Which terrorist groups operate in Chechnya?

Pete Williams says its not the missing Brown student (Sunil)

@chrisdonovannbc: Pete Williams on speculation that one of the suspects is a missing Brown student: "I'm told by several officials that that's not the case"

I still can't believe the young person described here is the Boston Marathon bomber

Brown Students Share Reminiscences of Missing Student Sunil Tripathi

When Brown University student Sunil Tripathi was discovered missing on the weekend of March 16, his family quickly and bravely reached out to the local community and the world at large via social media to help locate their missing son/brother. As the Providence Police, the FBI, and concerned friends and citizens continue to work on finding Sunil, GoLocal asked family and friends who know Sunil to share reminiscences, thoughts, and wishes for their missing classmate and friend.

"Sunil is my son and as you can imagine this is an unbelievable unfortunate situation. He is a kind, very thoughtful, sensitive, gentle, and caring person. He is a deep thinker and gets along with everyone. He is shy and quiet and feels that one does not need to say a lot. I hope we find him soon." -Akhil Tripathi

"What draws me to Sunil as a friend is his thoughtfulness, and the care with which he considers his thoughts before he puts words to them. There is also an unspoken kindness about him; he really believes in doing things rather than just saying them when it comes to kindness, making him all the more sincere. When my sister came to visit for the first time from Pakistan Sunil helped me set up my dorm bed so that it became a bunk bed almost single handedly, and he was one of the few friends of mine who really took the time out to speak to my sister and make her feel at home and comfortable in a new place. Another time when I was living off-campus the electricity in my room alone blew out, and my housemates were not around. It had been raining for some time and there was rain water in the basement where the fuse box was, as well as complete darkness. A little (very) disheartened by the general state of affairs, I started talking to Sunil, and he walked over from his house on Wickenden to my house on Barnes, a roughly 40 minute walk, in the rain, to help me out. In the end, it only took the flick of a switch, which was extremely embarrassing for me at the time, but his kindness that day makes the night very memorable. 
When I thought I had a dire problem with my spinal cord he would tell me my back pack was just too heavy and I needed to carry fewer books; when we ate in the dining hall I would help him pick something crunchy to eat at the end to make the meal feel complete (usually ended up being cereal). I miss walking around campus with him teasing him about wearing his bike helmet even when he walked his bike. I've been so lucky to share some good years with Sunil, along with his other friends. Hope to see you again very soon, I'm not done teasing, or complaining about my back, or picking crunchy food for you. There are too many good years, conversations and moments yet to come." -Fatima Aqeel

"I've known Sunil since Freshman year. We were both in the same chemistry course back in the Fall of 2008. We developed a strong sense of camaraderie as lab partners. We would tip our hats to each other when our experiments went well and commiserate together when they went awry and forced us to stay late. After CHEM0330, Sunil and I continued to have lunch together at the Ratty over the next two years (we both had a tendency to have late lunches, usually around 3pm/4pm). We also shared an apartment in the Summer of 2011. Having known Sunil for years as a classmate, roommate, and friend, I can honestly say that he was one of the nicest individuals I've met at Brown. He has a great sense of humor and got along well with everyone. He loves to bike, play the sax, and talk about philosophy. We all hope that he is safe, wherever he is." -Vincent Pham

"I first met Sunil through my close friends in his year, many of whom had lived with him at some point. Before I met him, they described him to me as "Sunil, our friend who eats things very slowly" - and it's true that Sunil tended to do things slowly and quietly. But everything he did was so meticulous and careful that even though he was never the loudest person in the room, he was still such an important part of our group everywhere we went. He took jokes really well, was incredibly funny in his own private way, and I loved living close by him/seeing him often for the last two summers I stayed in Providence.

I took leave from Brown last year for personal reasons, around the same time he first left school, and we talked about the feelings of being lost and disillusioned with academics and life in general. He is gentle and humble and never asks for attention or praise, but deserves it regardless. There is, honestly, absolutely nothing to dislike about him." -Yvonne Yu

http://m.golocalprov.com/news/brown-students-share-memories-of-missing-student-sunil-tripathi

I'm going to wait for confirmation.

Possible Suspect 2 pic on the street corner is from a Facebook post...

