From Tulsa World, on the balance between security and privacy:

How does a country that offers its citizens more freedom than any other country in the world track and defeat domestic terrorists without trampling all over the rights of its citizens?

And how can Americans who are afforded such precious rights turn against the country that protects them and their rights?

How could a person betray his country and his family?

Those are difficult questions and ones that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security face. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently told the nation's governors that homegrown terrorists are becoming as big a concern as international terrorists.

She also said that the government does not have a good handle on how to prevent someone from becoming a violent extremist.

Prevention by the government is a difficult if not impossible task. The best deterrent is education and family upbringing. But young people have become radicalized for as long as there have been young people. Most grow out of it or channel their energies in peaceful manners.

But there will always be an element that becomes violent. And there is not much chance of stopping that. Thwarting that element is difficult because of the freedom that Americans enjoy. We have access to travel and free speech and religion that many countries don't have. If citizens want to travel to Yemen or Pakistan they are relatively free to do so.

What they do while in a foreign country is their own business as a U.S. citizen.

As long as they remain a citizen, they can return to this country.

From the Associated Press, on Saturday's earthquake in Chile:

The U.S. "will be there" if Chile asks for rescue and recovery help after a powerful earthquake struck the South American nation, President Barack Obama said Saturday.

He also warned people in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the West Coast to heed the instructions of local authorities about evacuations and other measures in advance of a tsunami moving across the Pacific Ocean.

"We can't control nature, but we can and must be prepared for disaster when it strikes," he said in a statement at the White House.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning - its highest alert - for Hawaii. The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii late afternoon EST. A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area.

Before he spoke, Obama had a 20-minute conference call with staff and Cabinet members who updated him on conditions in Chile and on the tsunami. Participants included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

"The United States stands ready to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts and we have resources that are positioned to deploy should the Chilean government ask for our help," Obama said. Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, said her government has not asked for assistance from other countries.

From the Dallas Morning News, on an ICE sweep in the southwest:

The nation's top immigration cop said Friday that the Obama administration is stepping up enforcement against immigrants who commit crimes and will move aggressively against employers who hire unauthorized labor.

John Morton, U.S. assistant secretary of homeland security, said Friday that a three-day sweep in Texas netted 284 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions.

This week, 284 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions were arrested in Texas in a three-day operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, said John Morton, the assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security who oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Of the total, 159 had convictions for violent crimes or serious drug offenses and about 119 were from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. About 80 arrests were made in San Antonio.

"These are not people we want walking our streets in Texas," Morton said at news conference in Dallas. "First and foremost, we are going to focus on criminal offenders."

But the enforcement, which ICE called a "surge," raised the question of why illegal immigrants with criminal convictions hadn't already been deported after serving time behind bars.

Public Events
11 AM EST
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas will administer the Oath of Allegiance and deliver congratulatory remarks to 50 candidates for citizenship during a special naturalization ceremony with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C.

2 PM Local
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton will join Cambodian National Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun to sign a Letter of Intent to enhance cooperation on investigations related to the sexual exploitation of children
Cambodia National Police Headquarters
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

6 PM Local
ICE Assistant Secretary Morton will participate in a media availability to discuss the U.S. and Cambodian law enforcement cooperation to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.
U.S. Embassy
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

From USA Today, on Trusted Traveler:

The U.S. government trusts Ricardo Castro as a customer. And it wants more like him.

Castro, an oil industry executive who travels internationally and lives in Houston and Singapore, signed up as a member of Global Entry, a so-called trusted traveler program launched two years ago by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Designed for international travelers who are "trusted" or considered low terrorism risks, it promises quicker U.S. Customs clearance at automated kiosks.

Consider Castro a happy customer. No longer having to stand in line with large crowds, Castro says he clears customs usually in about a minute and has never seen a line at the kiosks.

As international arrival passengers rush to fill up lines at customs, "I smile and keep on walking," says Castro, who uses Global Entry about twice a month, mostly at Houston, Miami and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Trusted traveler programs have grown steadily in recent years despite skeptics who worry about surrendering personal information for machine-dependent processes run by the government. The initiative has three components for the public: Global Entry for international arrivals; Nexus for USA-Canada border crossing; and Sentri for USA-Mexico borders.

From The Washington Post, on temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants living in the United States:

More than 12,000 Haitians have applied for the chance to stay and work legally in the U.S. while their country struggles to recover from last month's earthquake.

The applications have rolled in, even though the July 20 application deadline is months away, said Bill Wright, spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department.

The chance to work is critical for many of the immigrants who are hoping to help families trying to overcome the magnitude-7 earthquake that leveled parts of Haiti.

Because it is unsafe to return the illegal immigrants to Haiti, DHS said it would grant eligible immigrants temporary protected status. Successful applicants can remain and work for 18 months without fear of deportation or detention.

From Federal Computer Week, on Caryn Wagner, the newly confirmed DHS Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis:

The Homeland Security Department has a new intelligence chief to lead the department's program to use information technology to share homeland security-related information with state and local officials.

The Senate confirmed Caryn Wagner to be DHS' undersecretary for intelligence and analysis by unanimous consent Feb. 11. Wagner's first day as head of DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) is today.

DHS is the lead federal agency for state and local intelligence fusion centers that are owned and operated by states and municipalities and serve as a central node for the federal government's efforts for sharing terrorism-related information with state and local officials.

Wagner has served on the senior faculty at the Intelligence Security Academy, an organization that provides training and consulting services related to national security, according to DHS. She has also held a variety of senior government intelligence jobs.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From the Washington Post, a video interview with Craig Fugate:

From the Associated Press, on a big haul for CBP:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized nearly a ton of marijuana hidden in a banana shipment at a cargo facility near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Officials say a drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the stash Monday when the Mexican truck driver applied to cross into the U.S. at the Otay Mesa cargo facility.
Officers say they opened the boxes in the truck and found 235 packages of pot worth an estimated $1.1 million.

Leadership Events
10:30 AM EST
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks during an open session meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Council
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Empire Ballroom
109 East 42nd Street
New York, N.Y.

Public Events
11:30 AM CDT
ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton will participate in a media availability to announce the results of an alien smuggling operation in the Houston area
ICE Building
Mineral’s Management Conference Room
4141 Sam Houston Parkway East
Houston, Texas

2 PM EST
Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Response and Recovery Associate Administrator William Carwile will testify about FEMA’s urban search and rescue program in Haiti before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
2167 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

2 PM EST
S&T Deputy Under Secretary Bradley Buswell will testify about the Department’s efforts to develop the next generation of screening technologies before the House Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
2318 Rayburn House Office Buildings
Washington, D.C.

