Pollen from pine - Darrell
ATLANTA -- Metro Atlanta's pollen count dropped Thursday, but is still in the "extremely high" category.
The pollen count is 2429, a little lower than Wednesday's count of 2920.
RELATED | Metro Atlanta pollen count
PHOTOS | Pollen in metro Atlanta
Active contributors include oak, sweetgum, mulberry, pine, sycamore and willow trees.
A pollen count above 1500 is considered extremely high, according to the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic.
CORINTH, Miss. -- A Mississippi man accused of mailing letters with suspected ricin to national leaders, including President Barack Obama, believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market and claimed "various parties within the government" were trying to ruin his reputation.
Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was arrested Wednesday at his home in Corinth, near the Tennessee state line.
RELATED | Curtis describes body-parts conspiracy
Authorities were waiting for definitive tests on intercepted letters that were addressed to President Barack Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Preliminary field tests can often show false positives for ricin.
Ricin is derived from the castor plant that makes castor oil. There is no antidote and it's deadliest when inhaled.
An FBI intelligence bulletin obtain by The Associated Press said the two letters were postmarked Memphis, Tenn.
(Associated Press)
ATLANTA -- A gas main break shut down a major DeKalb County road overnight.
The gas leak was reported on Briarcliff Road at North Druid Hills Road.
DeKalb County Fire Battalion Chief Douglas Brown said the six-inch gas main was completely severed when crews hit the line.
There was no immediate word on when the road would reopen. Brown said the gas leak never reached a dangerous level.
GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Hall County Sheriff's officials continue to investigate the murder of a businessman who was shot to death at a Gainesville poultry plant one year ago.
David Sanchez, who was well known in the Hall County Latino community, was killed by two men outside the Victory Foods plant on Apr. 12, 2012.
RELATED | 2 wanted for killing man at poultry plant
Witnesses described the suspects as Hispanic men in their late teens or 20's. They were dressed like plant workers -- blue jeans, hooded sweatshirts and hairnets.
The suspects got away in a 1994-1998 green Chevrolet Cavalier.
The sheriff's office is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Sanchez's death.
Anyone with a tip is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at 770-531-6879. Anonymous tips can be left at hallcounty.org.
(Dylan McCord/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Another Carnival cruise ship has experienced a power failure at sea, albeit a brief one.
The power outage on the 2,056-passenger Carnival Ecstasy occurred late Wednesday and only lasted for about 12 minutes, the line says in a statement sent to USA TODAY.
The statement does not give a cause for the power loss, but Orlando's News 13 is reporting that it has been contacted by passengers on the ship who say there was an engine fire on board. The ship was sailing off the coast of Florida at the time of the incident.
"All hotel services and propulsion were quickly restored," the Carnival statement says.
Carnival says the Ecstasy is heading back to its home port of Port Canaveral, Fla., where it had been scheduled to return early this morning after a five-day cruise that began on Saturday. The vessel is expected to arrive several hours late, the line says.
The power loss on the Ecstasy comes two months after an engine room fire knocked out power on the Carnival Triumph as it was sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving the 2,758-passenger ship dead in the water. Passengers described miserable conditions as the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala., and the much-publicized incident has dealt a significant blow to the line's reputation.
Carnival on Wednesday announced plans for a massive, $300 million upgrade to emergency power systems, fire systems and engine-related electric components on its 24 ships to prevent a repeat of what happened on the Carnival Triumph.(USA TODAY)
SUWANEE, Ga. -- Mitsubishi Electric US Cooling & Heating Division has opened its corporate headquarters facility in Gwinnett County.
The new facility will create more than 100 engineering and warehouse jobs over the next three years.
"Mitsubishi Electric has found in Georgia and Gwinnett County a strategically advantageous location for its growth and success," Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. "I'm committed to helping Georgia's job creators prosper and thrive."
Mitsubishi's Gwinnett headquarters is located at 1340 Satellite Boulevard in the Huntcrest Business Center in Suwanee. It includes engineering and training centers, and warehouse space.
"I want to thank Mitsubishi Electric for their commitment to Gwinnett -- a testament to our county's pro-business environment, available workforce and overall quality of life," Gwinnett County Commission Chairperson Charlotte Nash said in a statement. "We celebrate Mitsubishi Electric's strong presence in our community and look forward to their continued growth in the future."
