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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:37:54 GMT Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:37:54 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Two federal agencies charged with keeping potential terrorists off airplanes and out of the country have been without their top leaders for nearly a year.It took the Obama administration more than eight months to... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/key_security_agencies_lack_permanent_leaders http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/key_security_agencies_lack_permanent_leaders Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:37:54 GMT The leading Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee says the Nigerian man accused of attacking an airliner as it approached Detroit should be tried by a military tribunal rather than a civilian court.Rep.... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/lawmaker_wants_military_trial_for_alleged_bomber http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/lawmaker_wants_military_trial_for_alleged_bomber Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:11:05 GMT After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, President Barack Obama made a not altogether surprising admission. He was tired.Who could blame him? The president was on... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/capital_culture_big_first_year_leaves_obama_tired http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/capital_culture_big_first_year_leaves_obama_tired Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:39:24 GMT The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee says the government needs to do a better job of telling Americans about the threat from terrorism.Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra says the threat is real and has... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/gop_lawmaker_threat_from_terrorism_not_going_away http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/gop_lawmaker_threat_from_terrorism_not_going_away Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:34:24 GMT An Illinois firm agreed to pay a $1.25 million settlement for importing and selling Thomas & Friends children's toys that contained lead levels above legal limits and risked sickening children.In agreeing to the... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/rc2_corp_to_pay_$125_million_for_lead_in_toys http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/rc2_corp_to_pay_$125_million_for_lead_in_toys Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:04:29 GMT After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, President Barack Obama made a not altogether surprising admission. He was tired.Who could blame him? The president was on... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/capital_culture_big_first_year_leaves_obama_tired http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/29/capital_culture_big_first_year_leaves_obama_tired Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:25:18 GMT Law enforcement deaths this year dropped to their lowest level since 1959, while the decade of the 2000s was among the safest for officers _ despite the deadliest single day for police on Sept. 11, 2001.The drop in... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/fewer_law_enforcement_officers_died_on_job_in_2009 http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/fewer_law_enforcement_officers_died_on_job_in_2009 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:33:43 GMT The State Department says counterterrorism agencies were warned that the Nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up an airliner Christmas Day may be under extremists' influence.State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/anti-terror_officials_let_terror_suspect_keep_visa http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/anti-terror_officials_let_terror_suspect_keep_visa Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:52:21 GMT A look at key events surrounding the Christmas Day attack on a U.S. airliner. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to detonate an explosive device hidden on his body as the plane approached Detroit on a flight... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/key_dates_surrounding_the_christmas_day_attack http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/key_dates_surrounding_the_christmas_day_attack Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:39:23 GMT Denise Anderson lost her only son in the Iraq war. She's determined not to lose her fight to be buried with him in a national veterans cemetery.Army Spc. Corey Shea died Nov. 12, 2008, in Mosul, with one about a month... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/mom_fights_to_be_buried_with_soldier_son http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/mom_fights_to_be_buried_with_soldier_son Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:45:12 GMT What does it take to be banned from air travel? And how do you get on that list?U.S. officials are reviewing the watchlist and screening procedures that ensure safe air travel, but not all lists are equal.Here is a look... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/attempted_bombing_puts_focus_on_terrorist_lists http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/attempted_bombing_puts_focus_on_terrorist_lists Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:16:58 GMT House Democrats aren't optimistic that a government insurance plan, a central element of health care legislation passed in their chamber, will survive negotiations with the Senate.While insisting "it's not dead," Rep.... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/house_democrats_pessimistic_about_public_option http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/28/house_democrats_pessimistic_about_public_option Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:19:08 GMT The Obama administration on Sunday strongly condemned the Iranian government's crackdown on protesters, offering its support to civilians "seeking to exercise their universal rights."National Security Council spokesman... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/us_condemns_violence_in_iran http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/us_condemns_violence_in_iran Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:51 GMT A popping noise, an odor, then flames.What sounded like firecrackers was the climax of a failed attempt by a suspected terrorist to blow up a U.S. jetliner on Christmas Day.Northwest Flight 253 passengers and law... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/sounds_of_firecrackers_mark_failure_of_terror_plot http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/sounds_of_firecrackers_mark_failure_of_terror_plot Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:11:13 GMT The same Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight that was attacked on Christmas Day saw another security scare Sunday during a confrontation with a sick passenger from Nigeria, officials said.Security and airline... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/officials_say_man_on_sunday_flight_posed_no_threat http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/officials_say_man_on_sunday_flight_posed_no_threat Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:26:04 GMT The explosive device used by the would-be Detroit bomber contained a widely available _ and easily detected _ chemical explosive that has a long history of terrorist use, according to government officials and explosive... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/detroit_explosive_common,_easily_detectible http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/detroit_explosive_common,_easily_detectible Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:34:38 GMT Obama stresses heightened airline security in call with officials, orders another briefing. http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/ http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/ Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:10:38 GMT Attorney General Martha Coakley may be the front-runner in the race to fill the late Edward Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat, but she is crafting a campaign largely free of the Kennedy mystique.Although she shares Kennedy's... