A real eye-opener from CNN:

From KGO-AM San Francisco, an interview with Secretary Napolitano following the President's State of the Union address:

According to a New York Times breakdown, President Obama used the word "jobs"29 times during Wednesday's State of the Union address and spent only nine minutes on national security. "Jobs are part of security too, economic security is part of security," says Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano who talks with KGO's Ed and Jen on the Liveline about the speech.

From the Wall Street Journal, on a USCIS officer's work in Haiti:

Dozens of times a day, Pius Bannis helps decide the fate of a Haitian orphan.

An immigration officer at the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Mr. Bannis is charged with determining whether orphans had been matched to U.S. families before Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. If so, he clears them to leave for the United States.

Hundreds of Haitian children have been brought to him since the quake, some only a few months old, others in their teens. With many of the country's orphanages damaged or destroyed, Mr. Bannis often pieces together cases assembled from records extracted from the rubble.

Even before the earthquake, Haiti was home to 380,000 orphans. Americans adopted 330 of them in the fiscal year that ended last September, making Haiti the 8th-most popular country for adoption by U.S. families. After the quake, the U.S. announced a humanitarian parole policy to expedite the processing of orphans already assigned to U.S. families.

Some 500 Haitian orphans have been cleared since then. Several hundred are already in the U.S., after passing through Mr. Bannis.

It is too early to say how the immigration officer's decisions will play out in the lives of hundreds of children who will stay or leave Haiti based upon his determinations.

But the impact could be great. Inundated by cases from newly overcrowded orphanages, Mr. Bannis must stay on guard against fraud.

From Homeland Security Today, on the effects of the President's proposed spending freeze:

With the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and homeland security functions exempted from a three-year freeze on most federal spending beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2011, funding for homeland security purposes should remain strong and active.

President Barack Obama unveiled the freeze proposal in his State of the Union address last night. However, details of the freeze were revealed to the media by Rob Nabors, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Jan. 26. In that press conference, Nabors stated that the freeze would not affect the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs or State.

The official details of the freeze won't be known until Monday when the full federalbudget for FY 2011 is unveiled.

Public Events
10:30 AM EST
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen will participate in a media availability about counterdrug operations in the United States and the ongoing, multiagency efforts to interdict and prosecute criminals involved in these operations
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater
14850 Roosevelt BoulevardClearwater, Fla.

Cross-posted from The TSA Blog.

What’s wrong with this picture? Put quite simply, it’s a fake. The picture (minus the black boxes) has been gaining popularity ever since it was used on several popular web pages and blogs.

The TSA Office of Information Technology (OIT) was able to determine that the original images used to make these pictures were taken from a stock photo website and doctored to mimic Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) images. The doctored images are nothing more than full frontal photos (hence the black boxes) with the colors inverted. The image of the gun and belt were superimposed. This can be done with any basic image editing software.

It’s obvious that the woman shown on the left is not the woman in the doctored photos on the right. Notice that the bracelet on the right wrist in the clothed image does not appear in the doctored images. Her arms and legs are also in different positions in the clothed photo. It can be argued that maybe the photo was taken before she entered an AIT machine. Even so, just like X-ray images, hair does not show up in authentic AIT images and faces are blurred with a privacy algorithm.

Please take a look at this blog post to see larger versions of the images below and video of what AIT images actually look like.

Thanks, Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

• Anticipated attendance by dignitaries - Events which are attended by officials of the United States Government and/or foreign dignitaries also may create a federal interest in ensuring that the event transpires without incident and that sufficient resources are brought to bear in the event of an incident.
• Size of the event - A large number of attendees and participants generally increases the security requirements.
• Significance of the event - Some events have historical, political and/or symbolic significance and generate significant attention.

An updated story from the Coast Guard Compass, discussing their ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.

From CNN, on the Secretary's comments on global airline security standards:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday there is a "renewed sense of urgency in the international community" about terrorism after the Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a U.S.-bound plane, and the U.S. should now push for global security standards for international airports and aircraft.

"The attempted attack on the 25th of December was a powerful illustration that a terrorist would stop at nothing to kill Americans," Napolitano said. "I believe we have an important opportunity right now, right in front of us, to strengthen the system."

Napolitano last week traveled to Spain and Switzerland to meet with her counterparts, as well as foreign ministers and airline executives. Talks focused on four broad areas -- sharing information between countries, passenger vetting, security technology and creating international aviation security standards, she said.

