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Drill teaches terror lessons
Monday, 04 August 2008
A booming crack and a cloud of smoke from a small metallic device caused hundreds to scream, clutch their bodies and quickly head to the exits of M&T Bank Stadium yesterday.

Soon, the parking lots outside the stadium were filled with flashing lights from firetrucks as emergency response workers tended to hundreds of disaster drill participants portraying ailing sports fans.

The three-hour exercise, "Operation Purple Haze," gave 300 local first-response providers an opportunity to prepare for a terrorist attack involving a simulated nuclear weapon. Organizers stressed that the exercise was an attempt to be proactive, and not in response to any specific terrorist threat.
 
DHS plans to unify emergency communications
Monday, 04 August 2008
By Alice Lipowicz
 
Ninety percent of the U.S. cities most at risk to terrorism must be able to demonstrate emergency communications across multiple agencies and communities by 2010, under the National Emergency Communications Plan recently released by the Homeland Security Department.

The plan has been in development under a mandate from Congress since 2002, and its goal is to create a national strategy to address shortcomings in emergency communications that hampered fire and police responses to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

 
House votes to kill restrictions on DHS grants
Monday, 04 August 2008
The House has passed a measure that would eliminate some restrictions on how state and local authorities can use grants from the Homeland Security Department to support their intelligence fusion centers.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers have expressed concern that the current restrictions could force the centers to scale back their operations -- or end them.
 
The Personnel Reimbursement for Intelligence Cooperation and Enhancement of Homeland Security Act, passed by the House unanimously July 29 by a voice vote, would amend some restrictions on federal financial assistance provided to state and local governments for information-sharing activities, such as the fusion centers.
 
 
Chertoff Outlines FY 2008 Homeland Security Grants
Monday, 04 August 2008
More money allocated for IED preparedness and expansion of Operation Stonegarden for border law enforcement.

On Friday DHS secretary Michael Chertoff announced final allocations for FY08 preparedness grant programs for states and localities.

DHS, Chertoff said, had made available a total of over $3 billion in total grants for FY08 for preparedness planning and response programs including both the Homeland Security Grant Program and $844 million in Infrastructure Protection grants which had previously been announced.

 
GAO unsure about TSA's ability to meet security deadlines
Monday, 04 August 2008

The Government Accountability Office Thursday raised fresh doubts about the Transportation Security Administration's ability to meet the congressionally imposed August 2010 deadline for screening 100 percent of air cargo.

In testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee, GAO Homeland Security Director Cathleen Berrick said TSA had made significant progress toward meeting the goal but had yet to complete basic assessments of the technology and the additional screening personnel needed for it, and could "face challenges" in acquiring these resources.

 
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