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/democrat_eyeing_kennedy_seat_avoids_family_legacy http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/democrat_eyeing_kennedy_seat_avoids_family_legacy Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:35:21 GMT The Obama administration is moving forward on two fronts in response to the failed bombing on a Detroit-bound airliner.White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says investigators are looking at the system for placing... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/airliner-attack_investigation_moving_on_2_fronts http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/airliner-attack_investigation_moving_on_2_fronts Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:00:09 GMT Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there is no indication that the man who attempted to destroy an airliner in Detroit on Christmas Day is part of a larger terrorist plot.Napolitano refused to say whether... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/napolitano_no_indication_of_larger_terror_plot http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/napolitano_no_indication_of_larger_terror_plot Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:39:41 GMT Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says investigators did not have enough information to keep a terror suspect from boarding a flight bound for Detroit and that the system worked as it should have.The father... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/homeland_security_head_the_security_system_worked http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/homeland_security_head_the_security_system_worked Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:13:37 GMT U.S. government officials tell The Associated Press that the Nigerian man charged with trying to destroy a jetliner came to the attention of U.S. intelligence in November when his father went to the U.S. embassy in... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/father_of_detroit_would-be_bomber_warned_us http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/27/father_of_detroit_would-be_bomber_warned_us Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:11:14 GMT The person accused of the attack on a Detroit-bound airliner had been added to a government list of people with terror ties in November.Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's name was added to a list that includes names of people... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/ap_source_us_knew_of_terror_suspect http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/ap_source_us_knew_of_terror_suspect Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:49:25 GMT A key Congress member says the man charged with trying to take down a Detroit-bound plane had travel patterns that triggered concerns, but officials are still working to confirm his claims of al-Qaida training.Officials... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/travel_of_man_charged_in_airline_attack_probed http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/travel_of_man_charged_in_airline_attack_probed Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:18:14 GMT A 23-year-old Nigerian man was charged Saturday with trying to destroy a Northwest Airlines flight with a powerful explosive device attached to his body as the jetliner approached the Detroit airport on Christmas... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/alleged_christmas_day_terrorist_is_charged http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/alleged_christmas_day_terrorist_is_charged Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:52:21 GMT U.S. counterterrorism officials are scrambling to assess a potential new threat from an explosive mixture that evaded detection aboard a Detroit-bound airliner but failed to bring down the plane.Multiple law enforcement... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/failed_christmas_attack_raises_new_concerns http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/failed_christmas_attack_raises_new_concerns Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:26:03 GMT An official briefed on the attack on a Detroit airliner said Saturday the U.S. has known for at least two years that the suspect in the attack could have terrorist ties.The official told The Associated Press that the... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/ap_source_us_knew_of_terror_suspect http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/26/ap_source_us_knew_of_terror_suspect Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:58:30 GMT A controversial policy that put pregnant soldiers in war zones at risk of discipline will be rescinded under an order from the top U.S. commander in Iraq.Gen. Raymond Odierno has drafted a broad new policy for the U.S.... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/25/pregnant_soldiers_in_war_zone_wont_be_punished http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/25/pregnant_soldiers_in_war_zone_wont_be_punished Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:19:09 GMT President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama offered Christmas wishes to the nation on Thursday, including a special thanks for the U.S. military. They urged Americans to help support military families this... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obamas_salute_military_in_their_christmas_message http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obamas_salute_military_in_their_christmas_message Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:08:24 GMT President Barack Obama says he personally delivered a holiday message to a few members of the U.S. military.Obama says he wanted to wish the troops a merry Christmas and thank them for their service in Iraq and... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obama_makes_christmas_calls_to_us_troops http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obama_makes_christmas_calls_to_us_troops Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:03:04 GMT The memory of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy loomed over the Senate on Thursday when his weary colleagues moved his life's work, health care reform, to the brink of reality."He's having a merry Christmas in heaven," said an... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/senate_liberal_lion_remembered_in_health_debate http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/senate_liberal_lion_remembered_in_health_debate Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:56:14 GMT Americans should take time to think about the less fortunate and the members of the military who are serving the country during the holiday season, Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said Thursday.Hunter, who... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/gop_congressman_remember_military,_less_fortunate http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/gop_congressman_remember_military,_less_fortunate Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:00:49 GMT A comparison of the health care bills passed by the Senate and House:___The Senate Democratic bill (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act):WHO'S COVERED: About 94 percent of legal residents under age 65 _ compared... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/a_comparison_of_house,_senate_health_care_bills http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/a_comparison_of_house,_senate_health_care_bills Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:51:32 GMT After working hard to push a massive health care overhaul plan through the Senate, President Barack Obama will finally get to take a vacation with his family.The Obamas are to fly off Thursday morning to Hawaii, where... