As the Senate Judiciary Committee commences debate on proposed immigration legislation today, its proponents have to grapple with a flood of amendments that could tank its chances of passing.

John McCain (R – NV), one member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” backing the bill, said he is “guardedly optimistic” but warned against “efforts made to destroy that delicate compromise.”

By Tuesday’s deadline, 300 amendments had been filed, two-thirds of which came from the Republican Party. The majority came from two Republican senators: 77 from Charles Grassley (R – IA) and 49 from Jeff Sessions (R – AL).

Democrats have also proposed controversial amendments, however: Patrick Leahy (D – VT) is pushing for gay citizens to be able to sponsor the green card applications of foreign partners and spouses.

Senator Charles Schumer (D – NY), another member of the “Gang of Eight” and a long-time gay rights supporter, expressed ambivalence over Leahy’s amendment.

“I would very much like to see it in the bill,” Schumer told reporters. “But we have to have a bill that has support to get [it] passed. That’s the conundrum.”

Schumer said the four Republicans in the bipartisan Gang of Eight have expressed an aversion to the amendment that would grant gay couples the same green card rights as heterosexual spouses and fiances.

“Our four Republican colleagues feel very strongly that if this is in the bill they would not be able to support it,” Schumer said.

It still remains to be seen whether Leahy will even push for a vote on the amendment during the committee debate, postpone it under the floor debate, or drop it altogether.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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Amanda Berry went missing in 2003 the day before her 17th birthday. She was last heard from when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Cleveland Burger King.

Gina DeJesus was last seen walking home from school a year later in 2004, when she was 14-years-old. Extensive searches for both teens and long-running investigations never produced results.

According to Cleveland police, Berry and DeJesus, now young women, were both found alive today in the same house where they have reportedly been held captive since their disappearance. A third missing person, Michelle Knight who disappeared in 2002 at age 20, was also found alive in the home. The house is not far from the locations of their disappearances.

Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.

“I heard screaming… And I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside,” a neighbor who found the women told WEWS. “I go on the porch and she said ‘Help me get out. I’ve been here a long time.’ I figure it was domestic violence dispute.”

“She comes out with a little girl and says ‘Call 911, my name is Amanda Berry’… When she told me, it didn’t register,” he said. The man also said Berry was with a young child.

A Hispanic man in his 50s, reportedly a bus driver, is in custody. He is being identified as Ariel Castro. His two brothers are also in custody.

The women were treated for dehydration at a Cleveland hospital.

Read interviews with investigators who spent years trying to solve these cases.

DeJesus’ cousin says Gina was held captive just two blocks from her aunt’s house on same street.

The post Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus: Missing Cleveland teens found alive after 10 years appeared first on Metro.us.

The Federal Public Defender Office said Saturday it will represent Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, once charges are filed.

Miriam Conrad, head of the Boston office that represents criminal suspects who cannot afford a lawyer, said via email that “we have been informed that we will be appointed after charges are filed.”

The pending appointment came as some Republicans called for the suspect to be tried with fewer rights, which could lead to a battle over the legal process.

Conrad said she could not give more details.

But a source close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said officials hoped to file charges against Tsarnaev later on Saturday.

The source said the 19-year-old was shot in the throat and had tongue damage.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said Tsarnaev’s condition was serious. “He’s not yet able to speak,” Patrick told reporters on Saturday.

The suspect was captured Friday night and remained hospitalized under guard in Boston. Another official in Conrad’s office, Charles McGinty, said earlier on Saturday that its attorneys have not spoken to Tsarnaev and will have to be appointed to represent him by a federal judge.

“That’s why we’re trying to advance the appointment to be as soon as possible,” he said.

In Washington, several Republicans lawmakers called on the Obama administration to try Tsarnaev as an “enemy combatant” under terms of war, without rights such as the appointment of counsel.

“The accused perpetrators of these acts were not common criminals attempting to profit from a criminal enterprise, but terrorists trying to injure, maim, and kill innocent Americans,” Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Representative Peter King of New York said in a statement.

Authorities did not read the teenager the Miranda warning usually given by police to criminal suspects before they are interrogated so statements can be admissible in court.

A Justice Department official said the government is invoking the public safety exception to Miranda to question the suspect extensively about other potential explosive devices or accomplices and to gain critical intelligence.

The Republican lawmakers praised that decision and also said they were encouraged that a so-called high-value detainee interrogation team was involved in the investigation.

The group was created after President Barack Obama ordered the shutdown of a CIA program in which militant suspects were held in a network of secret prisons during the administration of President George W. Bush.

The post Public defender says will represent Boston Marathon bomb suspect appeared first on Metro.us.

Authorities were investigating whether two ethnic Chechen brothers suspected in the Boston Marathon acted alone as they prepared to file charges against the surviving suspect.

Following a tense 24 hours for the Boston area, the manhunt ended Friday with 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cornered, captured and taken into custody.

Here is a timeline of events:

* Thursday, April 18, about 5:10 p.m.

- The FBI releases photographs and video of two men suspected of planting the pressure cooker bombs that killed three people and injured 176 at the Boston Marathon on Monday. Video footage shows a man known as suspect No. 1 wearing a dark baseball cap. He was later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26.

Suspect No. 2, later identified as Tsarnaev’s brother, Dzhokhar, 19, was wearing a white cap backwards in the images. The 30-second videos are played repeatedly on national television, and photographs of the suspects are posted online.

* Thursday night at 9:04 p.m.

- Russian-language social networking site VK shows someone last logged out of what appears to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s page. The site had been accessed via mobile device.

* Thursday night around 10:20 p.m.

- Media cited authorities as saying the pair staged a robbery at a convenience store at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but state police said later they were not the ones who robbed the store.

* 10:30 p.m.

- Police discover MIT campus police officer Sean Collier, 26, shot multiple times in his car. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead. Collier was shot after an altercation on a Cambridge street corner, MIT said.

* Shortly after 10:30 p.m.

- Police say the two brothers hijack a car and abduct its owner for about a half hour, forcing him to withdraw money from an ATM before releasing him at a gas station where a security camera captures an image of someone who appears to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Police track the car’s movements using the captive owner’s cellphone, and say the two suspects tell him they bombed the marathon, the Watertown police chief told CNN.

Police track the car as it heads to the Boston suburb of Watertown.

* Friday, April 19, about 12:30 a.m.

Witnesses report hearing dozens of gunshots. More than 200 rounds were fired over about five to 10 minutes, Watertown police said. A transit police officer is hurt in the shootout.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev walks towards police, firing until he runs out of ammunition, according to the police chief’s account. He is tackled by police officers, who try to handcuff him in the street. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev drives toward the police officers, who scatter. The vehicle hits the older brother, dragging him a short way down the street.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev is transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and later pronounced dead.

* Before 1 a.m.

- A huge manhunt is launched for the second suspect and hundreds of police officers and FBI agents descend on Watertown.

* Between 3 and 4 a.m.

- Massachusetts police announce they will conduct a door-to-door search in Watertown. Citizens are warned to stay indoors.

* Around 5:30 a.m.

- Train service in Boston is suspended.

- By 6 a.m., a heavy contingent of police reinforcements arrives in Watertown. At sunrise, they begin multiple sweeps through the streets. State police wear fatigues and carry side-arms and semi-automatic rifles. Some teams are accompanied by black armored trucks as they fan across neighborhoods.

* 8 a.m.

- Massachusetts officials announce they have expanded the shelter-in-place recommendations for the entire city of Boston, effectively putting the city in lockdown as they search for Tsarnaev.

* 10:30 a.m.

- Police say they have located a gray Honda with Massachusetts license plates in the Boston area that they believe had been occupied by a bombing suspect.

* Shortly after 10:45 a.m.

- Top security and counterterrorism advisers finish an hour-long briefing with President Barack Obama in the White House Situation Room on developments in the Boston manhunt.

* Throughout the day

- The search goes on, including the help of Black Hawk helicopters. The manhunt covers 60 percent to 70 percent of the search area by afternoon, Massachusetts State Police Colonel Timothy Alben says.

* 6 p.m.

Police lift the stay-indoors request for the Boston area. Mass transit reopens. Suspect remains at large.

* About 7 p.m.

Gunfire erupts in Watertown and police converge on a house where the suspect is believed to be hiding, about half a mile from the scene of the shootout. Police had been tipped off by a resident who believed someone was hiding in a boat in the house’s back yard.

* About 8:45 p.m.

Boston police say they captured the suspect alive and he is in custody.

