• U.S. considering revamping wiretap laws

    The White House is reviewing an FBI plan to overhaul surveillance laws in order to make it easier for law enforcement officials to wiretap citizens using the Internet to communicate rather than phone services.

  • Master “remote” control for all military unmanned systems

    Historically, unmanned systems have been developed and fielded as individual items built by different vendors, which has led to increased spending, from $284 million in 2002 to more than $3 billion in fiscal year 2010. Researchers have developed something similar to a master remote control for separate components of differing brands of entertainment systems: it is called the Common Control System, and it will control military ground, air, and undersea unmanned systems across the services.

  • Japan has an earthquake early-warning system, but California is yet to deploy one

    The 2011 Fukushima earthquake claimed many lives, but at least some lives were saved by an early warning system designed ten years ago at Caltech and deployed in Japan in 2007. The system gives people about a minute to prepare for the impending tremor. California is yet to deploy the system.

  • Privacy, cost concerns check drive for more surveillance cameras

    Law enforcement agencies in cities across the United States are campaigning to increase surveillance on city streets, impressed with the effectiveness of video surveillance in helping the Boston Police identify the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings. This campaign to expand law enforcement’s surveillance power is likely to run into stiff opposition, as Americans have proven suspicious of allowing the government powers which would infringe on privacy. Expanding surveillance networks also costs money, and these are tight budgetary times.

  • Texas becomes gun-friendlier

    Texas is already considered one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation, and on Saturday it became even more so when the State House passed twelve different gun bill which would make it easier to own and carry guns in the state. Some of the bills – for example, the one which would punish police officers or government officials by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine if they attempt to enforce federal firearms limits in Texas – may be found to be unconstitutional.

  • U.S. sharply disputes UN official's claim that Syrian rebels used chemical weapons

    The United States sharply challenged claims by a UN official – who is not a member of the UN investigative commission looking into to the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria – that the rebels, rather than the Assad regime, used sarin nerve gas near the city of Aleppo on 19 March. The UN investigative commission looking into the incident distanced itself from the official’s comments.

  • Iowa sex offenders allowed to keep guns

    A law enacted two years ago has made it possible for more than fifty sex offenders in Iowa to apply for gun permits. Sheriffs and some lawmakers are uncomfortable with the situation, but advocates for sex offender rehabilitation say such offenders are not necessarily dangerous criminals.

  • Hollow point ammunition is more effective and safer to use

    While there is a legitimate concern about the number of rounds purchased by DHS, there should be no questions about the department’s decision to purchase hollow point rounds. Hollow point rounds do not explode on impact, but rather expand on contact. They are less likely to penetrate completely through a body and strike innocent bystanders. Hollow point rounds are standard ammunition of law enforcement agencies in the United States.

  • Heavy Israeli air strikes near Damascus destroy Iranian missile shipment to Hezbollah

    Israel launched heavy airstrikes Friday and Sunday on a military base near Damascus, destroying shipments of sophisticated Iranian Fateh-110 missiles to Hezbollah. These were the second and third such strikes in as many months. Israel’s first strike on Syrian targets took place on 30 January. That strike destroyed advanced SA-17 surface-to-air missiles the Assad regime was trying to ship to Hezbollah on orders of Iran.

  • Woman who killed N.J. trooper in 1973 makes the FBI’s most wanted list

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    Joanne Chesimard, a former member of the Black Liberation Army who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, has become the first woman to make the FBI’s most wanted list. The reward  for her capture and arrest has doubled to $2 million. In 1979 Chesimard escaped jail, and since 1984 has been living in Cuba, using the name Assata Shakur.

  • Delaware develops comprehensive schools safety program

    Delaware has become the first state to develop a comprehensive school safety model which includes a central portal for school safety plans. A Web-based portal to serve as a repository for all public school safety plans in the state will be developed, and will become accessible to school safety teams in time for the new school year this fall.

  • Three of Dzhokhar’s friends charged with destroying evidence (Updated)

    Three college students have been arrested on suspicion that they helped Dzhokhar Tsarnaev destroy evidence which would have provided details about his and his brother’s preparations for the marathon bombing. One of the three then lied to police when asked about their actions. The three are likely to face charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice. One of three will also be charged with lying to federal investigators.

  • GAO investigates DHS ammo purchases

    DHS is again facing questions about the department’s large ammunition purchases, at the same time that a bill is being introduced which would limit the amount of ammo a government agency can legally buy.

  • Preserving biological evidence

    A new NIST/NIJ handbook provides forensic laboratories, law enforcement agencies, and the judicial system with state-of-the-art guidelines and recommended best practices for preserving biological evidence so that it is available at any time to solve “cold cases,” confirm the guilt of criminals or exonerate the innocent.

  • Central Washington State proposed for a UAV research and testing site

    The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 enacted by Congress calls for establishing six unmanned aircraft system research and testing sites in the United States. A consortium of Washington State-based organizations will soon submit the final section of a proposal to site an unmanned aircraft system research and testing facility in central Washington. If successful, the proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will result in the FAA naming the Pacific Northwest Unmanned Aerial Systems Flight Center as one of six U.S. testing facilities later this year.