Chemical Alert: Suspicious powder sent to NJ Hotels near Super Bowl and Office of Rudy Giuliani appears to be Corn Starch| ABC7/CNN

BREAKING: 31.01.2014 

Northjersey.com : Carlstadt

Police: Suspicious white powder delivered to MetLife Stadium area hotels is cornstarch

Friday, January 31, 2014    Last updated: Friday January 31, 2014, 2:07 PM

BY  JAMES M. O'NEILL AND MATTHEW MCGRATH

STAFF WRITERS

The Record

Pages: 1 2 > display on one page | Print | E-mail

Suspicious substances mailed to hotels Friday

Police have determined that the suspicious off-white substance delivered to five hotels near MetLife Stadium this morning was actually cornstarch according to preliminary tests.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bergen County Hazmat along with police and fire departments are at the Homewood Suites Hilton in East Rutherford Route 17 southbound on a hazardous material call.

The substances were delivered this morning and reported to county officials at 11:42 a.m., said Jeanne Barratta, chief of staff to Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan.
She said the substance was delivered to two hotels in Carlstadt and one in East Rutherford. She said she did not know if anyone at the hotel was exposed to the substance. The FBI and New Jersey State Police are also working the case, she said.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/carlstadt/Police_converge_on_Carlstadt_hotel_on_hazardous_material_call.html#sthash.I6iGByMC.dpuf

White powder mailed to New Jersey hotels is corn starch

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 31, 2014, 2:25 PM EST

 
AP

There is apparently nothing to worry about after suspicious packages were mailed to five New Jersey hotels near MetLife Stadium.

The Bergen Record reports that preliminary testing on the white substance mailed to New Jersey hotels revealed that it was corn starch.

Northjersey.com : Carlstadt

Police: Suspicious white powder delivered to MetLife Stadium area hotels is cornstarch

Friday, January 31, 2014    Last updated: Friday January 31, 2014, 2:07 PM

BY  JAMES M. O'NEILL AND MATTHEW MCGRATH

STAFF WRITERS

The Record

Pages: 1 2 > display on one page | Print | E-mail

Suspicious substances mailed to hotels Friday

Police have determined that the suspicious off-white substance delivered to five hotels near MetLife Stadium this morning was actually cornstarch according to preliminary tests.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/carlstadt/Police_converge_on_Carlstadt_hotel_on_hazardous_material_call.html#sthash.I6iGByMC.dpuf

Northjersey.com : Carlstadt

Police: Suspicious white powder delivered to MetLife Stadium area hotels is cornstarch

Friday, January 31, 2014    Last updated: Friday January 31, 2014, 2:07 PM

BY  JAMES M. O'NEILL AND MATTHEW MCGRATH

STAFF WRITERS

The Record

Pages: 1 2 > display on one page | Print | E-mail

Suspicious substances mailed to hotels Friday

Police have determined that the suspicious off-white substance delivered to five hotels near MetLife Stadium this morning was actually cornstarch according to preliminary tests.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bergen County Hazmat along with police and fire departments are at the Homewood Suites Hilton in East Rutherford Route 17 southbound on a hazardous material call.

The substances were delivered this morning and reported to county officials at 11:42 a.m., said Jeanne Barratta, chief of staff to Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan.
She said the substance was delivered to two hotels in Carlstadt and one in East Rutherford. She said she did not know if anyone at the hotel was exposed to the substance. The FBI and New Jersey State Police are also working the case, she said.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/carlstadt/Police_converge_on_Carlstadt_hotel_on_hazardous_material_call.html#sthash.I6iGByMC.dpuf

Updated: 13:55 EST

A White Powdery suspicious powder has been sent to 3 New Jersey Hotels (6 Envelopes) near site of upcoming Super Bowl.  A seventh letter was intercepted at the office of former Mayor Rudy #Giuliani.

The letter, opened in the mail room, contained white powder, according to law enforcement officials.

In New Jersey, the site of Sunday's Super Bowl, an unidentified substance was delivered to two hotels in Carlstadt and one in East Rutherford, said Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff at the Bergen County Executive's Office.

Law enforcement officials told CNN that six letters were discovered in New Jersey.

