NY Terror Threat a Hoax. - Subset to Olberman post above

Why does the American press fear using the word "lying?" I mean, "leading investigators astray?" Isn't that unwieldy as hell?

Again, check out Olberman tonight. Feature: the odd coincidence of terror alerts coming when Bush poll numbers fall.

The subway terrorist threat that gripped New York last weekend was a hoax stemming from false intelligence provided by a normally reliable informant, US law enforcement officials were quoted as saying.

According to newspaper and television reports, the unidentified officials said the informant -- believed to be from Pakistan -- had admitted leading investigators astray about a plot to bomb the New York subway system.