The driving techniques they teach Secret Service agents must be pretty effective. An off-duty Secret Service agent escaped unscathed from a serious crash on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York yesterday, according to the New York Post. The agent’s government-owned car spun out of control and smashed into a concrete barrier on the busy highway after he was cut off and hit by a tractor trailer during rush hour, the Post reported. The rear wheels of the truck flattened the front of the agent’s car, but the agent was not hurt and declined medical care, according to the report.
Browsing: Homeland Security
(Updated below) Erroll Southers, President Obama’s nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, has withdrawn his nomination, according to the White House. Southers was nominated in September, but his nomination has been stalled in the Senate for months. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., placed a hold on Southers’ nomination; DeMint was worried that Southers would allow TSA employees to join labor unions. We’ll have more on this, on the blog and the homepage, throughout the day. Update, 11:10 a.m.: Responses are starting to trickle in from union leaders. Here’s Colleen Kelley, the president of the National Treasury Employees Union: I am…
A partially decomposed body of a 6-foot tall white man was found on Plum Island, N.Y., home of the the government’s Animal Disease Center, according to a New York Daily News report. A facility guard found the body, which reportedly had no signs of trauma, on a beach that was part of a secure area of the island. This is the latest mystery on an island shrouded in mystery. Some of the world’s most lethal livestock diseases are researched here. During the Cold War, it was home to the government’s bilogical weapons program. Plum Island’s history as a super-secure animal…
The Transportation Security Administration has served subpoenas to two travel bloggers who posted a Christmas Day airport security directive after the attempted downing of a U.S.-bound plane. TSA special agents served the subpoenas to Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding to know by today who leaked the security directive to them. The directive was not intended to be released to the public, TSA officials said. The security directive, effective Dec. 25 to Dec. 30, outlined checkpoint and on board security measures, including pat downs of all passengers at boarding gates and no bathroom visits on board planes within an hour…
The Senate approved dozens of President Barack Obama’s nominees this morning before departing for the holidays. The Senate will return on Jan. 21. Approved nominations include: Adele Logan Alexander as a member of the National Council on the Humanities; Paul T. Anastas as an assistant Environmental Protection Agency administrator; Anne Slaughter Andrew as ambassador to Costa Rica; Alberto Fernandez as ambassador to Equatorial Guinea; Michael Khouri as a Federal Maritime Commissioner; Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis as ambassador to Hungary; David Daniel Nelson as ambassador to Uruguay; John Norris as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Robert Perciasepe as deputy…
I did a quick post yesterday on Sen. George Voinovich’s hold on Rafael Borras, announced at yesterday’s DHS management hearing in the Senate Homeland Security committee. One other colloquy from that hearing worth mentioning: Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., got into a discussion with Elaine Duke, the current undersecretary for management, about how many contractors work at DHS. McCaskill has been trying to get a hard number for years; the department finally sent her a spreadsheet last month, which lists 10,520 contractors in the Washington area. But it turns out even that figure might not be accurate. Here’s Duke: The figures…
At a hearing today of the Senate Homeland Security committee, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced that he’s placed a hold on the nomination of Rafael Borras, President Barack Obama’s nominee for DHS undersecretary for management. I have a hold on Mr. Borras… I do not believe that individual is qualified to take this very, very important position that’s now being held by [Elaine Duke]. Elaine Duke, of course, is the current undersecretary for management. She was appointed by former President George W. Bush, but the law that created the position also allows the USM to stay in office until a…
Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen was hard at work judging the first annual Commandant’s Chili Cookoff on Dec. 10. It was all for a deliciously good cause: raising funds for the National Capital Area Combined Federal Campaign, according to Allen’s blog. And from his comments there, it sounds like it was tough: However, as much as I tried, I couldn’t match the intensity of Command Master Chief [Petty Officer Steven] Cantrell who obviously has grasp of the intricacies of fine chili. Ultimately, Allen chose U.S. Army Col. Kevin Hawkins’ steaming batch of Airborne Ranger Chili as the “Commandant’s Choice.” Hawkins’…
For your Friday enjoyment, faux TV pundit Stephen Colbert ribs Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the White House gate crashers, al Qaida, immigration enforcement and swine flu: [HTML1]
Two critical federal leadership positions may soon be filled. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has unanimously approved Erroll Southers as administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and Daniel Gordon as administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The committee approved both nominations by voice vote Nov. 19. It’s unclear whether the Senate will vote on these, or any other nominations, before it recesses sometime next week for Thanksgiving. Both nominees are considered non controversial.