Steve Neavling

The dangers at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia can’t be overlooked, a former FBI agent warned.

NBC Charlotte reports that Chris Swecker, who led security efforts at the Olympics in Salt Lake City following the Sept. 11 attacks, said the large world stage is a magnet for terrorists.

“It’s the largest world stage. It’s where if you’re a terrorist organization, and you want to call attention to your cause, this is the No. 1 event to do that,” Swecker said.

Swecker described the threats as “nonstop” when he was in Salt Lake City.

“I mean the whole time we were there we were fielding just dozens of threats.”

“I wouldn’t send my family over there right now,” Swecker said. “My biggest concern would be the areas where western people are known to frequent.”

Steve Neavling

Air carriers flying to the Winter Olympics in Russia are being warned to look out for toothpaste tubes containing material for a bomb, Bloomberg reports.

The warning comes just days before the start of the Olympics, where officials are on extra alert.

It’s unclear what prompted the warnings, and Homeland Security would only say that it “regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners, including those associated with international events such as the Sochi Olympics.”

Officials are worried about terrorists targeting the Olympics in Sochi, a few hundred miles from where terrorists have been battling Russians, Bloomberg wrote.

Steve Neavling

The better question might be – what wasn’t confiscated from U.S. airports in 2013?

The TSA discovered guns, grenades, throwing stars and human skull fragments on travelers at checkpoints, WSBT.com reports, citing a TSA blogger.

Security found a stun gun in a cane and pepper spray disguised as lipstick. 

“Our officers regularly find sword canes, credit card knives, belt buckle knives, comb/brush knives, knives hidden in shoes, knives hidden in thermoses and knives hidden under the bag lining near the handle mechanism,” TSA blogger Bob Burns wrote.

The busiest airport for guns was Atlanta International, where 111 firearms were found.

Steve Neavling

The FBI is still uncertain what motivated a sophisticated sniper attack at a Silicon Valley power substation last year.

The New York Times reports that the attack exposed the vulnerability of electrical grids and led to concerns that terrorists were responsible.

But the FBI has found no strong evidence to link the attack with terrorists.

“The F.B.I. at this time does not believe it is related to terrorism, based on the initial assessment of the investigation,” Peter Lee, an agency spokesman in San Francisco, said.

On April 16, communication cables were methodically cut near a Pacific Gas & Electric substation in San Jose, and more than 100 rifle bullets disabled most of the station’s transformers.

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