High Ranking Al Qaeda Leader Captured. Al Qaeda leader Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al Suri, and one other al Qaeda have been captured in Pakistan. NBC World News Tonight (11/3, story 10, 1:30, Williams) reported Nasr is a "significant al Qaeda terrorist" and is "being held tonight in Pakistan. He's been urging followers to launch an attack against the US." NBC (Myers) added he "has a $5 million reward on his head," and his "writings carry great weight in the militant underworld. Two US counterterrorism officials tell NBC News that the Syrian-born Nasar, who lived in Europe for years, was recently arrested in Pakistan, a claim the Pakistanis will not confirm." The CBS Evening News (11/3, story 10, 0:25, Schieffer) noted Nasar is "wanted for last year's train bombings in Madrid, and video obtained by CBS News shows him outlining a plot to bomb London subways."

Four Chinese Immigrants Charged With Conspiracy To Steal Military Secrets. The Los Angeles Times (11/4, Krikorian, 958K) reports, "Federal authorities in Los Angeles have quietly charged four people in an alleged conspiracy to steal U.S. military secrets - including a quiet propulsion system for Navy warships - and turn over the intelligence to the People's Republic of China, it was learned late Thursday. Though U.S. officials declined to comment, an FBI agent's 42-page affidavit unsealed earlier this week identifies the four suspects as Chi Mak and his wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu of Downey, and Chi's brother, Tai Wang Mak, and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, of Alhambra. Chi and his wife are originally from China and became naturalized U.S. citizens 20 years ago. Tai and his wife both entered the United States from China in May 2001 and are lawful permanent residents." The Times notes, "All four suspects were arrested last Friday night after a federal judge issued a sealed arrest warrant based on the FBI's suspicion that Tai and his wife were about to leave the U.S. with the encrypted data on a midnight flight to Guangzhou."

FBI Launches Anti-Internet Fraud Web Site. TCMnet.com (11/3, Schelmetic) reports, "Here's some nice evidence of our tax dollars at real work, a phenomenon that's been a bit hard to spot lately. This week, the FBI launched a new Web site created to help consumers avoid being targeted by phishers, spammers, spimmers, spitters, spoofers, hackers and other assorted cyber-cretins. ... In the fine tradition of the Cosmo Sex Quizzes, LooksTooGoodToBeTrue has a series of online tests, so you can determine what your 'fleecing factor' is...how smart you are about protecting your computer and your identity. If you answer questions such as, 'Are you looking for ways to improve your financial status via the Internet?' with a 'Yes,' chances are that a desperate Nigerian oil millionaire is looking for you." TCMnet adds, "Educate yourself and spend a moment on www.LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com. With a little luck, by this time next year, the purveyors of phishing schemes will be picking up litter by the roadside in bright orange jumpsuits

Pentagon Warns Services To Brace For Budget Cuts. The Pentagon has told the military services to prepare to cut as much as $8 billion from the 2007 defense budget and $32 billion over the next six years. The Wall Street Journal (11/4, Jaffe, Karp, 2.11M) reports, "The proposed cuts, which were outlined in an internal memo Oct. 19 from acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, are likely just the beginning, senior defense officials said. The cuts called for in the October memo don't account for other expenses, such as the recent hurricane-relief efforts, higher-than-expected fuel costs and health-care costs. Pentagon officials say that they won't know how much will have to be trimmed from current programs in 2007 until the Pentagon gets its final budget figures from the White House in about three weeks. Some military officials have suggested that the military could ultimately have to cut as much as $3 billion to $8 billion on top of the cuts Mr. England requested for 2007."

The Washington Post (11/4, A8, Merle, Graham, 744K) adds, "The Pentagon's budget to support troops, which includes increasing fuel and health care costs, is expected to be immune from cuts, industry analysts said. The military will also continue to need millions of dollars to repair and replace equipment being used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they said. Thus, the cuts are expected to come at the expense of expensive weapons programs such as Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the DD(X) destroyer being developed by Northrop Grumman Corp."

Young Muslim Immigrants Riot In France For Eighth Day. ABC World News Tonight (11/3, story 5, 2:15, Woodruff) reported, "In Paris, angry immigrants poured into the streets again tonight, burning dozens of cars and shooting at police. It is the latest manifestation of the anger bubbling up in many places in Europe. Young, Muslim immigrants, many of them poor and resentful, lashing out at the cultures in which they live. In France, the pressures have been building for years." ABC (Lee) added, "For eight-straight nights, rioters have rampaged through several poor suburbs, burning hundreds of cars. Torching buildings. And battling French police." French officials "have inflamed the crisis further. The Interior Minister called the rioters 'scum' and vowed to clean out the neighborhoods. French authorities have grown wary of restless Muslim communities and the support they see growing for terrorism, especially since the US invasion of Iraq."

NBC Nightly News (11/3, story 8, 0:20, Williams) reported, "The violence is spreading now to more French towns. The rioters are mostly young people protesting slum housing in immigrant neighborhoods and the lack of jobs there."