NEW YORK — A tip claiming Al-Qaeda may have sent American terrorists or men carrying U.S. travel documents to attack Washington or New York on the ten year anniversary of 9/11 has heightened security within the two cities.

Though the tip is unconfirmed, it is said to be credible. A CIA informant who has proven reliable in the past approached intelligence officials overseas to say that the men had been ordered by newly minted Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Sunday by doing harm on U.S. soil.

According to AP, one U.S. official says Al-Qaeda dispatched three men, at least two of whom could be U.S. citizens, to detonate a car bomb in one of the cities. Should that mission prove impossible, the attackers have been told to simply cause as much destruction as they can.

Speaking in New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there was “a specific, credible but unconfirmed report that Al-Qaeda, again, is seeking to harm Americans and in particular, to target New York and Washington.”

In a notebook found in the compound of Osama bin Laden after he was killed in May, the Al-Qaeda leader mused about the possibility of mounting an attack on the 9/11 anniversary, and the police in New York and Washington were already on alert for trouble.

According to New York Times, two senior American law enforcement officials said an informer in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region passed word of the plot, intended to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, to American intelligence officers on Wednesday. The informer said two American citizens of Arab ancestry had left Afghanistan, traveled through one or more other countries and reached the United States as recently as last week.

But the informer’s information on the plot was second or third-hand, another official said. It included only a vague physical description of the two men — one described as 5 feet tall, the other 5-foot-8 — and a first name for one, Suliman, that is common in the Middle East. The tipster also described a third conspirator, but he appeared to have traveled to Europe. “All this information is very, very sketchy,” one of the law enforcement officials said.

At Penn Station in New York, transit authority police carried assault rifles and wore helmets and bullet-proof vests as they watched crowds of commuters. Police searched passengers’ bags as they entered the subway, and National Guard troops in camouflage fatigues moved among riders, eyeing packages.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were deployed in the Washington subway, and the police searched vehicles at the Brooklyn Bridge. More bomb sweeps of parking garages were planned; ferries were to be given extra police coverage; and cars parked illegally were to be towed quickly, not just ticketed.

In Washington, Police Chief Cathy Lanier warned that unattended cars parked in suspicious locations or near critical buildings and structures would be towed.

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, issued a statement Friday urging public vigilance. “As we head into the 9/11 anniversary weekend, we continue to urge the American public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities. Simply put, if you see something, say something. We take all threat reporting, including the recent specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information, seriously.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, too, made a point of taking the subway to City Hall. Of the latest threat, the mayor said, “It’s serious, but I think the right answer is to go about your business.”

A tourist in a Red Sox jersey poses for a photo in front of Whitey Bulger's apartment. (Kristen Gard for Blast Magazine)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — As you walk down 3rd Street, between California Avenue and Washington Avenue, it’s just like any other neighborhood. A man sporting Nike sneakers and headphones jogs down the street, while a couple bikes by. On the sidewalk, a grandfather pushes a stroller while his wife, daughter and daughter’s young child follow behind him, and a neighbor grabs a package from her front stoop. Across the street, a man is hosing down the sidewalk, a UPS truck is delivering packages, and an Arrowhead Springs truck is delivering water. For all intents and purposes, this appears to be a busy, normal neighborhood.

But on Wednesday, former mob boss James J. “Whitey” Bulger was found here, along with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig. Inside the apartment authorities found $800,000 and later hauled bags labeled as containing weapons, and ammunition out of the apartment.

Bulger had been on the lam for 16 years and was arrested for his alleged role in 19 murders. He was an informant for the Boston FBI. Later, he made the FBI “Ten Most Wanted” list next to Osama Bin Laden.

As news crews swarmed the neighborhood, neighbors appeared intrigued but reserved regarding Bulger’s presence in the apartment complex. One man on his phone boasted to his friend that he had “ridden by him on my bike, I’m sure I have.”

When asked directly about the mob boss, however, numerous people claimed ignorance.

