Captured....19 year old Boston Marathon bomber



 

 

 The teenage suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is in custody after being found hiding in a boat in a suburban homeowner's backyard. Police said they exchanged gunfire with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, after cornering him in Watertown, near Boston. He had escaped on foot early on Friday, apparently wounded, after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother, an alleged accomplice.

At a Friday night press conference, US President Barack Obama promised to seek answers on what had motivated the bombers and whether they had help.  He spoke just after state police told journalists that the suspect was being treated at a Massachusetts hospital, bleeding and seriously injured with gunshot wounds to the neck and leg.

The breakthrough came less than an hour after authorities lifted a city-wide order for residents to stay indoors, and reopened the transport system, as the trail appeared to have gone cold. Authorities captured the suspect following a tip from a resident of Franklin Street, Watertown, who emerged from his home after the lockdown was lifted and noticed blood near the boat. Upon opening the tarp covering the boat, the resident found a man covered in blood in the stern and called police.

Bomb-squad vans and ambulances surrounded the house, while helicopters buzzed overhead. Officers tossed flash-bang grenades into the boat to disorient the fugitive. Police said they exchanged gunfire with the suspect for about an hour before moving in and seizing him. A crowd near the scene cheered as he was taken into custody. The property was apparently not searched earlier on Friday as police went door-to-door in Watertown. Boston Police Department tweeted: "CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody."

Thousands of Swat team officers had earlier scoured the streets all day in a manhunt that virtually shut down the city. Massachusetts officials had closed all mass transit and warned nearly one million people in Boston and some of its suburbs not to leave their homes.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a college student, had fled on foot following a gun battle that left 200 spent rounds and a car chase to Watertown in which he and his brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, hurled explosives at police, authorities said.

The pair also shot and killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology policeman late on Thursday before severely wounding another officer, authorities said. The elder brother died of bullet wounds and injuries from explosives strapped to his body, a hospital doctor said.

Their bloody confrontation ensued hours after the FBI released images of the marathon-bombing suspects. Law enforcement officials and family members have identified the Tsarnaev brothers as ethnic Chechens who had been living in America for about a decade.

The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after a request from a foreign government, US law enforcements officials have confirmed. But agents closed the case after finding no cause for concern.
In an interview on Russian television, the mother of the two suspects said the FBI had been in contact with her son for several years.

Who are the Tsarnaev brothers?

• Sons of Chechen refugees from the troubled Caucasus region of southern Russia
• Family is thought to have moved to the US in 2001, from Russian republic of Dagestan
• They lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University
• Dzhokhar, 19, was awarded a scholarship to pursue further education; he wanted to become a brain surgeon, according to his father
• Tamerlan, 26, was an amateur boxer who had reportedly taken time off college to train for a competition; he described himself as a "very religious" non-drinker and non-smoker.

We may know the names of the suspects in the Boston marathon attacks and also much about their lives, but the question of why they did it remains elusive. Recollections of friends and family, as well as the digital data trail people now leave on social media, means we can get a picture of a young brother who seemed to be a well-adjusted student.

The elder brother comes across less well-adjusted, not quite fitting into American life or making friends. Seven years older, some wonder if he drew his younger sibling into his own world in which he seemed to be exploring radical Islamist ideology. But was this simply about two brothers, a tight-knit bond with no outside support? An organized conspiracy would worry Americans who hoped that era had passed, but in some ways the era of small self-starting groups is just as worrying since they can be much harder to spot.

Earlier on Friday, the father of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said his son was a second-year medical student in the US and was hoping to be a brain surgeon. Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed the secret services had framed his sons.
"It was a terrorist attack carefully organized by secret services - I don't know which ones. My son used to go to a mosque, so they once paid us a visit to ask why he is doing that.
"Yes, there was such an episode. So they put all the blame on him and shot him. That's it."

But Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the suspects who lives in Maryland, said he was "ashamed" at his nephews' alleged role in the bombings. Asked what the bombers' motives may have been, he replied: "Being losers, hating everyone around them."

Also on Friday, investigators removed a computer and other evidence from the New Jersey home of the Tsarnaev brothers' sister, police said. Ailina Tsarnaeva, who lives in the town of West New York, is said to have told FBI agents she had had no contact with her brothers for some time.

Waco Texas Fertilizer Factory Explosion...Update

 

Investigators sifted through debris on Friday to determine the cause of a Texas fertilizer plant explosion that obliterated parts of a small town and killed at least 14 people, including volunteer firefighters who had raced to the scene in advance to douse a blaze.

