FBI removes boat used by Boston bombing suspect to storage

By Karen Brooks

(Reuters) - Investigators have removed from its Watertown, Massachusetts, backyard the now-famous boat used as a hiding spot by one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, and have taken it to an evidence storage facility, the FBI said on Saturday.

The boat was the scene of high drama when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old ethnic Chechen charged with the April 15 bombing that killed three people and wounded 264, was captured by authorities on April 19 after a tense day of searching in the Boston area.

The owner of the boat called police after he lifted the tarp of the boat stored in his backyard and saw blood. Police found a wounded Tsarnaev inside the boat.

The boat was processed for evidence at the scene and then moved on Friday to an undisclosed FBI facility for storage, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is also a suspect but was killed by police on April 18.

Also on Friday, the FBI concluded their search at a landfill in New Bedford for evidence connected to the bombings, she said. Eimiller declined to say what evidence investigators hoped to find and whether they found anything.

"We were seeking evidence but we are not commenting on the nature of what was being sought or what was found," she said. "We can confirm that we were there Thursday, Friday and left yesterday."

The landfill is near the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, attended by the younger Tsarnaev.

Local media reported the FBI were trying to find the younger Tsarnaev's laptop.

(Reporting By Karen Brooks; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-removes-boat-used-boston-bombing-suspect-storage-010513151.html

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Residents united, for now, in Texas town wrecked by explosion

By Corrie MacLaggan

(Reuters) - A black wreath hangs on the door of the brick City Hall in West, Texas, which was closed Thursday and Friday so workers could attend funerals for some of the 14 people killed in the fertilizer plant explosion last week.

One block south, at the volunteer fire department, well-wishers have set up an impromptu shrine with flowers, wreaths, a wooden cross and a concrete statue of a firefighter. Eleven of the dead were emergency responders.

Before April 17, most Americans had never heard of the small, heavily Catholic city about 20 miles north of Waco, with Czech bakeries, farms and a population of 2,700. That changed on the night a fire and explosion at West Fertilizer Co gutted an apartment complex, battered a nursing home and left 200 people with burns and broken bones.

Before the catastrophe, West paramedic Bryce Reed and others would always say they were from "West comma Texas" to avoid confusion with the western part of Texas.

"Now, you don't have to do that anymore, and that sucks," said Reed, 31, whose best friend, a volunteer firefighter, died in the blast.

In the last week and a half, local residents have honored their dead, found classrooms for children whose schools were damaged and begun returning to homes that had been evacuated. President Barack Obama visited to express his support.

On Saturday, residents were allowed for the first time to visit their homes in the most heavily damaged part of town. City Hall is expected to reopen on Monday.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the explosion at the plant, where hazardous materials such as dry ammonium nitrate and liquid anhydrous ammonia were stored.

Resident Mandy Williams said that - as she ran down her street hearing the screams of her neighbors - two doors down, she encountered a woman who was missing part of her leg.

"It was blown off below the knee," Williams recalled. "I got it from another yard, brought it back to her, and put it down beside her. The whole time I'm just calling 911, trying to get through."

The tragedy brought out the best of West.

The town, named for prominent businessman and landowner Thomas M. West, started attracting Czech and German immigrants in 1900 because of the railroad, according to the Handbook of Texas Online, which is published by the Texas State Historical Association. Downtown still reflects West's Czech heritage with businesses such as Nors Sausage and Burger House and Olde Czech Corner.

Many of those who lost their homes were taken in by friends and family and given food and clothing by local churches, whose clergy urged their congregations to pray for the town.

Many residents did not blame the plant owner, lifelong West resident and octogenarian Donald Adair, who has stayed out of the public eye but issued a statement vowing to cooperate with the investigation. The fertilizer plant was important to farmers who grow corn, wheat, milo and cotton in the area. It was a place where they gathered for coffee and a chat.

"You don't prepare for a fertilizer plant to blow up," said Brian Uptmor, whose brother, William "Buck" Uptmor, was among the dead. Brian Uptmor said his brother had gone to try to rescue horses from a pasture near the plant.

Adair bought the plant in 2004 when it was threatened with closure, and local farmers said they appreciated him doing so because it meant they did not have to drive long distances for fertilizer and other supplies.

But a few residents expressed concern whether the plant was being properly supervised. They said that after Adair bought West Fertilizer, he focused his attention on his farming operation, leaving General Manager Ted Uptmore, now 80, and other staff in place. Cody Dragoo, a plant employee as well as a volunteer firefighter, died in the blast.