4:30 PM CDT
ICE Deputy Assistant Secretary Alonzo Pena is hosting a media availability with the South Texas media to discuss results from a cross border summit.
University of Texas-Brownsville
UT Business Building, 2nd Floor
Salon Casi
Brownsville, Texas

From Parade Magazine, on the Coast Guard's efforts to thwart trafficking in the Eastern Pacific:

Every day, a high-stakes battle affecting the security and well-being of millions of Americans is played out far off our shores. The conflict occurs across more than 6 million square miles of ocean--an area larger than the size of the contiguous United States--where smugglers transport cocaine and other illegal drugs from South America. Their cargo is ultimately intended for sale in our cities and towns---but not if the U.S. Coast Guard stops it first.

"Cocaine trafficking is the leading drug threat to the U.S.," said Michael Walther, director of the National Drug Intelligence Center. Half the police departments surveyed in the country identify cocaine as the drug most contributing to violent crimes, according to Walther. After marijuana, cocaine is the second-most-used illegal drug in our country--more than 36 million people have tried it at least once. Its sales help support the activities of criminal gangs throughout the Americas; Mexican drug cartels; and terrorist organizations like FARC, a revolutionary group in Colombia.

From the Bellingham Herald, on border security around the Olympics:

While construction workers won't put the finishing touches on the new Peace Arch port of entry on Interstate 5 until December, federal officials say they have taken steps to make sure that nothing disrupts the flow of traffic during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

"We hope the Olympics is a story about peaceful international competition, not about the border," said Tom Schreiber, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

To minimize the chance of problems, the border agency is poised to keep 10 lanes open and staffed during the Olympics' February run. That means adding four temporary booths to the six normally available now.

While construction workers are still busy inside a new 30,000-square-foot building for border services, the most disruptive parts of the $107 million megaproject are complete, Schreiber said. The northbound overpass is up and running, and the eventual demolition of the old 1976 building won't get under way until the Olympics are over.

"They are freezing their activities that would be in the way," Schreiber said.

The construction project is under the authority of the U.S. General Services Administration. GSA spokesman Ross Buffington confirmed that the construction job will be taking a back seat to traffic flow while the Olympics are in progress.

From USA Today, on Super Bowl security:

The vast security operation protecting the Super Bowl and surrounding events ranges from Air Force F-16s patrolling the skies above Miami on game day to a buffer zone extending at least 100 yards out from the stadium.

No one without a credential or ticket can get past that barrier — and everyone is subjected to meticulous screening by law enforcement personnel. Also among the security tools: 100 magnetometers, bomb-sniffing dogs, and devices used to detect chemical or biological threats.

"We have no viable threat to the Super Bowl at this point," John Gill (FSY)ies, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office, said in an interview.

In the run-up to next Sunday's game between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, the FBI is running the Joint Operations Center, which houses in one place more than 200 representatives from about 68 federal, state and local agencies that are responsible for security and responding to any threats.

Public Events
Secretary Napolitano will participate in the Super Bowl XLIV Security press conference featuring members of national and local law enforcement and NFL security
Broward County Convention Center
1950 Eisenhower Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

A real eye-opener from CNN:

From KGO-AM San Francisco, an interview with Secretary Napolitano following the President's State of the Union address:

According to a New York Times breakdown, President Obama used the word "jobs"29 times during Wednesday's State of the Union address and spent only nine minutes on national security. "Jobs are part of security too, economic security is part of security," says Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano who talks with KGO's Ed and Jen on the Liveline about the speech.

From the Wall Street Journal, on a USCIS officer's work in Haiti:

Dozens of times a day, Pius Bannis helps decide the fate of a Haitian orphan.

An immigration officer at the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Mr. Bannis is charged with determining whether orphans had been matched to U.S. families before Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. If so, he clears them to leave for the United States.

Hundreds of Haitian children have been brought to him since the quake, some only a few months old, others in their teens. With many of the country's orphanages damaged or destroyed, Mr. Bannis often pieces together cases assembled from records extracted from the rubble.

Even before the earthquake, Haiti was home to 380,000 orphans. Americans adopted 330 of them in the fiscal year that ended last September, making Haiti the 8th-most popular country for adoption by U.S. families. After the quake, the U.S. announced a humanitarian parole policy to expedite the processing of orphans already assigned to U.S. families.

Some 500 Haitian orphans have been cleared since then. Several hundred are already in the U.S., after passing through Mr. Bannis.

It is too early to say how the immigration officer's decisions will play out in the lives of hundreds of children who will stay or leave Haiti based upon his determinations.

But the impact could be great. Inundated by cases from newly overcrowded orphanages, Mr. Bannis must stay on guard against fraud.

From Homeland Security Today, on the effects of the President's proposed spending freeze:

With the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and homeland security functions exempted from a three-year freeze on most federal spending beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2011, funding for homeland security purposes should remain strong and active.

President Barack Obama unveiled the freeze proposal in his State of the Union address last night. However, details of the freeze were revealed to the media by Rob Nabors, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Jan. 26. In that press conference, Nabors stated that the freeze would not affect the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs or State.

The official details of the freeze won't be known until Monday when the full federalbudget for FY 2011 is unveiled.

Public Events
10:30 AM EST
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen will participate in a media availability about counterdrug operations in the United States and the ongoing, multiagency efforts to interdict and prosecute criminals involved in these operations
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater
14850 Roosevelt BoulevardClearwater, Fla.

An updated story from the Coast Guard Compass, discussing their ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.

From CNN, on the Secretary's comments on global airline security standards:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday there is a "renewed sense of urgency in the international community" about terrorism after the Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a U.S.-bound plane, and the U.S. should now push for global security standards for international airports and aircraft.

"The attempted attack on the 25th of December was a powerful illustration that a terrorist would stop at nothing to kill Americans," Napolitano said. "I believe we have an important opportunity right now, right in front of us, to strengthen the system."

Napolitano last week traveled to Spain and Switzerland to meet with her counterparts, as well as foreign ministers and airline executives. Talks focused on four broad areas -- sharing information between countries, passenger vetting, security technology and creating international aviation security standards, she said.

"I was very gratified to see there exists a broad consensus for working on these four areas among my European counterparts and a clear sense of urgency to take immediate action to strengthen security measures," she said.

The trip culminated in a declaration confirming European and U.S. commitment to advancing security initiatives and to hold further talks about security.

Leadership Events
10 AM EST
Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute will testify about the Department’s ongoing efforts to enhance and improve security following the attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 before the House Committee on Homeland Security
311 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Public Events
10:30 AM EST
ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton will hold a news conference to announce the results of Project Big Freeze, a gang enforcement operation which targeted gangs in more than 50 cities with ties to known drug trafficking organizations
ICE Headquarters
Potomac Center North
500 12th St. SW, First Floor
Washington, D.C.

From USA Today, on evolving threats to our national security:

Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She was the governor
of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, Arizona's attorney general from 1999 to 2002, and
the U.S. attorney in Arizona from 1993 to 1998.

"One area we are now seeing more of is the whole cyber issue. We saw that with China and Google (which said its computers were hacked in China). We're seeing increasing attempts to use the Internet not only to connect different people as a facilitator of terrorist groups but also as a possible means of attack...

