The federal government is adopting a simple, two-tiered alert system to warn of terrorist threats and possible attacks, USA Today reports. The National Terrorism Advisory System replaces the five-colored terror alert system that was adopted soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In place next week, it will alert the public to one of two warning levels: An elevated threat alert, the lowest warning, would be issued if a credible threat were determined, but it likely wouldn't detail any timing or terrorist targets. An imminent threat alert, the highest notice, would be triggered if there were a credible, specific and impending threat or ongoing attack.