Mitsubishi Electric US Cooling & Heating is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Learn more at mehvac.com.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate has rejected a bipartisan effort to expand federal background checks to more firearms buyers in a crucial showdown over gun control.
Wednesday's vote was a jarring blow to the drive to curb firearms sparked by December's massacre of children and staff at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. President Barack Obama made broadened background checks the centerpiece of his gun control proposals.
RELATED | Gabrielle Gifford 'furious' about gun control vote
The roll call was also a victory for the National Rifle Association, which opposed the plan as an ineffective infringement on gun rights.
The proposal would have required background checks for all transactions at gun shows and online. Currently they must occur for sales handled by licensed gun dealers.
The system is designed to keep criminals and people with mental problems from getting guns.
(Associated Press)
An explosion slammed a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, just outside of Waco Wednesday evening. (KXAS)
WACO, Texas -- Explosions at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, left at least 160 injured and as many as 15 people dead, police said Thursday.
The blast rocked the facility with the force of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake on Wednesday evening as firefighters were battling an onsite blaze. The explosion could be felt as far as 45 miles away.
PHOTOS | Texas fertilizer plant explodes
Waco police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton said early Thursday morning that the death toll is only an estimate as search and rescue operations remain under way in downtown West.
Swanton says there is no indication the blast was anything other than an industrial accident, but the ATF will be investigating.
"The injuries that we are seeing are very serious,'' said Glenn Robinson, CEO of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center. "There are a number of patients that will be going to surgery. ... It's a very, very unfortunate situation.''
Texas Trooper D.L. Wilson said he expected casualty numbers to grow as emergency workers go house to house in the area. Wilson confirmed at least 50 houses were damaged and a 50-unit apartment building was decimated. Another briefing was scheduled for 10 a.m. local time.
Wilson said the damage was comparable to the destruction caused by the 1995 bomb blast that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
Mayor Tommy Muska said rescuers were doing house-by-house search and rescue in a heavily damaged area around the plant. He said the explosion sent up a ball of fire.
Muska, who is also a firefighter in the small town, said there was heavy damage in a five or six block area. There is concern, he said, about chemical fumes in an area north of the plant, and he urged residents to stay indoors.
He said 133 people were in the West Rest Haven Nursing Home located near the fertilizer plant at time of explosion. It was being evacuated after the fire started - and before the explosion - at the plant.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said state officials were waiting for details about the extent of the damage.
"We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident," Perry said in a statement. "We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene."
Wilson, the trooper, said half the town had been evacuated due to damage or the threat posed by fumes from the burning plant.
"When that northwind changes, we might have to evacuate the other side of town,'' Wilson said.
Robinson said that 10 or 12 of the injured were in critical condition. Two people were in surgery as he spoke and two more were awaiting surgery, he said.
He said an unknown number of people with minor injuries were being treated at a triage center set up by emergency medical personnel at a triage center set up at a nearby high school football field.
Two children were transferred to a pediatric hospital in Temple, Texas, he said.
Dani Moore, dispatcher with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said there were multiple damages to structures and vehicles. She said she had no information on the cause of the blasts or fire.
"The fertilizer plant was on fire. Firefighters were on the scene. There was an explosion ... followed by a second explosion,'' she said.
Five or six volunteer firefighters were at the plant fire when the explosion happened and not all have been accounted for, according to Muska.
There were reports that at least one blast was heard 45 miles away.
WFAA.com reported at least 10 structures were on fire.
Among the damaged buildings was what appeared to be a housing complex with a collapsed roof, a nearby middle school and the nursing home.
The fertilizer plant is about 20 miles north of Waco and just off Interstate 35.
KWTX.com reported state troopers transported some of the injured to hospitals in patrol cars.
"We've been sending out troopers left and right,'' Moore said.
The explosion knocked out electrical power in part of the community of 2,800 people.
Of the first 45 patients to arrive at Hillcrest, 25 of them came by private vehicle and 20 by ambulance, Robinson said.
He said most of the injured appeared to have blast-caused injuries.
Lucy Nashed, a spokesman for Perry's office, said personnel from several agencies were en route to West or already there, including the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, the state's emergency management department and an incident management team. Also responding is the state's top urban search and rescue team, the state health department and mobile medical units.
American Red Cross crews from across Texas were also heading to the scene. Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said the group was working with emergency management officials in West to find a safe shelter for residents displaced from their homes. She said teams from Austin to Dallas and elsewhere are being sent to the community north of Waco.
