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EU may investigate VoIP eavesdropping
Italian anti-crime authorities have asked the EU to look into regulating VoIP communication encryption; the Italian authorities presented evidence that crime rings and prostitution networks use Skype for the specific purpose of frustrating police investigators
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Random antenna arrays boost emergency communications
When first responders rush to a disaster scene, they are often met with large amount of rubble; the vast amount of metal and steel-reinforced concrete in buildings and rubble often interferes with or blocks radio signals; a new antenna array solves this problem
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Iran launches plutonium path to the bomb
Iran makes an important — if symbolic — step toward joining the nuclear weapon club; the Busher plant will allow Iran to produce bombs from plutonium, in addition to bombs made from uranium enriched at a facility at Natanz
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More than 100 levees in 16 states are in an "unacceptable" state of disrepair
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gives “unacceptable” maintenance ratings to 114 levees in 16 states; these levees are in such a bad shape, that it can be “reasonably foreseen” that they will not perform properly in a major flood; 30 of the levees are in Arkansas
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High tech, high price tag technology supports first responders
South Walton, Florida, upgrades first response gear with funds from the federal Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau
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Iran has reached a nuclear breakout capacity; holds enough uranium for bomb
UN experts acknowledge Iran has enough uranium for one nuclear bomb; Iran has produced 839 kg of low enriched uranium hexafluoride — more than 200 kg more than previously thought; earlier estimates that Iran is about 12 months away from the bomb now appear dated
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Calculations show Iran's 2 February launch used beefed-up rocket
Calculations show that Iran’s 2 February missile launch involved a more sophisticated and powerful rocket than had been initially thought; this two-stage vehicles, with more powerful fuel, are capable of lifting a nuclear warhead farther; Europe — but not yet the United States — is now within Iranian missile range
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Iran, preparing for a nuclear break out, seeks sophisticated defensive system
Iran is about 12 months away from its first nuclear weapon; this means that there is a 12-month window for a military attack on Iran without risking a nuclear retaliation; Iran is desperate to acquire the most sophisticated defensive system in the world — Russia-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles; the system can track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12; it has a range of about 200 km and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters
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Arresting me softly: NYPD to use Velcro handcuffs on kids
NYPD approves Velcro handcuffs for use on unruly children; cuffs are gentler than the steel model, and safer than Taser guns
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NNSA ships more high-risk nuclear material out of Livermore
Latest shipment reduces high-security nuclear material onsite by an additional 20 percent; part of the government’s plan to consolidate nuclear materials at five sites by 2012, with significantly reduced square footage at those sites by 2017
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U.S. Army, law enforcement agencies, working on EMP grenades
Electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, has been typically associated with high-altitude nuclear explosions — explosions which disable electronic devices hundreds of miles away from the explosion; militaries and law enforcement want a hand-grenade-size EMP device for use in war and crime-fighting
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Trend: Manned-unmanned UAVs for battle, domestic surveillance
In both military and domestic missions, there are situations in which UAVs are preferable, and other situations in which manned aircraft are preferable (or even required); the solution: manned UAVs
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U.S. faces lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs
Sometime in the near future a lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs is going to cross the U.S. border in force
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Growing crime in Central America boon to private security companies
A combination of a dramatic increase in crime — from drug-related murders to kidnapping for ransom — and a growing perception that government agencies cannot or would not do much about it, have led to a boom for private security companies in Central and Latin America
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Items in FEMA food kits may contain salmonella-tainted peanut butter
Food kits FEMA distributed to thousands of storm evacuees in Kentucky may contain peanut butter contaminated with salmonella
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The long view
RAND to help oversee high-quality research on gun violence
Every day in the United States, close to 100 people are killed by guns, and for every death, two more are injured. The gun-related murder rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher than the rate in 22 other high-income nations. About two-thirds of gun deaths in the United States are suicides. The RAND Corporation has been selected to help oversee a philanthropic fund that will support high-quality research on issues related to gun violence.