decade after 9/11 as investigator investigato investigators investigate a suspected plot. scientists are still working nonstop to identify the remains of 9/11 victims. and that's enabling some loved ones to find closure. we're taking you behind the scenes. and president obama hits the road to prince william up support for his job creation plan. his first stop is the home turf of one of his sharpest critics. i'm wolf blitzer in tampa, florida. the site of monday's cnn tea party debate and you're in "the situation room." security sweeps and a frantic scramble now for more intelligence. a decade after 9/11, america once again faces a threat. precaution precautions were already ramped up, but new information is shifting those efforts into overdriel. the official is suspicious and credible apparently focused on new york city and washington, d.c. it may involve three people, including one u.s. citizen and it may involve a car bomb. let's go to susan candiotti on the scene for us. what's the latest? >> the latest information involves the chatter that's been on going leading out of plup to tenth anniversary. after lot of the chatter says this threat may be originating with the current leader of al qaeda who took over for osama bin laden, mr. alswa -- a al zawahiri. >> terrorism is a theatre. and this is probably the biggest stage. we have the president and two former presidents here. obviously a lot of high profile public officials will be here. and so we have to be concerned. >> among the concerns, who are the three possible plotters, when do they plan to attack? are they? the u.s. already or still trying to get in? the information authorities do have came from an intercepted communication in pakistan sfr an al qaeda operative with a credible track record. the plotters have been described as generic, making searches of sdat that base difficult. norths knew that al qaeda had an interest in attack on the 9/11 anniversary since the raid on osama bin laden's compound in may. >> we take all threat reporting seriously and we have taken and will continue to take all steps secretary to mitigate any steps that arise. >> part of that vigilance, additional searches and stops near bridges and tunnels and on the subway. using technology that tracks down stolen cars and identifies radioactive material. playing defense until more specific information comes to light. >> and authorities say these added security procedures will likely be in place at least through monday. they also passed on their information to law enforcement agencies throughout the united states about this possible threat. the final word they want to get out is they want people to carry on as usual. don't stop what you're doing, don't panic, just be more watchful of your surroundings. >> susan, when was the last time -- and you've been in new york for a while. you've been covering the threats from terrorism for a while. when was the last time you saw this kind of precaution in new york city? >> oh, i haven't. i've been to every anniversary ceremony here, but certainly this year, i'm seeing more people around it, and for obvious reasons. after all, it's a very significant anniversary here. >> they appear to be unprecedented and they're certainly tying up parts of the city. >> they certainly are. >> the financial community in new york, which was hit so hard on 9/11, marked the anniversary with a minute of silence at the new york stock exchange. the secretary of state hillary clinton and spoke with cnn's alison kosik about the new threat. >> the reason america and this great city has shown such resill je -- resilience is because we refuse to be intimidated. but we're not stupid. part of the reason we went public with this particular threat information was to tell people, go on with your lives, keep your eyes open and let us know if you see anything suspicious. remember, the times square bomber was stopped by a food vendor who saw something suspicious, reported it and thank goodness. >> from the streets to the monuments, police are out in full force at the nation's capital as well. they're also using some old fashioned foot patrols as well as high-tech surveillance. athena jones joins us live. >> the police said is the public should feel free to come on down, enjoy the monuments and memorials this weekend, but they shouldn't be surprised if they begin to see an increase in police presence in places like this one and all around the city, wolf. >> a heightened state of awareness at the washington metro. significantly increased vigilance at the capital, and stepped up security near the white house. >> we were ready for this. there are other mez slurs necessary, we're prepared to take them. >> with a new credible threat the nation's capital could come under attack, potentially using a truck or car bomb, officials have been eager to assure the public the city is ready. >> this has been ten years of preparation and planning essentially from local, federal law enforcement on how to do the best that we possibly can to keep our city safe. we have a very robust plan, we have a lot of experience here? >> this weekend, as the 10th anniversary approaches, unattended vehicles around government buildings and bridges will be towed. and there's an increased law enforcement presence everywhere. capitol police have more officers on patrol, more police cruisers, more canine bomb squad and other special units deployed. there's a substantial number of officers on patrol, in uniform, plain clothes and on foot back and motorcycle. metro transit police are patrol with canine and special operations units and conducts unannounced bag searches. >> talking about background checks. that's talking about training, preparing our employees, preparing our people. public awareness. >> officials say they're sharing information closely with their counterparts and apartments in agencies city wide. >> metro riders have noticed a change. >> i see an officer to my left, to my right. i've noticed an increase in security at the station. >> i have nothing to hide. ramp up as much as you want, i guess. k trying to keep us safe, that's good. >> police here have already been briefed twice today so far by federal authorities. she also said there's been an uptick in the number of people reporting suspicious activity. this is the kind of thing officials want to see. nothing's turned up so far, though, wolf. >> any indication, athena that people canceled visits to washington, d.c. this weekend? tourists coming in for for example? any early indication on that? >> well, not so far. we've been here for a while here at the lincoln memorial. this is what the park police want to see. there were several officers up the stairs by the statue, but no real visible strong presence yet and certainly no real big indication that tourists are staying away, wolf. >> that's good. thanks very much. we'll check back with you as well. >> specific and credible. specific and credible. that's how authorities describe the possible new 9/11 terror threat against washington and new york. but how do they know the threat is real? cnn terrorism analyst is standing by. and president obama goes on the road to try to rally support for his jobs plan. right in the backyard of a key republican critic. lots of news happening today right here. 