12:10 p.m. Update: A department spokeswoman just got back to me with a statement. The threat was deemed noncredible by security officials and normal operations have resumed. – Tim Kauffman Original post: Sources tell us that employees at the headquarters building of the Homeland Security Department in Washington have been evacuated because of a bomb threat. Watch this space; we will provide more information as we get it.
Monthly Archives: December, 2009
I spent the morning in a Senate Commerce committee hearing on transportation security challenges. I’ve got a story on the hearing going up on the homepage soon: DHS secretary Janet Napolitano was the lone witness, and she spent a while talking about collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Administration employees. One other item of note that didn’t quite fit into the TSA story: Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., offered a bit of insight into his thinking on cybersecurity. Rockefeller said he was worried about President Barack Obama’s plan to name a “cyber czar” — but, unlike other legislators, he’s not concerned…
Two White House officials held a conference call for reporters this afternoon to preview the president’s Afghanistan strategy speech tonight. (It was on background, so we’re not allowed to say who they were — frustrating, but those were the rules.) Most of it was focused on the military aspects of Obama’s new strategy, but the officials also said Obama will spend some time in tonight’s speech talking about the civilian role in Afghanistan: The president will announce how we’re sending additional civilian experts to Afghanistan to team up with military units. […] Their approach has to go well beyond Kabul.…