On Land and Sea, Passport Info in the Cards

(NEWSER) - A US passport is easy to obtain using fake or fraudulent documents, even with extensive post-9/11 security reforms, the AP reports. At the request of a Senate committee, a government investigator went undercover and quickly obtained multiple passports, using the identities of a dead man, a 5-year-old, and two fictitious people. “This puts our nation in grave danger,” said Dianne Feinstein. More»

Report suggests 127 million Americans' information unsafe

(NEWSER) - Government employees have been taking unauthorized peeks at electronic passport records of celebrities, says a State Department report that suggests the travel data of 127 million Americans is at risk. One high-profile person's records were opened 356 times by more than six dozen people, the Washington Post reports. Five contractors have been fired and dozens are being probed. More»

Employees looked at his passport records

(NEWSER) - The State Department has fired two employees and disciplined a third for taking unauthorized looks at Barack Obama's passport records, NBC News reports. It's not clear what they were trying to do, but their explanations for looking at the files didn't satisfy their bosses. The Obama camp said it smacked of political shenanigans and demanded an investigation. More»

As summer rush abates, tighter restrictions on North American air travel return

(NEWSER) - The deluge of passport applications that forced a suspension of new rules has eased, and starting Monday, US airline passengers must carry a passport when traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda. And after Jan. 31, documentation requirements for those destinations will apply to travelers on water and land as well, reports USA Today. More»

State Department is operating surveillance drones in the country

(NEWSER) - Many Iraqi officials are outraged that the US is operating drones in the country a month after the American military left, calling the drones a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, reports the New York Times . It's the State Department, not the CIA or Pentagon, that's behind the program, and it says the drones—which are surveillance, not armed, drones—are only there to help provide security to our embassy and consulates. But many Iraq officials bristle at suggestion. “Our sky is our sky, not the USA’s sky," said Iraq's acting minister of the interior, who, along with other officials, says the US has yet to request formal approval from Iraq to run the program. More»