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Explosives device team called to University Park Airport for suspicious item: Officials – WJAC Johnstown
- Explosives device team called to University Park Airport for suspicious item: Officials WJAC Johnstown
- Ground stop at University Park Airport over suspicious item, over 100 passengers bussed to nearby Penn State Fox News
- All flights grounded at airport near Penn State University over suspicious device, 100 passengers bused to campus CNN
- State College’s University Park Airport evacuated after ‘suspicious item’ found in luggage Centre Daily Times
- Pennsylvania Airport Closed After Suspicious Package Is Found in Checked Bag The New York Times
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Sweden says Nord Stream pipeline sabotaged, finds traces of explosives
But the statements did not address the key question of the months-old mystery of the blasts that set the continent on edge: how the explosives were placed on the underwater pipelines and who might be responsible.
The prosecutor’s office said the ongoing investigation will determine whether any suspects will be identified, while the security service said “the advanced analysis work is still in progress — the aim is to draw more definitive conclusions.”
The explosions in late September rocked a key pipeline that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe at a time when Moscow is using energy as leverage in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
European officials were quick to call the incident “sabotage,” and some have cast blame on Russia, although multiple investigations are underway, with Danish and German authorities also collecting evidence.
“These are deliberate actions, not an accident,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters Sept. 27 soon after the blasts. “The situation is as serious as it gets.”
Russia denied responsibility. The Kremlin is “extremely concerned,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the same day.
Although the explosions initially raised fear of shortages, the impact on European supply was limited, mostly because the European Union had already started weaning itself off Russian energy.
The energy crisis pushed European countries to build up reserves and find alternative sources of supplies ahead of the winter, as Russia cut off flows and energy prices rose. E.U. countries have also rushed to tighten security around key infrastructure and boost naval operations since the pipeline explosions.
The damage from the blasts hit part of Nord Stream 1, which was a major route for Russian natural gas to Germany, Poland and other European nations.
Russia stopped the gas flow through Nord Stream 1 earlier this year, citing technical problems, while European leaders accused Moscow of trying to “blackmail” countries that have sent weapons to Ukraine to help fend off Russian forces.
Another leak was part of the newer Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which Germany froze earlier in the conflict shortly before the pipeline was set to go online.
Francis reported from London. Helier Cheung contributed to this report.
Sweden says explosives found at site of Russian pipelines
Climate scientists described the shocking images of gas spewing to the surface of the Baltic Sea as a “reckless release” of greenhouse gas emissions that, if deliberate, “amounts to an environmental crime.”
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Sweden’s prosecutor’s office said Friday that an investigation into gas leaks from two underwater pipelines connecting Russia to Germany found traces of explosives, confirming that it is a case of “serious sabotage.”
Swedish and Danish investigators are investigating a flurry of detonations on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Sept. 26 that sent gas spewing to the surface of the Baltic Sea.
The explosions triggered four gas leaks at four locations: two in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone and two in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement that “residues of explosives have been identified on several of the foreign objects seized,” according to a translation.
It added that work continues “in order to be able to draw safe conclusions about the incident,” noting that the investigation is “extensive and complex.”
“The continued preliminary investigation must show whether someone can be served with suspicion and later prosecuted,” it said.
Many in Europe suspect the Nord Stream gas leaks were the result of an attack, particularly as it occurred during a bitter energy standoff between the European Union and Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed claims it destroyed the pipelines.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia would await a full damage assessment before deciding on any repairs, Reuters reported.
Danish police said last month that “powerful explosions” caused the damage at the Nord Stream pipelines.
Swedish and Danish authorities have previously put the magnitude of these explosions at 2.3 and 2.1 on the Richter scale, respectively, which they said likely corresponded to an explosive load of “several hundred kilos.”
Climate scientists described the shocking images of gas spewing to the surface of the Baltic Sea in late September as a “reckless release” of greenhouse gas emissions that, if deliberate, “amounts to an environmental crime.”
The US Forest Service Guide To Completely Obliterating A Horse With Explosives
The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has a handy guide, complete with illustrations, on how to blow up a horse. If you’ve ever heard the tale of a certain Oregon whale that was splattered across a crowd of onlookers and journalists, you probably already realize this isn’t a terrible idea.
The guide – first published in 1995 for use by Forest Service employees – explains that sometimes you just have to blow up a horse. Dead animals in recreation areas, for example, can attract bears, which could lead to a situation with even more carcasses to dispose of.
Though moving the bodies of dead animals is preferable, they write, sometimes it is necessary to use explosives to get the job done, say in remote areas or hard-to-access places where removal of the animal is not possible. In these circumstances, you’d better reach for your official copy of “Obliterating Animal Carcasses With Explosives”.
