Salah Barhoun, 17, said he went to the police yesterday to clear his name after he found himself tagged in pictures online in connection to the Boston Marathon bombing. (Aaron “Tango” Tang)
By SHAHRIAR RAHMANZADEH, JENNIFER LEONG, SANTINA LEUCI and RHONDA SCHWARTZ
April 18, 2013
The teenage boy authorities once investigated as possibly being connected to the Boston Marathon bombing told ABC News today he was shocked to see his face pop up on television and all over social media.
Salah Barhoun, 17, said he went to the police yesterday to clear his name after he found himself tagged in pictures online. He had just gone to watch the race, he said, but soon after the explosions, he was singled out by internet sleuths as looking suspicious. Federal authorities passed around images of Barhoun, attempting to learn more information about him, sources told ABC News.
Today The New York Post ran a story featuring a picture of Barhoun and another man circled in red, but said it was unclear if they were the same as two potential suspects spotted by law enforcement Wednesday.
When he saw the front page story, with the headline “Bag Men,” Barhoun said, “It’s the worst feeling that I can possibly feel… I’m only 17.”
ABC News producers found Barhoun through social media and spoke to him today at his home. He said he had actually wanted to run the race and when he couldn’t, decided to watch.
Barhoun’s younger brother, who declined to be identified, said that it made his mother “sick and upset” that her son had been connected to the tragedy.
“It made her think he had done something wrong,” the younger brother said. “My brother is not the bomber.”
Federal law enforcement sources told ABC News they are no longer seeking information about Barhoun or the other man in the photo published in the Post.
The video below shows a man doing what any other tech savvy person would be tempted to do. Sitting in his car with a companion, the man thought they were at a safe distance, as he filmed the beginning stages of the Texas Fertilizer plant going up in flames.
Then a few seconds into the video the explosion is seen and the man and his companion soon realized that they were a little too close for comfort.
It was later revealed that the occupants of the car was a man and his daughter. According to the Today Show, they have regained their hearing. According to KWTX, as many as 70 people may have been killed.
The Senate’s refusal to do the right thing yesterday and approve extended background checks rubbed many Americans the wrong way. After all, 90% of the American people wanted this amendment passed. But republicans successfully killed the measure, choosing instead to cater to the demands of the NRA.
Expressing her disappointment is Gabby Giffords, herself a victim of gun violence when she was shot in the head by a crazed gunman. Giffords spoke out in an op-ed in today’s New York Times.
SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found them.
On Wednesday, a minority of senators gave into fear and blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to get hold of deadly firearms – a bill that could prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., and too many communities to count.
Some of the senators who voted against the background-check amendments have met with grieving parents whose children were murdered at Sandy Hook, in Newtown. Some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago, and expressed sympathy for the 18 other people shot besides me, 6 of whom died. These senators have heard from their constituents – who polls show overwhelmingly favored expanding background checks. And still these senators decided to do nothing. Shame on them.
I watch TV and read the papers like everyone else. We know what we’re going to hear: vague platitudes like “tough vote” and “complicated issue.” I was elected six times to represent southern Arizona, in the State Legislature and then in Congress. I know what a complicated issue is; I know what it feels like to take a tough vote. This was neither. These senators made their decision based on political fear and on cold calculations about the money of special interests like the National Rifle Association, which in the last election cycle spent around $25 million on contributions, lobbying and outside spending.
Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo – desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation – to go on.
I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences.
People have told me that I’m courageous, but I have seen greater courage. Gabe Zimmerman, my friend and staff member in whose honor we dedicated a room in the United States Capitol this week, saw me shot in the head and saw the shooter turn his gunfire on others. Gabe ran toward me as I lay bleeding. Toward gunfire. And then the gunman shot him, and then Gabe died. His body lay on the pavement in front of the Safeway for hours.
I have thought a lot about why Gabe ran toward me when he could have run away. Service was part of his life, but it was also his job. The senators who voted against background checks for online and gun-show sales, and those who voted against checks to screen out would-be gun buyers with mental illness, failed to do their job.
Yes, 90% of Americans wanted at least a background check done whenever someone buys a gun. No, Americans did not get what they wanted today, as Republicans joined hand in hand and voted against that most basic idea.
And, these so-called Democrats joined the Republicans in defeating background checks.
It is getting so hard to believe in Humanity these days. What’s wrong with people? What causes a person – who is having serious issues in their own lives – to decide to take someone else’s life? The debate is whether these individuals have ‘mental issues’. Yes. That is obvious. But, the question still remains, what causes them to want to take it out on All mankind?
