The hustle and bustle of times Square in New York City returned Wednesday afternoon, after police said that an abandoned van in the area contained no explosives or other dangerous materials.
The popular section of New York City was evacuated and closed to traffic earlier in the day. The van was first spotted around 11 a.m. and authorities summoned bomb squad crews.
Two high rise buildings, including one housing the Nasdaq Stock Exchange were partially evacuated.
Police initially used a mechanical robot bomb detector to approach and examine the vehicle
The all-clear signal was given about 1 p.m., although officials of the Nasdaq said actual trading was not affected.
The van had no license plates, although authorities said a temporary registration was found inside.
Police said the extra precautions were taken because of the closeness of New Year's Eve, which annually draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to Times Square to mark the New Year.
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