The FBI and local officials were monitoring the situation. Law enforcement officials said the incidents were considered a routine investigation, not a threat.

NebudchenezzarShipwk ‏@NebudchenezzarS 12m

White powdery subst found at NJ Hotels near #SuperBowl - Incidents risen from 3 to 7 incl #Giuliani office http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=9414831 … #HazMat

 

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The New Jersey State Police released the following statement.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force and Hazard Materials units have responded to several locations that have received a suspicious letter and substance. There are no reported injuries at this time, and the locations are being secured. This situation is being thoroughly investigated and more information will be provided when it becomes available.

Eyewitness News

New Jersey hotels sent packages with suspicious white powder

Atlanta Ice Chaos: "Looks like scene from 'The Walking Dead' - we weren't Prepared." #Snowpocalypse - USA Today

Here in the North, we are Prepared for Situations like the snow/ice that shut down Atlanta. 
They weren't.

1.1 Million People hit the roads at the same time in the Atlanta Metro as the snow started to fly, and roads freezing...

State of Emergency declared at 5p Local time...

Commuters and schools unprepared...

Cars/School Buses abandoned...

More tonight on Situational Preparedness on USAEBN

Ryan Duckworth ‏@ryanduck Oh crap. So this is how it starts. #Snowpocalypse #SnowedOutAtlanta pic.twitter.com/rfold6XDZy

"Cars abandoned at odd angles on side streets, thoroughfares and major interstates. People in this car-dependent city walked for miles, hunched over and huddled from the cold. Many had no coats, hats or gloves.

"It was a like a scene from The Walking Dead," said Maura Neill, 38, referring to the television series about a post-apocalyptic world overtaken by zombies.

"The mistake here is that no one expected the snow to hit as quickly," said Neill, who was stranded in gridlock for 10 hours.

Neill's story is typical of the chaos that gripped the region."

"This just threw everybody off, we weren't prepared for it."

UPDATE 29.01.2014:

IT DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN.

Atlanta (CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 12:32 p.m. Wednesday]
Five people have died, and 23 people have been injured because of Tuesday's wintry weather in Alabama, the state Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday.
 
[Breaking news update at 12:28 p.m. Wednesday]
Asked if officials should have closed roads and urged people to stay home before Tuesday's snowfall, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday: "If we close the city of Atlanta and our Interstate system based on maybes, then we would not be a very productive (state or city)." He said that some forecasts called for just a dusting of snow. "It's easy to make judgment calls after the fact, but I daresay there's not anybody in this room that could have (predicted the degree) of the problem that developed."
 
[Breaking news update at 12:06 p.m. Wednesday]
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday said state government will close again on Thursday because of treacherous road conditions. He asked people to stay off the roads to give crews time to clear them.
 
[Breaking news update at noon Wednesday]
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said officials plan to have all children who stayed in their schools overnight because of treacherous post-snow road conditions "transported as soon as possible back to their homes." Among those still in their schools Wednesday morning, Deal said: About 2,000 in the Fulton County school system and about 400 the in the Atlanta Public Schools. National Guard troops and state police will escort buses as they drop kids home, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/29/us/winter-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/usaebn/2014/01/29/situational-preparedness 

New Education Internet Radio with USA Emergency Broadcasting Network on BlogTalkRadio

Atlanta chaos: 'Like a scene from The Walking Dead'

Marisol Bello, USA TODAY 12:11 p.m. EST January 29, 2014

Corey Smith took this photo Wednesday morning from his car, where he'd spent the night, of motorists stranded on Interstate 285 in Georgia.(Photo: Corey Smith)

Biological Update: CDC Warns Clinicians to Watch for H5N1 Avian Flu Symptoms | Threat Journal

Biological Alert 20.01.2014:

As reported on Situational Preparedness, Threat Journal broke the news of the First North American case Of H5N1 Avian Flu in Canada.

Stay Prepared.

Listen to your Body.

Stay Alert.

CDC Warns Clinicians to Watch for Deadly H5N1 Bird Flu

January 17, 2014 11:04 pm

Home » Public Health » CDC Warns Clinicians to Watch for Deadly H5N1 Bird Flu

On January 15th, 2014, AlertsUSA issued the following
Flash message to subscriber mobile devices:

1/15 New CDC advisory warns clinicians to consider poss of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) in cases of severe resp illness + recent travel abroad after death in Alberta.