"It can be a denial of service attack, which really shuts down your access not only to the Internet, but in some circumstances, to services that are operated through the Internet, like communications. It can be fraud or misinformation. It can be the theft of valuable defense information or of intellectual property."

Q: Will terrorists still be focused on aviation in 2020?

A: "It's hard to predict that far out. But what we are assuming is that aviation could be (their focus), which is why we're continuing to work on the technology that is used at airports...We also are working across the international air environment because this is an international issue. We need to lift aviation standards around the world."

What are the challenges of doing
that?

"It's a challenge of capacity. In some places, it's a challenge of
political will. In some places, it's a challenge of resources."

Q: By 2020, will we see a body scanner at every airport checkpoint?

A: "I don't know about at every checkpoint. But I think what we'll see is a rapid deployment of body scanners, and rapid improvement of technology. We'll also see improvements in explosive detection (that will increase) our ability to pick up traces on persons and on baggage and on cargo, but particularly on persons."

From the Arizona Republic, on changes to the immigrant detention system:

The head of U.S. immigration enforcement on Monday announced plans for an overhaul of the government's controversial detention system for people who face deportation.

The moves described by John T. Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, address oversight, medical care and tracking of detainees at facilities in Arizona and across the country.

Plans include:

. Hiring 50 federal employees to oversee the largest detention facilities, which now are largely run by contractors without much government oversight, Morton said.
. Assigning regional case managers to keep tabs on detainees with significant medical problems to ensure they are getting proper care. Detainees with major problems will be housed in facilities near hospitals and medical centers, Morton said.
. In June, launching an online immigrant-detainee locator so family members can easily find their relatives when they are in custody awaiting possible deportation.

"You can look up their name and find out where they are and what the visiting hours are at that detention facility," Morton said, during a speech at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

From the Houston Chronicle, on the clean up effort in response to the Port Arthur oil spill:

As cleanup efforts of Texas' worst oil spill in more than a decade took shape Sunday, Coast Guard officials began examining radio transmissions to find out what went wrong in the moments before an 800-foot tanker collided with a barge carrying chemicals off Port Arthur.

Saturday morning's collision ripped a 15-by-8-foot hole in the hull of the Eagle Otome, which was loaded with Mexican crude oil intended for a Beaumont Exxon refinery. The crash dumped 462,000 gallons of oil into the intracoastal waterway in what Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said was the biggest Texas oil spill since 1994.

The slick spanned a stretch of seven or eight miles of waterway, threatening marshlands that serve as nurseries for juvenile shrimp and fish.

An army of 500 people manned the cleanup effort Sunday from helicopters, skimmers, boom vessels and several other Coast Guard boats. By the evening, cleanup crews had skimmed away 1,100 barrels of the 11,000 barrels spilled.

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will brief media and provide updates about her recent trip to Spain and Switzerland to discuss strengthening the security of the international aviation system with her European counterparts and global airline industry leaders
DHS Headquarters, Building 21
Nebraska Avenue Complex
3801 Massachusetts Ave NW

Public Events
11 AM PST
ICE Acting Los Angeles Deputy Special Agent in Charge Jorge Guzman will participate in a media availability hosted by the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Los Angeles, Calif.

From AFP, on the Secretary's international trip:

Washington would Thursday try to overcome EU doubts about the installation of aiport body scanners at talks in Spain, but European officials are seeking privacy safeguards before agreeing to the measure.

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attending an informal meeting of EU interior ministers in Toledo to try to strike a deal, deemed crucial following last month's failed bomb plot on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

She began her talks with a bilateral meeting with Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The two are scheduled to give a joint news conference at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) after Napolitano and the interior ministers from the 27 nation bloc wrap up their talks.

The gathering comes just one day after part of Munich airport was closed for three hours due to a major alert sparked by a man running away from a security check when his laptop tested positive for possible explosives which has fueled concerns over airline safety. Related article: All-clear at Munich airport

Napolitano will try to rally the support of key interior ministers, such as France's Brice Hortefeux, at the gathering whose support for the measure could prove to be decisive, a European official told AFP.

From the New York Times, on yesterday's hearings:

Restrictions put into place last year that limit how people are added to terrorist watch lists unintentionally compromised the nation's ability to prevent attacks, the Obama administration's top counterterrorism officials testified Wednesday.

The assertion came during a marathon of testimony on Capitol Hill as Congress held four separate hearings on the Dec. 25 plot by 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria to blow up an airliner headed to Detroit.

One after another, top officials including Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, and Michael E. Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, agreed that they personally deserved part of the blame for failing to disrupt the plot.

But they also said that complaints about bloated terrorist watch lists - which at times mean that innocent travelers are subject to extra airport scrutiny - had resulted in a change in the final year of the Bush administration that too tightly governed how names were added to these lists.

"Why are you searching grandmothers?" Mr. Blair said of the criticism that led in 2008 to the approval of the new policy, which was only formally put into place last year. "I should not have given in to that pressure, but it was a factor."

The testimony came on the same day that Erroll Southers, a former F.B.I. agent and counterterrorism supervisor for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, withdrew his name as the nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees aviation security.

From McClatchy, on Temporary Protected Status for certain Haitians residing in the United States:

Federal immigration officials are expecting up to 200,000 undocumented Haitian immigrants, including nearly 68,000 in South Florida, to apply for a new federal immigration program that would allow the migrants to legally remain and work in the United States for 18 months.

The estimated number of potential applicants for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, is far larger than earlier predictions of about 30,000 Haitians nationwide, according to local immigrant organizations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials.

The higher figures emerged Wednesday during a briefing with reporters by USCIS
Director Alejandro Mayorkas. He was in Miami to meet with several South Florida immigrant aid organizations involved in assisting undocumented Haitian immigrants applying for TPS.

His visit comes on the heels of the Obama administration's announcement last week to grant TPS to undocumented Haitian immigrants who were in the United States on or before Jan. 12 -- the day the earthquake struck Haiti. Those who arrive after the Jan. 12 deadline will be repatriated to Haiti.

TPS is an immigration benefit reserved for selected undocumented migrants from countries disrupted by natural disasters, armed conflicts or other emergencies.

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will participate in a media availability following her meetings with her European counterparts to discuss ways to bolster international security measures and standards for aviation security
Hotel Beatriz
Carretera Ávila, Km 2,750
Toledo, Spain

We encourage you to check out a few of the following posts from The Compass, the Coast Guard's blog. They've been heavily involved in Haiti, and have been posting some first-hand reports from the field.

Guardians Report In: HS1 Larry Berman

Updated – Guardians Report In: FN Rebekah Runner

Field Notes: LCDR Christopher O’Neil

Guardians Report In from Haiti

A few stories this morning on the Haiti relief efforts:

From the Miami Herald, on humanitarian parole for certain Haitian orphans:

In a late development on Monday, the U.S. governmentannounced it was granting humanitarian paroles to hundreds of Haitian orphans who were waiting to be adopted by Americans before the earthquake.

