'Device' Found on White House Grounds

[LiberalEsto]

Source: NBC4 Washington

Updated at 5:21 AM EST on Monday, Jan 26, 2015

"There is an increased security presence around the White House Monday morning after a "device" was found on the grounds.

During a press briefing in New Delhi, India, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that a "device" was found on the White House grounds.

Earnest said the device does not pose an immediate threat to anyone at the White House.

There's no word at this time on where the device was found or what it was."

Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Device-Found-on-White-House-Grounds-289756051.html

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This is just breaking now

[Rhiannon12866]

1. CNN International is reporting this now

Called it "a possible drone..."

[LiberalEsto]

2. The NBC report says there are emergency vehicles clustered

near the southeast entrance to the mansion. Nothing yet about a possible drone.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. They were debating whether something accidentally "got over the fence"

And said Secret Service has said nothing about it yet...

[LiberalEsto]

4. WNEW FM radio (99.1) is reporting that it's a drone-like device

but there's very little on the local tv stations. It's all SNOW SNOW SNOW eek, fear, panic!

[Rhiannon12866]

5. That's what CNN (no longer International) is saying

And that the Secret Service is on the scene, investigating, but, of course, the president isn't home...

And I'm in New York, so we've heard little else except for snow warnings. CNN Called it a "hurricane of snow" and that nobody should leave the house... I'm much farther north, so it's not supposed to be quite as bad here, but I'm still planning to reschedule an appointment tomorrow that would require me to drive about a half hour south, since it's supposed to be bad enough. No school closings yet, though, said nothing is expected until the afternoon...

[LiberalEsto]

6. It started snowing here (central Maryland) about an hour ago.

Nothing's closed in Montgomery County. I've got jury duty and am worried about what it might be like getting home this afternoon.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. Yikes! That's starting early!

If it is half as bad as they're predicting, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent you home early, since panic seems to be the order of the day. They're already cancelling flights out of DC in anticipation. Just be careful out there...

[LiberalEsto]

7. UPDATE: Drone lands in tree on White House grounds

Updated at 6:43 AM EST on Monday, Jan 26, 2015


"A drone landed in a tree on the White House lawn Monday morning, according to a federal law enforcement official.

The drone landed at 3 a.m., the law enforcement official added."

NBC-4 News

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Device-Found-on-White-House-Grounds-289756051.html

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Remote controlled quadrocopters are going to be the bain to this society

I refuse to call those "drones" (which to me have a different meaning). I can imagine thousands flying around peeping in windows with cameras.

[candelista]

19. "Bane." "Bain" is Mitt Romney's hedge fund.

Just saying.

[freshwest]

20. Landed in the tree... Like fake birds... Oh, ugh...

[Joey Liberal]

8. Probably the Tea Party

Or some other home grown, rightwing group or person.

[onehandle]

13. Gun nuttery's chance to kill the 'Kenyan gun-controller' is slipping away.

Probably scoping out the grounds for freedumb.

[former9thward]

28. It was a government employee.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/us/white-house-drone.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON — The small drone that crashed into a tree on the South Lawn of the White House early Monday morning was operated by a government employee who has told the Secret Service that he did not mean to fly it over the White House fence and near the president’s residence, according to law enforcement officials.

The employee — who does not work for the White House — has told the Secret Service that he was flying the drone for recreational purposes at about 3 a.m. in the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when he lost control of it.

So far, the Secret Service said it believed the man’s account.

But gohead and use any incident anywhere by anything to blame guns.

[former9thward]

29. Government employee.

See post #28.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. Federal government is open. I'm headed to work. It's not bad.

[DeSwiss]

12. Was the ''device'' about 18'' and round.....

...with pepperoni, mushrooms and extra cheese?

- Cause I think I know what it waz......

[Sunlei]

14. someone lost their flying camera!

[William Seger]

16. Probably

The article says it was a "small device." This is the smallest quad I have with a camera:



It only costs about $70 with a 720p camera ($50 for VGA), so they're very popular with hobbyists. But for "small device" I've become fascinated with the "nanoquads" that started coming out about a year ago.



Amazingly, these 4 range from about $16 to $24 (with free government-subsidized shipping from China), but they have the same basic computerized "6-axis" flight control systems (3 gyros and 3 accelerometers) as the larger quads, and they are surprisingly fast and agile. They really are a hoot to fly. I really hate to see the hobby hurt by stories like this.

[Codeine]

18. Do you have a link to a reliable source

for those nano-copters? They look like pretty much the funnest thing ever.

