Subway 'Bomb' Rattles Rome

A fake bomb sparked a major scare in the Rome subway system yesterday. Bomb disposal experts discovered that the device—found on an empty subway car at the end of the line—contained a cement-like powder instead of explosives and didn't have a trigger mechanism, AP reports. The city could "breath a sigh of relief," Rome's mayor told reporters. "It's a bluff, a provocation in bad taste that regardless showed there was no danger of attacks in our city," he said. Officials throughout Europe are on alert as terrorist "chatter" concerning holiday attacks is on the rise.
(More bomb scare stories.)