@cschweitz: Important update: The guy who took the controversial Suspect 2 picture posted it to Facebook Monday https://t.co/vSkJpit37q via @pbump

New Photo Appears To Show Boston 'Suspect 2' Behind The 8-Year-Old-Victim

A redditor posted a photo of what appears to show Boston Marathon Bombing "Suspect 2" walking in the crowd behind 8-year-old victim Martin Richard, and it appears that Suspect 2's backpack is on the ground between them.

This photo is unconfirmed.

The same photo was earlier aired by Fox 25, focusing on the bag and the suspect but blurring out faces in the crowd.

Earlier the FBI released images of two suspects and asked for the public's help identifying them. Reddit then identified the hat of Suspect 1 and potentially found a hi-res picture of suspect two.
MelGibsonDerp points out that in the FBI images and in Fransbauer's hi-res image, Suspect 2 is wearing a white hat backwards and is carrying a similar backpack (which may appear black in the above picture because it is unzipped).


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-photo-suspect-2--victim-2013-4#ixzz2QsHiuWWv

Boston Bombing Victim in Iconic Photo Helped Identify Attackers

Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him.

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.

Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee.

“He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,’” Chris Bauman said yesterday in an interview.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/boston-bombing-victim-in-iconic-photo-helped-identify-attackers.html

On edit...fixed link

Teen stunned at portrayal as Boston bombing suspect

REVERE, Mass. A teenager said he is scared to go outside after he was portrayed on the Internet and on the front page of the New York Post as connected to the Boston Marathon bombings.

Photos of Salah Eddin Barhoum, 17, and friend Yassine Zaime were posted on websites whose users have been scouring marathon finish line photos for suspects. The two were also on the Post's front Thursday with the headline: "Bag men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon."

http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?&pageType=national&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2F8301-201_162-57580370%2Fteen-stunned-at-portrayal-as-boston-bombing-suspect%2F&feed_id=1&videoid=37&catid=57580370&nb_splitPage=0

Think I've found the next crazy conspiracy theory.

The Saudi “person of interest” suspected of being involved in the Boston Marathon bombings is being deported from the United States next week on “national security grounds,” according to a terrorism expert, who notes that the move is “very unusual,” especially given an unscheduled meeting yesterday between President Obama and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

http://www.infowars.com/obama-covering-up-saudi-link-to-boston-bombing/

Ugh.

Tylenol Eases Existential Anxiety

A common pain-reliever can also be used to cope with existential dread - anxiety arising from thinking about death - according to a new study.

Acetaminophen or Tylenol is an over-the-counter pain medicine used to relieve minor aches or fever. The new study has shown that Tylenol can also help reduce pain experienced after thinking about death or uncertainty of life.

"Pain extends beyond tissue damage and hurt feelings, and includes the distress and existential angst we feel when we're uncertain or have just experienced something surreal. Regardless of the kind of pain, taking Tylenol seems to inhibit the brain signal that says something is wrong," said Daniel Randles from the University of British Columbia.


We're still taken aback that we've found that a drug used primarily to alleviate headaches can also make people numb to the worry of thinking about their deaths, or to the uneasiness of watching a surrealist film," Randles said in a news release.

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1440/20130418/tylenol-eases-existential-anxiety.htm

IEDs hit the U.S. more than you think

There have been 53 publicly known attempted terrorist attacks in the United States since 9/11, and, of those, 43 have been categorized as homegrown plots, according to a government source. Although there is no information publicly available indicating who was responsible for Monday’s attack in Boston, those data show that most terrorist threats in the United States are domestic in origin.


Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, so popular in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, are often the weapon of choice, offering high impact with cheap, easily obtainable materials.

In the last six months alone, there have been 172 improvised explosive device “incidents” in the U.S. -- some 30 a month. Those incidents range from actual explosions to the controlled detonation of devices that are found before they can go off. Most are fireworks, pipe bombs, pranks, or other “non-terror” related activities, government sources say. American IEDs often consist of a combination of homemade and commercially-available explosives and are triggered by cell phones. Monday’s attack included an IED made out of a pressure cooker packed with explosives. The FBI tracks IED use across the United States.

“If this turns out to be a terrorist attack, it will be the fifth most violent attack in terms of casualties,” said Bill Braniff, executive director National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. Despite what some people may think, he said, the attack was reasonably sophisticated, with multiple explosive devices. “There is more investment, the more of these explosives you generate,” he said. “So there is a level of patience and planning.”

http://e-ring.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/17/ieds_hit_the_us_more_than_you_think