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NEWS ABOUT: homeland security

Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops

Government equates computers with bags; civil-liberties groups disagree

(Newser) - US border agents tell travelers there’s no difference between a laptop and a suitcase; both are fair game for searches. People crossing into the US have found their electronics confiscated, and their data copied, the Washington Post reports, all without explanation. “The government is going well beyond its... More »

Would-Be Teen Hijacker Was Suicidal, Cops Say

Boy had handcuffs, other items aboard flight from LA to Nashville

(Newser) - A California teenager who planned to hijack a flight from Los Angeles to Nashville is in state custody in Tennessee, the Tennessean reports. The 16-year-old had handcuffs and other suspicious items when he was detained, and authorities believe he was suicidal. The FBI dismissed reports he planned to crash the... More »

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... More »

Critics Cry 'Privacy' Over Passport Cards

US approves wireless ID that may spark identity theft

(Newser) - New wireless passport cards will make it easier for Americans to cross borders between Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean—but privacy groups worry that thieves will be pinching personal data off the new ID, the AP reports. One critic called the cards "inherently insecure;" officials say safeguards are... More »

Bush to Cut Anti-Terror Funding

Proposal to ax port, transit security sparks bipartisan ire

(Newser) - Bush plans to cut counterterror funds in half next year, nixing port and transit security plans altogether, the AP reports. The drop from $3.2 billion to $1.4 billion would slash police, fire, and rescue budgets nationwide—and run counter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's vow of less... More »

Bushies Break Records in Rush to K Street

More than 150 White House staffers have switched to lobbying

(Newser) - Departing staffers of lame duck presidents have long filled the ranks of lobbying firms, but the Bush White House is providing K Street operatives in particularly high numbers, the Politico reports—raising a series of ethics questions about the revolving-door phenomenon. The key industries hiring outgoing Bushies are homeland security—... More »

Kerik Indicted, Pleads Not Guilty

Ex-NYC police chief faces 142 years on fraud, conspiracy charges

(Newser) - Bernard Kerik was indicted today on 16 federal counts, including conspiracy, fraud, and lying to investigtors, and he faces up to $4.7 million in fines and 142 years behind bars. The ex-New York City police commissioner pleaded guilty and later described himself as "disappointed that the government has... More »

Syria to Let US Screen Iraqi Refugees

Move clears way for some to come to America

(Newser) - Syria, home to more than 1 million refugees from Iraq, will for the first time allow US officials into the country to clear the way for their possible resettlement in America, the AP reports. The US, under criticism for not doing more to ease the growing refugee crisis in the... More »

Body-Imaging Scanner Enters Airport Testing

Possible metal-detector replacement has privacy advocates wary

(Newser) - The federal government today begins testing a device that could replace metal detectors and pat-downs at airports around the country, the AP reports. The scanners produce full-body images of passengers, sans clothing. Privacy advocates are feeling sheepish. “These are virtual strip searches,” one said. “If Playboy published... More »

Traveling? Uncle Sam is Watching

Feds are keeping track of Americans: who they fly with, where they stay... what they read

(Newser) - The Feds are stockpiling data on millions of Americans as they travel, the Washington Post reports. Civil liberties activists charge Homeland Security with violating the Privacy Act, saying that travel partners, hotel bookings and reading material should not be in the Feds’ database. But Michael Chertoff claims that the data... More »

Big Brother Making Strides in Technology

America's top minds are devoted to 'gait DNA' and new spy drones

(Newser) - Top researchers are developing new surveillance technology, the BBC reports - including "gait DNA" to identify a person by their walk and advanced spy drones that can fly overhead for years. The Pentagon plans to continue its tech supremacy, which includes inventing the Internet in the 1970s and satellite... More »

Ad Hoc Security Doesn't Cut it at Home

6 years later, US safeguards still off the mark, Slate argues

(Newser) - America’s ad hoc security is still off the mark, says Slate’s Daniel Byman: It fosters fears, ignores US Muslims and never plans from a terrorist’s point of view. “The very concept of homeland security is new for Americans,” Byman writes, “and the department was... More »

Kean Slams US Security Effort Since 9/11

Americans are no safer, says commission head; foreign policy a disaster

(Newser) - Six years after 9/11 and three years after the 9/11 Commission report, commission chairman Thomas Kean assesses the nation's progress in protecting itself against the threat of terrorism.  On the domestic front, our defenses are better, he writes in the Washington Post., but internationally we have lost ground to... More »

Osama Urges US to Convert

Officials says al-Qaeda leader's latest message appears to be authentic

(Newser) - The first video of Osama Bin Laden in 3 years appears authentic, and he issues "no overt threat" but does call the US unjust, chides Americans for re-electing George Bush, and says the war in Iraq can only end with American defeat—or Americans converting to Islam, which he... More »

At Justice, Chertoff Played Party Politics

AG frontrunner prosecuted Hillary Clinton fundraiser

(Newser) - Michael Chertoff, a frontrunner to replace Alberto Gonzales, has impressive judicial credentials, but the LA Times reports that he also has a background tinged with partisan politics. While head of the Justice Department's criminal division, the current Homeland Security secretary met with conservative activists and brought controversial charges against an... More »

Chertoff Eyed as AG Nominee

DHS chief would step in for Gonzales

(Newser) - Michael Chertoff is the top candidate to replace resigning AG Alberto Gonzales, White House sources tell CNN. The Department of Homeland Security chief served as an assistant AG early in the Bush years. Speculation about Chertoff's promotion began as early as Friday, as a US News & World Report blog... More »

Activists, Washington Cross Swords over Terror List

Raises new concerns over privacy

(Newser) - Activists are battling Washington over a list that tagged some 20,000 people as suspected terrorists last year, the Washington Post reports. Yet only a fraction of them were arrested, prompting critics to doubt the list’s value. Cases of a civil rights activist held for hours and a Cleveland... More »

Dems Afraid They've Let in Big Brother

New law could give White House broad spying powers

(Newser) - Americans who phone friends or shoot emails overseas could have business records snatched up or be subject to searches whenever Washington wants, the Dems worry – after passing new surveillance powers that they may not have fully understood. Yet the White House swears that “the intent here was pure,... More »

New Focus of Airport Safety: Your Smile

Officers watch passengers' facial expressions in new security program

(Newser) - Put on a brave face the next time you're at the airport; your expression might be under scrutiny. New security programs at more than a dozen airports are using undercover personnel who watch passengers' faces for indications of criminality. When trying to deceive others, a criminal still exhibits flashes of... More »

Feds Simplify Security Plan

Names to be screened through watch lists

(Newser) - The Homeland Security department unveiled a plan today to screen all airline passengers’ personal data through US watch lists. The proposal, a revision of an earlier plan that provoked congressional action over privacy concerns, will be tested beginning this fall, the AP reports. "Secure Flight will not harm personal... More »

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