* 9:45 p.m.

The suspect is in serious condition at a hospital, police say. He was found covered in blood, hiding in a boat in a part of Watertown that had been slightly outside the police search perimeter throughout the day, law enforcement officials say at a press conference.

* About 10 p.m.

President Barack Obama praises Boston law enforcement officers, says he has instructed the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. intelligence community to help with the ongoing investigation.

Compiled based on Reuters reporting, official statements from law enforcement and media reports. All times Eastern Daylight Time.

The post Timeline: Boston Marathon bombing suspect captured appeared first on Metro.us.

With the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings lying seriously wounded in a hospital, investigators worked on Saturday to determine a motive and whether the ethnic Chechen brothers accused in the attack acted alone.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured late on Friday after a gunfight with police that ended a daylong manhunt and sent waves of relief and jubilation throughout Boston. His brother Tamerlan, 26, was killed on Thursday in a shootout with police.

Tsarnaev was being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said spokeswoman Kelly Lawman, who said the FBI would provide updates on his condition.

It was not clear when he would be charged.

The brothers are suspected of setting off bombs made in pressure cookers and packed with ball bearings and nails at the crowded finish line of the marathon, killing three people and injuring 176.

After Monday’s deadly bombings and the manhunt that shut down the Boston metropolitan area for most of Friday, life on Saturday regained some sense of normalcy.

Boston’s Red Sox baseball team returned to Fenway Park for the first time since the bombings, paying an emotional tribute to the victims and the first responders before the game against the Kansas City Royals.

Tsarnaev had been hiding in a boat parked in the backyard of a house in the suburb of Watertown, police said. A resident called police after spotting blood on the boat. Police said he was bleeding and in serious condition when admitted to the hospital.

President Barack Obama said after the capture that questions remained from the bombings, including whether the two suspects received any help.

Early indications are that the brothers acted alone, Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau told CNN on Saturday.

“From what I know right now, these two acted together and alone,” he said. “But as far as this little cell or this little group, I think we got our guys.”

Monday’s bombing at the world-famous marathon was described by Obama as an act of terrorism.

On Saturday, several Republican lawmakers called on the Obama administration to try Tsarnaev as an “enemy combatant” under terms of war, without entitlement to Miranda rights or appointment of counsel.

“The accused perpetrators of these acts were not common criminals attempting to profit from a criminal enterprise, but terrorists trying to injure, maim, and kill innocent Americans,” Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Representative Peter King of New York said in a statement.

Authorities did not read the teenager the Miranda warning usually given by police to criminal suspects before they are interrogated so statements can be admissible in court.

A Justice Department official said the government is invoking the public safety exception to Miranda to question the suspect extensively about other potential explosive devices or accomplices and to gain critical intelligence.

The Republicans lawmakers praised that decision and also said they were encouraged that a so-called high-value detainee interrogation team was involved in the investigation.

The group was created by the Obama administration after the president ordered the shutdown of a CIA program in which militant suspects were held in a network of secret prisons during the administration of President George W. Bush.

FBI INTERVIEWED SUSPECT IN 2011

The brothers had not been under surveillance as possible militants, U.S. government officials said. But the FBI said on Friday that it interviewed Tamerlan in 2011 at the request of a foreign government, which it did not identify.

A law enforcement source said that country was Russia.

“The request stated that it was based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups,” the FBI statement said.

The matter was closed when the FBI “did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign.”

The FBI statement was the first evidence that the family had come to security officials’ attention after they emigrated to the United States about a decade ago.

Tamerlan was charged in July 2009 with domestic assault and battery of his girlfriend, but was not convicted, said a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

The brothers spent their early years in a small community of Chechens in the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, a mainly Muslim nation of 5.5 million. The family moved in 2001 to Dagestan, a southern Russian province that lies at the heart of a violent Islamist insurgency and where their parents now live.

In separate interviews, the parents of the Tsarnaev brothers said they believed their sons were incapable of carrying out the bombings. Others remembered the brothers as friendly and respectful youths who never stood out or caused alarm.

“Somebody clearly framed them. I don’t know who exactly framed them, but they did. They framed them. And they were so cowardly that they shot the boy dead,” father Anzor Tsarnaev said in an interview with Reuters in Dagestan’s provincial capital, Makhachkala, clasping his head in despair.

The mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told Russia Today state television: “It’s impossible, impossible, for both of them to do such things, so I am really, really, really telling that this is a setup.”

But Ruslan Tsarni, who said he was an uncle of the brothers, told CNN on Saturday that he first noticed a change in Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s religious views in 2009. He said the radicalization of his nephew happened “in the streets of Cambridge.”

BOSTON LOCKED DOWN IN MANHUNT

The Russian-installed leader of Chechnya criticized police in Boston for killing an ethnic Chechen and blamed the violence on his upbringing in the United States.

The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the biggest mosque in the area, said in a statement that it was shutting its doors until further notice.

The bombings prompted contact between the United States and Russia on terrorism and the Kremlin said on Saturday that the presidents of both had agreed by telephone to increase cooperation on counter-terrorism.

After combing through a mass of pictures and video from the site in the minutes before the Boston marathon bombing, the FBI publicized pictures of the two men on Thursday and asked the public for help in identifying them.

Just hours later, events began to unfold with the fatal shooting of a police officer on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and finally the Watertown firefight, during which police say the brothers threw bombs at officers. Tamerlan suffered fatal wounds, while Dzhokhar escaped on foot.

The hunt for Tsarnaev emptied Boston’s streets as the city went into lockdown for most of Friday. Public transportation was suspended and air space restricted. Famous universities, including Harvard and MIT, closed after police told residents to remain at home.

The post Boston Marathon bombing investigation turns to motive appeared first on Metro.us.

One trail in the search for clues about why two ethnic Chechen brothers may have carried out the Boston Marathon bombings leads to a sleepy town in Kyrgyzstan where former neighbors recall a quiet family that was never in trouble.

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Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are remembered as decent and obedient boys from their time in the 1990s in the small community of Chechens in Tokmok, a leafy town under the snow-capped Tien Shan mountains outside the capital Bishkek.

Tamerlan, the elder of the two, studied well. His father, Anzor, made a living selling used cars and was welcomed with open arms when he visited the town again two years ago, 10 years after the family left for Russia and then the United States.

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The news that Tamerlan had been shot dead by police and Dzhokhar captured after a day-long manhunt on suspicion of carrying out Monday’s bombing, in which three people were killed, was greeted with shock and disbelief.

“The Tsarnaevs were such a good family. They yearned to be well-educated. None of them were rowdy. It was a very cultured family,” said former neighbor Raisa Kaayeva, a middle-aged housewife who is also an ethnic Chechen.

“I feel it with my heart – these boys were framed. Why did they go to this America? They should have stayed in Russia to lead a quiet life. Now they have been made scapegoats. I pity these boys. I was weeping when I saw it on TV – their lives were broken, as well as the lives of their mother and father.”

Badrudi Tsokayev, a friend of the father, waved his hands repeatedly as he described his shock at hearing the news. Like others who recalled the family, he saw no signs of radicalism.

“I wouldn’t imagine seeing this even in a nightmare,” Tsokayev, 60, said on a quiet street in Tokmok, 60 km (38 miles) from Bishkek. “As a child, Tamerlan was such a quiet boy. Today everyone is calling me with just one question – is this true?”

He said Anzor Tsarnaev had been fiercely proud of Tamerlan’s prowess in the boxing ring and said his son had been looking forward to going to the Russian city of Sochi to watch the 2014 Winter Olympics next February.

CHECHEN DIASPORA

It is in this town of 53,000 that the boys would have become aware of their Chechen roots. Dzhokhar, now 19, years later posted links to Islamic websites and others calling for Chechen independence on what appears to be his page on a Russian language social networking site.

They would have learnt about the difficult fate suffered by their predecessors in Soviet times that has fostered a sense of injustice among some Chechens and helped fuel an independence drive in the Chechnya region of Russia’s North Caucasus that led to two wars with Moscow in the 1990s.

Kyrgyzstan, a mainly Muslim nation of 5.5 million which hosts U.S. and Russian military air bases, had a huge influx of ethnic Chechens in 1944.

Hundreds of thousands of Chechens and ethnically close Ingush were evicted from their homes in the North Caucasus and moved to Central Asia in cattle wagons after being accused by dictator Josef Stalin of collaborating with Nazi Germany.

About 99,000 of the Chechens and Ingush ended up in what was then the Kyrgyz Soviet republic.