When urgency is not a factor, they recommend that “dispersion” – a nice way of saying “scattering parts of the corpse, rather than obliterating it” – can be acceptable. In these circumstances, Forest Service employees are recommended to “place 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) of explosives in two locations under each leg” as well as quite a few larger explosives underneath the main body and head. Before you detonate, employees are advised to remove the horseshoes, decreasing the chance of flying metal debris and increasing the odds of any other debris being horse.
In cases where it’s not possible to get explosives underneath the carcass, they recommend laying a hell of a lot more explosives on top of the horse.
Though they state that “carcasses that have been dispersed will generally be totally gone within a few days” and that corpses that have been “partially obliterated will generally not show any trace of existence the next day”, they advise that if there is real urgency, sometimes complete obliteration is necessary.
“Most large animal carcasses can be adequately disbursed with 20 pounds (9 kilograms) explosives,” they write, “however, 40 to 55 pounds (18 to 25 kilograms) are recommended to ensure total obliteration.”
Trust us, this is not something you want to get wrong.
Oath Keeper accused of bringing explosives to D.C. for Jan. 6
The allegations came days before the Jan. 6 House committee is set to hold its next hearing Tuesday, which is expected to explore connections between extremist groups accused of playing key roles in the violence at the Capitol and former president Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election through false claims of voter fraud.
In a 28-page filing, prosecutors said a law enforcement search on Jan. 19, 2021, of the home of charged co-defendant Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Berryville, Va., recovered a document that included the words “DEATH LIST” handwritten across the top with the name of a Georgia election official and a purported family member of the official. Both were targets of baseless accusations that they were involved in voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors said.
“That Caldwell made and kept a ‘death list’ that includes officials involved in the presidential election process — contemporaneous with his preparation to travel to Washington, D.C. — illustrates his actions during the alleged conspiracy and intent to oppose by force the transfer of power,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy A. Edwards Jr. of Washington wrote, referring to the seditious conspiracy charge against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and eight others including Caldwell.
On Friday evening, Caldwell attorney David Fischer forwarded a statement from his client rejecting the allegation, which prosecutors first raised in arguing for Caldwell’s pretrial detention in February 2021. A judge has since granted Caldwell conditional release.
“The DOJ’s claim that I intended to assassinate election workers is an absolute, 100% disgusting lie. Unfortunately, the DOJ has withheld from the public the evidence that exonerates me by hiding behind protective orders,” the statement said.
Separately, Edwards said the government has evidence that members of the group from Florida and Arizona allegedly staged semiautomatic rifles and other weapons in a suburban Washington hotel while a third team from North Carolina kept their firearms “ready to go” in a vehicle in the parking lot.
The prosecutor claimed that another Rhodes co-defendant, purported Florida “state lead” Kelly Meggs, had told a cooperating defendant who has pleaded guilty in a cooperation deal with the government that another Florida member of the group, Jeremy Brown, came to Washington with explosives in his recreational vehicle, which he left parked in College Park, Md. Brown, who has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor Jan. 6 counts, is not charged in the seditious conspiracy indictment but was described by prosecutors as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”
The government last September allegedly seized weapons from Brown, including two illegal short-barreled firearms from his home in Tampa and military grenades from “the same RV that Brown used to travel to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6,” the prosecutor asserted.
Standby counsel for Brown — a retired Special Forces soldier and onetime congressional candidate who is defending himself but has been detained pending trial on separate federal weapons charges in Florida — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The latest U.S. allegations were contained in a court filing required because prosecutors seek to introduce derogatory evidence at the Oath Keepers scheduled Sept. 26 trial that is not directly related to their charged offenses. Federal criminal rules usually bar such extraneous material but make an exception for relevant information that allegedly shows motive, the intent of a wider charged conspiracy or is otherwise “intrinsic” to a case.
Prosecutors asserted that the defendants face charges including conspiracy to corruptly obstruct Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results and to oppose President Biden’s swearing-in by force. Charging papers allege that the group coordinated travel, equipment and firearms and stashed weapons outside Washington, ready “to answer Rhodes’ call to take up arms at Rhodes’ direction.”
“Caldwell’s travels to Washington, D.C., for Jan. 6, as evidenced by his statements, were informed by a belief that the election was fraudulent and that the lawful transfer of presidential power must be thwarted by force. His writings targeting election workers are directly relevant to this point,” Edwards said.
Edwards added: “Brown’s statements, firearms, and explosives are intrinsic to the co-conspirators’ charged offense as contemporaneous, direct evidence of the manner and means used by the co-conspirators to advance the goals of the charged conspiracy.”