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[ engine revs, tires screech ] mom? ♪ the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us. hi there. i'm lisa sylvester. wolf blitzer has been reporting from tampa, florida. he's been reporting outside, but the weather is a factor. we're going to give wolf a few seconds to get out of the rain for a little bit. in the meantime, continuing on with the news, just hours after challenging congress to act quickly on his $447 billion jobs plan, president obama today took his message on the road. these were duelling events, weren't they? >> it certainly seemed that way. but a white house official said the fact that the president was speaking in eric cantor's district, the fact that it was eric cantor's district played no role in picking the event site. that's what i was told. but it was striking. you did have the number two in the house talking jobs at this the concrete plant just a few hours after president obama, just 17 miles away from where the president told a supportive crowd of thousands that house republicans should get behind the plan he spelled out last night. >> everything in the american jobs act, everything in there is the kind of proposal that's been supported in the past by both democrats and republicans. nothing radical in this bill. everything in it will put more people back to work and more money back into the pockets of those who are working. everything in it will be paid for. >> now, house republicans take issue with that assertion that it will be paid for. and mostly because democratic sources familiar with what the president will request of congress for paying for this plan say that he will ask for it to be paid for in part by increasing taxes in later years. it's a nonstarter for republicans. but there is some openness on the part of house republicans including cantor to the larger part of the president's jobs plan and that is the extension and the expansion of the payroll tax cut for employees and for businesses. >> it's pretty clear they don't see eye oeye on what to do to create job, but it sounds like the rhetoric has toned down. >> it really has, markedly so. i asked the majority leader about that. here's what he said. >> what's with the change in tones from house republicans? >> well, you know, i think that we've been on august recess with our constituents for four or five weeks. and the fear that i heard from people and saw in their faces is very real. you know, people are scared. they don't have enough money. businesses are worrying about getting through the month. it's time for us to do something. there are things the president said last night that are consistent with what we believe. >> clearly, the republicans are sensitive to a powerful card that the president said he will play, if they don't swallow this bill whole, he will paint them as obstructionist. so we'll see how long the kumbaya lasts. >> i know many want to see both parties in washington actually do something in this case. thanks. well, this year's nasty political debate has focused around america's debt problem with tea party loyalists leading the charge on spending. but can the government cut the budget and still keep the country safe? authorities are on the alert for a terror plot. joe johns has been dig into that, joe? >>. >> reporter: a few years ago, people in the bush administration were pouring billions of dollars into safety and security for american citizens. now washington is talking about a different kind of war. a war on government spending and whether it's possible to keep americans safe and save money at the same time. the 9/11 attacks launched an unprecedented wae of u.s. government spending, and creation of the sprawling department of homeland security. and while blame for out of control government spending falls on both occupants of the white house since 9/11, it did start with george w. bush and dick cheney. though in an interview with wolf blitzer, the former vice president says the doubling of the federal debt that occurred was to keep the country safe. >> i would not have reversed those policies. >> but some questioned whether the government had any kind of business running up that debt. congressman and presidential candidate ron paul -- >> should the strength of the president be directed towards building tsa and homeland security and policing the world? >> reporter: the main criticism of the homeland security department is that it wastes money, a recent government accountability office says dhs has improved over the year, but cited serious weaknesses, including cost overruns, schedule delays, performance problems, such as a canceled technology program for securing the country's borders. and that's what tea partiers mean when they call the department inefficient. >> there are no sacred cows. it is the federal government's responsibility to keep us safe, but the apartment of homeland security has been efficient. . >> and it's not just tea partiers. listen to former 9/11 commissioner and ambassador to india, tim roemer, a democrat. >> what we have to do is strengthen our national security and strengthen our jobs and our economy. and part of this calibration is to to do parts of a national security budget. homeland security and national security are seen sometimes differently on the hill. powerful members of congress are trying to hold the line cuts in the military. they say there's been enough cuts already. lisa? >> the republican presidential candidates will be debating in tampa, florida. wolf blitzer will be the moderator when cnn hosts the debate, along with the tea party express and several tea party groups in tampa, florida monday on 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. two problematic issues for the two front-runners in the republican race. we'll explain which ones and how much they could hurt rick perry and mitt romney. ticket prices are going back up. we'll going to tell you why. [ male announcer ] we went to germany's nurburgring to challenge ourselves on the most demanding track in the world. with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities that pushed us to refine, improve and, ultimately, develop the world's fastest production sedan. the cts-v, from cadillac. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. >> in cairo, hundreds of protesters trying to break down a wall surrounding the israeli embassy in cairo. let's bring in lisa sylvester. she's monitoring that. some of the other top stories in "the situation room." right now. dramatic stuff going on in egypt. what is the latest? >> that's right. demonstrators cheered on police while police stood by. they also chanted for the ouster to israel's ambassador to egypt. since hosni mubarak stepped down, many egyptians have called for an end to diplomatic relations with israel. an emotional moment on the floor of the new york stock exchange this morning as traders mark the tenth anniversary of 9/1 1. dignitaries ranged opening bell, including former mayor hrudey giuliani, hillary clinton and chuck schumer. meanwhile, the markets tanked today. the dow jones closed down 2.5%. bill richardson yshows he won't leave cuba. he says the cuban government has turned down his request to visit gross in the hospital. richardson arrived in havana on wednesday to try to negotiate gross' release. cuba says gross was trying to install illegal electronic equipment. airlines have increased their one-way fares as much as $5 for walk-up purchase. time will tell if consumers are willing to pay more to fly in this sluggish economy. >> thanks very much. the terror threat in new york and washington, d.c. ten years after the 9/11 attacks. we're going to show you what's being done to try to resolve this. stay with us. this is the kind of truck that has it all. ♪ guess that means you can do it all. it's the chevy season of doing. now combine the all-star edition discount with other offers for a total value of $6,000. or qualified buyers can get 0% apr for 60 months plus $1,000 cash allowance on all silverado models. get to your chevy dealer and get that truck today. 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