In Tokmok, the Tsarnaev clan alone inhabited a whole street before most of them moved back to their native village of Chiri-Yurt in Chechnya in the 1960s, residents said. About 20 Chechen families still live in a district popularly known as the Glass Factory, after the building that dominates it.

SCHOOL REGISTRY

The brothers would have become more familiar with Islamist militancy when they moved in 2001 to Dagestan, the southern Russian province which lies at the heart of an Islamist insurgency and sees daily violence, and where their parents still live.

In Tokmok, they lived in a modest brick house before moving to a more spacious, two-story house opposite School No. 1 in the town center, where Tamerlan and his two sisters studied.

A school register shows Tamerlan’s date of birth – October 21, 1986 – and the date when he entered the fifth grade, January 18, 1999. He studied here for a year.

Dzhokhar, born in 1993, was too young to go to school at the time.

“Yes, the Tsarnaevs studied here. I wouldn’t say they were anti-social or anything like that. No, I can’t say so,” said school headmistress Lyubov Shulzhenko.

“The Chechen community here is so closely-knit and decent. We have never had problems with their children,” said Natalia Ryabovol, a physics teacher.

In the Soviet era, Tokmok hosted a busy base which trained military pilots for pro-Soviet countries stretching from eastern Europe to Africa. A Soviet-made jet fighter is perched on a pedestal at the town’s entrance.

Many of the townspeople today make a living by growing fruit and vegetables and tending cattle. The attack in Boston seems part of another world.

Kyrgyzstan, which borders China, is politically fragile after the toppling of two presidents since 2005. It says it cannot be held responsible for the brothers’ actions.

“Taking into account the fact that the suspects left the republic when they were eight and 15 years old, the State Committee for National Security considers it inappropriate to link them to Kyrgyzstan,” the Kyrgyz security service said.

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Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told the English-language Russia Today television station in a phone interview, a recording of which was obtained by Reuters, that she believed her sons were innocent and had been framed.  

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Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a shootout with police and his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar was captured after a day-long manhunt.

“He (Tamerlan) was controlled by the FBI, like, for three to five years,” she said, speaking in English and using the direct English translation of a word in Russian that means monitored.

“They knew what my son was doing, they knew what sites on the Internet he was going to,” she said in what Russia Today described as a call from Makhachkala, the city where she lives in Russia’s Dagestan region.

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  PHOTOS: Boston residents celebrate capture of second suspect

Tsarnaeva echoed the boys’ father, Anzor, who said on Friday that he believed they had been framed.

“It is really, really a hard thing to hear. And being a mother, what I can say is that I am really sure, I am, like, 100 percent sure, that this is a set-up,” she said.

U.S. government officials have said the brothers were not under surveillance as possible militants. But the FBI said in a statement on Friday that in 2011 it interviewed Tamerlan at the request of a foreign government, which it did not identify.

It said the matter was closed because interviews with Tamerlan and family members “did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign”.

The FBI statement was the first evidence that the family had come to security officials’ attention after they emigrated to the United States from Dagestan about a decade ago.

The post Boston suspect was under FBI surveillance, mother says appeared first on Metro.us.

A 19-year-old suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings with his older brother was captured by police after a day-long manhunt on Friday that closed down the city and turned a working-class suburb into a virtual military zone.

The capture sent waves of relief and jubilation through Boston and the suburb of Watertown, where armored vehicles roamed the streets and helicopters flew overhead through the day. Residents and police officers cheered and clapped when the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was taken alive after a gunfight.

Bleeding and in serious condition, he was admitted to a Boston hospital, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Kelly Lawman, confirmed on Saturday that Tsarnaev was being treated there, but declined comment on his condition. The FBI would be providing any updates, she said.

It was not yet clear when he would face initial charges.

Tsarnaev had been hiding in the stern of a boat parked in the backyard of a house in Watertown, police said. A resident called police after spotting blood on the boat.

President Barack Obama told reporters at the White House after the suspect’s capture that questions remained from the bombings, including whether the two suspects received any help.

Monday’s bombing, described by Obama as an act of terrorism, was the worst such attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, and rattled nerves across the United States.

The brothers, ethnic Chechens who once lived in Russia, are suspected of setting off bombs made in pressure cookers and packed with ball bearings and nails at the crowded finish line of Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 176.

The family of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old boy killed in the blast, welcomed the arrest.

“Tonight, our community is once again safe from these two men,” the family said in a statement.

The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed on Thursday night in a shootout with police less than a mile from where Friday night’s capture took place.

After combing through a mass of pictures and video from the site in the minutes before the bombing, the FBI had publicized pictures of the two men on Thursday and asked the public for help in identifying them.

Just hours later, events began to unfold fast with the fatal shooting of a police officer on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and finally the Watertown firefight, during which police say the brothers threw bombs at officers. Tamerlan suffered fatal wounds, while Dzhokhar escaped on foot.

The brothers had not been under surveillance as possible militants, U.S. government officials said. But the FBI said in a statement on Friday that in 2011 it interviewed Tamerlan at the request of a foreign government, which it did not identify.

“The request stated that it was based on information that he was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups,” the FBI statement said.

The matter was closed because interviews with Tamerlan and family members “did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign”.

The FBI statement was the first evidence that the family had come to security officials’ attention after they emigrated to the United States about a decade ago. It might raise questions about whether authorities missed potential warning signs.

At the same time that police were pursuing Dzhokhar on Friday night, police in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 60 miles south of Boston said three other people had been taken into custody for questioning about Monday’s bombings. They were later released, police said.

Authorities said the investigation into the bombings was still open.

They were asked at a news conference on Friday night why authorities did not immediately read the suspect a warning usually given by police to criminal suspects in custody before they are interrogated so statements can be admissible in court.

Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said there was “a public safety exception” that was applied to Tsarnaev regarding the warning known as Miranda rights.

The hunt for Tsarnaev emptied Boston’s streets as the city went into lockdown for most of Friday. Public transportation was suspended and air space restricted. Famous universities, including Harvard and MIT, closed after police told residents to remain at home.

The hunt focused on Watertown, where police officers went door-to-door and searched houses. Two Black Hawk helicopters circled the area. SWAT teams moved through in formation.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick lifted the “stay-in-place” order for Boston late on Friday afternoon.

Police were alerted to Tsarnaev’s whereabouts by a Watertown resident who went outside after the order was lifted.

He saw blood on a boat in the backyard, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said. He then lifted up the tarp covering the boat and “saw a man covered with blood”, Davis said.

Police moved in. “There was an exchange of gunfire, and I don’t know if he was struck,” Davis said of the suspect.

Authorities, using a bullhorn, had called on the suspect to surrender but he refused to give himself up.

“We used a robot to pull the tarp off the boat,” David Procopio of the Massachusetts State Police said. “We were also watching him with a thermal imaging camera in our helicopter. He was weakened by blood loss – injured last night most likely.”

Tsarnaev was taken into custody after authorities rushed the boat, Davis said.

‘PUT A SHAME ON OUR FAMILY’

Some details emerged on Friday about the brothers, including their origins in the predominantly Muslim regions of Russia’s Caucasus, which have experienced two decades of violence since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

The younger brother described himself on a social network as from a minority in a region that includes Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.

A man who told reporters he was an uncle of the brothers said they came to the United States in the early 2000s and settled in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, area.

Ruslan Tsarni, who lives in suburban Washington and has not spoken to the brothers since 2009, said the bombings “put a shame on our family. It put a shame on the entire Chechen ethnicity”.

In separate interviews, the parents of the Tsarnaev brothers said they believed their sons were incapable of carrying out the bombings. Others remembered the brothers as friendly and respectful youths who never stood out or caused alarm.

“Somebody clearly framed them. I don’t know who exactly framed them, but they did. They framed them. And they were so cowardly that they shot the boy dead,” father Anzor Tsarnaev said in an interview with Reuters in Dagestan’s provincial capital, Makhachkala, clasping his head in despair.

The FBI said the two blasts at the marathon were caused by bombs in pressure cookers and carried in backpacks that were left near the finish line as thousands of spectators gathered.

The mother, Zubeidat Tsaraeva, speaking in English, told CNN, “It’s impossible, impossible, for both of them to do such things, so I am really, really, really telling that this is a setup.”

The Russian-installed leader of Chechnya criticized police in Boston for killing an ethnic Chechen and blamed the violence on his upbringing in the United States.

The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the biggest mosque in the area, said in a statement that it was shutting its doors until further notice.

