Transportation

Sensors help border agents thwart $2.6 million ecstasy smuggling
One of DHS secretary Janet Napolitano’s action directives calls for tightening security along the U.S.-Canada border; CBP reports that sensors installed along parts of the border already enhance security
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Accord reached on intensified campaign against Somali piracy
Nine countries around the Gulf of Aden sign an accord enhancing cooperation in the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden
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Airport screening machines to stimulate the U.S. economy?
A $500 million piece of the proposed economic stimulus plan
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Ireland examines need for radioactive waste facility near Shannon
Terrorists may try to smuggle nuclear materials into the United States through Ireland; Irish government will build radioactive waste facility near Shannon airport in case radiological screening of aircraft bound for the United States discovers such material
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NASA working on sonic boom-less jets
Sonic booms are one of the major downsides of supersonic jets; they may not matter much over the battlefield, but are a hindrance in civilian aviation — the noise was sufficient to restrict the Mach-2 Concorde to subsonic speeds when over land
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Midwest states critical of DHS's Large Aircraft Security Program
In the large, sparsely populated states of the U.S. Midwest, many businesses rely on small aircraft transportation to get from here to there; Kansas is also home to general aviation manufacturers Cessna Aircraft Company and Hawker Beechcraft
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U.S. Border Protection agency to hire 11,000 in 2009
CBP launches National Career Day around the United States to announce CBP’s goal for hiring approximately 11,000 frontline and mission and operations support positions in 2009
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Napolitano issues additional action directives
DHS secretary Napolitano issues additional Action Directives on cyber security and northern border strategy
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Smiths Detection shows active mm-wave detection system
Passive mm-wave detection systems pick up the mm-wave heat energy emitted by the body, which is used as a background reference point; active systems transmit mm-wave into the detection area to boost the level of energy overall, give a better return and a more detailed image
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N.Y. policeman illegally obtains, uses U.S. terror watch-list information
NYPD sergeant uses a colleague username and password to access the FBI terrorist watch-list; he then obtains information about an individual on the list — an individual locked in a child custody fight with a friend of the sergeant — and provide the information to the friend’s lawyer
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U.S. worried that Mexico may be on verge of collapse
With drug-related killings doubling in 2008 over 2007, and with drug lords becoming more brazen in their attacks on the state, the U.S. Joint Forces Command warns of the potential for “rapid and sudden collapse” of the Mexican government
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Napolitano issues first action directives
On her first day in office, new DHS secretary issues five action directives centering on protection of critical infrastructure, transportation, and on better intelligence sharing among federal, state, and local levels of government
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ETA targets Spanish high-speed rail
After assassinating a high official involved in building the high-speed rail connecting three Basque cities to Madrid, ETA, the Basque separatists group, warns it will use terror to stop the project
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Freight train derails near Chicago
Seventeen cars are derailed near a suburb west of Chicago; two of the cars contained molten sulfur, and authorities treat the accident as hazmat event
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Atlanta's small airports bristle at security plan
DHS wants small U.S. airports to enact security measures; owners and operators of these airports criticize some aspects of the plan
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