Vkontakt

From left: Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A photograph from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's page on VKontakt, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, appears to show him in Times Square. It is believed to be from November 2012. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said authorities knew of two trips by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to New York in 2012 but said he did not know whether those visits were related to any plot against Times Square.

Two of the three people newly arrested in the Boston Marathon investigation are Kazakh friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and one drove a BMW with a novelty license plate that said “Terrorista #1,” according to people who knew them.

The two were pictured in a 2012 photo with Tsarnaev in Times Square that was posted to VKontakt, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. Authorities say Tsarnaev and his brother, suspected in the marathon attack, discussed driving to New York and setting off more of their explosives there.

The Kazakh men, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, were charged Wednesday with conspiring to destroy or hide a laptop belonging to Tsarnaev and a backpack of his containing fireworks.

Another man, Robel Phillipos of Cambridge, Mass., was charged with lying to investigators. All three appeared in federal court in Boston Wednesday afternoon.

Both Kazakh men are 19 and were in the United States on student visas, the Justice Department said.

Stephen Troio, who said he lived on the same dorm floor as the two men during his freshman year in 2011, said that they showed “lack of emotion” and “lack of personality” and that nothing stood out about them but the BMW.

“They did have a lot of money,” Troio told NBC News. “He wrecked like three Beamers and then bought another one.”

Trevor Berry, 20, who took a calculus course with Tazhayakov, said the Kazakh was friendly with Tsarnaev and that the two could be spotted dining together on campus. “They were pretty close as far as I can tell,” he said.

Berry said that Tazhayakov was "much more quiet than Dzhokhar," but was once "really flustered" over a low grade he'd gotten in calculus class.

The two men were taken into custody over immigration violations last week. Kadyrbayev’s lawyer, Robert Stahl, told The Associated Press then that they were horrified by the marathon bombing.

“They can’t even fathom something like this from a kid who seemed to be a typical young college student,” he said.

The two Kazakhs lived at an apartment in New Bedford, Mass., near the campus of the University of Massachusetts’ Dartmouth campus, where Tsarnaev was a student. Last week, investigators scoured a landfill in New Bedford for items that might belong to Tsarnaev, including the laptop and receipts related to the purchase of fireworks.

A neighbor in New Bedford said Wednesday that the Kazakhs were quiet and polite, and would even help carrying groceries inside. They had parties, the neighbor said, including one that police were called to at 3 a.m.

Stahl told the AP that the two men did not see Tsarnaev in the days before or after the marathon attack.

The license plate was a joke gift from friends of Kadyrbayev’s friends, meant to refer to his late-night partying and not his political sentiments, Stahl told the AP. The license plate was pictured in Tsarnaev’s Twitter feed in March.

A Facebook page in the name of Azamat Tazhayakov lists him as a UMass-Dartmouth student and as a member of the Class of 2011 at a Kazakh school, Miras International School Astana. It lists his hometown as Atyrau, says he speaks Russian and lists Rihanna, Beyonce and Enimem as musicians he likes.

A Facebook page in the name of Dias Kadyrbayev shows him vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and palling around with friends.

This story was originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 3:12 PM EDT

LONDON -- British authorities ordered more police on the streets for Sunday's London Marathon in the wake of the Boston bombings, but experts warned it was "virtually impossible" to guarantee the safety of the hundreds of thousands who will attend the event. 

A police source said additional patrols by uniformed officers were planned to reassure the public in the wake of deadly attack.

While British security officials have been in contact with their counterparts in the U.S. following Monday's blasts, the U.K.'s threat level for international terrorism hasn't been changed from "substantial" -- the third of five categories on the scale.

At least 500,000 spectators are expected to watch Sunday’s race and Prince Harry is due to hand medals to the winners.

The course takes the 36,000 runners right past major sites - including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace – as well as through Canary Wharf, the giant riverside financial district targeted twice by the Irish militants in the 1990s.

Even in a city that has spent recent decades under the threat of bombs – first from Irish Republicans, more recently jihadists – such a public event poses a security headache.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said that the force was "taking more more precautions than we might have done otherwise."

"We will make sure we've got more officers on the street looking after people, making sure they're kept safe, but we've no reason to think they'd be any less safe than before the terrible events in Boston,." he said. "We'd be professionally irresponsible if we didn't take some reasonable steps."

Sang Tan / AP

Backdropped by Buckingham Palace, a jogger crosses the Mall in London on Tuesday. It will be transformed into the finishing area for Sunday's London Marathon.

Metropolitan Police Commander Christine Jones declined to give details of what changes might be made, if any, to the event's security plan. She said officers would “continue to review all the intelligence” available.

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel insisted the event would go ahead. “We will be reviewing our security in the coming days, in the light of what has happened in Boston," Bitel told ITV News.

"I don't want to talk about specifics of what security we have had in the past, or will have on Sunday. All I can say is that it will be of an appropriate level to meet whatever threat assessment is made, in conjunction with the police," he added.

Hugh Robertson, a British government minister, called for crowds and runners to attend in London as normal.

“The very best way to show solidarity with Boston is to get out there on the streets of London to cheer the runners on and to show that we won’t be defeated by this sort of activity,” he told the London Evening Standard newspaper.

Runners will be encouraged to wear a black ribbon at the start of the race to honor victims of the Boston bombing, and a 30-second silence will be observed, organizers said Wednesday. 

NBC News national security analyst Michael Leiter said it was “virtually impossible” to make a marathon completely secure because of its 26.2-mile long route.

“You just have to do the best you can to keep people safe and maintain resilience," he said. “It’s important we don’t alter our lives because that provides the terrorist – domestic, international, whoever it may be – with a huge victory.”

Helmut Spahn, executive director of the International Centre for Sport Security, told Reuters: "There has to be a clear analysis of the situation and certainly no over-reaction. More police, more military is not always the best solution. To have a 100 percent security is very, very difficult if not near impossible.”

Sang Tan / AP

A sign warns of road closures linked to the forthcoming London Marathon.

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:29 AM EDT

Police have charged the mother and aunt of two toddlers who were killed in an apartment fire in a Chicago suburb.

Early Saturday morning, 2-year-old Jaryiah and 3-year-old Jarvis Meakens were left alone with two other children when a fire broke out. The two toddlers died in the blaze.

Their mother Tatiana Meakens, 23, and aunt Britany Meakens, 22, of Englewood, were each charged with two counts of felony for endangering a child causing death and two counts of misdemeanor for endangering the life and health of a child, according to a police press release.

Both were called in for questioning after police discovered the two had left four children alone to attend a party, police said.

Read more stories from NBCChicago.com

The two children who survived - a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy - were taken into the custody of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, while authorities conducted their investigation.

Saturday night, friends, neighbors, and members of the community mourned the loss of the two toddlers with a vigil and balloon release.

Tatiana and Britany are scheduled to appear in bond court on Monday.