The bombings prompted contact between the United States and Russia on terrorism and the Kremlin said on Saturday that the presidents of both had agreed by telephone to increase cooperation on counter-terrorism.

The post Boston marathon bombing suspect caught after manhunt appeared first on Metro.us.

State and Federal authorities revealed new details about the events leading up to the capture of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, the second suspect wanted for Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings.

Boston Police Commisioner Ed Davis confirmed that a homeowner in Watertown called police after spotting a trail of blood in his yard, and then lifting a tarp and spotting the suspect in a boat in storage in the yard.

Davis said Tsarnaev did not have explosives on him at the time of his arrest but that based on events leading up to the arrest, authorities proceeded under the belief that he did.

Davis said more than 2,000 rounds were fired and the suspects threw improvised explosive devices and homemade hand grenades at police during a shootout Thursday night.

“This is the stuff that’s almost unheard of,” Davis said.

Other officials weighed in on the intense investigation that took place over the past four days.

“We’re exhausted folks, but we have victory here tonight,” said Colonel Timothy Alben of the Massachusetts State Police. “But let’s not forget those people along the way.”

Mayor Thomas Menino said “the people of Greater Boston will be able to sleep tonight.”

Gov. Deval Patrick echoed Menino in saying that Boston can now “rest easy.”

Crows applaude the law enforcement officials after the suspect was taken into custody.
Credit: Nicolaus Czarnecki/Metro

President Barack Obama addressed the nation following the attack, crediting the people of Boston for helping to capture the suspects.

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  PHOTOS: Boston residents celebrate capture of second suspect

“Our nation is in debt to the people of Boston,” he said.  “Bostonians responded with resolve and determination. The Boston Police Department and state and local police responded with professionalism and bravery over five long days.”

Obama promised the nation would get answers to the many questions associated with the bombings.

“Obviously tonight there are still many unanswered questions, among them why did a young man who grew up and studied here  …  resort to such violence,” he said. “The family of those killed deserve answers, the wouned,  some who have to  learn how to stand up and walk again, deserve answers.”

Obama also recognized the roller coaster ride that the City of Boston has undergone in the past five days.

“All in all this has been a tough week but we’ve seen the character of our country once more.”

The post New details emerge in Marathon bomb suspect’s capture appeared first on Metro.us.

U.S. authorities have arrested a suspect from Mississippi in connection with a letter that tested positive for the poison ricin that was sent to President Barack Obama, a law enforcement source said on Wednesday.

Original Metro stories below: 

Update: A letter sent to President Barack Obama that was intercepted at an off-site facility tested positive for ricin, according to the FBI.

The envelope, which was addressed to the White House, was immediately quarantined.

Original Metro story below:

Parts of the U.S. Capitol were cleared after suspicious packages were found on the first and third floors of the Hart Senate Office building, according to a report by CNN.

Suspicious envelopes were also found in the Russell Senate Office Building and at the office of Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.

According to the report, a man with a backpack is being questioned after he raised suspicion with the content of his bag and the way he responded to police questions.

One of the officers said the man’s backpack contained more sealed envelopes.

According to a report by Reuters, a “suspicious substance” has been found inside a letter addressed to President Barack Obama at the White House.

A similar letter was sent Tuesday to Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker. Preliminary tests show the envelope contained the deadly poison ricin.

The letter was sent to a lab for further tests.

There is no connection between these letter and the attacks at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

“The investigation into these letters remains ongoing, and more letters may still be received. There is no indication of a connection to the attack in Boston,” the FBI said in a statement.

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At least 14 people were injured during a mass stabbing at a local community college in the northwest Houston area Tuesday morning, according to the local rescue officials.

Four people were critically injured during the incident at the Cy-Fair campus of Lone Star College in Harris County, the Cy-Fair volunteer fire department said.

One suspect was detained, local police said.

“LOCKDOWN at LSC-CyFair. Seek shelter now. If away, stay away,” the school posted on Twitter at noon local time.

Three people were shot at a separate campus of Lone Star College in January.

The post Multiple injuries reported in stabbing at Lone Star College in Houston appeared first on Metro.us.

President Barack Obama attempted on Thursday to inject fresh momentum into efforts to pass gun-control legislation, pleading with U.S. lawmakers not to forget those shot to death in Newtown, Connecticut three months ago.

Amid signs that he may have to accept a scaled-down version of gun legislation, Obama sounded a note of frustration in calling upon Americans to demand action from the U.S. Congress in the weeks ahead.

He said the legislation’s opponents, the powerful U.S. gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association, are “doing everything they can” to derail the effort barely 100 days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, in which a gunman killed 20 children, six staff members and then himself.

“The entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we’ve forgotten. I haven’t forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we’ve forgotten,” said Obama, appearing at the White House with mothers of children who had been shot to death.

The gunman in Newtown, Adam Lanza, fired 154 rounds in less than 5 minutes, selecting high capacity magazines from a home arsenal stocked with swords, knives and a cache of guns, officials said Thursday.

Despite events like this, a grassroots organizing effort by Obama supporters and a high-profile advertising campaign funded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to keep up the pressure, gun legislation has been stalled on Capitol Hill in recent weeks.

The best chance of success for gun-control advocates is that Congress will approve universal background checks for gun purchasers and tougher penalties for gun trafficking.

Less likely to pass are bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, two of the main proposals to emerge from Vice President Joe Biden’s gun violence task force, formed by Obama after the Newtown shootings.

‘JUST THE BEGINNING’

Biden seemed to acknowledged the challenge when he said on a conference call on Wednesday organized by Mayors Against Illegal Guns that the administration will keep pressing for action regardless of what Congress does in the immediate future.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can: This is just the beginning,” Biden said.

Obama had hoped at the outset of his second term to use his re-election mandate to make rapid progress on three major issues: gun violence, deficit-reduction and immigration reform.

All are moving slowly, however.

Immigration may offer the best prospect for action as Republicans seek to attract more Hispanic Americans who voted overwhelming for Obama and his Democrats in the 2012 elections.

Republicans insist that any pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants be preceded by certification that U.S. borders are secure.

The biggest stumbling block to an immigration bill concerns creation of a guest-worker program to allow immigrants to cross the U.S.-Mexican border legally for temporary jobs.

U.S. labor unions, which worry such a program would lead to a loss of jobs for Americans, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have yet to arrive at a formula acceptable to both. Their agreement is considered crucial to bringing Congress along.

Obama has said he is encouraged by the progress, and he believes the dispute over the guest-worker program can be resolved. After first declaring the U.S.-Mexican border sufficiently secure, Obama now says it can be improved, a position that may permit him to make a deal with Republicans.

“I’m actually optimistic about this, in part because I think both Republicans as well as Democrats are now recognizing that it’s the right thing to do,” Obama told Univision, a Spanish-language network, in an interview on Wednesday.

Obama’s attempt to negotiate a “grand bargain” aimed at reducing the U.S. budget deficit is facing old-fashioned political gridlock and could collapse into a partisan sinkhole.

In a fresh round of schmoozing to discuss this and other legislative items, Obama will dine with a dozen Republican senators on April 10, the second such meeting he will have held in his attempts to engage his political opponents.

TAXING THE RICH

Lawmakers are still bruised from a fight over $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that went into effect a month ago despite Obama’s attempt to head them off.

Obama still wants what Republicans refused to give him in that budget fight, an increase in taxes on the wealthy by eliminating some deductions and loopholes. Republicans instead want to cut spending.

The White House struck a pessimistic note this week on the prospects for success given the Republican leadership’s refusal to agree to raise more tax revenues.

“As long as Republicans are saying we’re not going to ask the wealthiest and well-connected to pay a single dime to reduce our deficit, then it is hard to imagine that we’re going to reach a compromise,” White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday.

The difficulties in gaining passage of major legislation reflects the continued grip partisan politics holds on Washington, with the White House and Senate run by Democrats and the House of Representatives controlled by Republicans. This makes the 2014 midterm congressional elections of increasing importance.

“Look, it’s what we all thought when Obama was re-elected,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “There is just not going to be a lot of new legislation in Obama’s second term, unless he wins the House in 2014, and even then it looks very, very tough.”

The post Obama makes impassioned plea for gun control legislation appeared first on Metro.us.

The Senate on Saturday narrowly passed its first federal budget in four years, a move that will usher in a relative lull in Washington’s fiscal wars until an anticipated summer showdown over raising the debt ceiling.

