News Story
Boston Police: Surveillance Shows FBI Agent, Officer Under Attack Before Fatal Response
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Boston police said they have video that should end any questions about whether law enforcement used appropriate force when they fatally opened fire on a 26-year-old terrorism suspect in his neighborhood Tuesday. The Associated Press reports that Usaama Rahim lunged at a police officer and FBI agent with a military-style knife,…
FBI Focuses FIFA Investigation on Organization’s Leader, Sepp Blatter
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The primary target of the widening FIFA investigation has become the organization’s president, Sepp Blatter, the Los Angeles Times reports. Citing two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Times writes that Blatter has become the focus of an investigation into bribery by the soccer’s world governing body. “He’s a…
Senate Takes Some Muscle Out of Retooled Patriot Act, Worrying FBI
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Senate on Tuesday ended the NSA’s controversial bulk phone-records program but reauthorized most of the Patriot Act that expired over the weekend. President Obama signed the measure, which passed the Senate with a 67-32 vote, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FBI warned that the move would hamper agents who…
NYT: TSA’s Appalling Performance Is ‘Harbinger of Potential Disaster’
By New York Times Editorial Board The performance of airport security screeners on a recent investigation by undercover agents was appalling. The screeners failed to detect weapons, mock explosives and other prohibited items 95 percent of the time at airports across the country, which may be a shock to travelers who assumed the hassle of…
DEA More Than Triples Use of Wiretaps, Other Surveillance Over Past Decade
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA’s use of wiretaps and other electronic surveillance more than tripled in the past decade, often bypassing courts and federal prosecutors, according to newly obtained records, the USA Today reports. The DEA used electronic surveillance 11,681 times in the last fiscal year, compared to just 3,394 a decade ago. The…
FBI Agent and Boston Cop Fatally Shoot Man Under Active Terrorism Probe
By Owen Boss Boston Herald An armed man in his 20s being surveilled by the FBI counterterrorism unit was shot and killed by an FBI agent and a Boston police officer in Roslindale this morning, according to Boston Police Commissioner William Evans. “He was on foot, under surveillance,” Evans said. “The officers have been…
FBI Flying Low-Hanging Surveillance Planes Using Fictitious Names
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI has been operating a fleet of small planes equipped with video and occasionally cell phone surveillance technology, concealing the information from the public by registering the aircraft under fictitious company names, the Associated Press has found. What’s more, the surveillance is often used without a judge’s approval. The AP…
Congressmen: FBI Plan Would Make American Phones Vulnerable to Hackers
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Two Congressmen with computer science degrees said the FBI is making Americans vulnerable to hackers, and any suggestion otherwise is ignorant, CNN reports. U.S. Reps. Will Hurd of Texas and Ted Lieu of California are criticizing FBI Director James Comey’s insistence that cell phone companies allow a “backdoor” for the bureau…