Mainstream News

U.S. waives Jones Act to help get fuel to Northeast

"The Department of Homeland Security's waiver of the Jones Act allows foreign-flagged vessels to begin shipping petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel, from the Gulf of Mexico to Northeastern ports effective immediately. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act, was created to support jobs in the maritime industry. It requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. waives Jones Act to help get fuel to Northeast

Local TSA workers headed to East Coast

"TSA workers are leaving Thursday to help Sandy survivors. They'll not only be helping the traveling public, but their fellow TSA screeners who are dealing with the aftermath of a storm in their personal lives. The extra help is needed because of the backlog of passengers the airlines have with all the canceled flights over the past three days, and because many of the TSA screeners in the New York City area can't make it to work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLocal TSA workers headed to East Coast

Hurricane Sandy: Local residents banned from barrier island up to 8 months

"Busloads of people were being escorted out, with several residents interviewed saying police and fire officials knocked on their doors, telling them they had five minutes to pack a bag before they had to leave. Residents will be able to return at some point, with police escorts, to gather their belongings. 'Overall, we’re in very very good shape because we have the people in place to do the job at the right time. We’ve pretty much got Seaside on lockdown and that’s what we’ve go to do to make it safe,' Seaside Height Police Chief Thomas Boyd said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHurricane Sandy: Local residents banned from barrier island up to 8 months

Low morale continues to plague Homeland Security

"Employees at the Homeland Security Department are less satisfied with their jobs on average than other federal workers, and DHS must do a better job figuring out why, according to a new report. Morale varies among DHS employees, depending on where they work, with job satisfaction and employee engagement particularly low at the Transportation Security Administration and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency compared to other federal workers, the Government Accountability Office pointed out in a new report based on data from the 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLow morale continues to plague Homeland Security

Homeland Security worker charged with soliciting kids on Facebook

"A 43-year-old Department of Homeland Security worker allegedly used Facebook to solicit more than 70 area children for sexual acts, according to authorities. Robert B. Rennie Jr., a Loudoun County resident, was charged Oct. 24 with five counts of using a computer to solicit a child under the age of 15, after a school resource officer was tipped off to suspicious activity on a Mercer Middle School student's Facebook page." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security worker charged with soliciting kids on Facebook

Pentagon to end exclusive deal with RIM’s Blackberry

"The US military and intelligence agencies have long preferred the Blackberry due to security concerns and had worried that Apple, Android and other smart phones lacked sufficient safeguards. The Canadian firm RIM has struggled to compete against the iPhone and devices that use Google’s Android system. Questions remain as to whether companies other than Blackberry can meet the strict encryption criteria employed by intelligence services within the Defense Department, including the eavesdropping National Security Agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon to end exclusive deal with RIM’s Blackberry

Feds to Bal Harbour: Hand over seized drug loot

"The U.S. Justice Department shut down Bal Harbour’s celebrated federal forfeiture program and ordered the police to return more than $4 million, slapping the agency with crushing sanctions for tapping into drug money to pay for first-class flights, luxury car rentals, and payments to informants across the country. For years, the small coastal town known for speed traps became one of the most successful in Florida, with plainclothes cops jetting across the nation toting bags stuffed with cash from investigations that had no connection to Bal Harbour — and making few arrests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds to Bal Harbour: Hand over seized drug loot

‘Prison Architect’ online game challenges players to build and maintain maximum security prisons

"Think of computer game management simulations, and you usually think of aspirational jobs – or at least the things we dreamed of doing as kids. Theme parks, railroads, game development studios, farms – all have featured in this popular genre since it flourished in the ’90s. But right now, there is something very different out there, something intriguing enough to attract over 10,000 players into its paid online alpha test. Developed by UK studio Introversion, the game challenges players to build their own functioning jails, from a variety of components. Cells, canteen, exercise areas and even morgues all have to be constructed." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Prison Architect’ online game challenges players to build and maintain maximum security prisons

Oakland police chief filtered out Occupy e-mail

"People who've e-mailed Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan over the past year about Occupy Oakland probably didn't get much of a response. That's because he used a spam filter to dismiss messages sent to him with 'Occupy Oakland' in the subject line, according to a federal court filing Monday. Same goes for the phrases 'stop the excessive police force,' 'respect the press pass' or 'police brutality.' Because of those filters, Jordan missed e-mails from other city officials and a federal court monitor, who oversees the department's compliance with court-ordered reforms stemming from a police abuse scandal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland police chief filtered out Occupy e-mail

Cop Tasers 10-Year-Old Boy After Refusing To Clean His Patrol Car

"A ten-year-old boy was tasered by a police officer with 50,000 volts of electricity on a school playground after refusing to clean the officer's car. The officer responded to the boy's sarcastic remark by saying, 'Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police.' He then tasered the boy, who weighs less than 100 pounds, in the chest causing him to black out. When the boy came to, instead of calling for emergency medical assistance, he took the boy to the principal's office. The boy, was left with scars resembling cigarette burns and has since been suffering from PTSD, often waking up in the middle of the night grabbing his chest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Tasers 10-Year-Old Boy After Refusing To Clean His Patrol Car