The budget plan was passed by a 50-49 vote in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Four Democratic senators facing tough re-election campaigns in 2014 joined all the Senate Republicans in opposing the measure, which seeks to raise nearly $1 trillion in new tax revenues by closing some tax breaks for the wealthy.

The Senate budget, which reflects Democratic priorities of boosting near-term job growth and preserving social safety net programs, will square off in coming months against a Republican-focused budget passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

Neither of the non-binding blueprints has a chance of passage in the opposing chamber, leaving Congress no closer to resolving deep differences over how to shrink U.S. deficits and grow the economy. But they give each party a platform from which to tout their respective fiscal visions.

The Democrats’ plan from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray aims to reduce deficits by $1.85 trillion over 10 years through an equal mix of tax increases and spending cuts.

The Republican plan from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan seeks $4.6 trillion in savings over the same period without raising new taxes. It aims to reach a small surplus by 2023 through deep cuts to health care and social programs that aid the poor.

Murray said after the vote that she would try to work with Ryan on a path toward compromise.

“While it is clear that the policies, values, and priorities of the Senate budget are very different than those articulated in the House budget, I know the American people are expecting us to work together to end the gridlock and find common ground, and I plan to continue doing exactly that.”

SHUTDOWN THREAT

Passage of a stop-gap government funding measure on Thursday lowered the temperature in the budget debate by eliminating the threat of a government shutdown next week.

“We’re going to get a breather here. Congress will let things cool off a bit and there’ll be other issues that come to the forefront in the spring,” said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group, a firm that advises institutional investors on Washington politics.

These issues include legislation on gun control, immigration reform and initial work on simplifying the tax code, which is particularly important to Republicans.

Joining Republicans in opposing the Democratic budget were Democratic senators from conservative-leaning states: Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. Voting for a budget that raises tax revenues could increase their vulnerability in congressional elections next year and put Democrats’ thin majority at risk.

In the lead-up to the Senate vote early on Saturday morning, the body considered more than 100 largely symbolic, non-binding amendments to the budget aimed at scoring political points and staking out positions.

Among notable amendments, the Senate signaled strong support for allowing states more authority to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases [ID:nL1N0CEERE], for approval of the controversial Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline [ID:nL1N0CEE57] and for repealing a tax on medical devices imposed by President Barack Obama’s health care reform law.

The Senate also voted 99-0 to end policies that subsidized large banks considered “too big to fail” but came out against imposing taxes on industrial carbon emissions.

Ryan’s plan aims to reach a small surplus with no tax increases by 2023 through deep cuts to social safety net programs. This enables Republicans to claim that they are more responsible by balancing the budget.

“The House budget changes our debt course, while the Senate budget does not,” said Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

BATTLE OVER “BALANCE”

In a taste of the ideological debates to come, Murray claimed that the Senate budget was more “balanced” because it emphasized job growth and offered an equal amount of revenue increases and spending cuts.

The Senate had not passed a budget resolution since 2009 because of fiscal policy disputes with House Republicans that forced Congress to turn to numerous stop-gap spending measures to avoid government shutdowns.

To protect their thin Senate majority, Democrats avoided exposing their members to potentially damaging votes to raise taxes ahead of 2012 elections, arguing that a 2011 budget deal set spending levels for several years and made the non-binding budget legislation unnecessary.

But this year, under the February debt limit increase law, members of both the House and Senate faced pay suspensions if their chamber had failed to pass a budget by April 15.

Although lawmakers in both parties have called for a return to normal budgeting procedures after years of stop-gap spending bills and high-pressure deadlines, there is little chance that they can work out differences between the two budgets.

“The idea of conferencing them is kind of a joke. You would expect that if there were a chance of success, they wouldn’t have planted flags on completely different planets,” said Sean West, U.S. policy director at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.

Ultimately, it may take another 11th-hour deal between Obama and congressional Republicans to set a fiscal path forward as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, he said. The Treasury is expected to exhaust its borrowing capacity around late July or early August.

In 2011, a similar fight over the debt limit shook financial markets and cost the United States its top-tier credit rating.

The post Senate passes budget for first time in four years appeared first on Metro.us.

General Pervez Musharraf was the president of Pakistan, a leading American ally in the war on terror, from 2001-2008. He then voluntarily resigned before what many observers saw as politically motivated impeachment proceedings could be started against him, and went into self-imposed exile. But he has now declared his intention to return to Pakistan on March 24 to contest forthcoming presidential elections.

He has been warned that if he returns to Pakistan he faces arrest warrants for allegedly failing to provide adequate security which led to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

But the General has told supporters of his All Pakistan Muslim League political party that he would improve Pakistan’s economy and strengthen foreign investment in the country.

Here, in this exclusive interview, he speaks to Metro as he finalizes preparations to return to his homeland.

What is ailing Pakistan at this time?
Terrorism, especially sectarian terrorism. Law and order has failed especially in places like Balochistan and Karachi. The economy has broken down and there is not enough economic stability and jobs. That is the backbone of a stable country and it has broken down. Also, tensions with India remain.

What do you want to accomplish by your return, and why go now?
Pakistan is a very large country and an important regional player. When I was president I wanted to achieve for Pakistan internal security and stability, regional peace, international acceptability and an improvement and amelioration within the Muslim world.
Internal stability would allow us to examine the welfare and well-being of the population. Why go back now? The elections are to be held in the next few months according the constitution and it is now or never for me. If I am not there to stand for election it will be another five years until I have a chance do so.

What are your chances of success?
If you listen to the commentators they will tell you that my party does not have the internal structure to fight an election. It is simply not true. We are established with organizations across the country and some major political players are just waiting for my return to offer their support. There are a number of people and organizations that I call floaters in Pakistan, and my return will bring hope to them and the chance to work together. Only I can do this. Many people are clamoring for me to return. I would say I have a 50/50 chance of success.

Why are you taking this risk, which must also be physical?
After 9/11 I was resigned to personal risk on a daily basis. It was something that became part of my routine. Because I am ex-president of Pakistan, the authorities must provide me with some security when I return — but of course I also have my own arrangements. I have faith that life and death is out of my hands and I have a duty to return to my country to deal with its problems.
There are legal charges against you in Pakistan, a residue of your presidency. How will you deal with this obstacle?
I will simply appeal to the judicial process. One has to have faith in the courts even though there is a history of judicial activism. I am 100 percent confident that these false, trumped-up and politically motivated charges against me will be thrown out.

With significant U.S. troop withdrawals scheduled, how do you see the strategic situation in Afghanistan playing out over the next, say, three years?
If the U.S. and coalition forces leave lock stock and barrel then after 2014 I can see one of several things happening: a return to how Afghanistan was from 1986-1997, which was vicious tribal warfare — the various ethnic groups fighting each other — or the return of the Pushtun Taliban versus the Northern Alliance of minorities in Afghanistan.
If, however, the U.S. leaves some forces, with air and special forces support which is made available to the Afghan National Army, I can foresee a situation remaining as it is now — not a win and not a loss with the Taliban held at bay.
Otherwise I can see a proxy war being fought in Afghanistan between India and Pakistan. India is active in Afghanistan trying to create an active anti-Pakistan country. Pakistan is logically doing all it can to stop this.

With both U.S. and Israeli military strikes possible, Iran and its nuclear program have been frequently in the news. Pakistan shares a border with Iran. Why should Pakistan be allowed to keep the nuclear weapons it possesses, when Iran, its neighbor, should not?
You cannot compare the two. Pakistan developed nonconventional weapons as a deterrent, as purely a defensive measure. Pakistan faces an existential threat: India. We have fought three wars with India since independence in 1947.
We are the two giants in the region, and it is important that war between us should become unthinkable — which is why we justify our nuclear capability.
Iran has no such similar reason for having nuclear weapons. There is no similar existential threat to Iran as there is to Pakistan, so they cannot want a nuclear program for defensive reasons.

What are the causes of the deterioration in relations between Pakistan and the United States? What could you do to improve them?
I had good relations with George W. Bush to the extent that I could call him up at any time to discuss problems or make suggestions. I believe that trust has been lost somewhat. Pakistan and the U.S. need to restore that level of honesty and trust as Pakistan is such an influence in the region. There needs to be open dialogue, and we need to be honest and transparent with each other once again.

