Homeland Security
Extra Extra Monday: Nebraska releases prisoners early; Koch brothers hold secret summit; Missile defense system proves unreliable
$40-billion missile defense system proves unreliable | Los Angeles Times The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, was supposed to protect Americans against a chilling new threat from “rogue states” such as North Korea and Iran. But a decade after it was declared operational, and after $40 billion in spending, the missile shield cannot be relied…
Read MoreStretch of Nogales, Ariz. a ‘flashpoint’ of rocking attacks
“A short stretch across the fence from this road, just a few hundred yards long, is perhaps the one spot along the entire U.S.-Mexico border where Border Patrol agents are most likely to be attacked with rocks and to respond with force,” the Arizona Republic reported. “Roughly one in every six incidents along the entire…
Read MoreFeds in Ajo for Border Patrol home cost audit
“Following an uproar by residents and some members of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into whether $15 million in tax dollars to build housing for Border Patrol agents here was improperly spent,” The Arizona Republic reports. Read the full story here.
Read MoreCompany Behind Snowden Vetting Did Check on D.C. Shooter
“The U.S. government contractor that vetted Edward Snowden, who leaked information about national surveillance programs, said it also performed a background check on the Washington Navy Yard shooter.”
Read MoreThe NYPD Division of Un-American Activities
After 9/11, the New York Police Department built in effect its own CIA — and its Demographics Unit delved deeper into the lives of citizens than did the NSA. The appointments of David Cohen, a former senior CIA officer, and Larry Sanchez, a CIA analyst, represented a major shift in mind-set at the NYPD. Cohen and Sanchez’s guiding idea was…
Read MoreA closer look at the black budget
The Washington Post takes an in-depth look at the “black budget” which spans over a dozen agencies to make up the National Intelligence Program. Wilson Andrews and Todd Lindeman use data visualizations to lay out what the $52.6 billion is spent on.
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Chemical safety data, post-9/11 veterans, NSA love interests
Back Home: The Enduring Battles Facing Post-9/11 Veterans | News21“In the 12 years since American troops first deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 2.6 million veterans have returned home to a country largely unprepared to meet their needs. The government that sent them to war has failed on many levels to fulfill its obligations…
Read MoreDocuments show NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year
The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to a report from The Washington Post. Based on an internal audi and other top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, The Washington Post…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Payday fees, ATF stings, inpatient bills and unpaid attorneys
The Koch Club | Investigative Reporting WorkshopKoch foundations gave more than $41 million to 89 nonprofits from 2007-2011, part of a wide effort at funding organizations with public policy, education and political interests that align with those of Koch Industries, run by Charles and David Koch. The Investigative Reporting Workshop examined Internal Revenue Service documents…
Read MoreFour of five drug busts by Border Patrol involve U.S. citizens
There’s no argument that Mexico-based crime organizations dominate drug smuggling into the United States. But the public message that the Border Patrol has trumpeted for much of the last decade, mainly through press releases about its seizures, has emphasized Mexican drug couriers, or mules, as those largely responsible for transporting drugs. It turns out that…
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