 

There was no indication of foul play in the fire or the blast it triggered Wednesday night at West Fertilizer Co, a privately owned retail facility that was last inspected two years ago, authorities said.

The farm supply business, located at the edge of a residential area in West, a town about 80 miles (130 km) south of Dallas, had notified a state agency that it stored potentially combustible ammonium nitrate on the site

.

Mayor Tommy Muska told an afternoon news conference the confirmed death toll had risen to 14, based on the number of victims whose remains had been recovered from the vicinity of the blast. Authorities said 200 people were injured. Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn said the town’s deputy fire marshal told him that 60 people remained unaccounted for two days after the explosion.

But he said that number was expected to drop as individuals turn up at area hospitals or with relatives and others, some of them outside of town.

“I would just take that (number) with a grain of caution,” Cornyn said.

The confirmed dead included paramedics and volunteer firefighters who responded to an initial fire alarm, and likely were killed by the ensuing blast, which was so powerful it registered as a magnitude 2.1 earthquake.

 

It left a devastated landscape, reducing a 50-unit apartment complex to what one local official called “a skeleton standing up,” destroying about 50 houses and heavily damaging a nursing home and schools. Dozens more homes were reported to have been damaged. By Friday afternoon, officials said the ruins of nearly 175 homes and other buildings left badly damaged or destroyed had been searched and “cleared.”

 

Authorities had said they were combing wrecked structures for people who might have been trapped.

But after touring the scene on Friday, Governor Rick Perry told reporters he had been advised that “the search and rescue phase is complete.” Asked whether that meant no more survivors were expected to be found, he said he did not know enough to comment.

 

The explosion was one of a series of events that put Americans on edge this week including the Boston marathon bombings and discovery of poisoned letter addressed to President Barack Obama and a Republican U.S. senator. Authorities were still calling the blast site a crime scene though they said they strongly suspected an accident.

 

The death toll was huge for a town of about 2,800 residents, and everyone seemed to know someone who died or was presumed dead. Brian Uptmor, 37 said his brother disappeared after he went toward the fire on Wednesday night to try to save horses in a pasture near the plant. William “Buck” Uptmor, 44, has not been found among the injured at area hospitals, has not answered his cell phone and his truck has not moved from where he left it.

“He is dead. We don’t know where his body is,” said Uptmor, a former firefighter. “It’ll probably hit me at the funeral.”

 

Residents of the town known for its Czech heritage gathered at the Out West Bar and Grill in downtown West on Thursday night, where some of the first responders who died in the blast used to drink beer with them.

“Everyone’s still shocked,” said 48-year-old Kenny Chudej, who listed the names of several acquaintances who had died in the explosion. “We lost a lot of good friends. I don’t think it has hit home yet. Having a drink or two helps level it out.”

 

Mayor Muska has said four paramedics are among the dead, and that five volunteer firefighters are listed as missing and feared dead. Volunteers and truckloads of donations were arriving from around the state, providing food, clothing and household items for people who lost their residences and possessions.

“It hit close to home. I’m still in shock,” said 34-year-old Jami Staggs, who came from Waco, some 20 miles (32 km) away, to help set up a site where residents could pick up donated items.

 

West Fertilizer Co blends fertilizer and sells anhydrous ammonia and other chemical products to local farmers. It stored 270 tons of “extremely hazardous” ammonium nitrate, according to a report filed by the company with the state. Farmers use anhydrous ammonia as fertilizer to boost soil nitrogen levels and improve crop production.

 

The West plant is one of thousands of sites across rural America that stores and sells hazardous materials such as chemicals and fertilizer for agricultural use. Many are near residences and schools.

The plant was last inspected for safety in 2011, according to a Risk Management Plan filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

 

The company, which has fewer than 10 employees, had provided no contingency plan to the EPA for a major explosion or fire at the site. It told the EPA in 2011 that a typical emergency scenario at the facility that holds anhydrous ammonia could result in a small release in gas form. The EPA fined the firm $2,300 in 2006 for failing to implement a risk management plan. The plant’s owner could not be reached for comment.