"West has been in my backyard all my life," tweeted music legend Willie Nelson, who grew up about five miles north of West. "My heart is praying for the community that we call home."
In 2001, an explosion at a chemical plant killed 31 people and injured more than 2,000 in Toulouse, France. The blast occurred in a hangar containing 300 tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be used for both fertilizer and explosives. The explosion came 10 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., and raised fears at the time it was linked. A 2006 report blamed the blast on negligence.
(USA TODAY)
Streetcar construction has torn up the asphalt outside of Haugabrooks, a funeral home on Auburn Ave.
"Normally we come out the front doors of the chapel. That's not possible" now, said Marcus Wimby, CEO of Haugabrooks. The chapel's front door overlooks Auburn Ave.
Wimby says his chapel cannot hold funeral services anymore because of the construction. Haugabrooks and Cox Brothers have chapels on Auburn Ave.
Wimby says Haugabrooks has had to rent off-site facilities for services. He says he approached the city for compensation for rental costs.
"The city of Atlanta official said no. There are no monies. But they did give me some options, which I thought were insensitive and insulting," Wimby said.
One of them, he said, was to roll the casket out the front door of the funeral home, and then down the street, past the construction, to a hearse that would be waiting a block away on Hilliard St.
"If it were your loved ones, would you want to be told, just roll the body down the street?" asked Kwanza Hall, the city councilman representing Auburn Ave.
"Another option was to park the hearse across the street and roll the casket across the construction site," said Wimby. "That's just insensitive and it's not right."
So Wimby took Monday's funeral to a church in East Point. Councilman Hall says he paid the $400 rental fee for the church out of his campaign funds.
Hall said the city cannot routinely compensate businesses for inconvenience relating to infrastructure improvements. But the inconvenience to the two funeral homes on Auburn Ave. "has been a particularly challenging situation," Hall said. "In that kind of situation we should be able to figure a solution out."
Reese McCranie, a spokesman for Mayor Kasim Reed, told 11Alive News that the city expects to come up with a temporary plan to accommodate funerals based around the construction site.
One of two bombs exploding at Boston Marathon
BOSTON -- Investigators are exploring a number of promising leads in the Boston Marathon bombing case, including an image of a man believed possibly involved in one of Monday's twin explosions that killed three people and injured 176.
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA AT BOSTON INTERFAITH SERVICE HERE
PHOTOS | Searching for a suspect in Boston bombing
A federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY Wednesday that the image, captured by surveillance cameras in the area of one of the bomb sites, shows a man putting down a bag near one of the bomb sites. The bag appears to be similar to the black nylon pack described earlier as possibly used to carry the explosive devices, officials who have been briefed on the inquiry told USA TODAY.
Authorities were working to identify the individual in surveillance video obtained from a nearby Lord & Taylor department store, as well as a number of other people in video and photographs near the site of the explosions. More than 70 people remain hospitalized, with 14 listed in critical condition.
The leads emerged during a chaotic day in which federal authorities dismissed a flurry of media reports, including dispatches from the Associated Press and CNN broadcasts, that a suspect had been taken into custody.
"Contrary to widespread reporting, there have been no arrests made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack,'' the FBI said in a statement.
RELATED | No suspect named, no arrest made in bombings
The events in Boston included an evacuation at the federal courthouse sending streams of people into the street just two days after the explosions ripped through crowds near the finish line of Monday's iconic sporting event. Courthouse employees returned late Wednesday afternoon after authorities conducted a security sweep.
The FBI also announced the arrest of Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth, Miss., in connection with a separate inquiry into a series of suspicious letters addressed to federal lawmakers and President Obama. Preliminarily tests had indicated the letters tested positive for the ricin; the mail was undergoing additional examination for more conclusive testing.
Federal law enforcement officials don't believe the two investigations - the tainted mail and the Boston bombings - are related.
Meanwhile, as investigators painstakingly gathered fragments of evidence from the bomb sites, a lid was recovered from a pressure cooker believed used as one of the explosive devices, a federal law enforcement official said.
An official who had been briefed on the matter but was not authorized to comment publicly told USA TODAY the lid was found on a roof near the blast scene.
