WHITE HOUSE . . . THE SYSTEM WORKED

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TIME White House correspondent James Carney says there are no plans to tighten security in the wake of an incident last night involving an armed intruder on White House grounds. Federal prosecutors will bring assault and firearms charges against Leland Modjeski, who was shot by a Secret Service agent after he scaled a White House fence and raced toward the mansion with a pistol (which turned out to be unloaded). Modjeski and another Secret Service agent, who was wounded during the gunfire, remain hospitalized. Both are in stable condition. The incident, Carney says, shows that although the White House is vulnerable, the level of risk is acceptable. "It's all about choice. You could make it more secure, you could make that eight-foot fence 20 feet high, enclose the whole thing in brick and make the White House inaccessible to the public, but that's a pretty high price to pay. And the system worked. The guy scaled the fence, tripped the alarm and was subdued rather quickly."