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Court: Malaysian woman can sue DHS over No-Fly List
A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Malaysian woman to file a lawsuit against DHS and the FBI for mistakenly placing her on the No-Fly List and arresting her at San Francisco International Airport in 2005; Rahinah Ibrahim, who has never been accused of any crimes, was arrested and placed in a holding cell for two hours
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New crime-fighting methods to deter, nab terrorists
The goal of an emerging field in forensics — chemical forensics — is to use the technology of chemistry to trace weaponized toxic substances and related materials back to their source
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Legal expert: NDAA does not comply with Constitution
Shayana Kadidal, the senior managing attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, recently spoke with Homeland Security NewsWire’s executive editor Eugene K. Chow; in the interview Kadidal discusses the legal challenges of closing Guantanamo Bay, the legal consequences of the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the Obama administration’s position on transferring detainees
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Terrorists focus on five U.S. urban counties, but rural areas not exempt
Nearly a third of all terrorist attacks from 1970 to 2008 occurred in just five metropolitan U.S. counties, but terrorist events continue to occur in rural areas as well; there are 3,143 counties in the United States; researchers found 65 of these counties to be hot-spots for terrorism, that is, each of these counties experienced a greater than the average number of terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2008
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Report finds Aero aids torture by transporting suspects
A recently released report by the University of North Carolina’s law school has reinvigorated protests against Aero Contractors Ltd. for its alleged role in transporting terrorism suspects to secret foreign prisons where they are interrogated and possibly tortured
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Cameron calls for human rights reforms to aid counterterror efforts
Following the European Court of Human Rights ruling that the United Kingdom could not deport radical Islamic militant Abu Qatada to Jordan, Prime Minister David Cameron blasted the court stating that human rights laws were in danger of becoming “distorted” and “discredited” because of the court’s decisions
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Animal rights activists set fourteen cattle trucks ablaze
Earlier this month fourteen cattle-transportation trailers were set on fire at California’s largest feed yard by an animal rights group; following the attack, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) released a statement that indicated an anonymous group of activists had executed the attack against the “horrors of factory farming”
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Torture of USS Cole suspect becomes issue in trial
At a pretrial hearing, before a Guantanamo Bay military commission, the defense lawyer for one of the accused USS Cole bombers, said his client had been so traumatized by years of torture that he could not meet effectively with lawyers while still shackled
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In death al Awlaki lives on
In a recent security bulletin, DHS is warning local officials that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is still actively seeking to recruit Americans, encouraging them to commit acts of terrorism; in a posthumous video released in December, the radical American-born imam Anwar al Awlaki continues to spread his ideologies, stating “jihad against America is binding”
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FedEx fined $370,000 for export violations
Shipping giant FedEx has agreed to pay $370,000 in fines for violating anti-terrorism export measures
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Minnesota shop to continue cash transfers to Somalia
Following the uproar caused by the announcement that a Minnesota bank would stop transferring money to Somalia out of terrorism concerns, a local Minnesota business has agreed to continue the cash transfers
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Israel takes out another Iranian nuclear scientist
Yet another Iranian scientist associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been killed earlier today: Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who was the deputy director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was killed when a “sticky” bomb was attached to his car by two men on a motorcycle; in the last two years, Israel’s Mossad has taken out four leading Iranian nuclear scientists; there are reports that this latest strike was a joint Mossad-MEK operation
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Morocco changes offer U.S. “very important opportunity”
Homeland Security NewsWire’s Executive Editor Eugene K. Chow recently had the opportunity to chat with Robert M. Holley, the executive director of the Moroccan American Center for Policy; in their interview Holley discusses the implications of Morocco’s recent historic elections, the likely policies of the newly elected moderate Islamist party, and the broader consequences of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Libya
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British military gears up to secure 2012 Olympic Games
As London gears up for the 2012 Olympic Games, event organizers and government officials have spared no expense on security measures to ensure the safety of the hundreds of thousands of athletes, spectators, and VIPS attending the six week event which begins on 27 July
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State Department launches new Bureau of Counterterrorism
Last week, the State Department announced that its counterterrorism office has been upgraded to a “full-fledged bureau”
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More headlines
The long view
Southport Attacks: Why the U.K. Needs a Unified Approach to All Violent Attacks on the Public
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion in this area, and made clear the need for a basic reframing of how we understand murderous violence against the public today.
Mis- and Disinformation Trends and Tactics to Watch in 2025
Predicting how extremists may weaponize false narratives requires an understanding of the strategies that allow them to spread most effectively.
Evidence-Based Solutions to Protect Against Mass Attacks
Mass attacks like the New Year’s Day incident in New Orleans stir public emotion and have tragic consequences. While the investigations into this case will take time, we know from our work that there are things law enforcement and the public can do to mitigate and perhaps stop mass casualty events.