In plea papers, three Oath Keepers defendants who have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges admitted to allegations that they were among a group that forced entry through the Rotunda doors after marching single file in a stack up the steps wearing camouflage vests, helmets, goggles and Oath Keepers insignia. They acknowledged some brought rifles to Washington that were stashed beforehand at a Ballston hotel and one in Vienna.
Rhodes, Caldwell and the remaining co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. Rhodes in an interview with The Washington Post in March 2021 said there was no plan to breach the Capitol. He has said the group staged firearms in Northern Virginia in case it was needed as a “quick reaction force” if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act and mobilized armed groups to keep himself in office. Rhodes’s attorney declined to comment Friday night about the government’s latest allegations.
The attack on the Capitol came after a rally outside the White House, at which Trump urged his supporters to march to Congress. The rioters injured scores of police officers and ransacked Capitol offices, halting the proceedings as lawmakers were evacuated from the House floor.
Separately, an attorney for Rhodes said he contacted the House Jan. 6 committee earlier Friday offering to testify before it on condition that he be allowed to appear live, in-person and unedited, not from jail where he is in pretrial custody.
Rhodes “is not interested in any games,” attorney Lee Bright said, and would talk about his group’s activities in the last election and on Jan. 6, waiving his Fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination. Bright said the committee appears to be considering Rhodes’s conditions acknowledged, as a practical matter, that such an appearance would probably likely a court order from the judge, input from prosecutors in his criminal case and transport by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Ghana explosion: Almost entire town leveled after explosives delivery truck crash
An additional 59 people were injured in the explosion, according to AFP.
The blast appeared to have completely leveled Apiate, a small town in western Ghana. Kwadwo Bempah, who works in the area and heard the explosion, told CNN that nearly every building there had collapsed, trapping people and animals under rubble.
“It is a real tragedy for Ghana,” Bempah said.
The explosion was initially thought to have killed 17 people, but that number was revised downwards on Friday as more information became available to authorities.
“The death toll number has been revised to 13. I think earlier, various body parts give a different figure but as we consult this morning with Vice President and supervisory delegation, it has revised to 13,” Ghanaian Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said.
Police said most of the victims have been rescued and admitted to various hospitals and clinics. No more details were released on their condition.
“The police and other emergency service providers have activated a full emergency recovery exercise,” a police statement said. “We urge all to remain calm as we manage this unfortunate situation.”
“The police have taken charge of the situation providing security to enable the emergency workers including the Ghana National Fire Service, NADMO and the Ambulance Service to manage the situation,” another statement read.
“The public has been advised to move out of the area to nearby towns for their safety while recovery efforts are underway,” it added.
The police statement urged nearby towns to open classrooms, churches and other buildings to accommodate surviving victims.
Apiate, Bempah said, is small and residential, with a population of no more than 10,000. “Most of the people are farmers and miners,” he said.
In the initial aftermath of the accident, Bempah said the local community stepped in as first responders, pulling people and animals from collapsed debris and rushing the wounded to hospitals before ambulances arrived.
The explosives were being delivered to a nearby mine run by Chirano Gold Mines, according to a press officer for the company, Kwabena Owusu-Ampratwum.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and the rescue efforts,” Owusu-Ampratwum said.
Ghana has witnessed a series of gas explosions in recent years, with one of the worst blasts killing more than 150 people in the capital Accra in 2015. The explosion occurred as hundreds of residents sought shelter at a gas station from heavy rains.
Last October, at least one person was killed and another injured in a gas-related explosion in Accra, local media reported.
In the same month, three people died in another blaze in the country’s Ashanti region.
CNN’s Taylor Barnes contributed to this report.
Antifa members throw explosives, disperse chemical spray in violent Portland riots
Members of Antifa clashed with right-wing protesters in Portland Sunday evening, according to reports.
“People are lighting fireworks and dispersing chemical spray,” Portland authorities tweeted. “Those crossing line into criminal activity are subject to arrest. Some traffic lanes are being periodically affected.”
In a separate tweet, officials warned drivers to avoid the area and told those engaged to leave the area and be peaceful.
MEDIA PORTRAYS AMERICANS AS HATING THEIR COUNTRY: THE TRUTH IS MORE COMPLICATED
Independent journalist Andy Ngo identified one of the two groups as Antifa and shared video footage of explosives being thrown and a van being crashed.
Fox 12 Oregon reported that there were approximately 50 Antifa members and 100 right-wing protesters in the area.
In addition to setting off fireworks, Antifa members were seen throwing smoke bombs and firing paintballs.
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The “Summer of Love: Patriots Spreading Love not Hate” event was scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at Waterfront Park but was later moved to the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who held a virtual “Choose Love” event with Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell and other city leaders ahead of the planned events, denounced hate and violence.