The Boston Marathon bombing was just added to the litany of violent crimes perpetrated on innocent Americans just enjoying their lives, their day, and their families when the unthinkable happened.
Today, a letter addressed to President Obama, was laced with ricin which is a toxic protein agent that is used as a biochemical. This same ricin was intercepted by authorities when it was sent to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. An arrest was made today in the Tupelo, MS area.
The Newtown Ct. shooting that still has politicians and the NRA fighting over banning semi-automatic weapons. The massacre which robbed the lives of 20-first graders was so appalling, disturbing and unsettling; it tears at the very heart of Hope. How can anyone kill a child?
The movie theatre massacre in Colorado killed 12 and wounded over 50 others. People just wanted to go out and enjoy a nice night out at the movies with friends, family and their children when yet again, a brazened attack on the innocent.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, was shot point blank in the head where six were killed, including a 9-year old girl and 13 others wounded while speaking at a neighborhood shopping center in Arizona. She survived but not without causing severe damage to her brain.
And this is just in America. The outside world is even more dysfunctional than here with suicide killers in Iran and Iraq almost daily. In 2011, a massacre in Norway tore apart a community when a lone killer plotted and executed a plan which included a car bombing, killing 8 and wounded over 200. Then, less than two hours later at a summer camp full of youth, a gunman opened fire upon them and killed 69 for a total of 77.
Are we seeing a pattern yet?
Everyday people, going through their ordinary lives with the ones they love. Why would anyone think the unthinkable would possibly happen to them? We’re not supposed to live in fear. We are not to look over our shoulder every second.
I’m just tired. I’m tired of the violence, the excuses for violence and lawyers attempting to persuade America their clients are ‘Clinically Insane’.
When does this stop? What is wrong world? I know we can’t agree on everything but killing others because of conflict is not the way.
Somehow, someway, Mankind has to find a way to end the violence. I don’t want to give up on Hope but people are making it harder to believe that Hope even exist.
The FBI identified the man as Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth, Miss.
He was arrested at his home at approximately 5:15 CT, the FBI said in a written statement, adding he was “believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S. Postal Inspection Service which contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin. The letters were addressed to a U.S. senator, the White House and a Mississippi justice official.”
The letter addressed to President Obama that field-tested positive for the poison ricin included the message, “To see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance,” according to a source familiar with an investigation of the incident.
“I am KC and I approve this message,” the letter read.
The letter was received at the remote White House mail screening facility Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.
The facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery.
The separate Senate mail-handling facility on Tuesday also received a suspicious letter potentially laced with ricin addressed to Sen. Wicker, postmarked from Memphis. It contained the same message included in the letter addressed to the president, according to the source.
Testing on the first letter, addressed to Wicker, was incomplete but expected to be finished this evening, at the earliest, according to sources.
Field tests are often unreliable, and a false positive for ricin occurs at least once each year, a homeland security official told ABC News.
Meanwhile, the sources said, a sensor today was activated at a third federal government mail sorting facility. Investigators were culling through the mail to see whether they could identify a suspicious letter.
The facility, they said, sorts mail for the Department of Justice. The sensor was undergoing additional testing at a lab. A source cautioned that the sensor activation might involve a false positive and not be related to the other letters.
The Secret Service’s White House mail-screening facility is a remote facility, not located near the White House complex, through which all White House mail goes.
The Secret Service was working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI in the investigation.
“The investigation into these letters remains ongoing, and more letters may still be received,” the FBI said in a statement this morning. “There is no indication of a connection to the attack in Boston.”
The FBI added: “It is important to note that operations at the White House have not been affected as a result of the investigation.
“Additionally, filters at a second government mail screening facility preliminarily tested positive for ricin this morning. Mail from that facility is being tested.”
FBI sources said anytime suspicious powder is located in a mail facility, field tests are conducted. The field and other preliminary tests in this instance produced inconsistent results. The material has been sent to an accredited laboratory for further analysis.
Only a full analysis performed at an accredited laboratory can determine the presence of a biological agent such as ricin. Those tests were in the process of being conducted and generally take from 24 to 48 hours.
The Centers for Disease Control defines ricin as a poison that comes from castor beans and can be found in a powder, a mist, a pellet or dissolved in water.
“In the 1940s, the U.S. military experimented with using ricin as a possible warfare agent,” the CDC writes. “In some reports ricin has possibly been used as a warfare agent in the 1980s in Iraq and more recently by terrorist organizations.”
