Secret Service’s next challenge: Keeping scores of world leaders safe at the UN General Assembly

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Below United Nations headquarters, a state-of-the-art security post dubbed the “Brain Center” hums with activity on the eve of next week’s high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. The annual diplomatic pilgrimage is bringing more than 140 world leaders to New York City, including the leaders of Israel, the Palestinians and Ukraine.

Keeping them safe is the U.S. Secret Service’s next big challenge.

The agency, under a cloud after a July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, is confident in its multi-layer, multi-agency plan to protect the U.N. General Assembly, which is deemed a Super Bowl-level National Special Security Event.

The plan — developed with New York City police and the U.N. Security and Safety Service, among other agencies — includes not just motorcades and protective details, but NYPD helicopters and patrol boats, a dozen U.N. security K-9 teams sweeping for explosives, road closures and traffic diversions. The Secret Service is bringing in agents from posts around the world for the event. The Coast Guard is restricting East River access near the U.N. and the Federal Aviation Administration is closing airspace.

With so many presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and others dignitaries in one city and under one roof at the same time, the U.N. General Assembly is actually bigger than the Super Bowl. It's the most complex event the Secret Service is involved in each year.

This year, it's coming during a especially busy stretch highlighted by the Republican and Democratic conventions and the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Speaking Monday after the Secret Service thwarted another apparent assassination attempt on Trump in Florida, Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. said employees were “redlining" like an engine pushed to its limit. But, he said, “they are rising to this moment” and meeting the challenges.

“The operational tempo is incredibly high,” said Patrick Freaney, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office.

The Associated Press got a rare look inside security preparations for the U.N. General Assembly, known as UNGA, including the “Brain Center” and a joint operations center that lets the Secret Service, NYPD and other agencies communicate instantly to root out threats and logistical snags. They're also coordinating with the foreign security services that protect each of the dignitaries.

Freaney said the National Special Security Event designation — for special events of national significance — smooths the way for interagency planning, communication and cooperation. The Secret Service is in charge, but the NYPD’s robust counterterrorism and other operations, and the U.N.’s 300-person Security and Safety Service, play pivotal roles.

“We have over 140 heads of state, heads of government that we’re moving around the city,” Freaney said during a tour of the joint operations center, which has space for 10 local and federal agencies, including the FBI and Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State and Defense departments.

“One of the most important things is bringing all of them in here and then departing safely," Freaney said. "Think about that logistically — bringing 140 motorcades into one area all at the same time. This plays an integral part of bringing those details in safely.”

The Secret Service, NYPD and State Department will also be operating their own command centers — in Brooklyn, at One Police Plaza in Manhattan and at a nearby hotel ballroom. The NYPD, the nation’s largest police force, has its Joint Operations Center equipped to give officers real-time feeds from security, drone and helicopter-mounted cameras, along with other critical information.

The U.N. Security and Safety Service, which is in charge of keeping the U.N. headquarters campus secure, has its command post in the “Brain Center.”

Down a basement hall from the main hub of U.N. activity, wall-to-wall monitors show live feeds from dozens of the 1,400 security cameras on the 18-acre (7.2-hectare) headquarters campus. All are recorded and can be reviewed instantly. Automated voices alert potential breaches and emergencies. Computers generate real-time data and photos for each of upwards of 22,000 people who pass through security checkpoints per day. Fire alarms tie directly into the city’s central dispatch system for immediate response.

The command post is staffed around the clock by U.N. security officers who work in 12-hour shifts while world leaders are in town. The goal, Inspector Malinda McCormack said, is to receive, analyze and quickly disseminate information.

Security plans for UNGA started to take shape a few months ago. The Secret Service and its partner agencies use past gatherings — this is the 79th edition — as a blueprint, while making adjustments for changing world events such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

“There’s an incredible trust,” said Michael Browne, chief of the U.N. Security and Safety Service. “There’s incredible sense of collegiality and collaboration, which I think is a key ingredient for success in a very complex and challenging operation such as UNGA.”

As of Friday, authorities said, there were no specific or credible threats to the event.

But, Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, acknowledged “the chaoticness, the diversity and the unpredictable nature of the threat environment” requires law enforcement to be nimble and anticipate all the many ways someone could seek to cause harm.

“These are very different times,” Weiner said.

World leaders are meeting at the UNGA for the first time since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered an Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said Friday that the department has tallied more than 4,000 protests over the war, with more anticipated next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both expected at UNGA. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to return. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending but is sending Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

While the fighting is an ocean away, authorities are “thinking about what’s happening overseas in these home countries and what we can anticipate here,” Weiner said.

“The whole purpose of this assembly is bringing countries together," she added. “The whole purpose of our security posture is making sure we’re doing the same.”

Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Freaney speaks at a news conference outside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A security officer speaks on the phone inside the UN Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

United Nations Department of Safety & Security, Chief Michael Browne, left, speaks to the media during a tour of the UN Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

United Nations Department of Safety & Security, Chief Michael Browne speaks to the media during a tour of the Joint Operations Centre inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A U.N. security officer inside the U.N. Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

United Nations Department of Safety & Security, Chief Michael Browne and Assistant Chief Drasko Galic speak to the media during a tour of the Joint Operations Centre inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Assistant Chief Drasko Galic speaks to the media during a tour of the Joint Operations Centre inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A U.N. security officer inside the U.N. Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Interim New York Police Commissioner Thomas G. Donlon speaks at a news conference outside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Security Inspector Malinda Mccormack speaks to the media during a tour of the UN Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A UN security officer inside the UN Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Security Inspector Malinda Mccormack speaks on the phone during a tour of the UN Security Operations Center inside the United Nations Headquarters, Friday Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday.

Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning.

Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the tank — that the temperature inside had dropped and that pressure had been released — was “incredibly positive news.”

However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, California, located south of Los Angeles.

Covey said falling temperatures and the release of pressure from the tank were allowing officials to “turn the corner on this incident” after days of concern about a possible explosion.

There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”'

After the tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.

The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.

The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.

The first goal of firefighters was to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.

Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers were set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said earlier.

As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who had said earlier that the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.

“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”

An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said.

Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.

Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.

Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.

Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed.

Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.

GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report.

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Emergency personnel work at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Cypress, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)