***BREAKING NEWS***

From the New York Times:

The police discovered a car bomb in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers from the area on a warm and busy Saturday evening.

There was no explosion.

“It appears to be a car bomb left in a Pathfinder between Seventh and Eighth” Avenues on 45th Street, said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman.

The device, he said, contained “explosive elements” that included “propane tanks, some kind of powder, gasoline and a timing device.”

“This is very much an active investigation,” he said.

Mr. Browne, speaking shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, said that no one was in custody. “We haven’t identified any kind of a motive,” he said. “It appears to be a car bomb, but we haven’t attached a motive to it.”

Mr. Browne said the police were checking security cameras after reports that someone had fled from the car.

A federal official said that domestic security officials had been informed that the event did not appear to be a terrorist threat. The official referred all requests for additional information to New York City police.