The search for one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects — the man seen wearing a white baseball cap — this morning led to the sudden shutdown of the MBTA’s entire network of commuter rail, bus, and subway services.

State authorities also asked people who live in Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge, and Allston-Brighton to stay home and requested businesses in those cities and towns to stay closed.

“We are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes for the time being,’’ Kurt Schwartz, who leads the state’s homeland security department, said at a 6 a.m. press conference today. “We are asking business in those areas to cooperate and not open today until we can provide further guidance.’’

This morning’s announcements provided the latest burst of drama in a seven-hour period punctuated by gunfire, explosions, death. . .

Selena Gomez’s bindi — the sparkly gems she wore during the MTV Movie Awards Sunday — is offending Hindu groups.

The actress-singer wore the Hindu symbol on her forehead during her sultry “Come and Get It” performance at the awards show and again during a televised performance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which was taped Monday. (She gushed on “Ellen” about meeting Brad Pitt before the performance Sunday, but that’s another story.)

The inspiration for the accessory comes from the electronica song’s Punjabi lyrics lyrics and tabla beat in the background, according to the Times of India. And the overall performance garnered a rave review from pop star and former “X Factor” host Britney Spears, who called it “incredible.”

However, Hindu groups are not doting on her Bollywood-inspired performances or her costumes. Instead they’re demanding an apology. . .

Majority in U.S. Want Wealth More Evenly Distributed

And 52% support heavy taxes on the rich to redistribute wealth

PRINCETON, NJ — About six in 10 Americans believe that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people in the U.S., while one-third think the current distribution is fair. Although Americans’ attitudes on this topic have fluctuated somewhat over time, the current sentiment is virtually the same as when Gallup first asked this question in 1984. Slightly fewer have favored a more even distribution since October 2008. . .

Does this make any sense at all? Via NBC News:

A letter addressed to President Barack Obama tested positive for the poison ricin and was from the same sender who mailed a letter to a senator that also tested positive, officials told NBC News on Wednesday.

The letter to Obama was intercepted at an off-site White House mail facility Tuesday and was being tested further, a Secret Service official told NBC News. A federal law enforcement official said that the letter was “very similar” to one addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Federal officials told NBC News that they believe they know who sent the letters, but no arrest was made because authorities were waiting for further test results.

And not only do Federal officials know who sent the letter, but so does Sen. Claire “Columbo” McCaskill. Via USA Today:

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said authorities have a suspect who “writes a lot of letters to members,” but she did not say if an arrest had been made. Terrance Gainer, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, said in an e-mailed message to Senate offices that the envelope had no obvious suspicious outside markings, bore a Memphis postmark and had no return address.

I’m no crime fighter, but why wouldn’t they, at the very least, take the guy they think mailed the letters in for questioning? Or do they want to give him a chance to destroy as much evidence as possible. . .

 

Here’s the new trailer for Man of Steel. It looked pretty good — right up until the scene where Superman explains that the “S” on his chest isn’t really an “S,” but translates to the word “hope” in Kryptonese. I wonder if Superman lowers the seas in this movie or the sequel?

 

Let’s compare what’s going on in Boston with the Times Square attempted bombing in 2010. . .

On May 1 at 6:30 p.m. a NYPD officer arrives on the scene and starts closing streets. On May 2, around 2:00 a.m., Mayor Bloomberg gives his now infamous theory that the bombing was probablly tied to hartred of Obamacare. By 3:00 p.m., Ray Kelly announced that they had a suspect and said suspect –  Faisal Shahzad – was arrested at JFK airport attempting to board a flight to Dubai at around 6:00 p.m.

All in all, about 53 hours.

And here’s the president yesterday on Boston: “What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack or why.”

But don’t worry — DHS head Janet Napolitano said yesterday, “no current indication” of a larger plot.

Well, that’s a relief although since the president said he has no idea who carried out this attack suggesting that it isn’t part of a broader plot is a quite a leap, no? Who knows: maybe they’re planing another bombing as I type.

There are two possiblities: 1) The president doesn’t have an idea who is behind it and is staying silent in the public. That would be great news. 2) They really have no clue.

Let’s all hope it’s No. 1.

Pakistan, specifically Balochistan, appears to have borne the brunt of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Iranian border province of Sistan-Baluchestan on Tuesday afternoon. While Pakistan confirmed the death of at least 20 people following the earthquake, there were conflicting reports from Tehran which ranged from no deaths to 40 dead. However, given the remoteness of the region from both capitals, the last word has not been said on the casualties.

While the tremors were felt as far in North India as Delhi, experts said that mild shocks felt earlier in the day in the North-East were unrelated to the Iran quake. The experts also said that the hypocentre, where the built-up strain energy is released and occurs below the epicentre, was located 82 km below surface, making it a deep earthquake. This was the reason the shock waves travelled long distances, into India. . .

