Homeland Security

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July 2008
- Oval Office Handover Opens Critical Security Gap
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 16, 08 8:28 AM CDT
  
  January's transition in Oval Office occupants opens up a national security gap for America's enemies to exploit, Jamie Gorelick and Slade Gorton write in the New York Times . The handover from Clinton to Bush was deeply flawed, the 9/11 Commission members note, with "no effective dialog" between the two. To avoid a repeat, the current nominees should get much more information that they're not being given. More »
- Could Stun Bracelets Replace Boarding Passes?
  
  newser | Washington Times | Jul 8, 08 1:44 PM CDT
  
  A bracelet that would track airline passengers and shock them if they get out of hand might be under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security, the Washington Times reports. The Electronic ID Bracelet could someday replace boarding passes. We "are interested in … the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal," an official wrote to its maker. More »
- New Bags Let Laptop Users Fly Through Security
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 1, 08 4:10 PM CDT
  
  Eagerly awaited "checkpoint friendly" luggage is at last in the pipeline, and travelers will be able to clear airport security without removing laptops from their bags by September or October, the New York Times reports. The TSA-approved bags allow security personnel to see computers on X-ray machines through either protective sleeves or fold-down sections in bigger cases. More »
June 2008
- Supreme Court Will Hear Navy Sonar Appeal
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jun 23, 08 1:06 PM CDT
  
  The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the US Navy's objection to a court order that ships may not use sonar within 12 miles of the California coast because high-frequency signals are harming whales and other marine life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Bush administration argues that the judge exceeded her authority in putting environmental concerns before national security. More »
- Advisers to Bush: You Asked for It
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 21, 08 3:44 PM CDT
  
  President Bush ignored warnings that his detainee policy would spark a Supreme Court backlash, the Washington Post reports. Top lawyers both in and outside Washington said that jailing suspects without Congressional approval would push the court to rule on national security—but the White House either ignored the advice or disagreed. More »
- Big Brother Sees Washington
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jun 16, 08 1:55 PM CDT
  
  If you plan to go outdoors in Washington, DC, comb your hair first, because someone's probably going to see you. The capital is ramping up a video surveillance system that puts most others in the entire world to shame, the LA Times reports. Unsurprisingly, the 5,625-camera network has captured the attention of privacy and civil-liberties advocates, and they're not happy. More »
- Bush Forced Ruling on Detainees
  
  newser | Newsweek | Jun 15, 08 7:45 PM CDT
  
  President Bush forced the Supreme Court’s hand by overplaying his own over Guantanamo detainees, Stuart Taylor, Jr. writes in Newsweek . Courts usually defer to Washington on national security, but Bush so flouted ordinary "ideas of justice and liberty" that he "put the Supreme Court in an impossible position." Stuck with detainees who say they are innocent, justices have granted them full access to federal courts. More »
- FBI Swamped With Checking on Immigrants
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jun 10, 08 11:36 AM CDT
  
  The FBI’s system of background checks has forced many legal immigrants to wait years before getting into the US or gaining citizenship, the Justice Department finds. The program, deluged by more names and wider checks after 9/11, has struggled with old technology, poor training, and swamped supervisors, the Los Angeles Times reports. And criminals could be cruising through the system. More »
- Nuke Blunder Last Straw for Booted Air Force Brass
  
  newser | Air Force Times | Jun 5, 08 3:30 PM CDT
  
  The Secretary of the Air Force and the service's chief of staff were forced to resign today on the heels of a report highly critical of the handling of nuclear weapons and technology, the Air Force Times reports. More »
May 2008
- US Imports its Drug-Sniffing Dogs for $4,500 Each
  
  newser | USA Today | May 23, 08 1:00 PM CDT
  
  The US government purchases hundreds of untrained bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs from Europe every year for as much as $4,535 each, quadruple the price of American dogs, a new federal report says. Domestic breeders and spending watchdogs are angered by the government's penchant for expensive foreign purebreds. "What kind of dogs are these—gold-plated?" asked a member of Citizens Against Government Waste. More »
- Security Could Get A Bit Easier
  
  newser | USA Today | May 22, 08 5:05 PM CDT
  
  In a few months, travelers likely will be able to take their laptops through airport security without removing them from their cases—if they buy special new cases, that is. The Transportation Security Administration will probably begin accepting new forms of carrying cases that allow unobstructed x-ray views of the laptop inside, the agency told USA Today . More »
- Charges Dropped Against '20th Hijacker'
  
  newser | Reuters | May 13, 08 3:49 PM CDT
  
  The US has dropped charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, who allegedly planned to be the “20th hijacker” in the 9/11 attacks, Reuters reports. The US military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay rejected the charges against Qahtani “without prejudice,” meaning that the Saudi citizen may yet face prosecution. The charges against the other five alleged planners, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were approved. More »
- Judge Purges General From Gitmo Case
  
  newser | New York Times | May 10, 08 12:10 PM CDT
  
  A military judge has expelled a Pentagon general from the case of a Guantanamo detainee in a move that could open the military tribunal system to further attacks. The judge said the general—who is supposed to be impartial as overseer of the Gitmo legal process—worked too closely with the prosecution, fueling critics’ argument that the system is designed to score convictions, the New York Times reports. More »
April 2008
- LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Apr 18, 08 9:59 AM CDT
  
  New technology will allow screeners at Los Angeles International Airport to scan passengers with a device that effectively looks beneath their clothes, the LA Times reports. The “whole body imaging” machines are drawing mixed reviews—a TSA spokesman praised the "brand-new security tool," but an ACLU rep compared a scan to a “high-tech strip-search.” More »
- The Most Vulnerable Western City: Boise. Really?
  
  newser | Washington Post | Apr 5, 08 7:53 AM CDT
  
  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 be honest, we're a little bit surprised," a spokesman for the city said. More »
- Feds Bust Plane Passenger With Bomb Parts in Baggage
  
  newser | Orlando Sentinel | Apr 2, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  
  A Jamaican national was arrested after checking a bag at Orlando International Airport that contained the makings of pipe bombs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The FBI detained Kevin Brown, 32, after a TSA “behavior specialist” spotted him during check-in yesterday. He was charged with attempting to carry an explosive device onto an aircraft; a federal judge denied him bail at a hearing today. More »
- Border Fence Will Skirt Environmental Laws
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Apr 2, 08 5:40 AM CDT
  
  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 being pushed through without proper assessment and will endanger wildlife. More »
March 2008
- States Fume on Eve of REAL ID Deadline
  
  newser | Christian Science Monitor | Mar 30, 08 4:15 PM CDT
  
  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 one of the federal mandates that have irked states in recent years, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More »
- TSA Changes Rules on Nipple Rings
  
  newser | CNN | Mar 29, 08 6:23 AM CDT
  
  Airport security guards who forced a woman to remove her nipple rings with pliers were following procedures, according to the TSA—but they agree it's time for some new procedures, CNN reports. Pierced passengers pulled over for inspection will in future be told they have the option of showing the piercing to a guard instead of removing it. More »
- Woman Forced to Remove Nipple Rings at Airport
  
  newser | Associated Press | Mar 28, 08 10:04 AM CDT
  
  A Texas woman is calling for an apology after airport security in Lubbock forced her to pull out her nipple piercings with a pair of pliers before boarding her plane, the AP reports. When her chest set off the security wand, Mandi Hamlin offered to show a female guard her unremovable piercings in private, but male guards insisted they be removed. She said she could hear them snickering as she did so. More »