On Wed of this week, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via text messages to their mobile devices that the CDC had issued an advisory to medical clinicians nationwide warning that consideration should be given to the possibility of an H5N1 bird flu infection in persons meeting the following criteria:

New-onset severe acute respiratory illness requiring hospitalization…

and

Recently travel abroad to countries where human cases of H5N1 bird flu
have been detected, or where the virus is known to be circulating in animals.

These countries include China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and about 45 others.

The warning comes after the Public Health Agency of Canada reported the first confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus identified in North America. The patient, a female nurse in Alberta, fell ill while returning from a 3-week trip to Beijing. How she was exposed to the virus remains unknown as she had no contact with poultry during her trip.

Readers may wonder why all the fuss over a single death?

There are a number of reasons, one of which is that according to the World Health Organization, at least 60% of cases classified as H5N1 result in death, and a particularly gruesome one at that. According to the CDC, most reports of H5N1 in humans have described severe illness, including pneumonia leading to respiratory failure, encephalitis, septic shock, internal bleeding, brain inflammation, multi-organ failure and more.

Fukushima Fuel Transfer Reaches 10% Milestone | Clean Technica

There still is a long way to go to get all of the Fuel Assemblies transferred.

That only leaves 90% of the Fuel in an awkward position if an earthquake hits...

Keep up to date by listening to Situational Preparedness WED on USAEBN.

Stay Safe.

_MP

Fukushima Fuel Transfer Reaches 10% Milestone

Fukushima nuclear power station as unit 4 operations commenced (screen shot from euronews broadcast, November 11, 2013.) TEPCO announced 10% completion of the spent fuel transfer this week.

Sandy Dechert - via CleanTechnica

15.01.2014 10:00 EST

Tokyo Electric Power Company has reached a minor milestone in cleaning up the mess that started at its Fukushima nuclear power station on Friday, March 11, 2011 (March 12, U.S.). A subsea earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku, the resulting tsunami, and an unfortunate series of human miscalculations have dogged the ruined facility for almost three years.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant originally comprised six boiling water reactors of a half-century-old General Electric design. The installation was one of the world’s 25 largest nuclear power stations. TEPCO currently believes that after the tsunami, units 1-3 suffered meltdowns, perhaps even through the floors of the buildings and into the soil.

However, the situation in unit 4 merited the most immediate attention. There, the building had partly collapsed. New and spent (used) fuel rods stored in temporary containment 100 feet above ground level were emitting radiation to the atmosphere.

In danger of internal collision due to seismic events or spillage from the damaged secondary containment, this exposed fuel has threatened Japan with a massive uncontrollable nuclear chain reaction. After completing precautionary activities, on November 18, 2013, the company began a delicate task of rearrangement. Plant workers started moving the assemblies of nuclear fuel rods racked in the upper-story pool to safer ground-level storage in a centralized pool common to all the damaged reactors.

As well as the hazard of spontaneous explosions, spent fuel rods can release considerable heat and quickly lethal levels of radiation. Robot cranes and other human-directed machinery are necessary to move these very hazardous materials. The unit 4 cooling pond contains 1,533 fuel assemblies, of which 1,331 have been used and 202 are unirradiated (fresh) ones. Some of the fuel assemblies are known to be damaged.

Today, TEPCO plant personnel completed 10% of the transfers that must be done to stabilize the fuel from reactor unit 4. TEPCO describes the operations being undertaken as follows:

1. Relocate the fuel assemblies stored in the fuel rack inside the spent fuel pool, one by one, into a transportation container (cask) underwater using a fuel handling machine.
2. Lift up the cask from the spent fuel pool using a crane.
3. Conduct, on the floor as high as the operating floor, such works as closing the lid of the cask and decontaminating the cask.
4. Lift down the cask toward the ground using the crane to lay it on a trailer.
5. Transport the cask to the common pool using the trailer.

