By Steve Neavling

Terrorists remain stubbornly fixated on targeting airplanes and creating better bombs, the Indiana Business Journal reports.

Although it has been 13 years since a successful terrorist attack – the Sept. 11, 2011 – terrorists seem committed to bombing a plane, said John Pistole, the departing head of the TSA.

“The threats continue,” Pistole, 58, said in an interview at the agency’s Arlington, VA, office. “They are persistent. The terrorists are innovative in their design, construction and concealment of devices.”

During Pistole’s four-year tenure, authorities have thwarted to attacks on planes.

Other Stories of Interest

• In Rare Move, Justice Department Lifts Charges After Winning Trial
• FBI Busted Anonymous Network Using Popular Hacking Tools
• Justice Department Declines to Charge Former St. Louis County Official
• Boston FBI Creates Tip Line to Bust Corrupt Officials
• Maryland Offers Incentives for FBI to Relocate Headquarters

By Steve Neavling

Without a federal requirement to disclose police killings, it’s impossible to know how many cops kill civilians in any given year.

That could change under new legislation that would require all police departments to report law-enforcement killing to the Justice Department, Essence reports.

Currently the FBI keeps a tally on the number of police killings, but local departments aren’t required to produce the information. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that the FBI’s tally of law-enforcement killings between 2007 and 2012 was missing 550 deaths.

“What we know is that some places have chosen not to report these, for whatever reason,” Cooper told the Journal.

Under the new legislation, introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-TN, all police agencies would be required to disclose every death during police custody.

“Before we can truly address the problem of excessive force used by law enforcement, we have to understand the nature of the problem, and that begins with accurate data,” Rep. Cohen said in a statement.

Called the “National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2014,’ the bill likely will have to be reintroduced in January.

By Steve Neavling

Federal agents raided a county sheriff’s office and fire chief’s home in Indiana on Monday, the Indy Star reports.

Agents conducted the raids at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the home of a Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department.

It’s believed the raids are connected, but the FBI declined to discuss any details.

By Steve Neavling

A 38-year-old Customs and Border Protection Officer is accused of helping drug smugglers cross into the U.S., Fox News reports.

Jose Luis Zavala, who works in Brownsville, Texas, was arrested on charges of drug smuggling and corruption.

He was arrested Dec. 12 and placed on administrative leave. An initial story incorrectly stated that he was a Border Patrol agent.

“CBP stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission,” CBP said in a statement. “The overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe. We do not tolerate corruption or abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigation of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, on or off duty.”