A woman and her daughter, visiting from San Francisco were vacationing across the street from the three-story apartment building. “I’ve been following it on the news, but I had no idea this was happening right across the street!” she exclaimed, before giving her young daughter a brief description of the mob boss.

None of the residents we spoke to would allow their names to be published out of fear for their safety.

While residents of the area went about their routine, tourists were taking advantage of the historic event. Starline Tours briefly stopped in front of the apartment complex. Some cars slowed as they passed, while others stopped altogether capturing pictures on their cell phones.

A group of people, two of whom donned Boston Red Sox clothing, stopped to take pictures in front of the apartment, proudly showcasing their Boston apparel. One of the men even loaned his jersey to a woman in the group so she too could take a picture in front of the apartment in Boston clothing.

SAN DIEGO — An Oceanside truck driver pleaded guilty Thursday to transporting more than 19,400 pounds of marijuana to various distribution points in California.

Carlos Cunningham Jr., 29, admitted in San Diego federal court that he drove multiple trailer loads of marijuana from San Diego to the Central District of California, and that he was aware the marijuana was smuggled into the United States from Mexico through a cross-border tunnel. He faces 21 to more than 27 years in federal prison when he is sentenced April 18, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Walker Hobson.

Cunningham was followed from the tunnel’s exit point — a warehouse in San Diego — to the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Temecula.

The 600-yard underground tunnel was discovered November 2. Agents seized an additional 28,782 pounds of marijuana from the warehouse, authorities said. Mexican authorities seized 9,878 pounds of marijuana from the tunnels entrance in a Tijuana home.

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more than 77 cross-boarder smuggling tunnels have been detected in the last four years by federal authorities, mostly in California and Arizona.

SAN DIEGO — The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that illegal immigrants are still eligible to pay in-state tuition for public college.

The court ruled on a suit originally filed in 2005 but a group of students and parents from 19 states outside of California. The plaintiffs claimed that a 2001 state law improperly circumvented a federal law intended to prevent in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

According to the Los Angeles Times, 25,000 illegal aliens get in-state tuition rates.

Monday’s ruling guarantees lower tuition to students who attended high school for at least three years in the state of California. This includes students who live in other states but attended boarding school in California.

The law was carefully drawn to avoid conflict with the federal statute, according to Ethan Schulman, a San Francisco attorney who represented the University of California system.

“We’re really pleased with this judgment,” said Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, which advocated for that outcome. “As we said in our brief, this is really a matter of California law and California decision making. We feel that these young immigrants, who have bright futures, are being treated fairly.”

Nine other states have already adopted similar tuition laws. Similar legislation is pending in 12 additional states, including Massachusetts, according to www.finaid.org.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police have rearrested a man suspected in the killing of 14-year-old Ahlyja Pinson in 2007.

Antero Cruz, 23, was booked Thursday night on a murder warrant, with bail set at $1 million. He was held at the San Diego County Jail.

Ahlyja was found dead in the basement of a vacant home at 2900 E St. on December 31, 2007. A homeless man had found her and called 911.

Cruz, an acquaintance of Pinson, was originally arrested ten days after the teen was found beaten and stabbed. His arraignment was canceled pending further investigation, but he was held in jail for violating a 2006 car theft conviction. He was later released.

The case has been reviewed regularly and new evidence links Cruz to the murder. He is set to be arraigned Monday in San Diego Superior Court.

SAN DIEGO — A police officer died Thursday after a shootout that began Wednesday evening. A man and woman were also found dead in an apartment police were raiding with an arrest warrant.

Officer Christopher A. Wilson, 50, served on the San Diego Police Department for 17 years. He died at Sripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest early Thursday morning. His son, daughter, ex-wife, and 80 officers had held vigil at the hospital.

Wilson was a Navy lieutenant prior to joining the Police Department in 1993. He served on the SWAT team and was a training officer. He spent his career in the Southeastern Division.