TEPCO expects it will take about a year to make all the Unit 4 transfers. Hundred-ton casks of fuel have now been transported to ground-level storage seven times, for a total of 154 transferred

Biological Alert: Avian Flu hits North America - H5N1 Bird Flu death reported in Canada | USAEBN/BBC

Breaking 01.08.2014:

As reported First on tonight's Situational Preparedness:
Avian Influenza hits North America as Canada reports first case of H5N1 Bird Flu - AlertsUSA

Source Audio for Situational Preparedness 

January 8, 2014 6p EST

Breaking Avian Flu Report at 64:00 in via USA Emergency Broadcasting Network with AlertsUSA

Canada reports first case of H5N1 avian flu in North America - CNN

First N America H5N1 bird flu death confirmed in Canada - BBC

8 January 2014 Last updated at 17:35 ET 

China has been vaccinating poultry against the H5N1 virus

Related Stories

• Widespread Seasonal Flu incl H1N1 in 25 States
• China bird flu is 'serious threat'

Breaking: Secrecy agreement between Fukushima and IAEA to hide Info from Public | fukushimavoice/ENENews

Now, it appears it's up to you get the information...

We will cover this tonight on #SitPrep - Situational Preparedness WED 6p EST on USAEBN

	Find Additional Education Podcasts with USA Emergency Broadcasting Network on BlogTalkRadio

Secrecy agreement between #Fukushima and #IAEA revealed by Tokyo newspaper — They hid health effects in Chernobyl… same thing could happen to Fukushima

NOTHING TO SEE HERE: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been caught agreeing in writing to conceal information from the world about the extent of danger, damage and health effects at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan.  Turner Radio Network has obtained official copies of the agreements signed by the IAEA and the Fukui Prefectural Government as well as between the IAEA and Fukushima Medical University. Published: January 7th, 2014 at 12:38 pm ET By ENENews

Tokyo Shimbun, December 31, 2013, with translation by Fukushima Voice (version 2e), published Jan. 6, 2014: It was discovered that the memorandum of cooperation between the IAEA and Fukushima as well as Fukui Prefectures contain a confidentiality clause [...] critics say “it could be preempting the State Secrecy Protection Law.” [...] In Fukushima Prefecture, it was the prefectural government that entered into an agreement with IAEA in the area of decontamination and radioactive waste management, whereas Fukushima Medical University entered into an agreement with IAEA in the area of the survey of radiological effect on human health. [...] “The Parties will ensure the confidentiality of information classified by the other Party as restricted or confidential.” [...] if either the prefectures or IAEA decide to classify information for “they contribute to worsening of the residents’ anxiety,” there is a possibility that such information as the accident information, as well as radiation measurement data and thyroid cancer information may not be publicized. [...] IAEA has published reports, after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, stating “there were no health effects due to radiation exposure.” [...]

Japan’s Nihon TV in 1993: ‘What Happened to Chernobyl Children 7 Years after the Accident’ (Source: tokyobrowntabby2)

Practical Arrangements between Fukushima Medical University and the International Atomic Energy Agency on Cooperation in the Area of Human Health (pdf), Dec. 15, 2012: The Parties have identified the following areas and activities in which cooperation may be pursued: [...] IAEA will assist the University in implementing the Fukushima Health Management Survey project;  [...] the Parties will collaborate in capacity building and research on human health programmes, including radiation emergency medicine; [...] the IAEA will endeavour to organize conferences, seminars and workshops, in cooperation with the University, with the aim of enhancing public awareness of radiological effects on human health and addressing the issue of “radiation fear” and post-traumatic stress disorders in the Fukushima population; [...] The Parties will support the widest possible dissemination of unclassified information [...] The Parties will ensure the confidentiality of information classified by the other Party as restricted or confidential. [...]

Ruiko Mutoh, representative of  Fukushima nuclear disaster plaintiffs: “IAEA has a history of hiding information about health effects in Chernobyl. The same thing could happen to Fukushima.”