``While we remain focused on family reunification in Haiti, authorizing the use of humanitarian parole for orphans who are eligible for adoption in the United States will allow them to receive the care they need here,'' said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The humanitarian parole policy will be applied on a case-by-case basis to the following children: . Children who have been legally confirmed as orphans eligible for inter-country adoption by the government of Haiti and are being adopted by U.S. citizens.

. Children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for intercountry adoption and have been matched to U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents.

Napolitano left the door open for other needy orphans to be considered for the humanitarian parole.

The Catholic Church in Miami has announced plans to launch a second Operation Pedro Pan, this time to house in South Florida Haitian children at risk. They have already identified three sites; two in Miami-Dade and one in Broward.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, on a group of Haitian orphans evacuated to the United States:

A group of 53 Haitian orphans was expected to arrive in Pittsburgh this morning as part of a mission led by Gov. Ed Rendell to rescue the children from an earthquake-battered orphanage run by two Ben Avon sisters.

A military transport plane carrying the Pittsburgh delegation, which included lawmakers, doctors and others, left Port-au-Prince shortly before 11 p.m., said Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Rendell.

The plane was expected to land first at Homestead Air Force Base in Miami, Tuma said. Republic Airways provided the charter jet to Haiti, according to officials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which helped coordinate the effort.

Plans called for the children to receive medical checkups at Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville after their arrival in Pittsburgh and stay with temporary caregivers licensed by Allegheny County. Volunteers from The American Red Cross and Catholic Charities were setting up cots and supplies such as clothing, blankets and food at the hospital, said spokesman Marc Lukasiak.

"I feel good about this," said Leon Pamphile, executive director of the nonprofit Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti, a native of Port-au-Prince who lives in Pittsburgh and whose niece was part of the contingent. "Everyone is so happy."

From the Washington Post, on Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the United States:

When a friend called a 36-year-old Haitian woman from Takoma Park to tell her Haitians who have been living in the United States illegally will be allowed to stay and work for the next 18 months, the woman dropped the phone.

"I screamed. I got on my knees. And I cried 'Lord, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,' " the woman, whose middle name is Stephanie, recalled. "Nine years I have been waiting for this."

But for Stephanie, who asked that only her middle name be used because she does not want acquaintances to know she has been an illegal immigrant all this time, the feeling was bittersweet.

The massive earthquake that prompted the Obama aministration to extend Haitians "temporary protected status" or TPS, flattened the house in Port-au-Prince where Stephanie grew up, leaving two of her brothers and their children homeless. Two other brothers are still unaccounted for.

"I said, 'Lord, All those people had to lose their lives so that you can deliver me from my hardship?' It's like joy and sorrow at the same time."

So it went in Haitian immigrant enclaves across the country this weekend as word of the TPS decision Friday spread among the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 foreigners expected to qualify.

Many are still trying to sort out the details.

"Will I need a lawyer?" wondered Vertus Louidor, 31, also of Takoma Park, who has mostly relied on close friends to house and feed her since she fled the poverty and unemployment of her rural hometown four years ago.

Dady Philogene, 28, a mother of two young American children who lives in Salisbury, was nervous about identifying herself to authorities--especially since there is no guarantee the status will be renewed after 18 months. "It's hard to put into words the feeling," she said. "You ask yourself what is going to happen afterwards."

But she was still keen to try. "Can I ask you a question, How long will the process take? When can I apply?" she asked a reporter.

Public Events
2 PM Local
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny will deliver remarks about US-VISIT’s current and upcoming initiatives at the First Conference on Technical Cooperation for Border Management
Shangri-La Hotel, Grand Ballroom
New Road
Bangkok, Thailand

From the New York Times, on the U.S. response to the Haiti earthquake:

President Obama, facing the first large-scale humanitarian crisis of his presidency, moved quickly to send help to Haiti, pledging Wednesday that the Haitians and their devastated island nation would have the "unwavering support" of the United States.

Within hours of Mr. Obama being informed of the quake in Haiti on Tuesday, United States officials were plotting a response that included ships, transport planes, helicopters and thousands of Marines.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decided Wednesday night to cancel the rest of her Pacific trip and return to Washington.

Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of the United States Southern Command, said that one of the Navy's large amphibious ships would probably be sent to Haiti, with a Marine expeditionary unit aboard, and that other American military forces were on alert, including a brigade of 3,500 troops. He said the Pentagon was "seriously looking" at sending thousands of Marines to help the disaster effort.

The Navy aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was deployed from Norfolk, Va.; military commanders said it should arrive in two days. In addition, White House officials said the military was looking into sending the Southern Command's hospital ship, the Comfort, in light of reports that most of Haiti's medical facilities were severely damaged if not destroyed. The Coast Guard also sent four cutters.

From the Miami Herald, on the halting of U.S. deportations to Haiti:

In the aftermath of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, the Obama administration announced Wednesday it was temporarily suspending deportations of undocumented Haitians.

But there was no immediate indication that the federal government would grant Haitian nationals Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, an immigration benefit long sought by Haitian activists and South Florida lawmakers.

TPS is granted to selected immigrants who cannot safely return to their homelands
because of natural disasters, armed conflicts or other emergencies. Those eligible are allowed to remain here and obtain work permits and temporary stays for specific periods -- a status often renewed indefinitely.

``TPS is in the range of considerations we consider in a disaster, but our focus remains on saving lives,'' Matthew Chandler, deputy Homeland Security press secretary, said in an e-mail to El Nuevo Herald after the department announced it was halting deportations.

From USA Today, on how people can donate in the wake of the earthquake:

After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma ravaged cities along the Gulf Coast in 2005, private donations by Americans to help victims totaled $6.47 billion, according to a philanthropy center.

After the 2004 tsunami struck in Asia, private donations approached $2 billion, Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy said.

Although government agencies provide assistance after natural disasters, charity experts say private donations will again be critical to helping Haiti.

"It's immediate cash for immediate needs," said Patrick Rooney, executive director of the philanthropy center. "Then there are other needs for longer-term, more sustained rebuilding of . the whole infrastructure."

Among organizations that need assistance:

. The American Red Cross has pledged an initial $1 million donation. People can contribute online (redcross.org), or make a $10 donation by sending a text message with the word "Haiti" to 90999.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From the San Jose Mercury News, on a disrupted lottery scam:

Federal authorities Monday handed a $7,000 check to an elderly San Jose woman, money that was intercepted at the Canadian border as part of a sweepstakes scam - but she still lost $300,000 in a previous scam.

The $7,000 was recovered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Canadian police have not yet arrested those involved with that scam, officials said.

The victim, an 82-year-old woman who asked not to be identified, told the Mercury News she was told by phone in early 2009 that she won $4.5 million in the Canadian sweepstakes. She said a "lovely gentleman'' who claimed to work for the U.S. Department of Justice told her she needed to pay taxes before she was to claim the winnings.

