Published May 13, 2010

Andrew’s keeping us on top of the FBI raids today, so I want to take a second to talk about another feature on today’s Radio Boston: Emerging America, the new Boston arts festival that makes its debut this weekend.

It’s a great, simple idea: collaboration between the ICA, the American Repertory Theater, and the Huntington Theater. Performance art that crosses over between these three different art spaces. Even plays-as-podcasts with scenes that take place all over the city. (Imagine: You’re in Harvard Square, sitting between the Chess Masters and the skaters, listening to a scene from a play. Scene changes. It’s at the Burdick’s down the street. So, off you go. A portable way of breaking down that fourth wall. Nice.)

But what I really like about Emerging America, is that it is so not silo-y. (I just made that up. Any better ways to say “not parochial?”)

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Published May 13, 2010

6:14: Now that we’re out of “breaking news mode” and the raids and arrests are well-reported, I’ll retire this mini-blog for today. You can read WBUR’s thorough coverage.

6:12: AP: Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the men taken into custody in connection with the Times Square bombing attempt apparently provided money to would-be bomber Faisal Shahzad.

4:11: The third person arrested, in Maine, is indeed connected to the day’s operation, AP quotes ICE as saying. From the wire:

Three people were arrested on suspected immigration violations: the two Pakistani men in the Boston area and one person in Maine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian Hale said. All three arrests are administrative and not criminal, he said.

2:58: A roundup of what we know.

2:19: Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says officers were trained to respond to IEDs and car bombs, once the authorities had learned of a Boston connection in the investigation of the failed Times Square bomb plot. Davis says there is no indication of a continuing plot in Massachusetts or that there is or ever was a threat to Bay Staters.

2:17: Gov. Patrick says two locations in Greater Boston were raided today, laying to rest conflicting reports of an additional raid.

2:15: Live video of Gov. Patrick’s press briefing is here.

1:07: AP news alert on the wire:

Law enforcement official: Two in custody have ‘direct connection’ to Times Square bomb suspect.

The AP also reports a third person was arrested in the raids.

1:06: Gov. Patrick will brief the news media at 2 p.m. Check back here for live video.

12:58: Two more pins added to the map, both attributed to the AP.

12:55: Two more pins added to the map, both attributed to CNN.

12:40: AP source: People taken into custody in Watertown are from Pakistan. (Boston.com)

12:35: Audy’s neighbor, Michael Monroe, tells WBUR the gas station owner is a good man:

He’s been a local businessman here for 25 years. … I know it’s longer than that. And he contributes to all the local organizations, to the PTO’s, to the civic associations.

I’m seeing a lot of similar remarks in comment threads.

12:23: This should be made clear, as WCVB (and others) report:

There was no indication that the owner of the gas station, Elias Audy, was the subject of the investigation.

Audy’s website has a long list of civic accolades.

12:09: New details from WBZ’s story:

The FBI confirmed to CBS News that the raids are being carried out mostly in Massachusetts.

A source told WCBS in New York City that two FBI raids were conducted in Suffolk County, Long Island this morning in the towns of Shirley and Centereach. At each location, one person was taken into custody as part of the Times Square investigation.

That same source says that, overall, the FBI was looking to arrest 7 people across the northeast Thursday in connection with the probe.

So far, 4 of the 7 have been taken into custody – 2 in Massachusetts and 2 on Long Island.

12:06: Sources know the exact locations of the raids in other states, but we are not prepared to share them yet. When we can, I’ll add pins to the map.

12:04: WHDH reports the Watertown home is that of the gas station owner, Elias Audy. I’m checking on this.

12:02: NPR: The two people in custody are being held on immigration-related charges.

11:58: The New York Times reports.

11:56: Gov. Deval Patrick released a statement:

The FBI, with the support of ICE and the State Police, conducted a safe and successful operation this morning in connection with the ongoing investigation of the attempted bombing in Times Square. I have been fully briefed by our public safety team and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force over the last several days on the plans for today’s events

11:33: According to the gas station’s website, the Brookline Police Mutual Aid association gives out an annual civic award in his honor: the Elias F. Audy Civic Award.

11:23: The press swarm Mobil gas station owner Elias Audy as he exits the building:

11:10: A Japanese restaurant called GARI Fusion (@garifusion) is tweeting updates and photos of the Mobil station from across the street.

11:05: WBUR’s Adam Ragusea, at the corner of Marion & Harvard in Brookline, reports that about a half-dozen FBI agents have taken over the Mobil station. Agents are scrutinizing a gray or beige Honda in the parking lot with Massachusetts plates.

11:02: NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports two people are in custody following the raids, but it’s unclear what their role is in the case.

10:58: I’ve put together a map of the known locations of today’s FBI raids. I hope you all can help me keep it current.

10:51: From Neil Ungerleider’s story, in Watertown:

“What I saw was FBI agents and I heard an FBI agent scream don’t move,” said Vinny Lacerra. “Everything happened so fast. You would not think there would be so many FBI agents in a small town.”

10:50: Got pics? Tweet them with the hashtag #Hubbub.

10:46: Heads-up — reversed the order of these updates to keep the top fresh.

10:41: CNN reports the FBI is executing search warrants in Long Island, New York, and in New Jersey, as well.

10:17: The crawl on Channel 5 says another Brookline gas station was raided, on Route 9. The governor says in his news briefing that only two locations were raided. My colleague Benjamin Swasey explains that authorities questioned employees at a gas station on Route 9, but that no raid occurred. (Globe, 7th paragraph from the bottom)

Update, 10:08: WBZ’s Steven Bognar tweets:

CBS Sources: #FBI raids targeting the money trail in NYC investigation – do not point to any co-conspirators in the plot.

Update: WBUR’s Adam Ragusea filing from the Mobil station. Says investigators are wearing blue gloves, possibly collecting evidence.

Update: WCVB says the Brookline gas station is Mobil, at 198 Harvard Street.

Update: WHDH is reporting another raid, at a Coolidge Corner gas station. WBUR is sending a reporter.

Update: The Associated Press reports. Neither AP nor WBUR have confirmed that a raid occurred in Watertown, just that several occurred in New England the Northeast.

Update: WBUR is talking to the FBI and sending a reporter to Watertown.

Update: The Globe confirms:

FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz emphasized that “there’s no known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States.”

Posted at 9:02 a.m.: WBZ is reporting the FBI has raided a house in Watertown in connection with the failed Times Square bombing. It was “one of several being conducted in the northeast United State in the probe.”

Published May 13, 2010

The more you look at this photograph by Adam Gaffin, the more you love it:

As my colleague Adam Ragusea notes in the comments thread: “So great how a simple glass building with slightly funky angles can play all kinds of visual tricks on you as you move around the city.”

[via Universal Hub]