Space Weather Alert: Sunspot AR1944 Produces Major X-Class Flare and Earth Facing CME | solarham.net

Major X1.2 Solar Flare and Earth Facing CME Detected from Sunspot region AR9144

A major solar flare measuring X1.2 was detected on Tuesday afternoon peaking at 18:30 UTC . The source of the eruption was region 1943, with interaction between sunspot 1944. Because the flare appears to be long in duration, a coronal mass ejection is possible. The blast site is in a great geoeffective position for Earth directed eruptions. Attached image by the Solar Dyanamics Observatory (SDO) via solarham.net

X-FLARE: Giant sunspot AR1944 erupted on Jan 7th at approximately 1832 UT, producing a powerful X1-class solar flare. First-look coronagraph images from the STEREO-Ahead spacecraft appear to show a coronal mass ejection (CME) emerging from the blast site. If so, the CME is almost certainly heading for Earth. Stay tuned for updates as more data arrive from the NASA-ESA Heliophysics Fleet.

 

HUGE SUNSPOT TARGETS EARTH: One of the biggest sunspots in years is crossing the center of the solar disk, putting Earth in the

Widespread Seasonal Flu including H1N1 Reported in 25 States | CDC/Reuters

Seasonal Influenza including H1N1 (Swine Flu) Widespread in 25 States - Doubling in One Week

 During the final week of 2013, widespread flu activity had jumped from 10 states the week prior to 25, according to the CDC's Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report.

Widespread flu activity was reported in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

The CDC considered flu to be "widespread" in a state when more than 50 percent of its geographic area is reporting flu activity. The widespread classification does not relate to the severity of the flu strain.

Men enter the Arlington Convention Center to receive their H1N1 flu vaccinations in Arlington, Texas November 24, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi

Seasonal flu widespread in the United States: CDC

By Marina Lopes

NEW YORK Fri Jan 3, 2014 7:19pm EST
 

(Reuters) - Nearly half of the United States is reporting widespread influenza activity, most of it attributed to the H1N1 virus that caused a worldwide pandemic in 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.
Thousands of people die every year from flu, which peaks in the United States between October and March. The flu is spreading quickly this season, with 25 states already reporting cases, the CDC said.
"We are seeing a big uptick in disease in the past couple of weeks. The virus is all around the United States right now," said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of Epidemiology and Prevention in the CDC's Influenza Division.
In 2009-2010, the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, spread from Central Mexico to 74 other countries, killing an estimated 284,000 people, according to the CDC.
While younger people were more susceptible to H1N1 in 2009, Bresee said it is too early to tell whether the same will be true this year.
This season's virus has killed six children in the United States, according to CDC data. The agency does not track adult deaths, but dozens have been reported around the country.

Fukushima Unit 3 Steam Explosion/Meltdown Explained - HHS Orders 14 Million doses of Potassium Iodide | Fairewinds Energy/West Wire/ENENews

Fukushima Unit 3 Meltdown Rumor Explained:

As originally posted on Madtown Preppers, the "Steam Explosion" at Fukushima Unit 3 has been greatly debated.  We have updated the original post with the latest info.

Reactor Unit #3 is Hot, but probably not in meltdown.

HHS orders 14 million units of Potassium Iodide.

Stories are Unrelated...

Editor's Note: This pic is from March, 2011 - via fukushimadiary.com: [Mochizuki Cheshire Iori's Photos A lot of people ask about the "steam"coming up from reactor3. As Fukushima Diary has reported, this "steam" has been observed almost everyday since this July". (http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/07/steaming-reactor3-thermography-shows-the-steaming-area-is-over-15%E2%84%83-hotter-than-atmosphere/) (http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/09/tepco-not-to-investigate-nor-take-countermeasures-for-reactor3-steam-anymore/)]

HHS Orders 14 Million Doses of Potassium Iodide

16 hours ago in Exclusive, Government, Slider

 

On December 6th the US Department of Health and Human Services put a solicitation notice on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website for 14 million 65 mg doses of Potassium Iodide, the standard treatment protocol for someone exposed to high levels of radiation. As a stipulation of this solicitation, which gets bid on by registered contractors, the HHS requires the 14 million doses to be delivered by the end of January. In other words, the HHS needs enough doses of Potassium Iodide to treat 14 million Americans by the end of January!

The Devil is in the details

The primary use for Potassium Iodide is used for treating, as well as minimizing damaging effects from, radiation poisoning. The area of the human body that are most-sensitive to radiation exposure are the thyroid gland. It absorbs the radiation like a wet sponge.
Potassium Iodide is a salt-stable form of Iodine that isn’t radioactive, but will still be absorbed by the thyroid