The woman cashed in her savings and sent in three checks totaling about $300,000, she tsaid. Then, the man told her she'd also won a $10 million lottery in Hong Kong and would have to pay $1 million in taxes to claim that prize. And she sent in even more money - $7,000 in cash - before authorities got wind of what was happening?.

They intercepted the envelope containing the money at the Canadian border, according to ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

From the Eureka Times Standard, on the damage toll form this weekend's earthquake in California:

As Humboldt County continued the process Monday of assessing the destruction left in the wake of Saturday's earthquake, the figures kept creeping up, with more than $28 million in damage now estimated in Eureka alone.

"We're still inspecting damaged buildings, so we do expect that number to increase," said Gary Bird, public information officer for Eureka's emergency response team.

While Eureka was the hardest hit in Saturday's 6.5 earthquake that struck at 4:27 p.m. about 20 miles west northwest of Ferndale, damage reports trickled in Monday from other areas of the county. Meanwhile, the Humboldt County Chapter of the American Red Cross continued to help the 14 individuals displaced by the quake connect with services, retain shelter and generally move on with their lives.

The county's state and national representatives also continued working Monday to ensure the area is in line for federal and state aid, if it's needed.

From the Associated Press, on a fuel spill in Alaska:

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a report that an underground diesel tank on Alaska's Adak Island has leaked fuel.

Adak Petroleum personnel said Monday night that a tank containing about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel had reportedly released an unknown amount into Sweeper Cove.

The workers reported that the fuel is contained within the cove, and they are using recovery equipment to clean it up.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen says Coast Guard personnel and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation workers are making plans to fly to Adak on Tuesday to assess the size of the spill and monitor cleanup.

Public Events
1:30 PM EST
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Under Secretary Rand Beers will deliver remarks highlighting NPPD’s critical infrastructure protection efforts at the National Infrastructure Advisory Council Quarterly Business Meeting
National Press Club (Ballroom)
529 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.

From USA Today, on advanced imaging technology:

Air travelers strongly approve of the government's use of body scanners at the nation's airports even if the machines compromise privacy, a USA TODAY/Gallup poll finds.
Poll respondents appeared to endorse a Transportation Security Administration plan to install 300 scanners at the nation's largest airports this year to replace metal detectors. The machines, used in 19 airports, create vivid images of travelers under their clothes to reveal plastics and powders to screeners observing monitors in a closed room.
"It would seem much more thorough than the process that we're doing now," poll respondent Joel Skousen, 38, of Willcox, Ariz., said. "It would put me more at ease getting on a plane."
In the poll, 78% of respondents said they approved of using the scanners, and 67% said they are comfortable being examined by one. Eighty-four percent said the machines would help stop terrorists from carrying explosives onto airplanes. The survey was taken Jan. 5-6 of 542 adults who have flown at least twice in the past year.
Only 29% of respondents say they are more concerned about air safety since the alleged Dec. 25 attempt by a Nigerian passenger to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight. Bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab got through an airport metal detector in Amsterdam with powder explosives in his underwear.

From CNN, on ICE's Secure Communities program:

Evans Mesadieu has racked up a lengthy rap sheet during the three years he has lived illegally in the United States.
He has been convicted of at least six charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer and cruelty to children.
Each time he was arrested, Mesadieu lied about his status, using 15 aliases in Georgia and Florida that allowed him to continue living illegally in the country.
Now, he faces deportation back to his home country, the Bahamas, because of a new fingerprinting program launched by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"What we are introducing to the process is the digital exchange of the fingerprints so that we can run them through the databases, not only at the FBI but at the Department of Homeland Security for immigration purposes in a matter of minutes and get them back to the law enforcement officials," said John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security.
The Secure Communities program was launched in one county in October 2008 and has been growing ever since. It is now available in 108 counties in 11 states, and DHS hopes to have the program available nationwide by 2013.
"Secure Communities is all about public safety, and it is all about trying to identify for removal from this country serious criminal offenders in local communities," Morton said.

From the Associated Press, on this weekend's earthquake in California:

Residents of a Northern California county gingerly cleaned up Sunday after the area dodged a catastrophe, escaping a 6.5 magnitude earthquake with little more than bumps, cuts and broken glass.
Entrances to Eureka's Bayshore Mall were blocked as engineers surveyed for damage. Area bridges suffered some bent rails, and local stores reported messy aisles where bottles and jars flew from shelves and shattered, authorities said.
"We're very, very fortunate that it's not worse, but there is a lot of damage," Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., said in a Eureka press conference. "This is a big deal."
Still, the Saturday afternoon temblor - centered in the Pacific about 22 miles west of Ferndale - caused only limited structural damage and a few hours of power outage. There were no major injuries, other than an elderly resident's fracture hip.
A preliminary estimate of damage in Eureka came to $12.5 million, said the city's fire chief, Eric Smith. No countywide assessment was available.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From AFP, on today's release of the attempted terrorist attack review:

The White House will on Thursday release an unclassified version of a report into intelligence failures relating to terrorist watch-lists, following the thwarted Christmas Day airliner attack.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he anticipated the public portion of the report "will be released tomorrow" after President Barack Obama receives a classified version of the data from his top anti-terror expert John Brennan.

"I think you'll see tomorrow that this is a failure that touches across the full waterfront of our intelligence agencies," Gibbs said, adding that Obama would make a public statement on the review on Thursday.

"The review will simply identify and make recommendations as to what was lacking and what needs to be strengthened," Gibbs said.

On Tuesday, Obama said that the review into the terrorist watch-listing system had revealed "human and systemic failures" that led to the attempted downing of a Northwest jet carrying 290 people on Christmas Day.

From the New York Times, on enhanced airport screening and security procedures:

As he arrived at O’Hare International airport here on Wednesday, Dennis Weyrauch, a passenger, described two hours of waiting and scrutiny at the airport in Amsterdam before his plane took off: as happened to all passengers on his flight, his carry-on bag was searched methodically by hand, the insides of bottles in his toilet kit studied and his body patted down.

“It was thorough; it was extensive; it felt like a police pat down,” said Mr. Weyrauch, who is 53 and a lawyer from Eagle, Idaho. “It seemed excessive to tell you the truth. I didn’t get any additional measure of comfort from the security measures, and I wondered, as a practical matter, how long they’re going to be able to do this.”

At airports around the country nearly two weeks after a thwarted terrorism attempt on a flight to Detroit, dozens of travelers told of remarkably different experiences with security measures. For domestic flights, many noticed little new, aside from more police dogs in terminals and, in some instances, random pat-downs and bag checks.

From the Associated Press, on the indictment of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab:

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day was indicted Wednesday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear, authorities say.

The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish.

The bomb was designed to detonate "at a time of his choosing," the grand jury's indictment said.

