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A third Bell 412 helicopter delivered to NYPD for counterterrorism missions
The NYPD dedicated many hours to designing the specifications of the department’s third Bell 412 to meet the diverse needs of the police department; one of the counterterrorism additions to the Bell 412 is a radiation detection system that can identify radiation signatures from an altitude of 200 feet in an effort to protect the city from nuclear bomb threats
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NYPD AW119 fleet achieves 20,000 hour milestone
The NYPD has four AW119 helicopters in service; the department’s first AW119 entered service in 2004; the NYPD has become the worldwide law enforcement fleet leader, having achieved more than 20,000 flying hours on the fleet
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Even a limited India-Pakistan nuclear war would substantially reduce global crop yields
Worries about nuclear winter have faded since the end of the cold war, but existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons still hold the potential for devastating global impacts; researchers have found that the climate effects of a hypothetical nuclear war between India and Pakistan would greatly reduce yields of staple crops, even in distant countries
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A third Bell 412 helicopter delivered to NYPD for counterterrorism missions
The NYPD dedicated many hours to designing the specifications of the department’s third Bell 412 to meet the diverse needs of the police department; one of the counterterrorism additions to the Bell 412 is a radiation detection system that can identify radiation signatures from an altitude of 200 feet in an effort to protect the city from nuclear bomb threats
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NYPD AW119 fleet achieves 20,000 hour milestone
The NYPD has four AW119 helicopters in service; the department’s first AW119 entered service in 2004; the NYPD has become the worldwide law enforcement fleet leader, having achieved more than 20,000 flying hours on the fleet
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Viewing terrorist attacks on TV increases pain intensity
A new study finds that exposure to media coverage of terrorist missile attacks increases pain levels in people already suffering from chronic pain
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Feds give Colorado access to critical infrastructure info
The Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) compiles about 500 layers of geographic features, including power plants and water pumps; it is managed by DHS, the Pentagon’s National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey; the data set is available to state first responders only when federal disasters are declared; DHS has now given Colorado access to the HSIP
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DHS FY2013 $5.75 billion IT budget request focuses on mobility, data center consolidation
DHS FY2013 IT spending requests are roughly even with FY2012 levels, with emphasis on commodity IT, mobility, and data center consolidation; the overall 2013 DHS budget request is just under $40 billion; the department’s IT budget request is just over $5.75 billion; down from $5.79 billion in FY2012
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SFPD announce new mobile application for police in the field
Earlier this week Mayor Edwin Lee of San Francisco joined the San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation (sf.citi) to announce a new mobile application which will enable police officers to report remotely from the field and share reports in real time, improving police department efficiency for officers by an estimated 40 percent daily
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U.S., Canada issue a joint statement of privacy principles
The United States and Canada issue a joint statement about the two countries’ perimeter security approach; the statement aims to reassure Canadians that their privacy rights would not be sacrificed to satisfy the U.S. security demands
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Mali crisis deepens as Islamists tighten grip over breakaway Azawad
The al Qaeda-affiliate Ansar Dine extended its control of Azawad, the Mali break-away region, by wresting control of the city of Gao from rival Tuareg forces; Mali’s neighbors announce that they have troop commitments from three west African countries for a military operation against Azawad Islamists; an advance party of European military and civilian security advisors is already operating in northern Niger in preparation for the military campaign, and behind-the-scenes discussions at the Security Council will soon yield a UN resolution authorizing the African Union to sent military forces to Azawad to oust the Islamists and reunify Mali
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Nuremberg lives: Should Iran’s leaders be charged with incitement to genocide?
Earlier this week, at a UN forum on the global drug trade, Iran’s vice president Mohammad-Reza Rahimi delivered a speech which the New York Times described as “baldly anti-Semitic”; Rahmini charged that the Jews, among other things, are responsible for, and are in firm control of, the global drug trade, and that gynecologists are killing black babies on the orders of Jews; law professors Alan Dershowitz and Irwin Cotler argue that the openly anti-Semitic pronouncements by Iran’s leaders, and the repeated threats they make against the Jewish people, merit bringing Iran’s leaders before the International Criminal Court to face charges of incitement to genocide
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Congressional panel: political correctness hobbles efforts to deal with insider threat posed by Islamic radicals
The House Committee on Homeland Security held a series of hearings on Islamic radicalization in the United States, and last week issued a report based on the hearings; one section deals with the insider threat Islamic radicals pose for military communities; the committee’s majority says that one reason the U.S. military is not more effective in dealing with this insider threat is that the approach to the problem is governed by political correctness
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Supreme Court deals near-fatal blow to Arizona SB 1070; states’ immigration efforts now in question
In a major victory for the Obama administration, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down three of the four main provisions in Arizona’s tough SB 1070 immigration law, saying these provisions were pre-empted by federal law; the Court left in place the fourth provision – the one requiring Arizona local law enforcement during routine stops to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect is in the country illegally – but in reading the provision very narrowly, the Court left its implementation open to legal challenges on grounds that it violates racial profiling prohibition and other laws; in any event, the administration moved quickly to make that remaining provision meaningless by pulling back on a program known as 287(g), which allows the federal government to deputize local officials to make immigration-based arrests; the move means that even if local police step up immigration checks, they will have to rely on federal officials to make the arrests
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Supreme Court suggests Obama’s DREAM initiative is legal
On 15 June the Obama administration announced a new deportation policy, saying that it would defer deportation action against undocumented immigrants in several categories; the administration based its decision on the doctrine of “prosecutorial discretion”; critics charged that such deferment policy is illegal; the Court, in its decision on Arizona SB 1070, suggests the administration is right, saying: “A principal feature of the removal system is the broad discretion exercised by immigration officials”
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More headlines
The long view
Preventing Another 'Jan. 6' Starts by Changing How Elections Are Certified, Experts Say
The 2024 presidential election may be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but preventing a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021 — when false claims of a stolen election promoted by Donald Trump and his allies led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol —will be top of mind this election year. Research finds broad support among public for nonpartisan certification commissions.
States Rush to Combat AI Threat to Elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. Congress has done little to address the issue, but states are moving aggressively to respond — though questions remain about how effective any new measures to combat AI-created disinformation will be.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
European Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply
States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.
Don’t Buy Moscow’s Shameless Campaign Tying Biden to Its Terrorist Attack
Russia has offered many different explanations to the ISIS-K’s 22 March 2024 terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, but the most recent explanation offered by Russia is the most audacious yet: Russia now charges that the Ukrainian energy company Burisma financed the attack. Burisma is at the center of an effort by a congressional committee to impeach President Biden, but the case has all but collapsed. Hunter Stoll writes that Russia’s disinformation and propaganda apparatus appears to be searching for ways to keep Burisma in the news ahead of the U.S. presidential election.