Numerous news agencies are now reporting that a bomb—or possibly several bombs—exploded near the finish line of this afternoon’s Boston Marathon at the Fairmount Copley Plaza Hotel. Boston.com reports that “multiple” people have been injured while The Boston Globe has the figure as “at least a dozen.” The damaged area, according to photos uploaded by onlookers and journalists to Twitter, appears chaotic, smokey, and partially evacuated. Horrifyingly, eyewitnesses have reported “blood everywhere.” We will update as more information comes in; for breaking updates, see the Boston.com and Boston Globe Twitter feeds. . .

“The Chadian army does not have the skills to fight a shadowy, guerrilla-style war that is taking place in northern Mali,” he said. Three Chadian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Mali on Friday. Soldiers from Chad, France and other African countries have ousted Islamist militants from northern Mali’s towns. But fighting continues in some remote parts of the Sahara Desert. Chad’s 2,000 troops were seen as playing a crucial role in the fighting because of their experience in desert warfare. . .

Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has been increasing for a third year in a row and is heading for a record high, the U.N. said in a report released Monday. The boom in poppy cultivation is at its most pronounced in the Taliban’s heartland in the south, the report showed, especially in regions where troops of the U.S.-led coalition have been withdrawn or are in the process of departing. The report suggests that whatever international efforts have been made to wean local farmers off the crop, they are having little success. . .

The daughter of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Obama’s controversial former pastor, has been accused of laundering money in an alleged $1.25 million fraud led by an ex-police chief in Illinois. Jeri L. Wright, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for allegedly accepting $28,000 from former police chief Regina Evans and her husband, ex-police officer Ronald Evans, for Wright’s supposed work related to the Evanses’ not-for-profit program called We Are Our Brother’s Keeper. Approximately $20,000 of that money, however, found its way back into bank accounts controlled by the Evanses, prosecutors said. According to a release from the Department of Justice, Wright was playing a part in a scheme by the Evanses to misuse a $1.25 million state grant that had been awarded to the not-for-profit program in 2009. . .

A local abortion clinic is under fire, facing allegations of unsafe and unsanitary conditions. A series of emergency calls made from the Planned Parenthood of Delaware this year are raising concerns about what’s happening behind the closed doors. Two former nurses who both quit are speaking exclusively with Action News about what they saw inside. Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich, former employee said, “It was just unsafe. I couldn’t tell you how ridiculously unsafe it was.” Werbrich alleges conditions inside the facility were unsanitary. “He didn’t wear gloves,” said Werbrich. Another former employee, Joyce Vasikonis told Action News, “They were using instruments on patients that were not sterile.”. . .

Authorities say law officers in Arizona have intercepted an explosive device that was earmarked for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said late Thursday night that the device was contained in a package addressed to the sheriff at his downtown Phoenix office. The sheriff’s office says Flagstaff, Ariz., police reported that the package appeared suspicious so it was x-rayed and the device detected. A bomb squad team neutralized the explosive. . .

[. . .]Professor Hawking said that humans must explore space if we are to survive the coming millennium. “We must continue to go into space for humanity. We won’t survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet,” he said. . .

Dem Super PAC, Progress Kentucky, implicated in the bugging of McConnell’s office.

Jacob Conway – who outed the Progress Kentucky employees in the McConnell tape – has been contacted by the FBI.

Did Mother Jones break the law in publishing the tape?

David Corn of Mother Jones: “No comment.”

Ethics watchdog files complaint against. . .McConnell?

 

 

The speed and deadliness of recent high-profile shootings have prompted police departments to recommend fleeing, hiding or fighting in the event of a mass attack, instead of remaining passive and waiting for help. The shift represents a “sea change,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, which recently held a meeting in Washington to discuss shootings like those in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo. The traditional advice to the public has been “don’t get involved, call 911,” Mr. Wexler said, adding, “There’s a recognition in these ‘active shooter’ situations that there may be a need for citizens to act in a way that perhaps they haven’t been trained for or equipped to deal with.” Mr. Wexler and others noted that the change echoes a transformation in police procedures that began after the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, when some departments began telling officers who arrived first on a scene to act immediately rather than waiting for backup. Since then, the approach has become widespread, as a succession of high-profile shootings across the country has made it clear that no city or town is immune and that police agencies must be prepared to take an active approach. . .

The law-enforcement support site PoliceOne.com has released the results of a massive survey in which “more than 15,000 verified law enforcement professionals” were asked 30 questions about current gun control proposals. The results may surprise you. “Contrary to what the mainstream media and certain politicians would have us believe,” writes Police One Editor in Chief Doug Wyllie, “police overwhelmingly favor an armed citizenry, would like to see more guns in the hands of responsible people, and are skeptical of any greater restrictions placed on gun purchase, ownership, or accessibility.”. . .