There is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment, but President Barack Obama considers the incident an attempted strike against the United States by an affiliate of al-Qaida.

Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. His father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had drifted into extremism in Yemen, but that threat was never fully digested by the U.S. security apparatus

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will participate in a briefing with Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan, and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C.

From the New York Times, on President Obama's meeting and subsequent remarks on the last month's attempted terrorist attack:

President Obama said Tuesday that the government had sufficient information to uncover the terror plot to bring down a commercial jetliner on Christmas Day, but that intelligence officials had "failed to connect those dots."

"This was not a failure to collect intelligence," Mr. Obama said after meeting with his national security team for nearly two hours. "It was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had."

He added: "We have to do better, we will do better, and we have to do it quickly. American lives are on the line."

The tone of the president's remarks on Tuesday - the sharpest of any of his statements since the incident nearly two weeks ago - underscored his anger over the lapses in intelligence as well as his efforts to minimize any political risks from his administration's response.

The president said he was suspending the transfer of detainees from the Guant?namo Bay military prison to Yemen, where a Qaeda cell has been connected to the Dec. 25 attack. While Mr. Obama also renewed his commitment to close the prison, halting the transfer underscores the difficulty he faces in closing the center and reflects the criticism Republicans have directed at the administration.

From USA Today, on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and travel to and from the Olympics:

When the 2010 Winter Olympic Games start in Vancouver on Feb. 12, they not only will draw athletes from across the globe but legions of citizens from the USA - all of whom will need to present newly-required forms of identification to cross the border.

In anticipation of that, and in the face of criticism of the increased documentation requirements and costs for cross-border travel that went into effect last June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a $2 million marketing campaign to remind people in the Northwest about identification options for border crossings.

Last month, the department began targeting Washington, Idaho and Oregon with radio, television, print and Internet ads, said Joanne Ferreira, public affairs officer with Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection office.

The ads, featuring Olympians such as skier Bill Demong, include reminders that identity documentation will be required to get back into the USA and direct people to a Homeland Security travel website -www.GetYouHome.gov -to find out about the various document options, several of which are less expensive than obtaining a passport.

"I know I'll stick my landing at the border crossing coming home," Demong says in one 30-second TV spot.

Public Events
3 PM EST
NPPD Infrastructure Protection Assistant Secretary Todd Keil will discuss the Infrastructure Protection mission and the important role of resilience in a Webinar entitled “Infrastructure Resiliency: The Next Frontier in Homeland Security.” For more information: www.dhs.gov/files/programs/critical-infrastructure.shtm

From the Associated Press, on the President's meeting with his national security team:

The government has added dozens of people to the ominous lists of suspected terrorists and those barred from U.S.-bound flights, a crackdown that comes as President Barack Obama is poised to announce changes to the nation's watchlists.

At the White House on Tuesday, Obama will speak in fresh detail about the findings of the urgent, sprawling reviews he ordered of how the government screens airline passengers and how it works to detect and track possible terrorists. Obama's remarks, to come after his meeting with top security and intelligence officials, will outline steps designed to strengthen the watchlisting effort and to thwart future terrorists attacks, the White House said.

The move comes after what officials call a botched effort by a Nigerian man to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas, one that exposed cracks in the nation's security system, which is built upon the ability of agencies to share information and connect dots.

Meanwhile, people flying to the U.S. from overseas will continue to see enhanced security. The Transportation Security Administration has directed airlines to give full-body pat-downs to U.S.-bound travelers from Yemen, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and 11 other countries the U.S. believes have terrorism activity - a move criticized by one Muslim advocacy group.

From The Los Angeles Times, on increased travel security measures:

A UC Irvine student from Bahrain and his father experience the increased screening efforts that took effect Monday in response to a Nigerian's alleged attempt to bring down a flight on Christmas.

Some international travelers faced increased scrutiny Monday from airport security officials before boarding flights bound for Los Angeles and other destinations in the United States.Flying from Saudi Arabia, a UC Irvine student and his father, both Bahraini, said they encountered more security than usual at London's Heathrow Airport, where they passed through metal detectors and, like other passengers, underwent pat-down searches.

Then, after arriving at Los Angeles International, they were questioned by authorities as they claimed their luggage at the Tom Bradley terminal, and officials searched a book bag the student was carrying. The passengers, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified for fear of being harassed, said authorities wanted to know why they were in the U.S. and where they lived.

Public Events
6PM MST
CBP Yuma Sector Border Patrol will host a community forum at the San Luis City Council Chamber
1090 E. Union St.
San Luis, Ariz.

From Reuters, on the Deputy Secretary's international trip:

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will dispatch senior agency officials to meet with airport executives around the world to review security and technology used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights, the department said.

The decision was announced late on Thursday, six days after a botched attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a plane en route to Detroit from Amsterdam.

Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute and Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman will spearhead a broad international outreach effort at major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, the department said in a statement.

"We are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports," Napolitano said in the statement.

"I will follow up on these efforts with ministerial-level meetings within the next few weeks," she said.

From the New York Times, on increased international travel security:

Citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will be subjected indefinitely to the intense screening at airports worldwide that was imposed after the Christmas Day bombing plot, Obama administration officials announced Sunday.

But American citizens, and most others who are not flying through those 14 nations on their way to the United States, will no longer automatically face the full range of intensified security that was imposed after the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight, officials said.

In the immediate aftermath of the episode, officials had put in place heightened restrictions, and the change on Sunday represents an easing of that response. But the action on Sunday further establishes a global security system that treats people differently based on what country they are from, evoking protests from civil rights groups.

Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, countries that are considered "state sponsors of terrorism," as well as those of "countries of interest" - including Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen - will face the special scrutiny, officials said.

From the San Diego Union Tribune, on Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements at the nation's borders and ports of entry:

U.S. citizens entering the United States at land or sea ports from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean must present one of these documents:

. U.S. passport or passport card
. Trusted-traveler document, such as SENTRI
. Radio-chip-enhanced driver's license available in some states, but not California
. Birth certificate or naturalization certificate for minors younger than 16
. Tribal identification
. Military identification for service members traveling under orders

In the months following the implementation of new travel-document requirements at U.S. land and sea port of entries last June, there was a spike in the number of people arrested along the southern border posing as U.S. citizens, customs officials say.

Between June 1 and the end of August, the latest period for which information is available, there was a 30 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier in the number of people who tried to enter illegally by either declaring themselves to be U.S. citizens, posing as citizens using someone else's documents, or using phony ones.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials aren't sure why the increase has occurred, but believe it is tied to the introduction of stricter document requirements at the border that began last year. Among other things, it has been a year since oral declarations of citizenship, once an accepted practice, were ruled out and travelers were required to present some sort of identification.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From the Washington Post, on the intelligence review regarding last week's attempted terrorist attack:

President Obama will receive a report Thursday detailing how some government agencies failed to share or highlight potentially relevant information about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, while others were insufficiently aggressive in seeking out what was known about him, administration officials said Wednesday.