“Anyone who comes into our community and is spreading their hate, their racism, their xenophobia, their white supremacist predilections, all of that is very intimidating to people who are here, particularly people of color,” Wheeler said.
The rioting came on the one-year anniversary of clashes between right-wing and Antifa members outside of the Multnomah County Justice Center.
Pakistan says traces of explosives detected in bus blast probe
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi listens during a meeting in Manila, Philippines January 16, 2021. Francis Malasig/Pool via REUTERS
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) – Pakistan said on Thursday traces of explosives had been detected during an initial investigation into a bus blast that killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, and said a terrorist attack could not be ruled out as the cause of the incident.
Wednesday’s blast in northwest Pakistan sent the bus hurtling over a ravine. Beijing initially said it was a bomb attack but later backed away from the assertion and said it would send a team to help investigate. read more
Pakistan originally blamed a mechanical failure, but on Thursday Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted: “Initial investigations… have now confirmed traces of explosives. Terrorism cannot be ruled out.”
China is a close ally and major investor in Pakistan, and various anti-Pakistani government militants have in the past attacked Chinese projects.
The Chinese workers killed on the bus were employed at the Dasu hydroelectric project, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment plan aiming to link western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar.
CPEC is part of Beijing’s massive Belt and Road Initiative.
Chaudhry said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was personally supervising all developments in the matter.
“In this regard government is in close coordination with Chinese embassy, we are committed to fight menace of terrorism together,” Chaudhry added in his tweet.
‘LESSONS’
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular briefing earlier on Thursday that China would cooperate closely with Pakistan in the investigation.
On Wednesday, Zhao had called the blast a “bomb attack” but Pakistan said a mechanical failure caused a gas leak that led to the explosion.
Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday and urged Pakistan to investigate the blast but he stopped short of calling it an attack, the Chinese foreign ministry said on its website.
However, Wang told Qureshi that if it was indeed an attack, Pakistan should immediately arrest the culprits and punish them severely.
Wang, who is China’s State Councillor and foreign minister, said “lessons should be learned” and both sides should strengthen security measures for China-Pakistan cooperation projects to ensure their safe and smooth operation.
Wang and Qureshi spoke in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on the sidelines of a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Reporting by Yew Lun Tian and Cate Cadell
Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Miami condo collapse: explosives demolish remaining portion of building | Miami condo collapse
Demolition crews set off explosives late on Sunday to bring down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building, a key step to resuming the search for victims as rescuers possibly gain access to new areas of the rubble. No one has been found alive since the first hours after the disaster. So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing.
A number of explosions could be heard on Sunday night and then the building started to fall, sending up massive plumes of dust into the air in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Crews were to begin clearing some of the new debris so rescuers could start making their way into parts of the underground garage. Once there, rescuers are hoping that they will gain access for the first time to parts of the garage area that are a focus of interest, Miami-Dade assistant fire chief Raide Jadallah has said. That could give a clearer picture of voids that may exist in the rubble and could possibly harbor survivors.
The precarious, still-standing portion of a collapsed South Florida condo building was rigged with explosive charges and set for demolition overnight, Miami-Dade County officials said late Sunday. The work has suspended the search-and-rescue mission, but officials said it will open up new areas for rescue teams to explore.
Rescuers will await the “all-clear” after the demolition and then immediately dive back into the task of trying to locate any survivors buried under the rubble, County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. Officials had previously said that the search could resume from 15 minutes to an hour after the detonation.
“We are standing by. We are ready to go in, no matter the time of night,” Levine Cava told a news conference Sunday night.
Search efforts have been suspended since Saturday afternoon to allow workers to drill holes for explosives. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said earlier that up to 210 rescuers will be poised to restart the search as soon as the site is declared safe after the blast.
Levine Cava said Sunday that demolishing the building was a top priority. “Bringing down this building in a controlled manner is critical to expanding the scope of our search-and-rescue effort,” she said at a news conference.”
Officials had evacuated residents around the site ahead of the demolition and warned others to stay indoors and close windows, doors and any other openings that could allow dust in.
“There’s nobody in charge really talking about stopping this rescue effort,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told CBS’ Face the Nation. “This rescue effort as far as I’m concerned will go on until everybody is pulled out of that debris.”
Concerns had mounted that the damaged Champlain Towers South building in Surfside was at risk of falling on its own, endangering the crews below and preventing them from operating in some areas. The approach of Tropical Storm Elsa added urgency to the demolition project. The latest forecasts have moved the storm westward, mostly sparing South Florida, but meteorologists have said the area could still feel effects starting Monday.