Meanwhile, Senate offices were on partial lockdown today after the discovery of suspicious packages. The police investigation centered on the offices of Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., in the Russell Senate Building, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in the Hart Senate Office Building.
The lockdown was unrelated to the Wicker letter.
Also, the Saginaw, Mich., office of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., received a suspicious-looking letter this morning. The office did not know whether it was a threat.
Teens Accused of Teacher Poison Attempt With Hand Sanitizer Watch Video
“The letter was not opened, and the staffer followed the proper protocols for the situation, including alerting the authorities, who are now investigating. We do not know yet if the mail presented a threat,” Levin said in a paper statement.
“I’m grateful for my staff’s quick response and for government personnel at all levels who are responding.”
Several senators have reported suspicious packages delivered to their district offices, with no reports of any credible threats.
But underscoring the jitters among Senate D.C. and district offices, Sen. Deb Fischer’s, R-Neb., Lincoln, Neb., office contacted police when staff found a suspicious package outside this morning.
It turned out to be a used-car part left in a bag on top of a lawn chair.
Moments after Republicans succeeded in thwarting the will of 90% of Americans by defeating background checks, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his team couldn’t contain themselves. As Democratic leader Harry Reid and fellow Democrats consoled members of Newtown families that lost a loved one in Sandy Hook, this caption and picture appeared on McConnell’s Facebook page.
We love the memes you send us! Keep them coming!
Disgusting behavior indeed. A United States Senator is mocking the wishes of a majority of Americans, celebrating the defeat of a bill 90% of us wanted. And some of these Americans used McConnell’s Facebook post to express their displeasure in the Republican’s taste.
Below are some of the first responses to McConnell’s sick humor.
If the bulk of current evidence is to be believed, there’s a sweet spot in laptops right now around $799 to $999, where nearly any PC maker seems to be able to produce a slim, touch-screen laptop with an aluminum body running an Intel Core i5 CPU and a 128GB SSD.
Operating at the upper end of the laptop category is much more difficult, and very few brands have been able to create products that can successfully sell for $1,500 to $2,000. Apple is a rare exception, and if you’re pitching a laptop that costs as much or more than a comparable MacBook, that’s what we would describe as a bold move.
(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)
Toshiba, long a well-known brand in that midprice space, has thus far relied on its multimedia Qosmio line for more expensive laptops. But, these have been large desktop-replacement-style laptops, with big, bulky bodies, discrete graphics cards, and even 3D displays. While often a good value considering the high-end hardware inside, these systems are a far cry from the slim, premium ultrabooks that style-savvy consumers may be willing to pay more for.
To break into this high-end, high-style category, Toshiba is launching a new product line called Kira. The first product in that line is a 13-inch laptop called Kirabook. This is a 13-inch ultrabook, with high-end features that rival — and in some cases beat — anyone else in the market.
The Kirabook’s biggest selling point is its high-res screen. Far beyond 1,920×1,080, this is instead a 2,560×1,440-pixel-resolution display (called PixelPure), putting it firmly in the territory of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Of course, that also includes MacBook-Pro-like prices, with the Kirabook running from $1,599 to $1,999.
(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)
Surprisingly for a 2013 luxury laptop, some models will offer touch screens while others will not. As of our recent hands-on briefing with the Kirabook, the base $1,599 model will not include a touch screen, but one will be available as a $100 upgrade. Will anyone spend $1,599 on a non-touch-screen laptop? Perhaps — Apple buyers do it all the time. But, what works for Apple doesn’t always translate to other brands (case in point: Dell’s Air-like Adamo laptop).
Another big selling point is the magnesium body. Using magnesium instead of aluminum saves weight and still provides great strength, and the Kirabook weighs a enviable 2.6 pounds. Toshiba is also including upgraded service and support (including a two-year warranty and U.S.-based 24-hour phone support) to help sweeten the deal.
In our brief hands-on time with the Kirabook, it certainly was thin and light, and it felt physically very well put-together. The high-res screen looked amazing when playing native resolution video content — as it would on a Retina MacBook Pro or Google Pixel Chromebook.
(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)
But, aside from the display, the rest of the system has a premium, but not necessarily luxury, feel. The magnesium body was finished so that it looked a lot like Toshiba’s less-expensive laptops, such as the excellent Satellite U845t ultrabook, which has a Core i5 processor and 128GB SSD for $799. Those two systems aren’t identical, but the Kirabook, while nicer, certainly doesn’t look like it costs twice as much.