As time goes on and lawsuits against Adair mount up, it is clear that not everyone has sympathy for the owner. The plant was last inspected for safety in 2011, according to a risk management plan filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Among those suing are Bridgett and Roger Bowles. Their lawyer, Jason Gibson, said the roof of their house was lifted up and then slammed back down in the explosion. As a result, he said, Bridgett Bowles suffered a broken jaw, a concussion and a blown out eardrum.

"Most of the residents there were unsuspecting of what was going on right underneath their nose," Gibson said. "They don't know what's going on inside that plant. They assume it's a nice couple that owns it and they're operating it the way they should, and that wasn't the case."

"It was a preventable tragedy that was not prevented, and it should have been," he added.

Two of the lawsuits filed so far have accused Adair Grain Inc, parent company of West Fertilizer Co, of negligence.

The Insurance Council of Texas, which represents property insurers in the state, said insured losses from the explosion should reach at least $100 million, with 140 homes and an as yet unknown number of cars destroyed. Many victims were not insured, however, and the council said at least 180 families have sought financial assistance from the Red Cross.

A number of downtown businesses also suffered losses such as shattered windows and damaged roofs.

Last Sunday, City Council member Steve Vanek opened a community meeting with a prayer and assured residents they would stick together.

"We will stand by you until the last nail is driven," he said. "This may be months; this may be several years."

The devastation was in part overshadowed in the national media by the search for the suspects in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings. But at a memorial service on Thursday in Waco, Obama told more than 9,000 mourners: "Know this, for the eyes of the world may have been fixed on places far away, our hearts have also been here through times of tribulation."

Emergency vehicles arrived from across Texas for the service honoring the dead firefighters, during which a bell sounded as each victim's name was read out loud. Volunteer firefighter Joey Pustejovsky was remembered for his dimple and his love of fried chicken.

"I'll always put a (chicken) leg aside for you," his grandmother said at the service.

Billy Lewis, a directional driller at an oil field who had driven to the wreckage of an apartment complex to try to free people trapped inside, is among the many locals who are sure the fire department and town will rebuild and be okay.

"Everybody's strong here, man," Lewis said. "It will bring people closer if anything."

(Writing by Corrie MacLaggan. Additional reporting by Karen Brooks, Jim Forsyth, Lisa Maria Garza, Laura Heinauer, Carey Gillam and Ben Berkowitz. Editing by Gunna Dickson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/residents-united-now-texas-town-wrecked-explosion-175532933.html

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Fire kills dozens in Russian psychiatric hospital

By Alexei Anishchuk

RAMENSKY, Russia (Reuters) - Thirty-eight people were killed, most of them in their beds, in a fire that raged through a psychiatric hospital near Moscow on Friday, raising questions about the care of mentally ill patients in Russia.

The fire, which broke out at around 2 a.m. (2200 GMT on Thursday), swept through a single-storey building at the hospital, a collection of wood and brick huts with bars on some windows that was home to people sectioned by Russian courts.

By mid morning, a few blackened walls were left standing. The roof had caved in on top of the twisted metal of what were once beds. Bodies lay on nearby grass, covered with blankets.

Only three people escaped from the fire in the village of Ramensky, 120 km (70 miles) north of Moscow, prompting speculation the patients were heavily sedated or strapped down.

Irina Gumennaya, aide to the head of the chief investigative department of the Moscow region, dismissed suggestions they had been restrained as "rubbish" but promised blood tests to check whether there were high levels of sedatives.

"The wards ... did not have doors, the sick could have escaped from the building by themselves," she said, adding that she believed the most likely cause of the blaze was patients smoking, or perhaps a short circuit.

President Vladimir Putin called for an investigation of the "tragedy", the latest in a long line of disasters at state institutions that are often ill-funded. Russia's safety record is dismal, accounting for a high death toll on roads, railways and in the air as well as at the workplace.

Psychiatrists said the fire was not the first and would not be the last of its kind.

"(This happened) because of dilapidated buildings in psychiatric hospitals - a third of the buildings since 2000 have been declared unfit, according to health standards," Yuri Savenko, president of the independent psychiatric association of Russia, said in a telephone interview.

Furthermore, junior and middle-ranking staff had miserable salaries and "because of that the staff were asleep", he said.