Intelligence intercepts from Yemen beginning in early August, when Abdulmutallab arrived in that country, contained "bits and pieces about where he was, what his plans were, what he was telling people his plans were," as well as information about planning by the al-Qaeda branch in Yemen, a senior administration official said. "At first blush, not all these things appear to be related" to the 23-year-old Nigerian and the bombing attempt, he said, "but we believe they were."

Agencies under particular scrutiny include the CIA, the National Security Agency -- in charge of electronic intercepts -- and the State Department. Each possessed pieces of the puzzle, none of which was considered overly worrisome or immediately actionable -- absent the other pieces -- under existing procedures. The National Counterterrorism Center, established after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to connect the dots government-wide, did not do so.

From The Record, on increased security for the travel sector:

Bomb-sniffing dogs and gun-toting police officers will be conspicuous at the region's airports and train stations this weekend as part of a local security clampdown following a failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound jet last week.

Security measures will be stepped up at New Jersey train stations and NJ Transit facilities, including the deployment of K-9 units and additional state police personnel, Governor Corzine announced Wednesday.

Similar steps - such as the deployment of K-9 units - will be taken at the region's three major airports and the PATH transit system, all of which the Port Authority operates.

While there is no known threat in the New Jersey area, local officials will "assure the safety and security" of the hundreds of thousands of travelers who will be flying in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport or riding on local train lines this weekend, Corzine said.

"We will also increase the number of officers patrolling our roadways to be on the lookout for impaired drivers or any abnormal activity," Corzine said.

From the Associated Press, on an uncovered smuggling tunnel in Nogales:

Border Patrol agents in the Arizona border city of Nogales discovered a 36-foot smuggling tunnel Tuesday that was under construction and caused a sink hole on a street.

Agency spokesman David Jimarez says the tunnel's builders knocked a hole in a drainage system in the neighboring Mexican city of Nogales and dug out an offshoot extending 25 feet into the American sister city.

Investigators don't know where the tunnel was supposed to end because it wasn't
finished.

No arrests have been made.

From USA Today, on new warnings for small business that bank online:

A rising swarm of cyber-robberies targeting small firms, local governments, school districts, churches and non-profits has prompted an extraordinary warning. The American Bankers Association and the FBI are advising small and midsize businesses that conduct financial transactions over the Internet to dedicate a separate PC used exclusively for online banking.

The reason: Cybergangs have inundated the Internet with "banking Trojans" - malicious programs that enable them to surreptitiously access and manipulate online accounts. A dedicated PC that's never used for e-mail or Web browsing is much less likely to encounter a banking Trojan.

And the bad guys are stepping up ways to get them onto PCs at small organizations. They then use the Trojans to manipulate two distinctive, decades-old banking technologies: Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers and wire transfers.ACH and wire transfers remain at the financial nerve center of most businesses. ACH transfers typically take two days to complete and are widely used to deposit salaries, pay suppliers and receive payments from customers. Wire transfers usually come into play to move larger sums in near-real time.

"Criminals go where the money is," says Avivah Litan, banking security analyst at Gartner, a technology consulting firm. "The reason they're going here is the controls are antiquated, and a smart program can often get the money out."

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From KTRK-TV Houston, on the Secure Communities initiative:

The Houston Police Department has teamed up with the Department of Homeland Security for a new program designed to identify and deport criminal illegal immigrants. But as you might imagine, the program is already stirring up some controversy.

The program isn't new, but it's new to Houston. While police say this technology puts the department on the cutting edge, some in Houston's immigrant community are skeptical.

It's called the 'Secure Communities' initiative, a sweeping new plan to target and remove potentially dangerous criminal illegal immigrants from the city's jails and eventually the country.

"Non citizens, if they commit a serious crime against people here, they ought to be deported after they serve their time," said Houston Mayor Bill White. "There are some people who have not been and there are some people who've come back."

Using the latest technology, anyone arrested for a Class C misdemeanor or above, will have their fingerprints taken and electronically compared to local and national databases all over the country, including the FBI's and the Department of Homeland Security's, where immigration history information can be accessed.

From the USA Today, on a seizure of counterfeit goods:

When federal and sheriff's investigators showed up with a search warrant at Bargain Corner Jean Store here, they found about $130,000 worth of fake True Religion, Ed Hardy, Affliction and other high-end jeans, T-shirts and sneakers.

They hauled out 1,500 items in 40 trash bags and 18 boxes from the store, the owner's minivan and employees' cars.

Not everything was counterfeit, investigators said. Mixed in were some pairs of legitimate Levi's and Wrangler jeans. But federal agents acted after being tipped off by one of the affected brands.

Counterfeiting "is a multibillion-dollar industry, a global crime and a serious threat," says Marcy Forman, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Arlington, Va.

Apparel-related counterfeiting doesn't get the same attention as counterfeit toothpaste, batteries or Christmas lights because no one dies or gets physically hurt from knockoffs of pricey jeans, purses and belts. But arguments that the phony products are made without safety standards - often using child labor and sold by people connected to terrorist activity or organized crime - are starting to gain traction.

Public Events
8AM MST
TSA Public Affairs Manager Dwayne Baird will participate in a media availability to highlight holiday travel tips
Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field
3201 Airport Way
Boise, Idaho

From Homeland Security Today, on the Secretary's IED speech yesterday:

Terrorists continually threaten to export tactics refined overseas--such as the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)--to the United States, making it necessary for the US government to stop al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, urged Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in remarks outside of Washington, DC, Tuesday.

The recent arrest and indictment of Najibullah Zazi on a conspiracy charge to use explosives against US targets serves as an example of how the terrorist threat can travel from Pakistan to the United States, said Napolitano, speaking at the Counter-IED Symposium sponsored by the Interagency Council for Applied Homeland Security Technology [ICAHST] in National Harbor, Md. Zazi is alleged to have traveled to Pakistan for bomb-making training before his arrest in September.

"And because this threat ties directly to events in the Afghanistan/Pakistan theater, we must continue to put additional pressure on al Qaeda and ultimately diminish the threat that they pose to the United States and to the international community," Napolitano stated.

Such threats originating from Afghanistan and Pakistan provide justification to White House plans to surge an additional 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan in coming months, increasing the number of US soldiers and Marines in the country to nearly 100,000, the secretary indicated.

From the Washington Post, on Trusted Traveler:

I can thank my sister's baby for persuading me to enroll in a government-run "trusted traveler" program.

Although I travel to Montreal for family visits at least once a month, the frequency increased when my sister Barbara and her partner, Ines, had a son in 2007.

Determined to get to know Alex, I flew to Montreal about every other weekend that summer.

