-
Growing pressure to investigate facial recognition technology
Concerned with the growing ubiquity of facial recognition technology, earlier this month, lawmakers sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to “look further” into the technology
-
-
Fearful immigrants trickle back into Alabama
After Alabama enacted its tough new immigration laws last September, the state saw a large exodus of fearful immigrants who packed up their entire families and fled the state; since the law went into effect, some illegal immigrants have begun returning to the state
-
-
DHS suspends expansion of Secure Communities in Alabama
Due to ongoing federal litigation against Alabama’s tough new immigration laws, DHS has halted the expansion of the Secure Communities immigration program in the state; the law has been tied up in legal battles, and a federal appeals court has already blocked portions of it
-
-
One in three of military aircraft are drones
A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently made public reveals that unmanned drones now account for 31 percent of all military aircraft
-
-
Proposed EPA budget cuts funding from clean air and water grants
President Obama’s latest proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 cuts $105 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget, primarily from funds aimed at treating wastewater and drinking water
-
-
Kansas fights to keep bio lab project alive
Still reeling from the shock of finding out that the administration’s budget proposal does not contain any construction funds for the $650 million Bio Lab Level 4 facility in their state, Kansas political and business leaders vowed to fight to keep the project alive, including looking for alternative funding sources; the bio lab was considered the anchor of what is called an Animal Health Corridor stretching from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, to the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri
-
-
DHS secretary expresses “concerns” over Iranian threats
Following recent attacks on Israeli officials overseas thought to be perpetrated by Iran and its proxies, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano expressed her concern over potential threats from Iran to domestic targets; speaking before a House panel, Fox Newsreported, Napolitano said the potential for an Iranian attack is “a situation that bears watching.”
-
-
U.S. places terror sanctions on Iranian spy ministry
On Thursday the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had placed sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, accusing it of supporting terrorism, committing human rights abuses against Iranians, and participating in the ongoing suppression of protests in Syria
-
-
In Keene, N.H., locals oppose military equipment for police
With the help of a $285,933 DHS grant, local police in Keene, New Hampshire were all set to purchase a new armored vehicle until local residents got wind of the plan; the citizens of the quiet New Hampshire town of 23,000, which has only seen two murders since 1999, questioned why police needed such an expensive military-type truck and balked at the militarization of a local force; with federal counterterrorism money continuing to pour into local communities, lawmakers and residents across the country will have to grapple with the same issues as Keene and determine what kind of police force they want to have patrolling the streets
-
-
Cell phone hackers can track your location without your knowledge
Using a cheap phone, readily available equipment, and no direct help from a service provider, hackers could listen to unencrypted broadcast messages from cell phone towers
-
-
Minnesota becomes twenty-seventh state to fully join Secure Communities
Last week Minnesota joined the controversial federal immigration program known as Secure Communities, while critics continue to blast the program; Minnesota is the twenty-seventh state fully to join the now mandatory program designed to share fingerprint information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
-
-
New Mexico considers ending immigrant licenses
Lawmakers in New Mexico are considering a bill that would repeal a state law that permits undocumented immigrants to receive state driver’s licenses
-
-
Court: Malaysian woman can sue DHS over No-Fly List
A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Malaysian woman to file a lawsuit against DHS and the FBI for mistakenly placing her on the No-Fly List and arresting her at San Francisco International Airport in 2005; Rahinah Ibrahim, who has never been accused of any crimes, was arrested and placed in a holding cell for two hours
-
-
Statistical model removes barriers to using fingerprint evidence in court
Potentially important fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered in legal proceedings owing to shortcomings in the way it is reported; researchers have devised a statistical model to enable the weight of fingerprint evidence to be quantified, paving the way for its full inclusion in the criminal identification process
-
-
New crime-fighting methods to deter, nab terrorists
The goal of an emerging field in forensics — chemical forensics — is to use the technology of chemistry to trace weaponized toxic substances and related materials back to their source
-
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.