RUSSIA - "THE MADHOUSE"

Putin's critics blamed the state for neglecting its most vulnerable people.

"Terrible news .. Those patients who burned were there because they were forced to have treatment," said Dmitry Olshansky, former editor of "Russian Life", an online journal.

"I read all this and I wonder - what does this remind us of? And then I remember - this is our motherland, the madhouse. Flood, fire, bars on windows ... and we cannot deal with it," he said on his Facebook site.

Officials said the blaze consumed the building quickly and firefighters had no chance to save any more people - an account that locals disputed, saying fire engines took more than an hour to reach the scene.

"Don't trust anyone who says they (firemen) arrived quickly ... My wife woke me up, we went out on the street with our daughter. Flames were rising high," said a man, who was drinking an early-morning beer at a friend's garage nearby.

Asked why it caught fire, Alexander Yefimovich, an elderly man said: "Why? It's just the usual nonsense."

More than 12,000 people were killed in fires in 2011 and more than 7,700 in the first nine months of 2012 in Russia, where the per capita death rate from fires is much higher than in Western nations including the United States.

(Additional reporting by Ludmila Danilova, Maria Tsvetkova and Steve Gutterman; writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Timothy Heritage and Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thirty-eight-feared-dead-russian-psychiatric-hospital-fire-023237928.html

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Cancer survivor, 5, gets the surprise of a lifetime | Fox 59 News ...

A Noblesville family that has gone through peaks and valleys over the past couple of years is now on a mountain top. There have been some pretty big scares during their littl girl?s battle with cancer. The most recent shock for the family was the surprise of a lifetime: a trip to Disney World.

The third time was the charm.

?Mom!? screamed Izzy Mattocks.

?We are going to get on a plane right now,? said Molly Mattocks, Izzy?s mother.

?Mom, you never told me,? said Izzy.

Izzy Mattocks set off for Disney World Thursday.

?Thank you,? said Izzy. ?Let?s go, let?s go!?

The family is celebrating the 5-year-old?s fight against cancer. They tried to make the trip two other times, but each time Izzy?s health took a turn for the worse and she had to be rushed to the hospital.

?It did not happen because I got a fever and stuff,? said Izzy.

That was why this time, the trip was a secret.

?I am going to tell you this is a really awesome present and you do not want to lose it,? said Molly before the surprise was unveiled.

In 2011, Izzy started having sharp, severe pain in her stomach. At first, no one could figure out what was wrong with her. Then the discovery.

?Neuroblastoma is one of the most difficult pediatric cancers to cure,? said Molly. ?It is vicious.?

Neuroblastoma, like other forms of cancer, is a cold-blooded killer. Izzy was diagnosed with Stage 4. It had spread to her bones. The little girl?s fight for life began right away. She was put through intense rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.

?It is medicine that made my cancer go away,? said Izzy.

And that was not all.

?And I had surgeries,? she said.
Reporter: ?How many?? What did they do??
Izzy: ?I don?t know.?
Molly: ?Did they take the rock out?
Izzy: ?They took the rock out.?

The ?rock? was the cancer. The neuroblastoma battle rocked the family.

?It was just a nightmare,? said Molly. ?Some days you would feel joy and you would feel peace and know that you conquered something. Then, at any moment, something would go wrong.?

It tested their faith.

?Some days I would say, ?Really God?? Are you kidding me??? But at the end of the day, just to fall back on seeing how far He has gotten us through this journey,? said Molly.

Then, after all that worry, all of those sleepless nights, and all of that pain- a reason to smile, a clear scan. No evidence of disease. Izzy, ?Warrior Princess? was allowed to leave the hospital.

Izzy is far from being 100 percent healthy, though. She is still on an IV, and she wears a breathing mask when she is in public. None of that mattered as the family boarded their plane, the family was focussed on their next journey, to ?The Happiest Place on Earth.?

Sadly, Izzy?s battle is not over. She still must to go through six more months of treatment, and there is still a chance the disease could come back. If that happens the family said they are ready to answer that challenge.

Source: http://fox59.com/2013/04/25/cancer-survivor-5-gets-the-surprise-of-a-lifetime/

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Froman, Pritzker in line for trade and commerce posts: sources

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is close to choosing White House deputy national security adviser Mike Froman to be the next trade representative, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

After a long vetting process, Chicago businesswoman and Obama fundraiser Penny Pritzker is still in line to be nominated as commerce secretary, the sources said.

