Latest Department of Homeland Security Stories
By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly five years after the September 11 attacks, most cities and states in the United States are still unprepared for a major catastrophe, a Department of Homeland Security report showed on Friday. The study showed that Washington, one of the targets of the September 11 attack, was among the worst-prepared regions in the country for a catastrophic event. Louisiana and the city of New Orleans -- both battered by deadly Hurricane Katrina last...
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $32 billion for domestic security programs next year as some lawmakers seethed over their inability to stop funding cuts this year for big cities seen as high-risk targets for terrorist attacks. By a vote of 389-9, the House approved the fiscal 2007 spending bill that would fund Department of Homeland Security programs, including screenings at airports and shipping ports and immigration...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Hollywood producer who claimed he was creating a TV show about the Department of Homeland Security pleaded guilty on Tuesday to swindling dozens of investors out of millions of dollars. Joseph Medawar, 44, spent much of the $3.4 million he raised from about 50 people on luxury cars and a Beverly Hills mansion for himself and the woman billed as the future star of the show "DHS," according to court papers. Medawar, who was arrested last September, pleaded...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. government officials allowed concerns about terrorism to overshadow the dangers posed by natural disasters after the September 11 attacks, even though such disasters occur more frequently and are not preventable, The New York Times reported on Saturday citing a new Department of Homeland Security report. The report concluded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, roundly criticized for its slow and often ineffective response to Hurricane Katrina last...
By Jesse Hiestand LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A former Los Angeles resident has been indicted in connection with a scheme to scam investors by getting them to fund a nonexistent television series about the Department of Homeland Security, prosecutors said. Alison Heruth was arrested Friday at her home in Minnesota on suspicion of lying to authorities about her knowledge of the scam run by her longtime associate, Joseph Medawar, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal Department of Homeland Security quickly became overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina despite having personnel and supplies in place, Secretary Michael Chertoff told a Senate panel on Wednesday. In testimony prepared for the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Chertoff acknowledged that he was accountable and accepted responsibility for the department's performance in responding to the catastrophe. "We now know our capabilities were simply overwhelmed by...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration needs to strengthen the security of domestic air cargo, Congressional investigators said in a report released on Wednesday. With six billion pounds of air cargo transported annually on passenger aircraft within the United States, the Government Accountability Office said the Transportation Security Administration should complete an assessment of air cargo vulnerabilities. The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, also recommended that...
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A research team from the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories has discovered that common anthrax sampling methods need improvement. The research shows that more deadly spores remain after decontamination than previously believed. The team, led by researcher Gary Brown, spent a year looking at sampling processes used to determine the number of viable organisms existing on surfaces following a biological attack with agents such as anthrax....
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives passed a $30.8 billion bill on Thursday to fund domestic security amid criticism from some lawmakers that the Department of Homeland Security was failing to fulfill its post-September 11 mission. The fiscal 2006 spending bill now goes to the Senate for final passage before being sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. It cleared the House 347-70. "The overall commitment to homeland security is very...
By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government investigators said on Wednesday they had begun reviewing contracts awarded to rebuild the hurricane-wrecked Gulf Coast but said they needed more money and resources to do the job. With $60 billion already allocated by Congress for the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina, inspectors will check for waste and fraud, especially in contracts awarded without competition, deals to use luxury cruise boats for housing and deals for borrowing...