Previously, you were Pakistan’s chief executive. What would you do differently?
The question presumes that there are many things I would do differently. Not necessarily. When I was president, the internal security situation was far more stable than it is now. The economy was growing and there was jobs for the people. Prices were stable and we had consistent gas and electricity supplies and prices. We were able to focus on the welfare of the people, internally. So far as our relationships with India are concerned, I would seek to restart the process of rapprochement I had begun when I was president. We could have signed treaties on two of the major issues that divided us and were working towards a solution in Kashmir, but these opportunities arise, but do not always stay. If they are missed they can be gone. I would try again with India. We are the two biggest countries in the region. We could deliver a huge boost to regional security, stability and economy if we could settle our differences and that is what I would try to do.

The post Metro exclusive interview: General Pervez Musharraf appeared first on Metro.us.

After a judge found two teenage boys, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, from Steubenville, Ohio guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party last summer, the focus of the story seems to be of the boys’ promising football career rather than the crime.

Much of the backlash started last night, when newscaster Candy Crowley interviewed CNN reporter Poppy Harlow, who was covering the trial.

When Crawley said she couldn’t imagine how emotional it was in the courtroom, Harlow responded:

“I’ve never experienced anything like it, Candy. It was incredibly emotional, incredibly difficult, even for an outsider like me, to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures – star football players, very good students – literally watched as they believed their lives fell apart … when that sentence came down, Ma’lik collapsed in the arms of his attorney … He said to him, “My life is over. No one is going to want me now.’ Very serious crime here, both found guilty of raping the sixteen-year-old girl at a series of parties back in August. Alcohol fueled parties; alcohol is a huge part this.”

Much of the news in a number of media outlets focused on the promising football careers of the two boys, which was cut short.

NBC nightly news coverage began with reporter Ron Allen saying that the two boys convicted of rape “must now register as sex offenders,” and went on to discuss their promising athletic career.

CNN, and other media outlets spoke very little about the victim of the crime and how this entire incident affects her. They instead focused on her level of intoxication.

There were a number of news stories that simply described the victim as a “drunken” 16-year-old girl, where as the boys were described as being a part of a team that was “the pride of Steubenville.”

Following last night’s CNN report, this morning, in what is considered a major faux pas in journalism, Fox News ran tape of the Steubenville rape trial in which one of the rapists named the victim.

Out of respect to the victim, it is common journalistic practice for media outlets to not name the victims of rape.

The ultimate victim shaming comes from ordinary folks responding to the verdict on Twitter.

A Tumblr account titled “Public Shaming” has collected a number of tweets that place the blame of the rape on the victim. The tweets go as far as suggest that the teenage boys did what everyone would have done.

To that we say, no. No they didn’t.

CNN said that alcohol played a part of this story. Not quite. Alcohol abuse by teenagers is a completely different story altogether. This story was about two boys facing the consequences of their actions.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post After Steubenville rape case verdict, victim shaming continues appeared first on Metro.us.

Whole Foods has played an important role in getting us to care about the food we’re putting in our bodies.

The grocery store is taking it a step further. Whole Foods said they will not require labels on all genetically-modified foods they sell.

The push to disclose more information about genetically modified foods has existed for a while, but Whole Foods is the first retailer in the nation to require the labels. Even so, it will take five years for the new requirement to take effect.

The label requirement will take place in its 330 stores in the United States and Canada. Labeling is already required in the European Union, so products in the seven Whole Foods stores in Britain are already marked.

For the time being, Whole Foods labels foods that are guaranteed to contain no genetically modified ingredients as such.

“We’ve seen how our customers have responded to the products we do have labeled,” A.C. Gallo, president of Whole Foods, said to the New York Times. “Some of our manufacturers say they’ve seen a 15 percent increase in sales of products that have been labeled.”

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Whole Foods to label genetically-modified foods appeared first on Metro.us.

A homeless man that returned a missing engagement ring a few weeks ago has now received more than $160,000 from an online campaign.

A few weeks ago Kansas City woman, Sarah Darling, emptied her coin purse in Billy Ray Harris’ cup. It wasn’t until the next day that she realized her platinum and diamond engagement ring was missing.

“I was so incredibly upset because, more than just the value of the ring, it had sentimental value,” she told KCTV at the time.

Darling said the ring felt uncomfortable on her fingers so she put them in her coin purse. When she realized Harris had her missing ring she hurried back to the spot she last saw the homeless man, squatted down and asked him if he remembered her.

Harris held on to the ring and handed it back to Darling.

At the time, Darling handed Harris all the cash she had on her. Later, to show her appreciation, Darling had her husband, Bill Krejci, set up a 90-day Giveforward fundraiser for Harris.

Their initial goal was $1,000 but after just a week, it’s raised more than $160,000 from more than 7,000 donations from across the world.

Krejci updated the website with a post titled “Met with Billy Ray Yesterday, We Talked, He’s Good.”

The post reads:

“We talked about a lot of things related to my family’s ring and the many donations. We talked about one day in the future the ring may … be passed down to my daughter. We talked about how insanely positive all this has been. We talked about what he’s planning to do with the donations. The details would be better left for later but know that he has a very solid plan and a very solid way of making it happen”

According to the post Harris has found a basement apartment to live in. There are still 78 days left to donate.

For more information on the campaign click here.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Online campaign raises $160,000 for homeless man that returned engagement ring appeared first on Metro.us.

A group of fraternity brothers in Boston are proving that frats can do more than throw crazy ragers. At a time when college fraternities are getting a bad rap for the things they do, a group of guys is stepping up for a good cause.

Member of Emerson College’s Phi Alpha Tau fraternity started an Indiegogo page to raise funds to pay for a transgender brother’s sex reassignment surgery.

Once prospective brother Donnie Collins, who was born female but identifies as male, announced he was denied financial support from his insurance for top surgery, his brothers took it upon themselves to help.

With Collins’ surgery already schedule for May 2013, the “communicative arts” fraternity started raising money.

The initial goal was quickly surpassed and at on Monday, the brothers upped the goal to $8,100. As of Tuesday afternoon they brothers have exceeded that goal. With almost $11,000 and 40 days of campaigning to go, the fraternity is discussing what to do with the rest of the money.

In the video one of the brothers, Christian Bergren-Aragon, said that beyond raising money, they want to start a conversation through this campaign.

“It’s very different campaign we’re trying to run here. We’re looking to tell a story more so than raise money. We’d much rather have 100 people donate $10 than 10 people donate $100,” one of the Bergren-Aragon said.

In addition to donating money, the Indiegogo page also recommends sharing the campaign, reaching out to those personally connected to this issue and making noise around the world.

“We’re here less to raise money, and more to tell a story. The story of transformation, of self-discovery, and the story of brotherhood,” the men write on the site.

The video ends with one of the brothers declaring “much love.” That’s how we feel about this campaign – so much love.

To donate to the cause click here.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Emerson College fraternity raises money for transgender brother’s surgery appeared first on Metro.us.

These photos of a bloodied eel-like animal spreading online are not from the set of a new science fiction movie by the creators of “Sharktopus.” This is real life.

The photos, which where posted on Reddit and have received more than a million views, show a bloodied, giant eel-like fish captured by a New Jersey man with his boy and arrow.

That’s right, a man named Doug Cutler allegedly captured this sea creature with a bow and arrow, as if the Garden State is the new arena for the “Hunger Games.”

Credit: Doug Cutler

The identity of the ‘sea monster’ is not yet known. According to the New York Daily News, scientists at Outdoor magazine think the creature is a very large sea lamprey, a species of parasite that lives in certain northern Atlantic waters.

“The photo doesn’t allow counting of gill openings (seven per side for sea lampreys), but based on size alone, this does appear to be a sea lamprey,” a New York Department of Environmental Conservations spokeswoman told the magazine.

According to the Daily News, sea lampreys typically measure up to 3 feet therefore making the animal in the photo a freakishly large lea lamprey.

Until the identity is figured out, let’s stay away from the waters of Jersey.

Credit: Doug Cutler

The post Photos: Scary eel-like creature caught in New Jersey waters appeared first on Metro.us.

Hey ladies, wedding season is coming up. What do you do if you don’t have a date, though?

A pair of brothers decided to use the tried and true Craigslist. You see, Dave and Mike don’t have dates for their cousins wedding. They’re both single but don’t want to take “fringe women” in their lives and “face the inevitable ‘does this mean he wants to take things to the next level’” questions that will ensue.

Dave and Mike’s cousin are required to bring dates, in order to prevent them from “harassing” the bride’s friends all night.

This is why they’re relying on Craigslist to find a stranger date.

