News Story
Letter to President Obama Tests Positive for Ricin
Aaron C. Davis and Sari Horwitz Washington Post WASHINGTON — A letter addressed to President Obama containing a substance that initially tested positive for the toxin ricin was intercepted Tuesday by authorities at a remote White House mail screening facility, according to the FBI. The letter follows the discovery Tuesday of a ricin-laced letter…
Man Recently Released After Serving 25 Years in Prison Strikes Another Bank, Is Arrested
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com John Edward Stevens, a prolific bank robber who once was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, had just finished up a 25-year-prison sentence when police said he struck an Oakland bank and fled with a bag of cash in a stolen car, NJ.com reports. Police said Stevens, 59, wasn’t out of prison…
ATF Plays Big Role in Boston Marathon Attack But Gets Little Respect from Congress
Columnist Joe Davidson Wall Street Journal This time it’s Boston. As they did with bombings in New York City and Oklahoma City, and many lesser-known crimes every day in cities all over the country, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, better known as ATF, rushed to the scene. Their specialized expertise…
FBI Investigates Whether Letter to Mississippi Senator Contained Ricin
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is investigating a letter sent to Sen. Roger Wicker after it initially tested positive for ricin, a toxic and potentially deadly substance, Fox News reports. The letter never made it to the Mississippi Republican because it was intercepted at an off-site mail screening facility. The letter will be further tested…
Head of FBI’s Boston Office Worked Way Up Bureau Investigating Foreign Spies
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com As special agent in charge of FBI’s Boston office, Richard DesLauriers is leading the joint investigation into the Boston Marathon attacks. The 52-year-old Massachusetts native doesn’t have a long track record of busting terrorists, but colleagues told Time magazine DesLauriers is a driven, professional and skilled investigator who cut his teeth…
Bombs at Boston Marathon Were Made with Pressure Cooker, Shrapnel
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The explosions at the Boston Marathon were caused by pressure cooker bombs stuffed with shrapnel and inflammable material, the Associated Press reports. Those devices are popular in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, and recently were discovered in plots in the U.S., the AP wrote. Typically, would-be bombers pack the inside with shrapnel…
Independent Reports Says U.S. Engaged in Torture
By SCOTT SHANE New York Times WASHINGTON — A nonpartisan, independent review of interrogation and detention programs in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks concludes that “it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture” and that the nation’s highest officials bore ultimate responsibility for it. The sweeping,…
Home Searched in Boston Bombing
By CNN Authorities including bomb experts searched an apartment in Revere, Massachusetts, and removed items, after two deadly bombs struck the Boston Marathon. But investigators remained mum about just how the search may be linked to the bombing investigation. A law enforcement official said the search was not a suggestion that police may have…