After one miserable, hours-late August flight, I bolted off the jetway with my carry-on bags, sprinted down Trudeau Airport's endless, glassed-in arrivals corridor and took the escalator down to passport control -- only to be greeted by a writhing, Ellis Island-like human mass snaking around dozens of posts. After two sweaty hours, as I cursed my way to the rental-car counter, I made myself a promise to investigate a program whose signs I'd always ignored in my rush for the exits.

Two years later, NEXUS membership has changed my life.

Here's my new arrivals procedure at Trudeau Airport: disembark. Walk the hallways to Canada Customs. Descend the escalator and turn right to the L-shaped bank of red NEXUS kiosks. Peer into a viewfinder to get my irises scanned. Answer three yes-or-no questions. Take my ticket. Walk up a dedicated lane, past the row of

Customs officers and down the ramp to freedom. Total time elapsed: seven minutes.

From the St. Petersburg Times, on a remarkable rescue and homecoming:

Luke Finch ate ice cream and sausage and all of their pizza crackers.

He spent the ride to shore standing beside the men in blue, and even got to steer the ship, just for a little bit. The blond boy then fell asleep in the arms of a detective.

Then, as the Coast Guard cutter Crocodile approached the dock, the 3-year-old boy clapped his hands.

"I'm coming, Mommy," he said. "I'm coming, Mommy."

As the sun set on the horizon, Christa Finch ran up the gangway and wrapped her arms around her son, their 2? day ordeal finally over at 5:43 p.m. Tuesday.

"I love you," she told him. "I miss you."

The reunion was made possible by a daring Coast Guard rescue early Tuesday morning that authorities said thwarted a kidnapping plot by Luke's father.

Paul Martikainen, 35, is accused of stealing the boy from a supervised visit in Cocoa on Saturday, then trying to sail off with his son for parts as yet unknown. They were last seen leaving a St. Petersburg marina, just days after the state accused him of physically abusing the boy.

Leadership Events
10 AM EST
Secretary Napolitano will testify about transportation security challenges post-9/11 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
253 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Public Events
2:30 PM EST
NPPD National Cyber Security Division Acting Director Dr. Peter Fonash will participate in a panel discussion about cybersecurity at the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) Solution Series: Cyberspace at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Cyber, National and Economic Security
National Conference Center18980 Upper Belmont PlaceLeesburg, Va.

2:30 PM EST
Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Directorate Assistant Administrator Elizabeth Zimmerman will testify about developing a comprehensive national disaster case management program before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Ad hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery
342 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

3 PM EST
NPPD Cybersecurity Evaluation Program Director Patrick Beggs will participate in a panel discussion about regulations and best practices in support of improved public/private partnerships regarding information assurance at the AFCEA Solution Series: Cyberspace at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Cyber, National and Economic Security
National Conference Center
18980 Upper Belmont Place
Leesburg, Va.

7:30 PM EST
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks at the America-Israel Friendship League’s “Partners for Democracy Award Dinner”
The Plaza
Central Park South & 5th Avenue
Manhattan
New York, N.Y.

From the Colorado Springs Gazette, on a new ICE office in Colorado Springs, CO:

After years of lobbying by federal and local officials, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office opened Monday in Colorado Springs.

Some of those who sought it believe it was needed to curtail illegal immigration, but law enforcement officials at the official opening downplayed that role.

The downtown office in Colorado Springs is the ninth ICE office in Colorado and houses several cubicles and conference rooms as well as a cache of secure rooms to be used for interviews, confidential paperwork and holding weapons.

Currently, three agents will work out of the office, with plans to add seven more, said U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo.

The new office will house an investigations branch which will look into criminal cases that span international borders such as human smuggling or criminal organizations with ties in several countries said Kumar Kibble, ICE special agent in charge of Colorado.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, who contracts with ICE to house an average of 150 illegal immigrants in his jail, said he didn't expect a local ICE office to have a big impact on day-to-day immigration issues.

From the Associated Press, on the virtual fence project:

Government officials overseeing the construction of a "virtual fence" along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border hope to turn over the first segment to the Border Patrol in January, while beginning construction on a second stretch in coming weeks.

Although the government has plans to extend the network of cameras, ground sensors and radars along most of the border, officials said they'll draw on lessons from the first two segments in southern Arizona as they contemplate if and where to build more sections and how fast to complete them.

The government estimated it would cost $6.7 billion to cover most of the Mexican border by 2014.

"We do want some time to look at whether or not that really does make the most sense," said Mark Borkowski, the government's director of the virtual fence project.

"Is it really sensible to spend all that money? Or are there other more measured approaches? Maybe there are some places along the border that make sense, but maybe not the entire border."

As it now stands, once both southern Arizona sections are in operation along 53 miles of the border, the next step would be to authorize construction through the majority of the 375-mile border in Arizona, the nation's busiest gateway for immigrant smuggling and a major thoroughfare for marijuana smuggling.

From the Washington Post, on the end of hurricane season:

The Atlantic hurricane season ended Monday with barely a whimper: Not a single hurricane came ashore in the United States.

Since June, when the season began, just nine named storms developed. Only three of them became hurricanes, and those stayed out at sea or weakened before passing over land.

Two tropical storms made landfall in the U.S., causing little more than rain and some beach erosion.

"We had a great, great year," said Chris Vecsey, a salesman at Top Gun Tackle in Orange Beach, Ala., near where Tropical Storm Ida slogged ashore in November.

"Last year we had Gustav and Ike and a couple of other storms that didn't even hit here. And with all the hype, it ruined us. It just didn't happen this year."

The 2009 season was on target with the lower end of forecasters' predictions. Before the season began June 1, the National Hurricane Center had anticipated nine to 14 storms, with four to seven hurricanes - a prediction that the Miami-based center scaled back slightly in August before the arrival of the season's first storm, Tropical Storm Ana.

James Franklin, the center's chief hurricane specialist, credited much of the quiet season to El Nino, the periodic warming of the central Pacific Ocean. El Nino, he said, produced strong winds in the Atlantic that cut down storms before they could develop into hurricanes.

Leadership Events
1:30 PM EST
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks highlighting the Department’s critical infrastructure protection efforts at the Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Symposium
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, Md.

Public Events
11 AM EST
Office of Health Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jon Krohmer will moderate a panel on the natural disasters and the federal response at the American Medical Association Third National Congress on Health System Readiness: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness in the 21st Century
Washington Marriott Wardman Park
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, D.C.

11 AM EST
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement New York Special Agent in Charge Jim Hayes will host a small repatriation ceremony to return two Italian artifacts to Italy
Office of Investigations
601 West 26th Street, Suite 700
New York, N.Y.

12 PM EST
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) National Cyber Security Division Acting Director Dr. Peter Fonash will deliver keynote remarks about the 60-day cyber review and current cybersecurity initiatives at the Canada Government Symposium
Hilton Lac-Leamy
3 boulevard du Casino
Gatineau-Ottawa, Canada

2:30 PM EST
Caryn Wagner will participate in a hearing considering her nomination to be Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
216 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.