The first thing that crossed our minds was “Craigslist killer!” Remember the actual Boston guy that lured women in via Craigslist? Well, Mike and Dave promise they’re not mimicking his actions.

Here is what the buys, from Albany but now live in New York and D.C., in women:

1. They must be “attractive for our aunts will judge you, but not TO attractive or one of our uncles might grope you.
2. Relaxed and easy going.
3. Own a dress, or have the ability to achier one.
4. A resume – they are looking for a well rounded woman to attend the classy event.

When reading through their Craiglist post, it’s hard to decide whether these two guys are creative and hilarious, or just trying to milk media attention.

It turn out we’re not the only ones raising an eyebrow.

People have left comments on various news reports of the listing, calling out the brothers.

“Clearly I’ve failed. – Dad of NY Bros,” one commenter wrote.

“The good thing is they’re not upstaging the bridge and groom at all on their special day. Which is nice,” another one posted online. Note the sarcasm.

What do you think of this ad? Would you go on this wedding date?

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post New York brothers look for wedding dates on Craigslist appeared first on Metro.us.

Is blue your favorite color? Do you like wearing so much blue people mistake you for a mailman? You’re in luck.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to release a fashion line for men.

The line will be called “Rain Heat & Snow,” in honor of the Postal Service’s unofficial motto “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

The Postal Service has teamed up with Cleveland-based fashion apparel company, Wahconah Group, Inc.

“This agreement will put the Postal Service on the cutting edge of functional fashion,” said Postal Service Corporate Licensing Manager Steven Mills in an official press release. “The main focus will be to produce Ran Heat & Snow apparel and accessories using technology to create ‘smart apparel’ also known as wearable electronics.”

The new line will only include menswear. There are plans for a women’s line down the road, but there’s no date set for that. Sorry, ladies.

If you’re wondering how the U.S. Postal Service plan on paying for this since they can’t even afford to deliver our mom’s care packages anymore on Saturdays, well, they won’t. CNN reports that the Postal Service won’t have to pay to produce the apparel but will receive a small percentage of the profits. The clothes will be sold in “premier department and specialty stores.”

The Postal Service is moving on up. Next stop: Paris Fashion Week.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post U.S. Postal Service is launching a new fashion line appeared first on Metro.us.

Burger King suspended its Twitter account after hackers breached the fast-food chain’s social media account.

The account was shut down an hour after the company learned of the attack at about 12:25 p.m. EST, according to Reuters.

“It has come to our attention that the Twitter account for the Burger King brand has been hacked,” the company said in a statement. “We have worked directly with administrators to suspend the account until we are able to re-establish our legitimate site and authentic postings.”

The first fake tweet said: We just got sold to McDonalds! Look for McDonalds in a hood near you.”

The logo on the Twitter handle was change to that of Burger King’s rival, McDonald’s – but spelled McDonald’s wrong.

One tweet said, “Just got sold to McDonalds. FREEDOM IS FAILURE.”

Burger King does not yet know who is responsible for the hack attack.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Burger King suspends Twitter account after being hacked appeared first on Metro.us.

President Barack Obama saw firsthand how golf is played at the highest level on Sunday, teeing off with Tiger Woods, the world’s No. 2 golfer who is rebuilding a once-squeaky clean image tarnished by a messy 2010 divorce.

Obama, an avid weekend golfer, and Woods, who won his 75th title last month, played together for the first time at the exclusive Floridian Yacht and Golf Club, which was surrounded by a cordon of security.

“It’s good to see you play well again,” Obama told Woods, according to GolfDigest.com.

Less than a month after starting his second term, Obama is on a three-day golf getaway in Florida, while his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, are skiing in Colorado. On Saturday he received instructional tips from Woods’ former swing coach, Butch Harmon.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama and Woods were joined on the course by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Jim Crane, the resort owner who also owns the Houston Astros baseball team.

Tim Rosaforte, a Golf Channel analyst and Golf Digest writer, broke the news, tweeting that Woods holed out from a greenside sand bunker on the first hole.

“Historic day in golf. Their first round,” Rosaforte said.

There was no word on how Obama played.

Harmon, according to GolfDigest.com, said he saw the interaction between Woods and Obama on the range before teeing off. Obama congratulated Woods on winning the Farmers Insurance Open last month.

“The president said to Tiger, ‘The last tournament you played was fun to watch. It’s good to see you play well again,’” Harmon said.

The White House resisted appeals from reporters to allow the traveling press pool onto the grounds of the resort in order to record some part of the Woods-Obama round. Previous presidents have allowed some press access of presidential golf rounds.

The White House refusal prompted a protest from the White House Correspondents Association.

“Speaking on behalf of the White House Correspondents Association, I can say a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the president of the United States this entire weekend,” said WHCA President Ed Henry, a Fox News correspondent. “There is a very simple but important principle we will continue to fight for today and in the days ahead: transparency.”

The White House said in response that the press access granted was “entirely consistent with the press access offered for previous presidential golf outings” and consistent with the access promised prior to Obama’s arrival in Florida on Friday.

Woods, who usually steers clear of politics, is the top-ranked American golfer and second in the world. He lives about an hour’s drive south of the Floridian club in Jupiter, Florida.

Woods’ image was tarnished after his extramarital affairs with other women came to light in 2009. He and his then-wife Elin Nordegren divorced the following year.

Like many of his predecessors, Obama has escaped the pressures of the Oval Office by taking to the golf course. He has played more than 100 rounds of golf as president and typically tees it up with a group of close-knit friends.

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Remains recovered from a burned-out California mountain cabin following a standoff between police and a gunman this week have been positively identified as those of a fugitive ex-Los Angeles policeman accused of a grudge-fueled killing spree.

The remains, which were charred beyond recognition, were conclusively determined by the San Bernardino coroner to belong to Christopher Dorner, who led Southern California police on a massive manhunt before he died on Tuesday after a shootout with authorities, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said.

Dorner, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant who was fired by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008, was accused of killing four people, including a sheriff’s deputy shot during his standoff on Tuesday in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The search for Dorner was described by authorities as the most extensive manhunt ever in Southern California.

An angry manifesto posted last week on Dorner’s Facebook page claimed he had been wrongly terminated from the LAPD and vowed to seek revenge by unleashing “unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” on police officers and their families.

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The Senate voted narrowly on Thursday to block a vote on confirmation of President Barack Obama’s choice of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, planning another vote for February 26 – when it is expected to pass.

The tally was 58-40, with almost every Republican voting no, falling short of the 60 needed to pass a motion in the 100-seat chamber to stop debate and allow a vote by the full Senate on confirming the former Republican senator to the post.

The Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid, said the Senate would vote again on the motion on February 26, after it returns from a week-long recess. Republicans said they expected the motion would pass then, after they have had more time to consider the nomination, clearing the way for the full Senate to vote on Hagel’s confirmation.

With Democrats controlling a majority of 55 votes in the Senate, Hagel’s nomination is expected to win the simple majority of 51 votes it needs to be passed by the full Senate once such a vote is allowed.

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Many people love taking cruises. They prattle on endlessly about limbo contests, and their favorite Hawaiian shirts (never mind that they are going to Cancun,) and the endless shrimp bars. I, however, am not one of them. My skin crawls at the mere idea of being trapped on a ship with a few thousand strangers and a karaoke machine.

“Hello, Dante? I have another circle for you.”

The events of the past week have cemented my feelings. But I must say if the alternative is enduring another year of hearing how much Washington cares about the middle class, I may book a cabin and take my chances.

President Obama swept up much of the “middle class” vote in the last election, and as he plowed through his State of the Union address this week it was clear that he is not through with the subject. Time and again he has pledged his undying support to “the true engine” of the American economy, a “thriving, growing, rising middle class.” The only problem is, those folks have not thrived, grown, or risen much under his leadership no matter how much they may like and trust him.

When Barack Obama took office, about 133 million Americans were working. Today, about 1.2 million more people are employed. That is better than losing ground, but it is hardly the robust growth the middle class needs. On top of that, there is the persistent and equally damaging problem of underemployment. A recent study at Rutgers University found that more than half of the people who lost jobs and then found new employment, had to take pay cuts in the process.

I’m not putting all this at the president’s door. Certainly the big downturn started under George Bush. What I am saying is that for all the noise from Democrats and Republicans alike about how much they love the middle class, neither side seems to have any real ideas about how to help.

It is as if the middle class is adrift on a disabled ship, and all that the parties are really doing is watching from a distant shore.

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How often do you give spare change to homeless people on the street? Have you ever accidentally given more than you thought. Kansas City woman, Sarah Darling, can answer ‘yes’ to the second question.