 

While authorities stressed it was too early to speculate on the cause of the blast, a forensic sciences expert said investigators probably would consider at least two scenarios. John Goodpaster, assistant professor and director of forensic sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said anhydrous ammonia is stored in liquid form but forms a vapor when mixed with air that can be explosive. If enough heat is applied to a container of anhydrous ammonia, he said, “that container could become a bomb.” A second possibility is that ammonium nitrate could have exploded, said Goodpaster. This was the cause of one of America’s worst industrial accidents. In 1947 ammonium nitrate detonated aboard a ship in a Texas City port, killing nearly 600 people.

Boston Marathon Bomber Seen on Surveillance Footage

FBI crime scene investigators are combing the street for clues

Officials investigating the Boston Marathon bombings say they have found images of a potential suspect from surveillance camera footage. Boston City Council President Stephen Murphy, who was briefed by police, said a man was seen dropping off a bag at the scene. Earlier, the FBI denied widespread reports that a suspect had been arrested.

Mr Murphy said detectives had spotted the potential suspect in surveillance footage from a nearby store, AP news agency reported. He said he didn't know if investigators had identified the man, but added: "They may be on the verge of arresting someone and that's good."

A planned FBI news conference outlining the progress of the investigation was postponed on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, police and journalists arrived at a courthouse in Boston amid confusion over whether a suspect had been held in connection with the attacks.
"Contrary to widespread reporting, there have been no arrests made in connection with the Boston marathon attack," the FBI said in a statement.
"Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate."
The Associated Press reported that the anonymous law enforcement official who was the news agency's source for the report that someone was in custody had insisted it was true, even as it was widely disputed.


Investigators have been sifting through thousands of pieces of evidence, ranging from video recorded on mobile phones to fragments of shrapnel removed from the victims' legs. Officials said a circuit board and battery pack - parts of a triggering mechanism - had been recovered and the lid of a pressure cooker, apparently blown off during the explosion, was found on the roof of a nearby building.

The bombs are believed to have consisted of explosives placed in 1.6-gallon (6-litre) pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombs, which a source said had been placed in black bags and left on the ground.

The twin blasts killed Martin Richard, eight, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, a postgraduate student from China. Dozens more people remain in hospital, many of them seriously injured. Doctors treating the wounded say their injuries indicate that the bombs contained metal shards and other shrapnel. A number of victims have had limbs amputated.

Boston Medical Center trauma surgery chief Peter Burke said hospitals were saving "large quantities" of fragments extracted from victims for the police. They include metal, plastic, wood and concrete.
"We have a lot of lower extremity injuries, so I think the damage was low to the ground and wasn't up," Dr Burke said.
"The patients who do have head injuries were blown into things or were hit by fragments that went up."

At least 58 of the injured have been released from various hospitals around the city, according to AP.
Of those that remain, a five-year-old child, a nine-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy were among 17 victims listed as in a critical condition.

The London Marathon - the next major international marathon - is to go ahead on Sunday, with police saying they have well-rehearsed security plans.

Organizers have said they will hold a 30-second silence at the start as a mark of respect. President Obama, who plans to attend an interfaith service on Thursday in honour of the victims in Boston, labelled the attack an act of terrorism.

The Depths of the Abyss...The Mariana Trench

 

The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about 2,550 kilometres (1,580 mi) long but has an average width of only 69 kilometres (43 mi). It reaches a maximum-known depth of 10.911 km or 6.831 mi at the Challenger Deep, a small slot-shaped valley in its floor, at its southern end, although some unrepeated measurements place the deepest portion at 11.03 kilometres (6.85 mi).

At the bottom of the trench the water column above exerts a pressure of 1,086 bars (15,750 psi), over one thousand times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. At this pressure the density of water is increased by 4.96%, making ninety-five litres of water under the pressure of the Challenger Deep contain the same mass as a hundred litres at the surface. The temperature at the bottom is 1 to 4 ⁰C.

Countless amazing species thrive there in the harshest imaginable conditions.  At the bottom of Challenger Deep, calcium carbonate shells are not an option because the intense pressure, over 1,000 times sea-level — dissolves the mineral. Not a problem. The microscopic forams down there make soft shells, presumably of protein or other organic polymers. There are over 400 species of soft-shelled forams living in the sediment of Challenger Deep.

A xenphyophore, A large single celled organism

 Xenophyophores  have soft shells which, though pressure proof, are often not particularly sturdy, thwarting most collection attempts thus far. As a result, we know a lot less about their biology than we would like. We do know they live all over the world at great depth, and seemingly, the deeper and more hostile the environment, the better.

