Boston police captains son gets 20 years for terror plot

MASSACHUSETTS

Police captain's son gets 20 for terror plot

A Boston police captain’s son, whom authorities called a “committed soldier” of the Islamic State, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for plotting to use assault rifles and homemade bombs to kill Americans on a college campus.

Alexander Ciccolo, who went by the name Ali Al Amriki, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in May, three years after his father alerted the FBI about his son’s desire to fight for the extremist group.

Ciccolo’s lawyers say the man, who dealt with mental health and substance abuse issues, had poorly thought-out plans and no ability to carry out the attack.

Ciccolo was arrested in July 2015 after he received four guns that he ordered from a person who was cooperating with the FBI. One month before he was set to go on trial, he pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and to attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

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Prosecutors said he also planned to use homemade bombs similar to the pressure cookers used in the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon attack. Ciccolo was seen buying a pressure cooker shortly before his arrest.

Lawyers for Ciccolo, 26, identified the school in court documents as New Mexico State University.

— Associated Press

WEATHER

Gordon weakens after it makes landfall, kills 1

Tropical Storm Gordon never became a hurricane but it was deadly all the same, killing a child by blowing a tree onto a mobile home as it made landfall. The storm weakened to a depression Wednesday but remained dangerous, dumping rain, spawning possible tornadoes and kicking up heavy surf in its wake.

Gordon struck the coast at 70 mph, just shy of hurricane strength, near Pascagoula, Miss., late Tuesday.

The only death reported as of Wednesday afternoon was the child who was killed late Tuesday when a large branch from an oak tree fell onto a mobile home in Pensacola, Fla. Neighbors said the victim was about 10 months old.

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— Associated Press

Man crashes truck into TV station's building: A man repeatedly rammed his pickup truck into the Fox television affiliate's building in downtown Dallas before police detained him on Wednesday, though authorities said they don't believe that he was targeting the media. Michael Chadwick Fry, 34, repeatedly crashed into the large windows near the entrance of the building that houses KDFW at around 6 a.m. Smashing several windows, the truck hit an administrative side of the building before office workers arrived for the day. No one inside the building was hurt. Police said Fry also scattered papers with hand writing on them that had information on a police-involved shooting.

10 become ill on Dubai to New York flight: Ten people aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai were taken to New York hospitals Wednesday with a mystery ailment. Scores of passengers and crew complained of feeling sick during the 14-hour overnight flight from the Middle East. The nature of the illness was not confirmed immediately, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the symptoms include fever and coughing. The airliner, with at least 521 passengers, landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at around 9 a.m. It was immediately surrounded by dozens of ambulances and other emergency vehicles as anxious passengers waited to be evaluated by health officials. The airline and the New York City mayor's office said 19 people were confirmed ill. Three passengers and seven crew members went to hospitals. Nine other passengers were medically evaluated at the airport.

— From news services

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