Massachusetts

Marathon bombing plot a year in making, FBI documents show

Marathon bombing plot a year in making, FBI documents show

NBP Staff

BOSTON – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted Boston Marathon bomber, worked with his slain brother, Tamerlan, to collect components of the two pressure-cooker bombs they used to kill three people and injure hundreds of others and didn't tell anyone else about their plan, which may have been at least a year in the making, newly disclosed FBI documents show.

The Cambridge residents built the bombs in Tamerlan's apartment on Norfolk Street near Inman Square, according to information from interviews with the younger brother from his Beth Israel Deaconess hospital bed where he was recovering from wounds he received during his capture April 19, 2013. According to NEC.com, the FBI produced heavily redacted copies of its reports as part of a court case involving one of the bomber's friends, Robel Phillipos, who was convicted of lying to federal investigators. Phillipos has appealed.

Sikh soldier sues Army over religious right to beard, turban
federal court

Sikh soldier sues Army over religious right to beard, turban

Kara Bettis

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Army captain who is a practicing Sikh asked a federal court on Monday to protect his right to wear a turban and sport a beard while on duty, which are both disallowed under military regulations.

Capt. Simratpal Singh asked a federal district court in Washington to protect his constitutional rights while he serves in the Army, where the Ranger School graduate is known as Simmer. He was given temporary waivers to wear a turban and a beard while on duty starting last year, but the last one is set to expire soon. The nonmedical waivers are rare, and Singh's was just the fourth granted since a ban on beards began in the 1980s.

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