http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-17/obama-receives-letter-suspicious-substance

Obama Receives Ricin Letter - White House Webcast At 11:45 EDT

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/17/2013 11:15 -0400

Yesterday Sarin for Senators, now suspicious substances sent to Obama? CNN reports:

LETTER WITH SUSPICIOUS SUBSTANCE WAS SENT TO OBAMA: CNN
SECRET SERVICE: SUSPICIOUS LETTER TO OBAMA RECEIVED YESTERDAY
CNN says letter was found at off-site mail-screening facility, substance is unknown, cites unidentified Secret Service officials.

It appears the "suspicious substance" was not a balanced budget, but sarin toxin instead, as the letter received in the Senate yesterday.

Suspicious letter addressed to Obama has tested positive for ricin (as did letter to Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS)

And then this:

Capitol police are evacuating part of Hart Senate office building (first floor) because of a suspicious package
SUSPICOUS PACKAGE FOUND IN THE ATRIUM AND SUSPICOUS ENVELOPE FOUND ON THIRD FLOOR OF THE HART BUILDING. FOX.
CAPITOL POLICE ORDERING PEOPLE ON HIGHER FLOORS TO GO INTO OFFICES. FIRST FLOOR OF HART EVACUATED DUE TO SUSPICOUS PACKAGE. CNN.

From the Hill:

Authorities have intercepted a letter to the White House that tested positive for ricin poison, according to multiple media reports.
The Secret Service has acknowledged the letter addressed to President Obama contained a suspicious substance but has not stated it was ricin, a deadly poison.

On Tuesday, lawmakers revealed that a letter addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) had tested positive for the poison.

The Secret Service said the letter was sent to Obama on April 16 and was discovered at a remove White House mail screening facility.

"This facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery," the Secret Service said in a statement. "The Secret Service White House mail screening facility is a remote facility, not located near the White House complex, that all White House mail goes through."

Our take home from all of this is that the USPS appears to still be in business. Amazing.

And......

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/waco_plant_explosion_kills_criminal_HKroeaVUFAbVElwYRoRKHM

Officials probe ammonium nitrate-filled rail car near Texas plant; force of deadly blast shocks community

By JOSH MARGOLIN and JOSH SAUL
Last Updated: 4:46 PM, April 18, 2013
Posted: 9:20 AM, April 18, 2013

REUTERS

The remains of a West, Texas fertilizer plant burn after Wednesday's explosion.

When the fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas last night "it was like a small nuke," said a senior Obama administration about the force of the explosion and the damage it caused.

Although exact fatality numbers haven't been released by authorities in Texas, the administration official said there are fears that the death toll could be much higher than the 15 people speculated about since the explosion took place.

Authorities suspect the blast was set off by a rail car holding a large quantity of ammonia nitrate that somehow caught fire or blew up. The Obama offical told The Post that investigators are now trying to determine whether the ammonia nitrate-carrying train was on the fertilizer plant's property or on an adjacent site.

That question is critical, the official said, because the plant does not list ammonium nitrate as a chemical that it handles under the plant's emergency plan on file with federal regulators -- as it should be if the plant does handle such a chemical.

"There's no ammonium nitrate reporting on their emergency plan," the official said, noting that that plan was most recently reviewed by regulators in 2011.

In 2004, the facility was cited by federal regulators for its lack of a required emergency plan, the official said. The facility had rectified that failure by 2006.

Regarding the fire and subsequent explosion, the official said, "It's believed right now that it is an industrial accident," adding that authorities have essentially ruled out the possibility that the conflagration was an act of terrorism.

"Something caught fire, and therefore lead to the ammonium blast," the official said.

"But it still could be criminal," the official said, pointing out that if someone had been negligent or reckless in storing or handling unapproved chemicals on the site, they could face prosecution.

Because of the ammonium still in the air, investigators have been unable to get access to the blast scene, and figure out where exactly the explosion began.

