text: U.S. federal air marshals have been secretly observing specific American travelers on domestic flights under a previously undisclosed program called "Quiet Skies," The Boston Globe reported Sunday. According to internal documents obtained by the Globe, "thousands of unsuspecting Americans have been subjected to targeted airport and inflight surveillance, carried out by small teams of armed, undercover air marshals" since the program began in March. The Transportation Security Administration, which runs the Federal Air Marshal Service, publicly acknowledged the Quiet Skies program later Sunday, declining to specify how passengers are targeted or if any arrests have resulted from the initiative but saying the program has been around in one form or another since 2010. 
   
   "We are no different than the cop on the corner who is placed there because there is an increased possibility that something might happen," TSA spokesman James Gregory said. The Globe says air marshals follow about 35 Quiet Skies targets a day, observing them on a flight and recording such activities as fidgeting, using a laptop or smartphone, sweating heavily, or sleeping. "If that person does all that stuff, and the airplane lands safely and they move on, the behavior will be noted, but they will not be approached or apprehended," Gregory tells The Washington Post. 
   
   Gregory insisted the TSA does not single out travelers based on race, religion, or nationality, but privacy advocates aren't convinced. "Such surveillance not only makes no sense, it is a big waste of taxpayer money and raises a number of constitutional questions," ACLU staff attorney Hugh Handeyside said. "These concerns and the need for transparency are all the more acute because of TSA's track record of using unreliable and unscientific techniques to screen and monitor travelers who have done nothing wrong." Air marshals also tell the Globe and CNN that they fear the program may be unconstitutional and is certainly a potentially dangerous waste of money and human resources. Peter Weber ||||| Archaeologists open granite tomb but are dismayed at state of decay after ‘sewage leak’ 
   
   Egyptian archeologists have opened a 30-tonne black granite sarcophagus to find three decomposed mummies after sewage water apparently leaked inside. 
   
   “The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse,” said Mostafa Waziry, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities, in response to news reports warning of maledictions hidden inside the tomb in the port city of Alexandria. 
   
   Waziry, accompanied by a team of specialists in mummification and restoration, instead found three mummies and a red liquid he identified as sewage water, believed to have entered the sarcophagus through a crack on its right side, causing the decomposition of the mummies. 
   
   Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Tomb after the lid was removed. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters 
   
   The tomb was found buried five metres beneath the surface and the help of Egyptian military engineers was required to open the 15-tonne lid. After capturing the world’s attention because of its unusually large size, observers believed it could contain the remains of a prominent figure, with some considering the possibility that it could contain the corpse of Alexander the Great. 
   
   Facebook Twitter Pinterest The alabaster head. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images 
   
   The sarcophagus, almost three metres across and two metres high, is believed to date from the early Ptolemaic period, which began following the death of Alexander in 323BC. 
   
   It was found during construction work in Egypt’s northernmost city, accompanied by a weathered alabaster head thought to depict one of the occupants of the tomb. Archeologists were excited because a layer of mortar beneath the lid suggested it had remained untouched since it was buried thousands of years ago. 
   
   The skulls of the three mummies found inside will now be analysed in order to identify their ages and cause of death. 
   
   Facebook Twitter Pinterest Skulls of the three decomposed mummies. Photograph: EPA 
   
   Shaaban Abdel Amonem, one of the specialists in mummification who attended the opening, said initial assessments showed the trio were probably soldiers, with one of the skulls displaying evidence of arrow blows. 
   
   Waziri said the lack of death masks in precious metals, amulets, statuettes or inscriptions on the sarcophagus meant the bodies were unlikely to be those of Ptolemaic or Roman royals. 
   
   Video footage from the news website Youm7 showed a man pouring the red liquid into the street, after samples were taken to be analysed. ||||| Image copyright EPA Image caption Experts wore face masks to open the sarcophagus, which released a terrible smell 
   
   Three weeks ago, archaeologists in Egypt found a massive black granite sarcophagus in Alexandria, untouched for 2,000 years - and fleet-footed rumour quickly got to work. 
   
   Could it contain the remains of ancient Greek leader Alexander the Great, or (less appealingly) a deadly curse? 
   
   According to experts who have now unsealed it, it's a no to both. 
   
   Instead, it revealed three skeletons and red-brown sewage water, which gave off an unbearable stench. 
   
   Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities had appointed a committee of archaeologists to open the relic, which was unearthed at a construction site. 
   
   According to Egyptian news outlet El-Watan, they initially lifted the lid of the tomb by just 5cm (2 inches) before the pungent smell forced them from the inspection scene entirely. They later prised it open with help from Egyptian military engineers. 
   
   "We found the bones of three people, in what looks like a family burial... Unfortunately the mummies inside were not in the best condition and only the bones remain," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. 
   
   Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption The tomb was found to contain three skeletons, believed to be those of ancient Egyptian army officers 
   
   Addressing media fears that disturbing the tomb could trigger an implacable Pharaoh's curse, Mr Waziri declared: "We've opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness. 
   
   "I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus... and here I stand before you ... I am fine." 
   
   Despite that, the site has now been cleared of people amid fears the sarcophagus could release lethal toxic fumes, Egypt's state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram says. 
   
   Are mummies' tombs dangerous? 
   
   Scientists have debunked the infamous "Mummy's Curse", but are there other threats in ancient tombs? 
   
   Lord Carnarvon, financial backer of the excavation of Tutankhamun's burial site, died from an infected mosquito bite shortly after they opened the chamber in 1923. 
   
   Since then, rumours have swirled that mould or bacteria survived in the sealed area and caused or contributed to his fate. 
   
   But F DeWolfe Miller, professor of epidemiology at the University of Hawaii, told National Geographic that there's no real danger. 
   
   "We don't know of even a single case of either an archaeologist or a tourist experiencing any negative consequences [from bacteria or tomb moulds]," he told the magazine. 
   
   Experts have said the three individuals in the Alexandria sarcophagus may have been soldiers in the time of the Pharaohs. 
   
   The skull of one is said to show cracks which point to an arrow injury. 
   
   An alabaster bust, its features weathered beyond recognition, was also found with the tomb. 
   
   Image copyright Reuters Image caption The huge sarcophagus weighs almost 30 tonnes 
   
   The structure is almost two metres (6.5ft) high and three metres long, and is the largest of its kind ever found intact. 
   
   It weighs in at 27 tonnes (59,500lb), and is believed to date from the early Ptolemaic period, which began in 323 BC after the death of Alexander the Great. 
   
   Archaeologists will now study the sarcophagus in depth to pinpoint when its occupants lived, and how they died.
target: – "The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse," declared the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities after opening a huge black sarcophagus that had been untouched for 2,000 years. Those prone to queasiness might have disagreed. Sewage water had leaked into the Alexandria sarcophagus over the centuries through a crack, meaning that instead of well-preserved mummies, antiquities head Mostafa Waziry and his team found three skeletons, a vile red liquid, and a terrible smell when they opened the sarcophagus, the Guardian reports. The discovery of the massive sarcophagus two weeks ago sparked rumors that the tomb of Alexander the Great could have been found, but archaeologists believe the three bodies were those of soldiers, judging by the lack of elaborate death masks and the arrow wound in one of the skulls, the Week reports. Waziry spoke to the media to dispel rumors that the sarcophagus was cursed, the BBC reports. "We've opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness," he said. "I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus... and here I stand before you ... I am fine." (A less fragrant find was recently made at an ancient necropolis south of Cairo.)