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U.S. Supreme Court rejects environmentalists' challenge to border fence
DHS waived 19 federal laws so a fence could be built on the Arizona-Mexico border; two environmentalist groups challenged the ruling, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected challenge
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Air passnegers now must show an ID to be allowed on board
Until this past weekend, a passenger who agreed to secondary search of his or her body and baggage at airport check-points was allowed to board even if they did not have — or refused to show — an ID; this policy was changed on Saturday
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First conviction under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996
Chinese-born software engineer sentenced for stealing industrial and military secrets on behalf of the PRC; first conviction under a 1996 law for misappropriating a trade secret with the intent to benefit a foreign government
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China in campaign to impriove coastal water, inland waterways security
China has a long coast and many rivers and canals; there are about 200,000 boats and ship plowing these waters, the the Chinese authorities want them to be able to communicate more effectively with security and law enforcement; U.K. company helps
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New biometric measures: Birth marks, scars, and tatoos
Michigan State researcher develops a system that could allow police to identify individuals by matching marks on their body with those stored in a computer database
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IG: DHS inaction cost millions
DHS Inspector General says DHS failed to implement more than 1,000 recommendations; FEMA largest offender
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Shipment of restricted technology to India brings 35-month sentence
A South Carolina businessmen is sentenced the three years in prison for smuggling restricted technology to India; technology used in India’s space and ballistic-missile programs
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New Air Force Cyber Command politically savvy
One way to secure the Hill’s backing — and bucks — for any new program is to spread it over as many states and congressional districts as possible; AFCYBER may be a new outfit, but its leaders are perfectly aware of this old political truth
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U.S. remains the dominant leader in science and technology worldwide
Perceptions to the contrary notwithstanding, the United States remains the world’s undisputed leader in science and technology; the key factor enabling U.S. science and engineering workforce to grow: inflow of foreign students, scientists, and engineers
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Congress increases DHS budget
Congress adds 6 percent — or $2.3 billion — to DHS budget over President Bush’s request; $950 million added for state homeland security grants, the same as last year, and $750 million above the requested level
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DHS launches 3 transportation initiatives
The Global Entry pilot program, the Passenger Service Program, and an expanded Model Ports Initiative, intended to strengthen customer service at U.S. ports of entry
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Tom Daschle calls for greater U.S.-U.K. bioterror cooperation
Daschle: “The threat of bioterrorism will increase exponentially because biological agents used to carry out such attacks will continue to become more accessible and more technologically advanced”
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Botnet cyberattack costs Japanese company 300 million yen
There is a new type of blackmail in Japan: Hackers use botnets in denial-of-service attacks on companies’ computers — ending the attacks only when hefty ransom is paid
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FEMA will be aggregator/gateway for CMAS
FEMA said it will be the aggregator and gateway for the Commercial Mobile Alert System, a voluntary nationwide emergency alert system
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IAEA to inspect bombed Syrian site
The UN nuclear agency has said Syria will allow inspectors to visit the country to investigate allegations that it was building a nuclear reactor; Israel destroyed facility in an air raid on 6 September
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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.