But air monitors in the surrounding community are showing safe readings, because there is a northwestern wind blowing chemicals away from the residential areas, the official said.

Earlier in the day Texas Govenor Rick Perry declaired McLennan County a disaster area in the wake of the explosion.

“Last night was truly a nightmare scenario for that community,” Perry said at a news conference today. "I ask all Texans and Americans to join me and [my wife] Anita in keeping them in our prayers."

Perry also said that President Obama has offered a quick turnaround in getting federal aid to the disaster area.

Meanwhile, Waco Police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton said officials on the ground remain in "search and rescue mode," going building to building in the largely decimated neighborhood surrounding the plant.

He says he knows some firefighters still are missing.

Swanton says a thunderstorm that rolled through the area early Thursday has helped in some ways, including tamping down chemicals released from the plant.

http://rt.com/usa/texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-036/

Multiple casualties in Texas fertilizer plant explosion (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

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Published time: April 18, 2013 01:32
Edited time: April 18, 2013 02:29

Photo from instagram.com user andybartee

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Massive Fertilizer Plant Explosion Shakes Texas, Town Evacuated, Toxic Fumes, 70 Dead

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/17/2013 22:19 -0400

UPDATE: Entire town (within a mile radius) to be evacuated - toxic fumes may be spreading

UPDATE: Hospital told to anticipate 100 people with injuries, Hospital CEO tells CNN

UPDATE: 70 people confirmed dead, incl 5 firefighters, 1 police officer. Hundreds more injured

In the aftermath of the Boston horrors, a massive explosion has occurred at a fertlizer plant in Waco, Texas. This week is the 30th anniversary of the deadly seige in Waco. Russia Today reports that at least 10 other buildings are on fire, including the town middle school, and a large swath of the town was “leveled” in the explosion. The explosion occurred around 7:50pm local time. A fireball of nearly 100 feet high has been reported along with a massive power outage. The images and scale of this explosion are incredible and reports are coming in people still trapped. The explosion could be heard from 100 miles away in Dallas. There are no details of the cause of the explosion as yet.

UPDATE: Hospital told to anticipate 100 people with injuries, Hospital CEO tells CNN

(chatter this image is fake)

(h/t @Breaking911)

http://enenews.com/sabotage-high-powered-rifle-used-in-attack-on-california-power-substation-same-perpetrators-cut-att-fiberoptic-cables-objective-was-shutting-down-the-system-fbi-now-leading-investig

Follow-up to: Bullet holes riddle key California power substation causing heavy damage -- 10,000 gallon oil spill -- Statewide Emergency Alert to conserve energy -- 911 calls not working nearby

Reuters, 9:55p ET: A Silicon Valley power substation was damaged after rifle shots were fired at it early on Tuesday morning, leading the California grid operator to call for electricity conservation. [...] Investigators later determined a high-powered rifle had been used [...] About a quarter of an hour before the shots, someone cut fiber optic cables belonging to AT&T, located about a half-mile from the power station and due to the close timing and proximity, investigators believe the incidents are linked, he added. [...]

CBS San Francisco, 9:13p ET: Vandalism At San Jose PG&E Substation Called ‘Sabotage’ [...] In apparent acts of “sabotage” in the South Bay early Tuesday, someone cut fiber optic cables, knocking out some 911 service, and then fired a rifle at a PG&E substation, Santa Clara County’s sheriff said. The vandal’s objective appears to have been “shutting down the system,” Sheriff Laurie Smith said at a news conference at the substation Tuesday afternoon. “We don’t have a suspect,” she said. “It seems like the same perpetrator or perpetrators to me.” [...] The underground cables, protected by manhole covers, were cut shortly before 1:30 a.m. in two locations along Monterey Highway, Smith said. [...]