Xenophyophores trap and eat tiny particles by engulfment, as true “amoebas” do. They were not distributed evenly in the trench — some areas have more and some less. The giant protists, are probably choosing their homes, as the sea cucumbers do, to maximize current-borne food extraction. As the currents encounter their lumpy dwellings, the water slows and particles drop out. Inside the the shell is a branched collection of tubular filaments that has many nuclei and no cell partitions, leading some to describe them as among the largest “single-celled” organisms on Earth.

 Xenophyophores seem to be claiming a marine niche similar to the terrestrial niche occupied by lichens. That is, they specialize in taking spots that are so harsh that they have almost no competition for their home. There could be 50-100 species of xenophyophores in the Challenger Deep.



 Xenophyophores are single celled organisms. The single cell branches and splits into hundreds of tubes which ramify and interconnect into a complex network. The test builds up as it proliferates, secreting a slimy organic cement. These are the largest structures produced by a single cell.

The Real Challenger Deep Scene is Microbial

Bacteria and archaea were not the focus of the study, but the fact is that bacteria thrive in the sediments of Challenger Deep and are found there in even greater abundance than on the surrounding abyssal plain. Bacteria aren’t the only microbes, hundreds of microscopic foraminifera species are also found there. The authors of this study at the University of Southern Denmark hypothesize that the canyon walls act as a nutrient funnel that concentrates bacteria chow in the trench. Why that nutrient enrichment doesn’t seem to extend to the top of the food chain, I do not know.

Astrobiologist Kevin Hand described what he called “an astonishingly bizarre microbial ecosystem” on talus blocks in the Sirena Deep (where the drop-cam video of the xenophyophores was taken). There, one of the remote landers filmed dark brown, shag carpet-like bacterial mats sprouting from rocks on the floor.

These bacteria seem to be living off of the products of a spontaneous, ambient-temperature chemical reaction between rock and seawater. The mats are composed primarily of bacteria called Paracoccus denitificans, which seem to be the primary producers in the system, feeding on hydrogen and methane released by seawater-induced serpentinization of the rocks on which they’re growing.

Paracoccus, forming a bacterial mat

Higher up in the trench there is a plethora of strange and wonderful creatures, some known, some unidentified.( Photos below)

Angler flashlight fish

Mertensia ovum

 

 

Telescope octopus

Benthocodon

Dumbo octopus

Blue angler fish

Hatchet fish

 

Goblin Shark

 

Frilled Shark

Dumbo Octopus

Fangtooth

 

Fanfin sea devil

Unidentified angler fsh

 

unidentified species

Barrel eye

 

Anglerfish

 

Boston Marathon Breakthrough

 

 

 



In a major breakthrough, federal investigators have recovered the mangled remains of one of the bombs planted along the route of the Boston Marathon Monday, according to two counter-terrorism officials briefed on the case.

The officials told ABC News the remains show a medium-sized pressure cooker, packed with wires, a circuit board, nails and ball bearings.

Earlier today doctors caring for the 170-plus victims of the deadly bombing reported they have been pulling nails or nail-like objects from those struck by the twin explosions -- likely shrapnel from inside the bombs.

"Nails or sharp objects," Dr. George Velmahos, chief of trauma at Massachusetts General Hospital, said at a press conference. "Can't say for certainty, but that's what they look like. [They're] numerous... 10, 20, 30, 40 in their bodies, maybe more."

A spokesperson for Brigham and Women's Hospital, another medical center caring for the wounded, reported similar injuries, apparently caused by carpenter nails and small ball bearings. Velmahos said he believes that shrapnel specifically came from the bomb itself, which, based on the number of lower extremity injuries, was likely planted low to the ground. Others were hurt by environmental shrapnel -- objects close to the blast -- and still more were injured just by the blast of air that slammed them against walls.

Three people were killed and more than 170 others were injured, 17 of them critically, in a pair of explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon. No suspects have been identified.

Double Bombing at Boston Marathon

 You can see the explosion at the far right just as it happened

 

 

Two bombs exploded near the finish of the prestigious Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people, injuring at least 134 others, according to local reports, and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators, race organizers and police said. Hospitals reported at least 15 of the injured are critical.  One of the dead is an eight-year-old boy, the Boston Globe reported. Emergency room doctors were pulling ball bearings out of victims injured in the blasts.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said the two explosions occurred about 50 to 100 metres apart “simultaneously” on Boylston Street, shortly before 3 p.m. local time. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for blasts. They are suspected to be black powder bombs loaded with ballbearings, which acted as shrapnel and tore into people like bullets. They are low quality bombs and the components could be bought  almost anywhere.

