NATION/ WORLD
First responder trainees exposed to deadly ricin
Montgomery, Ala. — A federal terrorism response center in Alabama mistakenly used the lethal form of the toxin ricin as it trained thousands firefighters, paramedics and other emergency responders during the last five years.
The mix-up happened at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala., which trains first responders to deal with chemical, radiological and biological hazards.
No students, who wear protective gear in the exercises, were reported harmed, but FEMA has asked the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General to investigate how the toxin came to be used in the exercises.
3 Romanians extradited in cyberfraud case
Cleveland — Federal authorities in Cleveland say three Romanian citizens have been extradited to the United States after being charged with running a cyberfraud ring that infected 60,000 computers, sent 11 million malicious emails and stole at least $4 million.
Bogdan Nicolescu, 34; Tiberiu Danet, 31; and Radu Miclaus, 34, were extradited to the U.S. this week. Their federal charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.
Chemical leak reported week before public warned
Dallas — A chemical leak from an asphalt plant that led Corpus Christi officials to warn residents this week not to drink the water was apparently reported a week earlier, according to an email from a state environmental official that was obtained Friday.
The internal email sent Wednesday by Susan Clewis, a regional director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, contained an incident report that described the leak as a “backflow incident from a chemical tank impacting the public water system.” It was reported Dec. 7 at a plant run by Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions.
The email doesn’t say who reported the leak on Dec. 7 or to whom. It says the state environmental agency was notified around 3 p.m. Wednesday, when city officials warned the public.
Bergdahl case: The judge overseeing the military trial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl ruled Friday that he won’t allow evidence that any service members were injured while searching for him. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, wrote the risk is too great that such evidence would unfairly bias military jurors against Bergdahl during a court martial scheduled for April.