I saw this funnel cloud today when I went to the Target Distribution Center in Albany. Kinda spooky. Makes one push down the accelerator a little bit to get out of the area.

She's psycho b!+(h anyway, so don't take it personal Thailand.

I'm so on board with what you said, but I'm too pissed about this to really get into a deep comment.

Agreed.

Dry run, but with a message to scare the heck out of people.
Terror with out hurting or killing anyone.
Score one for the bad guys.

Based on experience, this was the next step in the 'ol playbook by North Korea (also known as "that totally f@#*ing crazy A(& psychotic country over by that other totally f(&#ing crazy A*& psychotic country near South Korea) ever since their "satellite" failed to achieve anything but a black eye for them.
Next step, the rest of the world offers N. Korea food in exchange for not pushing forward on it's nuclear program.
After that, N. Korea threatens S. Korea for something, then uses artillery or something else to push buttons and gets food aid cancelled. The US then says more diplomacy is needed, then go back to step one and do it all over. Repeat.

w153r. I too like Dan Brown and consider myself somewhat of a fan of his. I've read all of his books, and have listened to 3 of them on CD while I'm driving.
The reason I wondered why it was news was because it was just so random and the story was happening 3,000 miles away in some nowhere town.
But, feel free to try to insult me, although just to let you know, between my bookshelves and the attic, I have over 1,700 books in my personal "library", so I consider myself somewhat well-read.
Not sure why you get so butt-hurt though about my question. Makes me wonder if you are just a sensitive softy that wears your heart on a string, or have just been without nooky for too long and are getting cranky.

True.
Technology has improved so much in the last 15+ years in vehicle design with the intention to absorb impact thus protecting the occupants.
I remember back when you could get a general idea of the impact speed and if it it was over 55mph, by whether the roof near the B post was "wrinkled" from driver to passenger side.
I know a 1' -1.5' front bumper displacement on the old metal cars could indicative of a potential fatal injury during a size up. Now, with the manner then engines are designed to push down and the bumper absorbs so much impact, you never know.

How much would that suck to be those people that had to wait for HOURS? At least it wasn't 90 degrees out where they would have to run AC for that long. Gets a little spendy.

When there is a crash, there are three impacts.
The vehicle hits the object, then the body hits the inside of the vehicle someplace, then the organs which are still traveling at the original speed, move forward and hit the cavity wall of the body potentially causing massive internal injuries.
Often times a person will suffer from a torn/sheered off Aortic Artery in a high-speed impact, which is pretty much always instantly fatal.
This is one possibility that comes to my mind when I see this picture.