• Local police not required to detain illegals for ICE

    Internal DHS documents reveal local law enforcement agencies are not required to hold undocumented immigrants when requested by the federal government; a coalition of groups against the controversial Secure Communities program obtained a total of three documents under a Freedom of Information request that clarified the policy of detainers for local law enforcement agencies

  • Detroit police push for ShotSpotter

    Detroit police chief Ralph Godbee is pushing the city to purchase a $2.6 million automated gun-shot detecting system that he believes will help reduce violent crime; last summer, Detroit was hit by one of its most violent periods in recent history with 254 shootings that left fifty-two people dead in two months

  • Rumor of war: Is Israel about to attack Iran?

    There is an increasingly heated debate in Israel, accompanied by leaks from high ups in the government, about a coming Israeli military attack on Iran; four developments have created a climate more hospitable to an Israeli military action: the progress Iran has made in its effort to build nuclear weapons — and the exposure of this progress in an IAEA report due out this week; changes at the top of the Israeli national security establishment — changes which saw individuals more favorable to an attack on Iran replace individuals who were adamantly opposed to military action; growing understanding between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan; and the coming elections in the United States; these developments have convinced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense minister Ehud Barak — both proponents of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities — that a window has been opened for an Israeli military action against Iran

  • New York police officers equipped and ready to detect dirty bombs

    Law enforcement officials operating in the New York City region are trained and equipped to intercept dirty bomb threats

  • China and Russia using cyberspies to steal U.S. secrets

    A new Congressional report concludes that Chinese and Russian hackers backed by their respective states are stealing U.S. trade and technology secrets to boost their economic development; the report, titled “Foreign Spies Stealing U.S. Economic Secrets in Cyberspace” and written by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, found that foreign hackers can easily gather large quantities of sensitive data without being detected because so much of it is stored on computers

  • EU and U.S. hold joint cybersecurity drill

    On Thursday, the United States and the European Union held their first joint cybersecurity exercise in Brussels, Belgium; the exercise, dubbed “Cyber Atlantic 2011,” was aimed at strengthening efforts to protect international critical infrastructures

  • Mexican senators to discuss immigration law with Georgia lawmakers

    In an effort to curtail the passage of harsh state immigration laws, a group of Mexican senators announced on Tuesday their plans to meet with lawmakers from several states including Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona; the senators hope to convince state lawmakers that illegal immigrants are generally law-abiding individuals who contribute to the U.S. economy

  • Cyberterrorism - The weapon of choice a decade after 9/11

    Scott Schober, the president and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, warns of the growing threat from cyberterrorists; he writes that in ten years, “the terrorists’ weapon of choice may not necessarily be a 187,000 pound 767 jet loaded with fuel targeting” New York’s skyline, instead it will be pajama-clad hackers taking down an electrical grid, causing mass confusion in the aviation system, or targeting a nuclear power plant’s SCADA control system to create mass panic and chaos for millions

  • Texas county police buys drone that can carry weapons

    The police in Montgomery County — and area north of Houston, Texas — is the first local police in the United States to deploy a drone that can carry weapons; the police says it will be used in chases of escaping criminals and tracking drug shipments

  • "The Dragon" makes life difficult for first responders

    For emergency personnel in Tennessee, responding to calls on “The Dragon,” an unforgiving 11.1 mile stretch of highway, is no easy task; the Dragon consists of 318 sharp curves through hilly terrain making it treacherous for drivers and a nightmare for first responders; each year there are several fatal crashes and since 2005 the desolate road has been the scene of at least forty injury crashes a year

  • Push for military tribunals for terrorists

    Republican lawmakers in Congress are pushing to include a provision in the 2012 military authorization bill which would require that terrorists who are not U.S. citizens who are caught plotting against the United States, would be in military custody and face military tribunals, even if they are caught in the United States. The Obama administration opposes such a requirement.

  • Anwar al-Awlaki and the 9/11 plotters

    Representative Peter king (R-New York) wrote to Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), to inquire whether 9/11-related detainees being held by the United States are been interrogated about the possible role U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awalki, who was killed by a U.S. drone on 30 September, played in the 9/11 attacks.

  • U.S. expands drone war to Horn of Africa

    Representative Peter king (R-New York) wrote to Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), to inquire whether 9/11-related detainees being held by the United States are been interrogated about the possible role U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awalki, who was killed by a U.S. drone on 30 September, played in the 9/11 attacks.

  • Dallas County homeland security director fired

    Last week, in a sudden announcement, Dallas County’s homeland security director Lisa Chambers was fired; Chambers believes the decision may have been political, pointing to her refusal to conduct a sweep of Dapheny Fain’s home for surveillance devices following an FBI raid in June

  • Lawmakers seek to protect NY’s growing nanotech industry from terrorists

    Last week during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Charles Schumer (D – New York) strongly urged DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to secure New York’s growing nanotechnology industry against a Mexican terrorist group that has attacked nanotechnology firms around the world