The two trade jobs are among the final positions Obama has to fill in his second-term cabinet. Both require confirmation by the Senate. An announcement of their nominations is likely to be made next week.

The White House declined to comment.

Froman was an early front runner for USTR but sources told Reuters earlier this year he preferred to stay in his current White House job, which includes the trade portfolio along with energy, development, and other international economic issues.

Jeff Zients, the long-time acting White House budget director, then became a top contender for the post, but Obama asked him to stay at the budget office.

Froman played an instrumental role in negotiations that led to congressional approval of the South Korea, Colombia and Panama trade pacts during Obama's third year in office.

He is well known in diplomatic circles for his work as Obama's right-hand man or "sherpa" in the G8, G20, and other international forums.

Froman would replace former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who stepped down last month.

Pritzker, the 271st richest American according to Forbes magazine, was Obama's national finance chair in 2008 and his campaign co-chair in 2012. Her personal fortune is worth an estimated $1.85 billion, putting her at the pinnacle of the top 1 percent of American households.

The Stanford University-trained lawyer and business woman is on the board of the Hyatt Hotels Corp, which her uncle Jay Pritzker founded in 1957, two years before she was born.

Pritzker was in the running to be commerce secretary in Obama's first term but bowed out.

She could face questions during a Senate confirmation process over the Pritzker family's reputation for sheltering income to avoid taxes, Hyatt's battle with a labor union and the 2001 failure of Superior Bank, which was half-owned by the Pritzker family.

Current acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank said in March she planned to become chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in July.

Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned for health reasons last year.

(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Vicki Allen, Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/froman-pritzker-line-u-trade-commerce-posts-sources-132337716.html

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Mom of four kids killed in S. Carolina fire faces charges

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? The mother of four South Carolina children killed in an accidental mobile home fire was charged Friday in their deaths, authorities said.

Hope Hawkins, 21, faces four counts each of homicide by child abuse and unlawful conduct toward a child, Darlington County Sheriff's Capt. Andy Locklair said. State and local authorities found no signs of arson and think the fire started Wednesday by accident in the kitchen, though exactly what sparked the blaze had not been determined.

Hawkins was not home when firefighters arrived, and showed up moments later, Locklair said. The woman has given conflicting stories about where she was. No one else was in the home at the time.

"It's almost like she may have arrived at the same time as the fire apparatus," Locklair said.

Locklair didn't know if Hawkins had an attorney. She is scheduled to have a bond hearing later Friday.

It took firefighters less than 10 minutes to put out the fire in Hartsville, a city of some 8,000 people that's about 60 miles east of the state capital of Columbia.

Authorities said 10-month-old sisters Myasia and Kynasia Hawkins and their brothers, 2-year-old Camaron Mason and 4-year-old Delonta Dixon, died of smoke inhalation. All four children were found in a bedroom next to the kitchen, Locklair said.

Hawkins could face life in prison if she's convicted of homicide by child abuse, a charge that stems from leaving the children at home alone. The unlawful conduct toward a child charges carry possible sentences of up to 10 years each.

Authorities were still going through records to determine if either law enforcement or social services officials had been called to the home before, Locklair said.

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mom-4-kids-killed-sc-fire-faces-more-163402034.html

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Cindy Rippe's - Florals - Family - Faith: Leftovers Antiques at the ...

As promised, I'd like to feature some of my favorite booths at the Antiques and Garden Fair?at the Chicago Botanic Garden last weekend. ?I really enjoy the combination of antiques and?collectibles?with plant, flowers and in this case, terrariums that the vendors strive for in their displays. ?It represents living with your antiques not just displaying them which is what we do around here. ?Yes, some things have been broken, and yes I was disappointed, but at least we got to use them! I do get picky when I'm decorating though. It takes me a while to decide how I want to set things up but once I'm happy with it we enjoy our tiny house.

When I walked into Leftovers?Antiques, Home Mercantile's booth I received a warm welcome, and that warmth extended to the displays that surrounded me. ?The shop in Brenham, Texas, offers a mix of items in their ever-changing 10,000 sq ft showroom. ?If you have the opportunity, try to stop in and get inspired. ?I know it's on my "someday" list!

Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it - memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey. Tad Williams?

Source: http://cindyrippe.blogspot.com/2013/04/leftovers-antiques-at-chicago-botanic.html

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