U.S. Authorities Thwarted Planned Hi-Jacking of I.S.S.

U.S. AUTHORITIES THWARTED PLANNED HIJACK OF ISS

Washington, DC (Reuters) Federal officials have captured a U.S.
citizen with suspected ties to al Qaeda who allegedly was planning to
hijack and crash the Internatioal Space Station into a metropolitan
area in the United States, the Justice Department said Monday.

The suspect, Lance Bass, member of a group know as 'N Sync, was
arrested at Washington Dulles Airport upon arriving on a flight from
Russia. According to intelligence sources, he had offered the Russian
Space Agency 20 million dollars for a trip to ISS and had received
training at the Yurii Gagarin Cosmanaut Training Center outside
Moscow.

Bass--who also goes by the alias "Scoop"--is not know to be
affiliated with any national space program or science organization.
At the training center he reportedly showed no interest in
spacewalking or conducting zero-gravity experiments, or other
activities typical during a space mission.

"[The suspect's] actions were highly unusual. People do not travel to
space, risking life and limps, to do nothing. His actions defy common
sense until we start connecting the dots and see the terror design,"
FBI Director Robert Muellar said.

With the space station weighting over 300 tons, a sizeable portion
would have survived reentry through Earth's atmosphere and caused
widespread devastation comparable to that from a small nuclear
explosion, exports say.

At the briefing Attorney General John Ashcroft said Bass, 23, would
be treated as an "illegal enemy combatant" of the United States,
unentitled to rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

"Al Qaeda leaders think that as a citizen of the United States, Lance
Bass would be able to act freely in his homeland. But they are
greatly mistaken. We are vigilant and will continue to be vigilant
against all threats, whether they come from oversea, at home in
America, or from outerspace," said Ashcroft.

The Attorney General has ordered homes of remaining 'N Sync members
searched and placed under constant surveillance. When asked if they
are considered suspects in the case, Ashcroft said for the time being
they are only "persons of interest" but did not rule out the
possibility of future arrests.

"Our investigation is ongoing. It is certainly conceivable that 'N
Sync, with its many so-called fan clubs, would turn out to be part of
a vast conspiracy. Lance Bass did not act alone, I can tell you
that," he said.

Shortly after Bass' arrest, the FCC issued emergency decrees banning
all 'N Sync materials from radio and television, lest hidden messages
in songs might activate sleeper cells across the country. In addition
to carefully monitoring their teenage daughters' behaviors, parents
are asked to search through their personal effects for 'N Sync
memorabilia and report suspicious findings to Operation TIPS.

The Treasury Department has directed financial institutes to freeze
assets belonging to the Backstreet Boys, A-Teens, and BBMak--groups
suspected of being fronts for extremist groups such as Hamas.

On Tuesday the House passed a Republican-backed bill allowing
astronauts to carry firearms inside the International Space Station's
American modules. A narrow alternative sponsored by Democrats
allowing only pepper-spray and stun-grenades was defeated earlier,
251-243.