BOSTON (Reuters) - Security officials on Wednesday ordered staff, media and attorneys to evacuate Boston's federal courthouse, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene.
Scores of people could be seen leaving the building. No further details were immediately available.
"Get away from the building. I can't stress this enough, people," a uniformed law enforcement official yelled at the crowd.
(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin, writing by Scott Malone, editing by Gary Crosse and Steve Orlofsky)
(Reuters) - The California wildlife sanctuary where an African lion attacked and killed a 24-year-old intern last week will reopen to the public on Sunday, four days after the woman's death.
The Cat Haven preserve, which has been shut since Dianna Hanson's death on Wednesday, will resume regular operations, including offering guided tours to visitors, Cat Haven officials said
Shortly before it opens its gates, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is scheduled to brief reporters on the latest findings from the investigation.
Hanson, who was on a six-month internship at Cat Haven that began in January and had previously worked in Kenya on a wild feline reserve, will be honored on Sunday with a moment of silence at the sanctuary.
The big cat center, which is located 40 miles east of Fresno, will resume regular operations, including guided tours for visitors, Cat Haven officials said.
"It is important that we attend to (the animals') health and well-being, and we believe returning to a state of normal operations is a part of that process," Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson said in a statement.
Hanson was attacked while cleaning an empty cat enclosure.
A four-year-old male lion named Cous Cous escaped from his feeding pen, apparently by prodding open an improperly secured gate, and pounced on Hanson, fracturing her neck and killing her almost instantly, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden.
Sheriff's deputies later shot and killed the lion, which weighed at least 400 pounds (181 kgs), after failed efforts to coax him away from Hanson's body.
Cous Cous and his mate, Pely, were Barbary lions, a species from the region between Morocco and Egypt that is extinct in the wild. He had been handled by humans since he was weeks old.
Cat Haven, a 100-acre (40-hectare) sanctuary run by the group Project Survival and located about 40 miles east of Fresno, is still home to 29 large cats.
State and local agencies are investigating whether Cat Haven violated any safety procedures that could have safeguarded against the attack.
Anderson said the sanctuary was cooperating with the investigation.
Hanson earned a biology degree in 2011 from Western Washington University. Her family says they consider the incident a tragic accident.
"We know that first and foremost, Dianna would want the work that Cat Haven is doing to continue," her mother, Donna Hanson, said in a statement.
The Hanson family has set up a fund in Dianna's honor that will benefit her favorite charitable organizations, including Cat Haven.
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and David Brunnstrom)
MANTOLOKING, New Jersey (Reuters) - Coming home to the last Jersey Shore community to reopen after Superstorm Sandy, Sandra Witkowski stood in her dining room on Friday to revisit that old familiar coastal view only to see her neighbor's house in the middle of Barnegat Bay.
The storm that slammed into New Jersey on Oct 29, ravaged the coastline and damaged all of the 521 houses in the narrow barrier island community, said Doug Popaca of the local emergency management office.
About 100 homes were damaged beyond repair and another 40 washed away, said Chris Nelson, a lawyer helping with the community's recovery.
One swept about 100 yards out into the bay, salt water lapping at its windows, was owned by Witkowki's neighbor.
"I love it here, but it's a lot scarier than it used to be," said Witkowski, 69, a 12-year resident of the barrier island that stands between the Atlantic Ocean and the rest of New Jersey.
Sandy caused nearly $30 billion in damages in the state. When Jersey Shore residents were evacuated, most expected they would return after a few days and were stunned when the devastation turned out to be so extreme that it would be months before they could go home.
Mantoloking, an affluent community of 296 fulltime residents that expands in summer to 4,000 beachgoers, is the last of the shore communities to allow residents to move home. Officials declared Friday "repopulation" day and welcomed home residents - at least those who still had homes to come back to.
Under overcast skies, they made their way across three bridges - the only way onto the island. Cresting the bridge into Mantoloking, residents saw empty coastline where once sat a solid line of million-dollar waterfront homes side-by-side.
"You are almost in a state of shock when you see the devastation," said Popaca, 66, who has lived in Mantoloking for 32 years. "We know several people whose houses are gone, they don't exist anymore," Popaca said.
Ordered by police to leave his home as the storm approached, Popaca moved back after the structure was treated for mold and had its insulation replaced.
Witkowski, a retired secretary who has been living with her daughter's family in nearby Point Pleasant since the storm hit, said repair work was still underway to fix the damage.
"It's a little frightening, but it's home, and we're coming back," Witkowski said.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Leslie Gevirtz)
