QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We don’t know if we would have been able to stop the terrorists had they arrived here
from Boston.We’re just thankful that we didn’t have to find out that answer.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the allegation that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were headed to Times Square with explosives on April 18 Article, 1A
Obama at service for dead in Texas blast
WACO, Texas - President Barack Obama on Thursday consoled mourners of the first responders who died last week in a fertilizer-plant explosion that killed at least 14 people and devastated a small Texas town.
Obama attended a memorial service at Baylor University for those killed in last week’s explosion in nearby West, Texas, even as crews continued to search for answers to what caused the blast or whether foul play was involved.
The blast came minutes after a fire was reported at the fertilizer plant, operated by Adair Grain Inc. Ten of those killed were first responders who had sped to the nighttime blaze.
The memorial service honored those first responders and two civilians who tried to fight the fire and were posthumously named volunteer first responders. Among the dead were brothers Douglas and Robert Snokhous, West High School graduates who volunteered together for the town’s Fire Department.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry eulogized the unpaid firefighters and first responders.
“These are volunteers. Ordinary individuals blessed with extraordinary courage and a determination to do what they could to save lives,” he said. “They’re the ones who proudly said ‘not on my watch’ in the moments immediately following that explosion.”
Poison-letters suspect eludes police
SALTILLO, Miss. - A Mississippi man whose home was searched in the investigation of poisoned letters sent to the president and others has apparently gone into hiding, but his attorney said he is cooperating and the FBI knows how to get in touch with him.
Everett Dutschke, 45, had his home and former business in Tupelo searched in connection with the letters, which purportedly contained ricin. They were sent last week to President Barack Obama and Republican Sen.
Roger Wicker of Mississippi and earlier to an 80-year-old Mississippi judge named Sadie Holland.
Dutschke has not been arrested or charged in the letters case. The FBI has said nothing about the building searches or Thursday’s developments.
Dutschke’s lawyer, Lori Nail Basham, said there is no arrest warrant for her client, who continues to cooperate with investigators.
Body identified as missing R.I. student
The family of Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student who disappeared last month - and was briefly misidentified as a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings - confirmed Thursday that his body had been found by authorities near Providence, R.I.
“On April 23, our beloved Sunil was discovered in the waters off India Point Park in Providence,” his family wrote in a statement.
Tripathi, 22, was taking a leave of absence from Brown when he left his apartment near campus on March 16, leaving his wallet, identification and bicycle at home. He did not return, setting off a round-the-clock search by his relatives, who temporarily moved to Providence and worked with the police and the FBI to try to find him.
The authorities used dental records to identify the body as Tripathi’s, but did not immediately determine the cause of his death.
“Be open to letting someone in when it is you who is faltering,” read the Tripathi family’s statement. “Lend your hand. We need it. The world needs it.”
GOP: House costs cut by $200 million
WASHINGTON - Republicans say spending for House operations, including lawmaker offices, has dropped by more than $200 million since they took control three years ago.
GOP lawmakers said Thursday that they saved the money mainly by trimming the budgets of committees, leadership offices and individual lawmaker offices.
The House imposed an 8.2 percent reduction on lawmakers’ personal office budgets in March, after automatic, across-the-board cuts in most federal programs took effect.
That came on top of 11 percent cuts to office budgets during 2011 and 2012.
Committees also took an 11 percent hit this year.
“Many families and small businesses are cutting back, and it’s only right that the House of Representatives lead by example,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
GOP House leaders said the operating budget in fiscal 2013, ending in September, was $1.16 billion, down from about $1.37 billion in 2010, the last year Democrats were in the majority.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 04/26/2013