CBS News is reporting that US intelligence agencies have alerted joint terrorism task forces across the country of a potential al-Qaeda attack on Monday, the day before the election.

The sources say that 3 states may be targeted; Texas, New York, and Virginia.

U.S. authorities are taking the threat seriously, though the sources stress the intelligence is still being assessed and its credibility hasn’t been confirmed. Counterterrorism officials were alerted to the threat out of abundance of caution.

A senior FBI official told CBS News, “The counterterrorism and homeland security communities remain vigilant and well-postured to defend against attacks here in the United States.  The FBI, working with our federal, state and local counterparts, shares and assesses intelligence on a daily basis and will continue to work closely with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to public safety.”

Intelligence about potential threats always increases during holiday seasons and when big events are approaching.

As Election Day nears, federal law enforcement is planning for several worst-case scenarios.

Earlier this week, an alert warned local police of “polling places” being seen as “attractive targets” for “lone wolf”-type attacks by individuals motivated by violent extremist ideologies, sovereign citizen or other extremist activity.

What's all this about al-Qaeda? They're "on the run," aren't they? They've been "decimated," right? 

AQ is so...1990's - so unfashionable. Why can't we be attacked by a hipster terror group like Islamic State? 

So, a terrorist group that doesn't even exist anymore may try to attack us the day before the election in order to swing the race. Conventional wisdom says an attack favors Trump - unless you listen to other conventional wisdom that says an attack would favor Hillary. Would the electorate prefer Clinton's experience or Trump's prescience?

Along with everything else in this election, it's impossible to say.