Darling spotted homeless man Billy Ray Harris in a part of Kansas City called The Plaza, last Friday. Feeling generous, Darling emptied her coin purse in his cup. Having done her good deed of the day, Darling went about her day.

It wasn’t until the next day that she realized her platinum and diamond engagement ring was missing.

“I was so incredibly upset because, more than just the value of the ring, it had sentimental value,” she told KCTV.

You see, Darling said the rings felt uncomfortable and were bothering her so she put them in her coin purse. Once she realized where her rings are, she rushed back The Plaza to find Harris.

She squatted down in front of Harris and asked him if he remembered her. She told him she might have given him something very valuable.

‘Was it a ring?’ he asked as he gave it back to Darling.

Darling said that moment was like a “miracle” and she gave Harris all the cash she had on her.

Darling could probably have done a lot with the money from pawning that ring. But he didn’t.

“My grandfather was a reverend. He raised me from the time I was 6 months old and thank the good Lord, it’s a blessing, but I do still have some character,” he said.

So there you have it, a touching story to warm your hearts this Valentine’s Day.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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A massive California manhunt for a fugitive former cop looked to have ended on Wednesday after authorities found human remains in the charred ruins of a cabin where he was thought to have holed up.

The cabin in the mountains above Los Angeles went up in flames after the gunman, suspected of a killing spree that has targeted police and their families, took refuge following a car chase with police, officials said.

Police were awaiting forensic analysis to confirm the body was that of Christopher Dorner, the subject of the six-day manhunt that has ranged across southern California.

But San Bernardino County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman told reporters the man who barricaded himself inside the cabin and exchanged gunfire with officers was thought to be Dorner, 33.

“We believe he was still inside,” she said.

A sheriff’s deputy was killed in the shootout in the snow-covered, wooded hills of the San Bernardino National Forest, northeast of Los Angeles, bringing to four the number of killings Dorner is suspected of committing. A second sheriff’s deputy was wounded in Tuesday’s gunfight.

An angry manifesto posted last week on Dorner’s Facebook page claimed he had been wrongly terminated from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008. He vowed to seek revenge by unleashing “unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” on officers and their families.

Tuesday’s climax to the saga unfolded after police learned that a gunman they believed was Dorner had broken into a home near the ski resort community of Big Bear Lake, tied up a couple and stolen their vehicle.

State game wardens later spotted the vehicle and gave chase. The suspect crashed the car, then commandeered a pickup truck at gunpoint from another motorist, said Lieutenant Patrick Foy of the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

EXCHANGE OF FIRE
As game wardens pursued him, the suspect fired at them from the window of the truck, and one of the game officers stopped his truck and fired back with a high-powered rifle, Foy said, adding that he did not know whether the man was hit.

Officers got close enough at one point during the chase to recognize the driver as Dorner, Foy said, before he abandoned the pickup and fled on foot into the woods to a cabin believed to be vacant, where he holed up inside and exchanged fire with sheriff’s deputies.

After a lull in the gunfire, the cabin suddenly caught fire, with smoke and flames seen engulfing the structure. Loud popping sounds could be heard from inside.

Dorner’s last confirmed encounter with authorities came last Thursday, when police said he ambushed two policemen at a traffic light in Riverside, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. One officer was killed and the other wounded.

The former U.S. Navy officer is also suspected of exchanging gunfire on Thursday with police and wounding one officer in nearby Corona.

Dorner first came to public notice last Wednesday when police identified him as a suspect in the slayings of a campus security officer and his fiancee, the daughter of a retired Los Angeles police captain. In the manifesto posted on his Facebook page, Dorner blamed the captain for his dismissal from the LAPD.

Authorities posted a $1 million reward for information leading to Dorner’s capture, an amount they said was the largest ever offered in a Southern California criminal investigation.

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New Orleans police on Sunday investigating a shooting that wounded four people on the city’s famed Bourbon Street as crowds gathered for the city’s annual Mardi Gras celebrations.

One man was in guarded condition after being shot in the abdomen, upper thigh and pelvic area Saturday night, police said in a statement on Sunday.  Another man was hit in the buttocks, one woman was shot in the toe and a second woman was struck in the chin and foot, police said.  Police said they were looking for three men, who they did not identify by name.

The shooting was caught on camera by a bystander, and police on Sunday released footage that they said showed two people arguing with one of the victims. The two people left, and one of them returned with another person, approached the victim and began firing, wounding three other people, police said.  The footage shows a tightly packed crowd, with some people wearing Mardi Gras beads and holding drinks.

Crowds gather each year in the city’s French Quarter during the celebrations that build to a climax on Fat Tuesday, which falls on February 12 this year.

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Boy Scouts of America board members will meet this week to debate ending a controversial national ban on gay membership, prompting groups both for and against the move to converge on its Texas headquarters for demonstrations.

The national executive board, which lists more than 70 members, is expected to vote on Wednesday, the last day of a three-day meeting, on whether to lift the ban they had reaffirmed just last year amid criticism from gay rights groups and gay former Scouts and Scout leaders.

The Boy Scouts has not responded to inquiries about the private meeting, but activists for and against lifting the ban said they expected a vote on Wednesday.

The organization said on January 28 that it was considering removing the national restriction based on sexual orientation and leaving the decision to local chapters. It said it would not dictate a position to units, members or to parents.

Gay rights activists have said lifting the national ban, but allowing local units to maintain a ban, would not go far enough.
The board meeting comes as the century-old youth organization that prides itself on teaching boys life skills such as camping and leadership, faces membership declines and a donations boycott by some corporations over its anti-gay policy.

Youth membership in the Boy Scouts has dropped 21 percent since 2000 to nearly 2.7 million. Adult leader membership has fallen 14 percent to just over 1 million, and the number of units has declined 12.6 percent to 108,971.

Activists have pressed corporations, including Merck and UPS, as well as the Intel Foundation to withhold contributions to the Boy Scouts while the ban stands.
The Boy Scouts has also faced criticism for keeping from public view files covering decades of reports of child sex abuse in the organization. It released thousands of pages of files covering 1965 to 1985 in October under a court order.

The drive to lift the ban gained a powerful ally on Sunday in President Barack Obama. In an interview with CBS, anchor Scott Pelley asked the president if he believed scouting should be open to gays, Obama said: “Yes.”

“My attitude is … that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does, in every institution and walk of life,” said Obama, who last year gave his backing to the right to same sex couples to marry.

“The Scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to, you know, opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives, and I think that nobody should be barred (from) that.”

But Texas Governor Rick Perry, an Eagle Scout, told reporters on Saturday he did not see a reason for the Boy Scouts to change its longstanding policy, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Parents are also split on the proposal. Pam Bakowski, the mother of an Eagle Scout and former den leader and Cub master who lives in the Dallas area, said the Boy Scouts were about teaching life skills and leadership.

“I think the ban is ridiculous and needs to be lifted,” Bakowski said.

The mother of an Eagle Scout, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Denise, said she opposed lifting the ban.
“The current policy has worked fine for more than 100 years so there is no reason to change it,” she said. “If my son had been in a troop with a gay leader, I would have taken him out.”

LOBBYING BEFORE THE VOTE
The Boy Scouts won a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that upheld the organization’s ban on gays, but it has come under increasing public pressure in recent years from activists.

The faith-based groups that have the most Boy Scouts youth members – the Mormon church, the United Methodist Church and the Catholic Church in that order – have so far stood by the Scouts.

Many local chapters have said they were waiting for the national board to render a verdict before weighing in, others want board members to take more time to consider a decision.

“We believe that any decision that strikes at the core of our 103-year history merits full input from all stakeholders in deliberation and discussion,” The Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America said in a statement.

Activists on both sides of the issue urged supporters to lobby board members before the meeting and plan demonstrations at Boy Scouts headquarters in Irving, Texas, this week.

“Save our Scouts” plans a prayer vigil in support of the ban for Wednesday morning to coincide with the expected vote.
Activists who support lifting the ban plan to deliver more than 1.4 million signatures from online petition drives to Boy Scouts headquarters on Monday.

Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mother from Ohio who was ousted as a Scout den leader, and Eric Andresen, whose gay son was denied the award of Eagle Scout – the highest achievement of Scouting – plan to be among activists delivering the signatures.
Two Boy Scouts board members have said publicly they support change. Jim Turley, chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young, has called for ending the ban and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has said he favors change from within and supports diversity.

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