Jumpy? Us? On the tenth anniversary of 9/11? Who's jumpy? Oh my god did you hear fighter jets got scrambled to intercept a flight headed to New York this is it we're all going to die oh god
The staff of Americans For Tax Reform were briefly evacuated from their DC headquarters this morning as police responded to a bomb threat against the building. No explosives were found and the staff has returned to work.
New York City police officers tackled and took away for questioning a "suspicious man" outside Ground Zero today, where President Obama was leading a wreath-laying ceremony. The man was walking his bike towards the World Trade Center area and saying, "Secret Service, Secret Service coming through," after which cops…
Explosive mail packages "flared up" in two Maryland state government buildings today, causing a few minor injuries. The Feds are investigating.
The bomb squad was called when a bag exploded today at Miami International Airport and pieces of metal flew out. But it wasn't a bomb, just an exploding can of hairspray. Now we have to worry about militant hairdressers?
A Cuba-bound jet was diverted to Baltimore due to an "odor in the cabin." No, not that kind of odor.
Bogus drug scares are a mainstay of mainstream media reporting and reactionary parenting. A roundup of the latest in ludicrous drug trends—and look back at how bogus substances have stirred panic for more than a century now—below.
Thankfully, most of us emerged unscathed from the scariest pandemic of all time, swine flu. The real heroes were the pharmaceutical companies that told governments to stockpile their products. But now, $260 million worth of expired vaccines will be destroyed.
According to reports, the owner of the establishment closed up shop a few weeks ago and that's when he started feuding with the man who owns the building. Still no word on which party might have set the gas cans to explode. One thing's for certain, though: This isn't doing anything to improve New Jersey's Sopranos…
The NYPD says: "See something, say something." Tonight, someone did! Police were tipped off to "something" suspicious in Times Square. The only problem is that "something" turned out to be "garbage." Everyone: Stop leaving your stuff around Times Square. [WNBC]
That unattended (and possibly nefarious) van in Times Square that prompted the NYPD to call in the bomb squad this morning and order the evacuation of thousands of workers in the area? It was nothing. And it's possible the van could have been sitting there for, like, months but no one took notice of it until now: "It…
At least one Madoff victim took a moment to let off some steam on this first anniversary of Bernie's arrest. Someone called in a bomb threat to the Lipstick building this afternoon, the office tower that once housed the offices of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. [Dealbreaker]
American Express evacuated employees on three floors of its World Financial Center headquarters this afternoon after envelopes containing a "white powdery substance" were discovered. Several similarly suspicious packages were also sent to Bank of America's offices in Tampa. [NBC, Business Insider]
Two reasons to avoid talking on your cell phone as you walk down the street? For one thing, you're a lot more likely to get mowed down by a car, according to two new studies. (Chatty college students took 25 percent longer to cross the street than their peers who weren't on the phone; people over 65 in the same…
Sure, you may be really worried about contracting swine flu and then spending the next couple of weeks confined to bed (or worse). But do you know who is totally psyched that Americans are in a state of panic about H1N1? Executives at Johnson & Johnson! It's J&J that makes Purell hand sanitizer. And it's making a…
Was September 11 the ideal day to run an article in the Wall Street Journal about the the "catastrophic storm flooding" that could hit NYC at any moment and bury the first few floors of city office buildings under water? Apparently so. Thanks, guys. How very thoughtful of you. [WSJ]
Admit it: You wrote off swine flu months ago, chalking it up to a passing fad that served as the perfect story for cable news outlets to obsess about day after day. And who could blame you? It started with such promise this spring, but then summer came and the epidemic—which clearly lost a little of its brand luster…
Yesterday, Glamour magazine reported that a staffer had contracted swine flu. This afternoon, NBC sent out a memo warning that a couple of employees at 30 Rockefeller Plaza had come down with the flu and while the network didn't indicate if it was of the swine variety, we don't believe company-wide emails usually get…
Commencement ceremonies take place at Harvard tomorrow. And tensions are already running high! It seems attendees are now being advised to avoid hugs and handshakes out of concern for swine flu. [The Awl]
Louis Caldera, the White House aide who signed off on that insanely stupid photo-op flyover over New York City two weeks ago, is officially unemployed as of this afternoon. [WSJ]
