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Houston computer forensics lab accredited
Newly accredited Houston lab expands Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory Network (RCFL), a national network of sixteen FBI-sponsored digital forensics laboratories and training centers devoted entirely to the scientific examination of digital evidence in support of criminal investigations
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U.S. may seek more data on people flying in from E.U.
DHS indicates that an agreement with the Spanish government on a pilot program that identifies high-risk travelers before they board aircraft bound for the United States may serve as a model for similar arrangements with other EU countries
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Hair examination can help in tracing terrorists
U.K. researchers devise a test which uses laser to determine the recent whereabouts of an individual by analyzing hair strands
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Mexican drug violence threat major concern to U.S.
DHS assistant secretary Alan Bersin: “We take the threat of spillover violence very seriously… We’re prepared to deal with it in the event it occurs. There are contingency plans to respond”
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Hamas: Gaza youth "corrupted" by Israeli aphrodisiac chewing gum
Hamas charges Israeli intelligence with spreading aphrodisiac chewing gum in Gaza in order to increase Gaza youth’s sex drive and thus destabilize the Palestinian territory
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Expert consider New Jersey's disaster preparedness
State officials and medical professionals say they are continuously preparing for such events and other disasters.
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Middle East peace may be closer as Israel successfully tests Iron Dome
Peace between Israel and the Palestinians depends on Israel feeling secure enough to make deep territorial concessions to the Palestinians in the West Bank; Israel has been reluctant to make such concessions because of the security risks they entail; the successful tests of Iron Dome, a defensive system against short-range rockets, may ease Israel’s security concerns, making concessions more likely
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U.S. secret service forms three new task forces
New task forces will deal with electronic crimes, and the agency says the partnerships will bring together law enforcement, academia, and private sector
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Senate moves to tighten federal buildings security
The GAO reported that undercover investigators were able to smuggle explosives-making materials into federal buildings, then assemble explosive devices — all without security guards being aware of what was taking place under their noses; the Congress is unhappy
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Senate increases DHS 2010 budget by $300 million
Senate DHS budget version highlights difference with House over immigration; among other things, the Senate bill would require the Obama administration to complete 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the Mexican border by the end of 2010 — disallowing using only virtual fencing and vehicle barriers for border protection
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The Obama administration would require federal contractors to use E-Verify
The Obama administration said it would support a George Bush administration regulation that would only award federal contracts to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization
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Cities need to prepare for a home-made nuke
An explosion of ten kiloton nuclear bomb in a city would be disastrous; as catastrophic as such an attack would be, it would not level an entire city, and a timely response could save many lives
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Experts: local and regional approach better for addressing radioactive waste
The Obama administration has stopped funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, so experts say it is now time for a regional and local approach to solving the nuclear waste problem
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DHS's Einstein 3 plans raise questions
DHS wants to use Einstein 3 to bolster cybersecurity; the deployment of this powerful program has its critics, though
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Napolitano tours Project Seahawk
Project SeaHawk was established by Congress in 2003 as a collaborative initiative designed to bring multiple agencies together to protect Port Charleston in South Carolina — and show-case the ability of different agencies to share information and coordinate maritime response efforts
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The long view
East Texas Sits on a Goldmine of Lithium, but Questions Loom Over How the State Will Regulate Mining and Production
As the U.S. pushes to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, Texas companies prepare to capitalize on the state’s emerging lithium industry.
The Justice Department Lets 90-Year-Old Regulations on Silencers Fade Away
The Trump administration let a judge block longstanding registration requirements on silencers and short-barreled guns like sawed-off shotguns. But the new legal landscape is murky.
The Long Afterlife of QAnon Conspiracy Theories Haunting American Politics
Started on the online forum website 4chan in 2017, QAnon spread false, far-right theories on social media about a shadowy cabal of satanic pedophiles among the political elite, which Donald Trump was purportedly fighting alongside a mysterious ally named “Q.” While Q stopped posting in 2022, the movement did not disappear. Its conspiracy theories seeped from the margins into mainstream American politics, and the movement’s vocabulary quickly began to appear in official government circles at the start of Trump’s second term. Official uses of Q language have invigorated conspiracy theorists to advance new theories, undermining public health, governance, and civil society.
Sharia, Freedom, and the American Way of Life: A Response to Daniel Brubaker
Sharia alarmists see the illiberal elements in Islamic law as a reason to outlaw all of it — in fact, they call for outlawing not just Islamic law, but more categorically “today’s Islam,” as incompatible with American liberty. But this reasoning could be turned against nearly any group. Reformist arguments have not yet won the day in Islam, but they are being seriously discussed among Muslims around the world. If they eventually do prevail, it will be in part because more Muslims come to see freedom as a noble and genuine ideal worth embracing. And that, in turn, will be possible only if freedom is understood to mean not only freedom from Islam, but freedom of Islam as well.
Can the Midterms Be 'Stolen' On Jan. 3? It's Complicated.
President Trump’s demands in 2020 that Vice President Pence do “the right thing” have prompted speculation that he or his allies will attempt a similar gambit in 2026. Jan. 3 is the day the old Congress ends and the new one begins: Only the swearing-in process still stands between the winners and their seats. This vulnerability lately has filled some commentators and activists with fear. Panic about a ‘rogue clerk’ is likely unwarranted—but it’s worth paying attention.
Nuclear Weapons: The Global Outlook in An Unstable New Era
The stalled US–Iran negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US-Saudi nuclear agreement have put nuclear weapons back in the spotlight. But the threat of nuclear breakout has been growing for several decades.