CBS Reporter: “The FBI is now leading the investigation”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-16/anthrax-scare-20-letter-addressed-us-senate-office-tests-positive-ricin-poison

Letter Addressed To US Senator Tests Positive For Ricin Poison

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/16/2013 18:30 -0400

FBI

Iraq

Yesterday we got a flashback of 9/11, and now the Anthrax scare is back. From @911Buff

LETTER ADDRESSED TO A U.S. SENATE OFFICE INTERCEPTED AT U.S. CAPITAL, TESTS POSITIVE FOR RICIN POISION.
POISON LETTER WAS SENT TO SENATOR ROGER WICKER FROM MISSISSIPPI AT THE CAPITOL. FBI INVESTIGATING.

Ricin's toxic history is long and illustrious: starting with the death of Bulgarian dissident journalist Georgi Markov, using the infamousKGB umbrella, and most recently used by Walter White (unsuccessfully) to eliminate the meth dealing competition.

CNN has some initial bits and pieces:

An envelope that tested positive for the deadly poison ricin was intercepted Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol's off-site mail facility in Washington, congressional and law enforcement sources tell CNN.

After the envelope tested positive in a first routine test, it was retested two more times, each time coming up positive, the law enforcement source said. The package was then sent to a Maryland lab for further testing.

A photo of Senator Roger Wicker via politico:

Live webcast from Politico:

Finally, some facts from the CDC on ricin:

What ricin is

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.
It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.
It is a stable substance under normal conditions, but can be inactivated by heat above 80 degrees centigrade (176 degrees Fahrenheit).

Where ricin is found and how it is used

Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil. Ricin is part of the waste “mash” produced when castor oil is made.
Ricin has been used experimentally in medicine to kill cancer cells.

How you could be exposed to ricin

It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people. Unintentional exposure to ricin is highly unlikely, except through the ingestion of castor beans.
If made into a partially purified material or refined into a terrorist or warfare agent, ricin could be used to expose people through the air, food, or water.
In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist who was living in London, died after he was attacked by a man with an umbrella. The umbrella had been rigged to inject a poison ricin pellet under Markov’s skin.
In the 1940s the U.S. military experimented with using ricin as a possible warfare agent. In some reports ricin has possibly been used as a warfare agent in the 1980s in Iraq and more recently by terrorist organizations.
Ricin poisoning is not contagious. Ricin-associated illness cannot be spread from person to person through casual contact. However, if you come into contact with someone who has ricin on their body or clothes, you could become exposed to it.

How ricin works

Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person’s body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.
Effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was inhaled, ingested, or injected.

Signs and symptoms of ricin exposure

The major symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on the route of exposure and the dose received, though many organs may be affected in severe cases.
Initial symptoms of ricin poisoning by inhalation may occur as early as 4- 8 hours and as late as 24 hours after exposure. Following ingestion of ricin, initial symptoms typically occur in less than 10 hours.
Inhalation: Within a few hours of inhaling significant amounts of ricin, the likely symptoms would be respiratory distress (difficulty breathing), fever, cough, nausea, and tightness in the chest. Heavy sweating may follow as well as fluid building up in the lungs (pulmonary edema). This would make breathing even more difficult, and the skin might turn blue. Excess fluid in the lungs would be diagnosed by x-ray or by listening to the chest with a stethoscope. Finally, low blood pressure and respiratory failure may occur, leading to death. In cases of known exposure to ricin, people having respiratory symptoms should seek medical care.
Ingestion: If someone swallows a significant amount of ricin, he or she would likely develop vomiting and diarrhea that may become bloody. Severe dehydration may be the result, followed by low blood pressure. Other signs or symptoms may include seizures, and blood in the urine. Within several days, the person’s liver, spleen, and kidneys might stop working, and the person could die.
Skin and eye exposure: Ricin is unlikely to be absorbed through normal skin. Contact with ricin powders or products may cause redness and pain of the skin and the eyes. However, if you touch ricin that is on your skin and then eat food with your hands or put your hands in your mouth, you may ingest some.
Death from ricin poisoning could take place within 36 to 72 hours of exposure, depending on the route of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or injection) and the dose received.

Catharsis Ours

Tuesday, April 16, 2013