The discovery came Wednesday as the head of the Department of Homeland Security told a Senate panel in Washington that the Coast Guard worked with the Boston Police Department after Monday's bombings to guard against any potential water-borne attack from Boston Harbor or the Charles River.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said officials continue to investigate the bombing with the FBI as a solitary act of terror.
"There is no current indication to suggest the attack was indicative of a broader plot," Napolitano told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednsesday. "But out of an abundance of caution, we continue to keep in place enhanced security measures, both seen and unseen."
RELATED | Retired GBI agent compares Boston, Atlanta bombings
Peter Burke, chief trauma surgeon at Boston Medical Center, said two of the 19 patients there still being treated remain in critical condition, including a 5-year-old boy. All are expected to survive, he said.
Burke said patients who required amputations or who lost limbs are now entering the second phase of their recovery, which is making sure that infection does not set in.
"They get injured very quickly, but it takes a long time for people to get better," he said.
Evidence investigators from ATF, FBI and other federal agencies wearing protective suits continued to scour the crime scene Wednesday. Evidence trucks and mobile labs filled Exeter Street, the side street off Boylston closest to the blast sites.
The amount of gunpowder used in the bombings is believed to be a fraction of the overall weight of the devices, estimated to weigh about 20 pounds each, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.
Much of the weight was attributed to the pressure-cooker container and a mix of shrapnel - BB pellets and nail fragments - that cut a deadly path through the crowds gathered near the race finish line, said the official who is not authorized to speak publicly.
The official said the components of the bomb - common kitchen pressure cookers, wire, batteries and gunpowder - are so widely available that barring the assistance of an informant or a telling photo from the crime scene, it will likely take investigators some time to determine where the materials were obtained and who acquired them.
"This is either quick or it's not,'' the official said, referring to the identification of possible suspects, "and right now it's looking like not.''
At the same time, the official said, bomb technicians will likely be able to reconstruct much of the entire device, from both pieces recovered from the scene and the collective knowledge of investigators who have encountered similar devices in past investigations.
"They are going to be able to figure out how this device was acquired,'' the official said. "Depending on the trade craft involved, they will be able to do it relatively easily.''
Boston FBI chief Richard DesLauriers said the recovered materials were being examined at the FBI's laboratory in Quantico, Va., where the bureau has assembled a clearinghouse of improvised explosive devices recovered from such places as the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and crime scenes around the country. Some evidence will undergo an expedited analysis, FBI spokesman Special Agent Jason Pack said.
The scene of the explosions is strewn with shredded T-shirts, metal fragments and glass shards. Boston Police and National Guard soldiers guard every access point, but from the side streets, spectators have watched the investigators at work.
The ATF's evidence recovery experts have found blast debris on rooftops and embedded in nearby buildings, acting ATF Special Agent Eugenio Marquez said.
"It gives the scope of the power of the blast," Marquez said.
The latest discoveries came as investigators appealed to the public for videos and photos of the scene in hopes of getting an image of the person or persons who left the explosive devices near the finish line of the marathon.
Authorities have yet to determine the motive for the bombings and are urging anyone with tips to come forward with information.
"The person who did this was someone's friend, co-worker or neighbor," DesLauriers said. "Somebody knows who did this."
No one has claimed responsibility for the explosions and "the range of suspects and motives remain wide open."
Officials at a Northern California battery company said they believe a battery they manufacture was used in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Benjamin Mull, spokesman for Fremont-based Tenergy Corp., said that based on crime scene photos that have appeared online, the company believes one of its nickel-metal hydride batteries was used to make the bombs that detonated Monday near the marathon's finish line.
"We're all horrified and appalled that our off-the-shelf product would be used in such a horrific way," Mull said.
The company has reached out to Boston police and the FBI but hasn't heard directly from investigators, Mull said.
The company says the 1.25-volt battery seen in the photos is sold in retail outlets and is frequently used by hobbyists for various toys, including radio-controlled cars and trucks.
Tenergy has been selling the battery for several years and said it has sold "tens of thousands" of the particular battery in the past year.
Meanwhile, the blast's third fatality as Lu Lingzi, a Chinese national and graduate student Boston University. Lu, who previously studied international trade at Beijing Institute of Technology, was studying statistics at BU, according to her Facebook page and media reports.
The other two victims were Martin Richard, 8, of Dorchester, and Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford, Mass.
The Chinese Consulate in New York said in a statement Tuesday that another Chinese citizen was wounded and was in stable condition following surgery.
(USA TODAY)