“He was popular, funny, extremely bright and a consummate professional,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, during a news conference. “It was routine for other officers to pay him the compliment by calling him ‘good cover.’ In other words, you always knew Officer Wilson had your back.”

The shootout began Wednesday evening around 10:45 when officers approached Canyon View Apartments on South Meadowbrook Drive to check on a man on probation, as well as serve an arrest warrant on another man for assault with a deadly weapon.

Someone opened the door then slammed it on the officers. The officers kicked down the door and took the probationer into custody and the man wanted for assault barricaded himself in the bedroom.

At least six San Diego police officers entered the apartment and the gunman shot at them, hitting Wilson. Officers returned fire.

Ryan Davis, a resident of another apartment, told the San Diego Union-Tribune he heard six to 12 shots fired from what sounded like handguns and a shotgun.

Wilson was carried down the stairs while the rookie he was training, as well as an injured canine officer and his handler were trapped in a bedroom in the apartment.

A man who only identified himself as Luis watched the siege from a grocery store parking lot across the street wearing a Red Cross blanket and bright blue socks. He told The Associated Press he was in a downstairs apartment with his wife and two small children when he heard gunfire.

“I just hear like a big boom, then they exchanged some words, then I heard ‘Officer down! Officer down!,’” he said.

Luis said he rushed to his window and saw police carrying another officer with a blood-covered neck and face down the stairs.

The incident ended around 6:45 a.m. Thursday. Numerous attempts to contact the people inside led the SWAT team to use explosives to blow a hole through the wall of an adjoining apartment unit in order to use a camera to see inside.

The bodies of a man and woman were discovered inside. It has not been determined if they died in the shootout or if the wounds were self-inflicted. Firearms were found near both of them.

The last time a county law enforcement died was July 23, 2009 when Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas Jr., 30, was killed on patrol near Shockey Truck Trail in Campo. A San Diego city police officer hasn’t been killed in the line of duty since 1991, when Ronald W. Davis, 24, died while dealing with a family disturbance call.

SAN DIEGO — In the biggest drug bust in Mexican history, officials seized more than 105 tons of Marijuana on Monday.

The marijuana was headed for the United States and is street valued at an amazing $340 million.

Initially, Tijuana police noticed a suspicious line of vehicles during a routine patrol. The officers came under fire and later discovered the drugs.

Eleven people were arrested during the bust for drug trafficking. One police officer and one suspect sustained injuries.

The packages were wrapped and displayed logos of specific distributors in the United States. The packages were found in trailers, houses, as well as a storage facility disguised as a recycling plant. The drugs had been accumulating for some time, arriving by land, air, and sea.

It is deemed likely the drugs belong to the Sinaloa cartel, headed by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Alejandro Poire, security spokesman for President Felipe Calderon.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Retired NFL linebacker, Junior Seau, drove his white SUV Cadillac off the road on Monday morning. Glass shards still littered the street at 9 p.m. on Pacific Coast Highway South of Solamar Drive about 35 miles north of San Diego.

The cliff is not a straight drop, but is a rough slope that goes down about 30 feet.

Seau, 41, was the only person in the car. He was being treated Monday at Scripps La Jolla Hospital. The hospital has declined to comment on his condition.

“At this point we think he’s fine, but we really don’t have any comment,” said Richard Doan, who answered the cell phone of Bette Hoffman, who works for Seau’s charity foundation. “There are no injuries, but he seems to be a little shaken up.”

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to have been factors in the crash, said Carlsbad Police Department dispatcher Matthew Pinell. Seau told police he fell asleep at the wheel.

“Falling asleep at the wheel? How often is that the case with NFL players? I’m glad he’s OK, but I’m skeptical” said 22-year-old Victoria Martinet, a resident of Carlsbad.

Seau was arrested Sunday night at his Oceanside home, for suspicion of domestic violence. The victim was his 25-year-old girlfriend, who called police around 10 p.m. and told police that Seau hit her during an argument. The live-in girlfriend reportedly did not require medical treatment.