Put another way, after seeing it and hearing the specs, we took guesses at how much the Kirabook would cost — and we weren’t even close.
A handful of laptops have tried for this kind of premium pricing recently. The Acer Aspire S7 is one example, but it at least brought a radically eye-catching design to the table (and some versions are already down to about $1,000).
Still, it’s great to see more PC makers embracing higher screen resolutions, and Toshiba has a commendable knack for putting itself out there early on, pioneering everything from autostereoscopic 3D to affordable ultrabooks.
The Kirabook will be will be available for pre-order on May 3 and for purchase on May 12, through outlets including Amazon, BestBuy.com, B&H, and the Microsoft Store.
A pedophile or a racist? This teacher chose the latter.
A Texas woman is admitting to being a racist in order to clear her name of sexual assault. She plans to use the claim as a defense against the charges that she fondled an African-American student in her first grade class at Northwest Preparatory Academy Charter School in Humble.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Houston Chronicle, the 7-year-old girl said that 61-year-old Esther Irene Stokes sent all of the other students out of the room on March 1 and then touched her “private part” on the outside of her clothes.
“The victim said that she was in the classroom alone with the teacher and that the teacher touched her on the outside of her clothes, on what she called her ‘private part,’ her vaginal area,” Humble Police Department Detective J. Blanchard explained on Tuesday.
When Stokes took a polygraph test and failed, she told the police that she hadn’t touched the girl, and she had proof that she didn’t.
“She doesn’t like to even touch the black children on their hand, she shies away when they try to hug her — she admitted to being prejudiced,” Blanchard said.
The complaint stated that Stokes “doesn’t like black students because she was prejudiced” and “has little to no interaction” with her accuser.
The little girl also told police that Stokes made her stand out in the hall without any lunch. But of course, she denied that as well.
Stokes’ attorney, Patty Maginnis, said that any racist comments made by her client were “not proof that any crime has been committed.”
“I would consider that just a personal opinion,” the lawyer noted. “The facts of the case will determine that she is innocent.”
She was fired on Tuesday.
Next time she might want to argue that she doesn’t like to mess with kids PERIOD! Not that she has a preference. SMH.
While the nation was busy mourning the devastation that happened in Boston on Monday, Republicans in the Senate, supported by a few Democrats managed to slowly and willfully kill background checks. Apparently what happened in Newtown Connecticut was not enough for these heartless Senators to support a bill that will guarantee making sure gun purchasers are sane enough to buy a gun.
The vote on the amendment was 54 to 46. Sixty votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein pushes for an assault weapons ban in the U.S. while speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday.
The deal was the result of a deal struck between Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
As the bill was defeated, a voice in the Senate gallery could be heard yelling “Shame on you!”
The Manchin-Toomey amendment would have extended existing background check rules to gun sales made online and at gun shows. It was vehemently opposed by the National Rifle Association, who said it infringed on the rights of gun owners.
BOSTON (AP) — A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is about to be arrested, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said Wednesday.
The official was not authorized to divulge details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The suspect was to be taken into custody by federal marshals and taken to a Boston courthouse, the official said.
The official spoke shortly after several media outlets reported that a suspect had been identified from surveillance video taken at a Lord & Taylor store between the two bomb blasts.
An official news briefing was scheduled later Wednesday.
Law enforcement agencies had earlier pleaded for the public to come forward with photos, videos or any information that might help them solve the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 170 on Monday.
Investigators circulated information about the bombs, which involved kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel. But the FBI said nobody had claimed responsibility.
A person close to the investigation had previously told AP the bombs consisted of explosives put in 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails.
Are you tired of all the hate coming from the so-called “Church” in Florida better known as the Westboro Baptist Church? Well if you are, then you’ll love the decorations Anonymous has done to their official Facebook page.
A little disturbing background: While the entire nation mourned, the so-called “Church” recently announced that they would protest the funerals of those killed on Monday in the terrorist attack in Boston. Protesting funerals of upstanding Americans like those who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the kids who were murdered in Newtown Connecticut, is something Westboro is known for. It is their twisted way of bringing attention to their cause: Hate.
Well Anonymous has had enough and they took over Westboro’s official Facebook page, posting things a Church should actually be posting… things about love, peace and caring. And based on the comments, it seems that a majority of people are supporting Anonymous’ actions.
Personally, I’m wondering why this wasn’t done much much earlier.
Here’s an example of Westboro Anonymous’ posts and the responses it received. And take a look at Westboro’s Facebook page.
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