homeland security news stories on Newser

Brit Tourists Refused US Entry Over Twitter Jokes

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:10:26 CST

Note to would-be US tourists: Be careful with your Twitter jokes before setting foot on our soil. Two Brits were detained and then sent back home after landing in Los Angeles last Monday, all because the Department of Homeland Security was unhappy with two tweets one of them had posted...

TSA Screeners Begin Chatting Up Logan Travelers

John Johnson — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:00:05 CDT

If you're traveling through Logan anytime soon, be prepared for chatty TSA screeners. It's in the name of security, not politeness. As part of the agency's expanding strategy to try to weed out terrorists, all passengers in one of the Boston airport's terminals will have to answer questions from a...

Al-Qaeda Trying to Make Ricin Bombs for US Attacks

John Johnson — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:36:16 CDT

Osama bin Laden is gone and the main branch of al-Qaeda might be reeling, but its affiliates remain bent on attacking the US, reports the New York Times . Citing classified intelligence reports, it says the Yemen branch known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is hoarding castor beans to turn...

Awlaki, Not bin Laden, Now Top Terror Threat to US

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:25:58 CST

Osama bin Laden’s reign as the top terror threat to the US is over: According to the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he’s been overtaken by Anwar al-Awlaki . “I actually consider al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with al-Awlaki as a leader within that organization probably the most significant risk...

White House Cans the 'Danged' Fence

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:40:31 CST

After four years, about a billion bucks, and lots of yelling on both sides ("Complete the danged fence," anyone?), the White House is officially canning the US-Mexico border fence, reports the AP. Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano made the long-expected announcement yesterday, saying that there's no "one-size-fits-all" fix for border security,...

Napolitano: Homeland Security Is Working '24/7/364'

Matt Cantor — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 07:37:22 CST

The head of Homeland Security wants Americans to know her team is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year to protect us. So Janet Napolitano told Diane Sawyer in an interview last night, raising an important question: Which day is our anti-terror forces taking...

Airport Screenings Discreet— and Crucial

Matt Cantor — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:49:50 CST

Facing pressure over airport security measures, Janet Napolitano defends scanners and pat-downs in USA Today , asking Americans “for cooperation, patience and a commitment to vigilance in the face of a determined enemy.” New imaging machines are “safe, efficient, and protect passenger privacy” and have helped find weapons, the homeland security...

Angry Spy Crew Hits Back at WaPo Probe

Jane Yager — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:00:00 CDT

The intel community has struck back fast at a scathing Washington Post investigation that portrayed post-9/11 intelligence gathering as wastefully massive and out of control. "The fact is, the men and women of the intelligence community have improved our operations, thwarted attacks, and are achieving untold successes every day," National...

US Intel Gathering Insanely Out of Control

Kevin Spak — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:56:58 CDT

In the wake of 9/11, the US has built an unspeakably massive top-secret counter-terrorism apparatus that appears to be riddled with waste, according to a major investigative piece that some 20 journalists spent nearly two years working on for the Washington Post . The paper found that 1,271 government organizations,...