Department of Homeland Security

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Rogue al-Qaeda Backers Call for Nuke Attack in Online Video

But no evidence of specific plot, says FBI

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda supporters will use an Internet video to call for the use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in a new attack on civilians in the West, reports ABC News. FBI officials have alerted US law enforcement of the tape, said a spokesman, but emphasized that there is no evidence...

Docs Get List of Who to Let Die in Pandemic

Don't waste resources on the elderly, handicapped: report

(Newser) - If the US were to suffer a devastating pandemic, and doctors didn’t have resources to save everyone, who should die? A number of universities, government agencies, and other groups mulled that grim scenario recently, sending doctors a brutally ruthless list of who to let die. The report ensures “...

Immigration Chief Covered Up Racist Pics, Dems Say

Myers report highlights worries about diversity

(Newser) - The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to hide pictures of her giving an award to an employee in a racially insensitive Halloween costume, House Democrats say. Julie Myers was photographed smiling and standing next to an employee in prison garb and wearing blackface, whom she awarded the night's...

Workers Charge Laptops to Lingerie on Fed Credit Cards

Audit: Nearly half of purchases broke rules

(Newser) - Millions of dollars government employees charged to federal credit cards went for less-than-appropriate perks ranging from digital cameras to dating services, sexy lingerie, laptops, and a $13,000 postal party, reports the Washington Post. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that 48% of major purchases on federal credit...

The Most Vulnerable Western City: Boise. Really?

City 'surprised' by terror response ranking

(Newser) - Boise, Idaho, may be better known for hosting the World Potato Congress than topping terrorist target lists, but it was the only city west of the Mississippi to make the top 10 in a Homeland Security-funded study ranking cities by vulnerability to terror attacks, the Washington Post reports. "To...

Border Fence Will Skirt Environmental Laws

Dozens dumped to speed building

(Newser) - Homeland Security is ditching environmental laws in a push to finish 670 miles of border fence along Mexico by the end of this year, reports the Los Angeles Times. Congress has approved a waiver for more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to accelerate building. Critics say the plans are...

States Fume on Eve of REAL ID Deadline

Montana leads fight against unfunded federal law

(Newser) - Washington is locked in a standoff with states over REAL ID, an anti-terror law that aims to make driver's licenses harder to dupe or obtain. But no states are near complying and Montana, New Hampshire, and Maine have all balked at the unfunded plan. What's more, REAL ID is just...

Visitor Fingerprinting Expanded
 Visitor Fingerprinting Expanded 

Visitor Fingerprinting Expanded

Homeland Security hopes scans of all 10 digits will improve tracking, monitoring

(Newser) - Visitors to the US entering through New York's John F. Kennedy airport will have all 10 fingers scanned under a new program of the Department of Homeland Security, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Officials hope the program, called US-VISIT, will allow customs—which currently collects just two prints from non-citizen...

Renegade Geek to Head Cyber Security

DHS taps outsider as Silicon Valley ambassador

(Newser) - Outre tech entrepreneur Rod Beckström will top the White House’s new secretive cyber security initiative, the Wall Street Journal reports, to the surprise of many Washington insiders. Beckström is a Silicon Valley transplant without security experience, but he has developed a cult following in the security and...

Montana Gov Rips Real ID Law
Montana Gov Rips Real ID Law

Montana Gov Rips Real ID Law

Calls scheme 'kooky' and 'hare-brained'

(Newser) - NPR Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and every single state legislator have refused to implement the Real ID Act, a congressional mandate to create standardized identification documents. Schweitzer tells NPR the law is "kooky" and "hare-brained," asserting that half a dozen high school students and a Kinko's are...

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet
Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet

Link data of local police agencies for instantaneous search

(Newser) - Law enforcement agencies all over the country are building a new information "dragnet" that will dramatically boost data-sharing,  the Washington Post reports. This month the Justice Department will begin hooking up local and county police forces to the new federal National Data Exchange, creating a "one-stop-shop" that...

March Madness Prompts Alert
March Madness Prompts Alert

March Madness Prompts Alert

FBI and Homeland Security don't cite a specific threat in warning

(Newser) - March Madness should have security forces on high alert, the FBI and Dept. of Homeland Security warned in a joint statement yesterday, as crowded sporting events are “potential targets” for terrorists. College basketball games are just some of the many sporting events that "regularly bring tens of thousands...

Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5
Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5

Homeland Security Dep't Turns 5

Chertoff reflects on successes, challenges at Homeland Security

(Newser) - With the Department of Homeland Security celebrating its fifth anniversary Saturday, Secretary Michael Chertoff says six attack-free years could tempt the next US administration to make cuts in his agencies, the Christian Science Monitor reports. He said he has a "moral responsibility" to make choices he might not see...

'Virtual Fence' Cleared For Arizona Border

Troubled system already operational

(Newser) - The government has just given the green light to a 28-mile “virtual fence” along the Arizona/Mexico border, the AP reports. The system, which uses cameras, radar, and other sensor devices to detect border jumpers, is already partially constructed, and working. Last week Border Patrol caught 38 would-be illegal immigrants...

Families Battle Feds Over US Border Fence

Many resist federal efforts, but judges order them to give up

(Newser) - Americans on the southern US border are fuming over a federal fence that threatens to cut their properties in two, the Washington Post reports. The feds have erected about 165 miles of fence in the West and southwest, but some families, protecting land they have held for generations, are turning...

FBI Bails on Immigrant Probes as Backlogs Mount

Backlog means immigrants will be granted residency before background checks

(Newser) - Immigration officials are expected to grant green cards to tens of thousands of aliens before required FBI background checks, because the Department of Homeland Security is struggling under a ballooning backlog, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Background checks would be performed after immigrants are granted residency, which could be revoked if problems...

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees
US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Speeds up glacial pace of resettlement

(Newser) - The State Department plans to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US by September, despite resettling only 375 so far this year, CNN reports. Ambassador James Foley, charged with the task of accelerating resettlement, vowed to reporters that the pace will pick up in the coming months. The US...

Mont. Governor Calls for Rally Against Real ID

Asks 17 other states to 'join me in resisting'

(Newser) - Montana's governor firmly rejected new federal ID legislation yesterday, urging 17 other states to join him in battling the DHS Real ID program, which requires citizens to reapply for ID, Wired reports. "If we stand together either DHS will blink or Congress will have to act to avoid havoc...

New ID Rules Look to Shore Up US Borders

Proof of citizenship now needed; 'Time to grow up,' says Chertoff

(Newser) - All travelers entering the US, including Americans, will face tough new ID requirements beginning in two weeks. "It's time to grow up and recognize that we've got to take determined steps to getting better security," homeland security chief Michael Chertoff told the AP.

US Faces 'Terror Attack Threat From Europe'

Security chief envisions stricter safety measures

(Newser) - Americans face a "real risk that Europe will become a platform for terrorists," US Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff told the BBC yesterday. America will likely boost security measures to protect the country from such a threat, but will also make an effort not to unduly hinder travel...

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