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obama_prepares_for_family_holiday http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/obama_prepares_for_family_holiday Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:16:19 GMT President Barack Obama's commitment to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by next month may be delayed until 2011 because it will take months for the government to buy an Illinois prison and... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/guantanamo_prison_may_have_to_stay_open_until_2011 http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/guantanamo_prison_may_have_to_stay_open_until_2011 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:52:20 GMT The Pentagon has poured nearly $70 million in military aid to Yemen this year, a massive financial infusion aimed at eliminating the expanding al-Qaida safe havens in that country.Airstrikes Thursday in Yemen's Shabwa... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/battle_against_al-qaida_stepped_up_in_yemen http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/24/battle_against_al-qaida_stepped_up_in_yemen Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:08:42 GMT Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows:___ABC's "This Week" _ White House press secretary Robert Gibbs; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.___CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Gibbs; Reps. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Peter King,... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/guests_for_the_sunday_tv_news_shows http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/guests_for_the_sunday_tv_news_shows Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:53:14 GMT President Barack Obama on Wednesday expressed frustration with the way the Senate does business, saying the use of delaying tactics there harms the nation's ability to "deal with big problems in a very competitive... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_vents_frustration_at_senate_delays http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_vents_frustration_at_senate_delays Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:48:04 GMT Democrats pushed sweeping health care legislation to the brink of Senate passage Wednesday, crushing a year-end Republican filibuster against President Barack Obama's call to remake the nation's health care system.The... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/health_care_bill_on_brink_of_senate_passage http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/health_care_bill_on_brink_of_senate_passage Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:46:24 GMT President Barack Obama says the public is justified in its disappointment with the outcome of the United Nations climate change summit.Despite statements from his advisers proclaiming the summit's nonbinding agreement a... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_climate_change_disappointment_justified http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_climate_change_disappointment_justified Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:50:29 GMT The Obama administration said Wednesday it is going forward with a contentious plan to round up about 2,500 wild horses in Nevada.A spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said herds in the Calico Mountains... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/judge_allows_wild_horse_roundup_in_nevada http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/judge_allows_wild_horse_roundup_in_nevada Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:49:07 GMT Yes, they've been in session every day for a month. They're sick of Christmas cookies and each other. But don't feel bad for the senators stuck working overtime. They're dining on catered food in gilded suites and cloak... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/long_hours_not_bad_for_senators http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/long_hours_not_bad_for_senators Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:26:00 GMT The United States is worried that a peace agreement between Northern and Southern Sudan could be jeopardized by a law passed by Sudan's parliament.A 2005 agreement established peace after a decadeslong war and... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_criticizes_sudan_parliament_on_referendum_law http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_criticizes_sudan_parliament_on_referendum_law Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:37:16 GMT The United States is sharply criticizing China's trial of a prominent Chinese dissident as being "uncharacteristic of a great country."Liu Xiaobo was detained a year ago before the release of an appeal for more civil... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_blasts_trial_of_chinese_dissident http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_blasts_trial_of_chinese_dissident Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:32:31 GMT The Housing and Urban Development Department announced Wednesday nearly $1.4 billion in grants to help fund a record number of programs for the homeless.The grants will assist 6,445 existing programs around the country,... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/$14_billion_grants_will_help_fight_homelessness http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/$14_billion_grants_will_help_fight_homelessness Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:29:24 GMT The State Department's internal watchdog on Wednesday criticized the agency's nearly $2 billion anti-drug effort in Afghanistan for poor oversight and lack of a long-term strategy.The department's inspector general said... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_anti-drug_effort_in_afghanistan_criticized http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/us_anti-drug_effort_in_afghanistan_criticized Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:16:20 GMT President Barack Obama takes some time to chat with the media Wednesday on what will probably be his last full day in Washington before he heads west for the holidays.Obama was taping interviews with National Public... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_plans_interviews_ahead_of_senate_vote http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/23/obama_plans_interviews_ahead_of_senate_vote Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:03:20 GMT A senior Republican senator is urging the Obama administration and European allies to consider rearming Georgia, an action that would inevitably upset Russia.The recommendation comes from Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/lawmaker_urges_nato_to_consider_arms_for_georgia http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/lawmaker_urges_nato_to_consider_arms_for_georgia Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:47:32 GMT After months of playing it coy and flirting with a bid for statewide office, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that he won't return to the campaign trail next year, leaving a wide-open field for New... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/no_longer_coy,_giuliani_wont_run_for_ny_office http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/no_longer_coy,_giuliani_wont_run_for_ny_office Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:25:45 GMT A U.S. House Democrat who opposes the health care overhaul announced Tuesday he is defecting to the GOP, another blow to Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith spoke to reporters at his home... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/ala_dem_defects_to_gop_over_health_care,_policy http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/12/22/ala_dem_defects_to_gop_over_health_care,_policy Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:25:44 GMT