Salon.com > Katie Zezima

Boston police commissioner: Stay indoors

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:32:00 +0000

WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — All residents of Boston were ordered to stay in their homes Friday morning as the search for the surviving suspect in the marathon bombings continued after a long night of violence that left another suspect dead.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis made the announcement that the entire city should stay indoors at a news conference where Gov. Deval Patrick said the remaining suspect, described as a dangerous terrorist, was still on the loose.

The developments came after the suspects killed an MIT police officer overnight, injured a transit officer in a firefight and threw explosive devices at police during their getaway attempt, authorities said as the manhunt intensified.

The suspects were identified to The Associated Press as coming from the Russian region near Chechnya, which has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency stemming from separatist wars. A law enforcement intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP identified the surviving bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old who had been living in Cambridge, just outside Boston, and said he "may be armed and dangerous."

Boston suburbs on lockdown; 1 of 2 bombing suspects dead

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:15:00 +0000

WATERTOWN, Mass. (AP) — Two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing killed an MIT police officer, injured a transit officer in a firefight and threw explosive devices at police during their getaway attempt in a long night of violence that left one of them dead and another still at large Friday, authorities said as the manhunt intensified for a young man described as a dangerous terrorist.

Two law enforcement officials told the AP that Tsarnaev and the other suspect, who was not immediately identified, had been living legally in the U.S. for at least one year.

In Boston, still on edge over the attack on the marathon, and its western suburbs, authorities suspended mass transit and urged people to stay indoors as they searched for the remaining suspect, a man seen wearing a white baseball cap on surveillance footage from Monday's deadly bombing at the marathon finish line.

NJ storm victims finding lost mementoes online

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 00:15:00 +0000

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey residents devastated by Superstorm Sandy are being reunited with lost photographs and objects through social media.

There are at least four Facebook pages targeted to New Jersey residents that help connect them with their possessions.

People who find lost mementoes can post photos of them on the site.

Thousands of people have viewed the pages. Their creators say dozens of residents have been reunited with photographs. One woman got her wedding dress back, and a family found an urn holding cremation ashes.

Social media is playing a pivotal role after the Oct. 29 storm. Facebook and Twitter pages and websites in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are helping connect people with aid and volunteer opportunities.

Creators say they will keep the sites going for months.

Groundbreaking comic artist, educator Kubert dies

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:30:02 +0000

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Joe Kubert, a groundbreaking comic artist and educator best known for co-creating DC Comics' iconic Sgt. Rock character, has died. He was 85.

Kubert died Sunday, according to the Kubert School in Dover, N.J., which he founded in 1976 to train and teach illustrators and artists. The school did not disclose a location or cause of death.

Kubert co-created Sgt. Frank Rock, a World War II hero with a dangerously accurate shot, an uncanny ability to survive numerous war rounds and who led his patrols with a fierce sense of duty and courage. Kubert also co-created Tor, a prehistoric strongman, and reinvigorated Hawkman, who flew above New York City, fighting crime with a mace.

Kubert was known for his war comics and expressionistic drawings of macho men, muscles rippling as they performed heroics.

"He told stories, he drew stories where you could smell the sweat, you could feel the fear these guys were experiencing as they went into war," said Pete Carlsson, the art director at Tell-A-Graphics, a company Kubert founded.

Kubert was long interested in arts education, and tried to teach a correspondence course in the 1950s, Carlsson said. In 1976, he and his wife, Muriel, founded the Kubert School as a way to educate aspiring comic book artists and illustrators.

NCAA, 4 pro leagues sue NJ over sports betting

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:41:27 +0000

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he believes a 1992 federal law restricting sports betting to four states will be found unconstitutional.

Christie spoke Tuesday after the NCAA and the four major sports leagues filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the state from allowing sports gambling. The suit cites the 1992 federal law, which makes placing money on games illegal in 46 states.

Christie tells reporters he doesn't think the federal government has the right to decide which states can allow sports betting. He added the lawsuit doesn't acknowledge that there is "illegal sports gambling going on in every state in America."

In January, Christie signed a law to allow sports betting in New Jersey. He says he expects the state will prevail.

The leagues claim betting would threaten the sanctity of the game.