 'high', though security will remain tight in some sectors, including aviation.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced the reduction in the colour-coded threat level to 'yellow' from 'orange' but said airlines, other sectors and some unspecified parts of the country would be asked to remain on a heightened state of alert to guard against possible terror attacks.
"We are still concerned about continued threats, but the threat condition we have been following has diminished," he told a news conference. "With the passing of the holidays and many large gatherings ... we have made the decision to come down to yellow".