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New York's Times Square was briefly evacuated Wednesday after police discovered what they said was a suspicious vehicle on the eve of huge New Year's celebrations in the area.
Live footage on US news channels showed the normally crowded thoroughfare in the center of Manhattan completely empty at midday. The area includes popular tourist destinations and the Nasdaq stock market building.
"All we know is that we are investigating a suspicious vehicle," a police department spokeswoman told AFP. She refused to comment further.
At about 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) police re-opened the streets and traffic began flowing again after the potential threat was apparently cleared.
New York is on high alert ahead of New Year's Eve on Thursday when enormous crowds are expected in Times Square to see in 2010.