[William Seger]

23. Most of the ones I have are from Tmart and Banggood

I have about dozen nanos now, the most expensive being an Estes Proto X that was about $37, but I think some of these cheaper ones actually fly better, and I haven't yet bought one that didn't fly well.

http://www.tmart.com/search.html?typeid=&q=nano+quad

http://www.banggood.com/buy/Quadcopter.html

It does take 3 or 4 weeks to get them from China unless you pay (a lot) extra for shipping, although Tmart does have a US warehouse now for some items. Be careful to get an "RTF" (ready to fly) model which comes with a transmitter, not a "BNF" ("bind and fly" with your own transmitter).

And yes, they are a blast -- these nanos are especially fun for indoor flying. Since they are self-leveling, a fun thing to do is to toss them in the air and start flying. Many of these will also do flips. I still fly "in the box" which means keeping the nose pointed away from you so you don't lose orientation with the controls (they fly equally well in any direction). But this spring when I can get outside, I'm determined to learn how to fly "nose down" which means doing banked turns for figure-8s and "funnels." If you check out some of the YouTube videos, some people are really good at it.

(Edit: When I got my first one, I flew it over my boss' cube at work -- once! I don't recommend that...)

[Codeine]

32. Thanks for the info!

My kids and I are going to love them I'm sure!

[msanthrope]

15. It's the Cylons. nt

[freshwest]

21. Only Mormons believe in those, right? I'll go with the Terminator series, to evoke more terror!

[msanthrope]

22. Terror? Hell, the Cylons look like us now, and Starbuck is a girl. nt

[freshwest]

31. I was only going by the old series and the reactions of the actors... Haven't seen the new series...

Last edited Mon Jan 26, 2015, 09:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Don't much care of the remakes. Or the old stuff anymore, either.

So I'll go with this guy:

http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/HK-Drone

Definitely a do-able, folks!

Aren't all we just so clever...

[msanthrope]

33. It's awesome, and worth the watch. nt

[freshwest]

34. Can't afford cable, either... I'm content that you enjoy it.

[msanthrope]

35. It streams on Amazon. I cut the cable cord a long time ago. nt

[freshwest]

38. It's not free on Amazon, is it?

[msanthrope]

39. If you have Prime. I find Prime to be an excellent value, however. nt

[freshwest]

40. I can't afford Prime, though. Hard enough to pay for the doctor, food, etc.

If the GOP gets their way next year, I'll lose net and everything else and still be in the red. It'll be a firesale. I must take such things into account. But as I said, I am glad you and others can enjoy that service.

[msanthrope]

41. I am sorry freshwest. Sometimes I forget that I have a bit of luck. nt

[freshwest]

42. It's okay, don't be sorry. I still have a place to live in 2015.

[James48]

17. Drone?

Nah- it was just Anazon.com making its nightly delivery to the WhiteHouse.

I'm just glad the Phalynx auto cannons did not open up and spray cannon fire everywhere. That coukd be a problem right in that area.

[Bosonic]

24. Government Employee Flies Small Drone Over White House Fence

Last edited Mon Jan 26, 2015, 05:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Government Employee Flies Small Drone Over White House Fence

WASHINGTON — The small drone that crashed into a tree on the South Lawn of the White House early Monday morning was operated by a government employee who has told the Secret Service that he did not mean to fly it over the White House fence and near the president’s residence, according to law enforcement officials.

The employee — who does not work for the White House — has told the Secret Service that he was flying the drone for recreational purposes at about 3 a.m. in the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when he lost control of it.

So far, the Secret Service said it believed the man’s account.

The small, commercial quad copter drone crashed on the southeast grounds, forcing a brief lockdown of the White House complex, the Secret Service said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/us/white-house-drone.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

[mainer]

25. Totally believable

People are way too paranoid about these little hobby devices. Drones get lost due to lost radio signals, dead batteries, operator error, etc.

[William Seger]

26. If he was flying at 3AM...

... then I'd guess he knew it would be "frowned upon" by the SS. On the other hand, I can understand the appeal of getting aerial videos of the White House and mall: It's a fun hobby. And, having lost control of quads several times -- the wind can sometimes be much faster 100 or 200 feet up -- I can believe he didn't intend to fly over the fence.

[FLPanhandle]

30. Mine will take off wildly if I lose signal

The more expensive drones have the ability to return to their takeoff spot if things so wrong.

Cheaper drones just fly off.

[William Seger]

37. New pics show it's a DJI Phantom

Those do have GPS and return-to-home, so I'm a little more skeptical now that flying over the fence was accidental.

[kwassa]

36. I often have the urge to fly a drone on Pennsylvania Ave. at 3 am.

What????

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

27. Anytime I see a story like this I shake my head at how many death threats the First Family get

and how I marvel that he and they are still safe.

I mean when millions and millions and millions of Americans hate you with extreme passion, you would expect something bad to happen.