Police asked Boston residents to stay at home and not go any place with large crowds. Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick told reporters Monday evening it wouldn’t be business as usual in Boston Tuesday morning. There will be a heightened police presence and security checks on transit, he said.

 

 

The victims’ injuries were described as burns, gashes, and missing limbs.

“They just started bringing people in with no limbs,” said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children’s eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but “they saw a lot.”

“They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,” Lisa Davey said. “Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed.”

There was no word on the motive or who may have launched the attack, and authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility.  The FBI  is present on the scene and have already collected vital evidence. President Obama said every single federal resource has been made available for Boston but did not refer to the incident as a “terror attack” in a carefully worded statement.

“We don’t yet have all the answers,” Obama said in a brief national address shortly after 6 p.m. “Make no mistake, we will get the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this and we’ll find out why they did this.

“Any responsible individual or any responsible group will feel the full weight of justice.”

A White House official later said the incident was being treated as terrorism. A third incident (a fire) occurred at the JFK Library at about 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon but no injuries were reported. It was later clarified that it was  not related to the Boston bombing.

 Numerous bags were dropped and left at the scene by runners and each is being treated as a possible threat.  Police have not called the incident a terrorist attack, but “you can reach your own conclusion.”

Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state trooper from Greenville, R.I., had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the first blast.

 

 

 

“I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the ground,” he said. “We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people had limbs amputated. … At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing.”

The blasts went off at 4:10 into the marathon, which is minutes away from last year’s peak time for marathon finishers. About 27,000 runners were participating in the event.

“We’re all runners here, and running in the marathon is such a huge event. You have people from 90 countries here for this race today,” said Canadian runner Rob Watson, who finished 11th in the men’s race.

“It brings everybody together. We’re all here, we’re all together, it’s a great feeling to finish a marathon and there’s such a camaraderie. It’s so senseless, why would you do that? It’s just so so upsetting. It’s just terrible. Why would people do something like that?”

As the president was being briefed on the incident, the Secret Service quickly expanded its security perimeter at the White House. The agency shut down Pennsylvania Avenue and cordoned off the area with yellow police tape. Several Secret Service patrol cars also blocked off the entry points to the road.

What we know so far

• Two powerful explosions hit Boston at 673 Boylston Street at 2:50 p.m., near the finish line of the Boston Marathon
•The bombs are thought to be black powder bombs loaded with ball bearings
• Three people are dead and 134 injured, 15 critically
• President Barack Obama says those responsible face ‘full weight of justice’
• A White House official later said the incident was being treated as terrorism.
• More than 2,000 Canadians were taking part in the marathon
• Canadians in Boston needing assistance can reach the Consulate General at (617) 247-5100

Hacker claims he can hijack a plane with an app he bought on eBay

 

 

 

These days everything is at risk of being hacked, even the airplane you take next time you fly.
  On Wednesday at the "Hack in the Box" security conference in Amsterdam, a security expert demonstrated how hackers can take control of an airplane by using a mobile device and a few other basic tools.

According to a report from Computerworld, Hugo Teso-a security consultant at the German security firm n.runs-showed how anyone with some basic knowledge and the right devices can take complete control over an aircraft from a remote location without ever having contact with the targeted plane.
 
Basically, critical security vulnerabilities in aircraft communication and tracking systems make hacking planes quite simple.   The Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)-the surveillance technology aircraft use for tracking-and the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which is the technology used to exchange messages between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite, have no encryption, meaning they are open for exploitation.

Teso demonstrated that by using hardware, such as a flight management system that has actual flight code software, and a radio transmitter, he could search through real aircraft code to look for vulnerabilities.  Using a flight management system he purchased off eBay (EBAY), Teso said he was able to tap into ACARS, the aircraft's messaging system, to hijack the computer system that controls the autopilot so that he could upload new data that would set the plane on a new course.

Using the exploitable code Teso discovered by examining the navigation software, Teso made the process even simpler by creating his own code and an Android app called PlaneSploit. In a test lab demonstration, he showed how, by using the app on his Samsung Galaxy smartphone, he could redirect virtual planes and, hypothetically, real planes.
 
According to the report, Teso said he could take control of almost any aircraft system and even set the plane on a collision course with another plane.