An Iraq war veteran was caught amassing "a small arsenal" in his Bronx residence, including handmade improvised explosive devices [IEDs], grenades, four firearms, and several rounds of ammunition, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday. 24-year-old Anthony Cibelli served tours of duty in Iraq in 2006 and 2008, and was discharged from active duty in 2010. Prosecutors say he stole two grenades and other weapons that were the property of the United States military, and taught himself how to build the IEDs by watching instructional videos, and did not intend to use them. Hey, everyone ought to have a hobby! more ›

Yesterday the FBI arrested Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a student from Saudi Arabia majoring in business at South Plains College in Lubbock, Texas, and charged him with trying to detonate a weapon of mass destruction at a number of targets, including NYC. Investigators say Aldawsari sent himself an email with a link to real-time traffic cameras in NYC, and he allegedly sent himself an e-mail titled "Tyrant’s House," in which he listed the Dallas address for former President George W. Bush. Aldawsari is not believed to be associated with Al-Qaeda, but allegedly wrote in his journal that he wanted to create a new terrorist group that he would lead. more ›

Here's a lesson to anyone thinking about setting off a crude explosive device: Even if no one is injured, the Manhattan DA's office wants you to know you're going to prison. Nineteen-year-old Kyle Shaw, who at age 17 set off an explosive outside an Upper East Side Starbucks in May 2009, was officially sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison as part of a plea deal. Manhattan assistant DA Christopher Ryan said, "Any one considering setting off a bomb in New York City should know they will be caught. You will be pursued by the best detectives in the world, and you will be found, and you will be brought to justice." more ›

Part of Times Square is closed earlier tonight due a Nissan Pathfinder, parked on West 45th Street near 7th Avenue, that was apparently smoking. WCBS 2 reports, "As a precaution, the bomb squad was brought to the scene and was using a robot to inspect the package. Sources say the robot got up close to the package but that its inspection was inconclusive. Bomb squad personnel then suited up and went in." However, witnesses tell WABC 7 they heard an explosion and saw smoke between 6 and 6:30 p.m., "It was a boom and a puff of smoke," while a firefighter said, "The SUV was smoking. There was a flash and we put two and two together" which then led to an evacuation. more ›

Hey, just because the bomb that was set off outside an Upper East Side Starbucks on Monday morning was homemade—"fashioned from a water bottle and the same explosive powder used in fireworks," the Daily News reports—doesn't mean it wasn't a threat to the public. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said,"Had someone been walking by, this could have caused serious injury, if not death." The police also revealed that a "metal bottle cap inscribed with the capital letters VET that was found amid the bomb remnants"— investigators are looking at whether "there's a manufacturer that makes metal bottle caps that contain those letters"—and that the two teens seen fleeing from the scene that morning are described as blond teen in a red shirt and a brown-haired teen in a gray shirt. John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Eugene O'Donnell tells WCBS 2, "Bombings are not easy to solve, sometimes because the forensic evidence is so deteriorated." more ›

The Post reports that investigators doubt Monday's explosion outside an Upper East Side Starbucks is related to the bombings outside the British and Mexican Consulates as well as the Times Square recruiting station. Apparently the "make-up of the bomb -- flash powder stuffed inside a jumbo pill jar -- was not similar to the ones used for the earlier bombings," and the description of the teens seen fleeing the area doesn't match the others bombings' lone bicyclist. The Post adds police are investigating whether the incident is linked to a small explosion at a Starbucks in Providence, RI, but the Seattle coffee company sent us a statement, "We are confident that these two explosions were not linked. Further, though the investigation continues, we actually have no reason to believe that Starbucks specifically was a target for this incident." (Apparently there had been a series of small explosions in plastic bottles in different parts of Providence last year.) more ›

Earlier this morning, around 3:30 a.m., an explosion was reported outside of a building at Third Avenue and 92nd Street. The NYPD is conducting an investigation; according to WCBS 2, "Officials tell CBS 2HD it wasn't a bomb that went off, but an improvised explosive device. The device was planted on a bench outside the Starbucks." more ›