National Security

Crime scene tape surrounds the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas on Monday in North Brunswick, N.J. A gunman posing as a delivery person shot and killed Salas' 20-year-old son and wounded her husband Sunday evening before fleeing, according to off

National

Fatal N.J. Shooting By 'Anti-Feminist' Raises Questions About Protection Of Judges

5:45pm July 22, 2020

by Brian Mann

Attacks such as the one that left Judge Esther Salas' son dead are rare, but a report shows "threats and inappropriate comments" against federal court workers increased fourfold since 2015.

Trump Wants To Send Federal Law Enforcement Officials To More Cities

4:07pm July 22, 2020

President Trump wants to send more federal law enforcement officials to cities to fight violent crime — as a part of his "law and order" message to suburban voters ahead of the election.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten speaks at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska during a change of command ceremony at U.S. Strategic Command in November. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley is behind, listening. Hyten is now vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of

National

Pentagon's No. 2 Officer Says Military Must Do Better On Diversity

10:01am July 22, 2020

by Tom Bowman

Gen. John Hyten says it's "absolutely not right" that the incoming Air Force chief of staff will be the first African American to sit on the Joint Chiefs since Colin Powell, nearly three decades ago.

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Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, by Nicholson Baker

Exhausting Effect Of FOIA Requests Evident In 'Baseless'

9:33am July 22, 2020

by Tim Mak

Nicholson Baker's book misses the mark in an aim to take readers on a quest to discover if the U.S. used biological weapons developed in the '50s — and to examine the failings of public records law.

Twitter on Tuesday said it is taking sweeping action against the conspiracy theory QAnon, removing more than 7,000 accounts associated with the group and banning links related to QAnon on the platform.

National

Twitter Removes Thousands Of QAnon Accounts, Promises Sweeping Ban On The Conspiracy

11:18pm July 21, 2020

by Bobby Allyn

Twitter has removed more than 7,000 accounts associated with QAnon as part of a broad-based crackdown on the pro-Trump conspiracy theory. Twitter says QAnon postings have lead to real-world harm.

Russell Travers, who was the acting director of National Counterterrorism Center, is shown in an appearance before a Senate committee in 2018. Travers, who was ousted from his position in March of this year, says in an interview with NPR that the center i

National

Ex-Counterterrorism Chief: Cutbacks Raise Risk Of New Attacks

6:22pm July 21, 2020

by Greg Myre

Russ Travers was ousted from the National Counterterrorism Center in March. In his first broadcast interview since then, he warns that the U.S. risks becoming less prepared for a terror attack.

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John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, announces a law enforcement case involving China in November 2018. The Justice Department is prosecuting more alleged cybercrime cases.

DOJ Charges 2 Suspected Chinese Hackers Who Allegedly Targeted COVID-19 Research

4:58pm July 21, 2020

by Ryan Lucas

Prosecutors say the men are criminal hackers who allegedly perpetrate cybercrimes for their own benefit — but who also do jobs for Beijing's intelligence service. They're unlikely to face trial.

National

How Different Cities Respond To Ongoing Protests

4:15pm July 21, 2020

Law enforcement has responded differently to protests continuing across the U.S. NPR reporters in Portland, Ore., Beacon, N.Y., and Chicago discuss ways these cities have dealt with civil unrest.

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Report Says U.K. Actively Avoided Investigating Russian Influence In Brexit

10:04am July 21, 2020

The long-awaited British government report on Russian influence is finally out. It says the U.K. government and intelligence agencies failed to investigate Kremlin interference.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer have sent FBI Director Chris Wray a letter asking for a briefing about alleged foreign interference efforts in this year's election.

Pelosi, Dems Cite Election Interference In Request For Info From FBI

5:15pm July 20, 2020

by Philip Ewing

The Democratic leaders say "Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign" to influence this year's election.