Seau was freed on bail and was released from the San Diego County jail in Vista.

The linebacker was drafted out of University of Southern California in 1990 and played most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. He was in the NFL for 19 years, ending his career with the New England Patriots, playing 7 out of 17 games that season. He was a 12-time Pro Bowler and also played for the Miami Dolphins.

You’ve head of fish tacos, right? Here’s a quesadilla made with spinach, shrimp and codfish that’s simply to die for:

Seafood Spinach Quesadilla’s

1 bag frozen shrimp (51-60 count)

3 oz. Cod

Fresh spinach

Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Wheat tortillas

Olive Oil

Ripe Avocado

Salsa

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees
• Spray skillet with cooking spray and add cod
• When cod is just about cooked put cod shrimp and spinach into one pan and cook until spinach is wilted and seafood is cooked.
• Spray round baking pan with cooking spray.
• Brush olive oil onto one side of tortilla and place into round baking pan
• Spread shredded Monterey Jack cheese on tortilla.
• Add spinach and seafood mixture to tortilla.
• Place second tortilla on top and spread olive oil over top half of tortilla.
• Place in oven until tortillas are crisp.
• After removing sprinkling cheese on top of finished product and cover until cheese melts (1 minute at most).
• Slice with large knife or pizza cutter.
• In a bowl mash half ripe avocado.
• Mix in salsa of choice and enjoy guacamole and salsa on the side of your quesadillas!

There is no doubt that Nazi Germany was a haunting place to live in the wake of the Holocaust. Bernhard Schlink addressed these hardships in his 1995 novel “The Reader” and through lectures in Boston last week.

“The Reader” personalizes the Holocaust by illustrating the turmoil of a man who is in love with a woman who commits a monstrous crime.‚  Many Germans who lived during the Holocaust dealt with the same struggle.‚  Furthermore, those who were born in the next generation struggled with the guilt of these crimes.

“I think those who commit monstrous crimes are not monsters,” commented Schlink at Boston‚  University.‚  He discussed the presence of the Holocaust in today’s world saying that, “for my generation the past is still very present.”‚  He continued with saying how, “future generations can learn from the Holocaust.”

Schlink said confronting the past is important to‚ prevent equally devastating events in the future and recognize the onset of such events in the present.‚  Although today’s generation, the third after the Holocaust, does not feel as much guilt as its predecessors, the past continues to have a presence in Germany.

“Historical events are always unique and always comparable,” said Schlink.

In The Reader the main character’s, Michael Berg, dilemma falls between love and justice.‚  Eight years after a love affair with an older woman, Hanna, Berg is a law student witnessing Hanna’s trial. She was a Nazi guard.‚  He is in a moral battle between what is lawful and what is moral.‚  Many people found themselves in‚  this situation during the Holocaust.‚  Although, many people do not find themselves in the extreme situation that many of the Nazi workers found themselves in – a unique historical event – moral battles transpire daily.

Despite the necessity to confront the past Schlink clarified that, “fixation on the past is the flipside of the past.”‚  He demonstrates this in‚ Berg, he is a man who does not appear to find happiness throughout his life and is fixated on his love affair with Hanna and her crimes.

Director Stephen Daldry accurately portrays the emotional turmoil of post-Nazi Germany in his adaptation of Schlink’s novel.‚  The many layers of the novel are present throughout the film, which portrayed the struggles and guilt of the Holocaust and post-Holocaust German generations.‚  When a film student asked Schlink what he thought about the movie, which was released Jan. 9, he concisely responded, “I liked the movie.”

Originally, Anthony Minghella had the rights of “The Reader”, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes.‚  Eventually he let Daldry and David Hare make the movie.‚ ‚ ‚  “The Reader” was nominated for four Golden Globes.‚  Kate Winslet won Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.‚  The film has been nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Directing, and Adapted Screenplay.