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Costs of no-bid contract at DHS balloon
DHS had to hit the ground running in 2003, so it awarded a no-bid contract for Booz Allen to get intelligence operations going; costs soared, and the original $2 million contract grew to $124 million
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States fail to use post-9/11 grants
Since 9/11, the federal government has allocated $16.04 billion in grants to states; trouble is, to date almost $5 billion of it has not been spent
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Senate, House DHS budget bills differ on programs, technologies
The House and Senate versions of the proposed DHS budget are similar in many ways, but also contain important differences on funding for programs, technologies
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TB victim receives TV
Facing a life of civil commitment, Russian-born Arizonan earns his creature comforts
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DHS to award $33.7 million in local first responder grants
Funds can be used for a host of different products, including IT, thermal imaging, and video surveillance; applications due 29 May
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Minor league baseball passes on DHS Ready Campaign
Over two-thirds of teams are not participating in what William Arkin calls a “sophomoric and wasteful” effort
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Democrats encourage DHS to pay bonuses
A departmental report card criticizes the agency for stinginess and suggests holding off on bonuses for supervisors; DHS morale an ongoing problem
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Virginia Tech attacks mobilize crisis industry
Flush with federal grants, psychologists use the Web to share data, best practices; American School Counselor Association reports a doubling of membership since 9/11
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State incubators see growth in the first responder market
Local technology initiatives take off nationwide, with planners attracted by low start up costs and big payoffs; South Carolina sees $14 in local economic activity for every dollar invested
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Attensity named a finalist for Red Herring's 100 Award
Nomination comes as company announces a deal to supply unstructured text management software to Virginia’s Chesterfield County Police Department
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Experts identify common post-attack response problems
Multi-disciplinary panel of blast-related injury experts takes a close look at common triage, scene security, and communications difficulties; researchers hope to identify best practices
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GAO raps Project 25 interoperability grants
Federal government has spent $2.15 billion on expensive but uncompatible radios; a lack of strategic vision
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LAPD rapped for lax oversight of anti-terror unit
Auditors criticize Anti-Terrorist Intelligence Section for failuring to properly screen officers; management criticized for failing to excercise appropriate supervision of this controversial unit
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Florida cities unveil technology wish lists
Cities from Miramar to Pembroke Pines get ready to spend their Urban Areas Security Initiative dollars; metal detectors and mobile traffic light manufacturers will find opportunities in the Sunshine State
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Body armor business booms
Companies such as Ceradyne and Armor Holding post large gains after DoD spends $5 billion in five years to protect troops; smaller companies find niche markets in custom-wear, police
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The long view
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”