"I was very gratified to see there exists a broad consensus for working on these four areas among my European counterparts and a clear sense of urgency to take immediate action to strengthen security measures," she said.

The trip culminated in a declaration confirming European and U.S. commitment to advancing security initiatives and to hold further talks about security.

Leadership Events
10 AM EST
Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute will testify about the Department’s ongoing efforts to enhance and improve security following the attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 before the House Committee on Homeland Security
311 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Public Events
10:30 AM EST
ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton will hold a news conference to announce the results of Project Big Freeze, a gang enforcement operation which targeted gangs in more than 50 cities with ties to known drug trafficking organizations
ICE Headquarters
Potomac Center North
500 12th St. SW, First Floor
Washington, D.C.

Secretary Napolitano just posted an entry in the Leadership Journal about her recent trip to Toledo, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland, where she met with our international partners to discuss strengthening aviation security standards following the attempted terrorist attack against Northwest Flight 253 on December 25th.

We encourage you to give it a read.

Last week, I was in Toledo, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with our European counterparts and aviation industry leaders on one of the Department of Homeland Security's major priorities: working with our international partners to strengthen aviation security standards following the attempted terrorist attack against Northwest Flight 253 on December 25th.

The attempted attack underscores that boarding a plane in one airport can give you access to almost any airport in the world. This means that we need a truly global approach to aviation security. While the failed bombing attempt took place on a U.S. bound flight, it involved at least four airports on three continents, and threatened the lives of citizens from 17 countries.

In Toledo, I found broad consensus on this point and a clear sense of urgency to take immediate action to strengthen security measures. Specifically, my European counterparts and I signed a joint declaration affirming our collective commitment to strengthening information sharing and passenger vetting, deploying additional proven security technologies, and bolstering international aviation security standards.

I found a similarly strong consensus in Geneva where I met with the leaders of the airlines that are part of the International Air Transport Association — which represents approximately 230 airlines and more than 90 percent of the world's air traffic. We agreed that government and the private sector must work collaboratively both to develop enhanced international security standards and–most importantly — to effectively implement them.

These meetings were the first in a series to bring about international agreement on stronger aviation security standards and procedures. Over the next few months, the International Civil Aviation Organization is facilitating several regional aviation security meetings where we will build on the progress we made in Toledo and Geneva.

Together, we can and will strengthen an international aviation system that, for half a century, has served as an extraordinary engine for progress and prosperity for the United States and around the world.

Janet Napolitano

Today, the President's cabinet reports back to you on the progress of the first year of the administration. Each cabinet secretary recorded a video message to the American people, detailing his or her department's work during the last 372 days, and looking forward to the year ahead.

Check out Secretary Napolitano's video below, and visit the White House website to watch the rest.

The Secretary and indeed the entire Department want to hear your thoughts on securing our country in the months and years to come. We encourage you to tell us what you think in the comment section below.

From USA Today, on evolving threats to our national security:

Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She was the governor
of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, Arizona's attorney general from 1999 to 2002, and
the U.S. attorney in Arizona from 1993 to 1998.

"One area we are now seeing more of is the whole cyber issue. We saw that with China and Google (which said its computers were hacked in China). We're seeing increasing attempts to use the Internet not only to connect different people as a facilitator of terrorist groups but also as a possible means of attack...

"It can be a denial of service attack, which really shuts down your access not only to the Internet, but in some circumstances, to services that are operated through the Internet, like communications. It can be fraud or misinformation. It can be the theft of valuable defense information or of intellectual property."

Q: Will terrorists still be focused on aviation in 2020?

A: "It's hard to predict that far out. But what we are assuming is that aviation could be (their focus), which is why we're continuing to work on the technology that is used at airports...We also are working across the international air environment because this is an international issue. We need to lift aviation standards around the world."

What are the challenges of doing
that?

"It's a challenge of capacity. In some places, it's a challenge of
political will. In some places, it's a challenge of resources."

Q: By 2020, will we see a body scanner at every airport checkpoint?

A: "I don't know about at every checkpoint. But I think what we'll see is a rapid deployment of body scanners, and rapid improvement of technology. We'll also see improvements in explosive detection (that will increase) our ability to pick up traces on persons and on baggage and on cargo, but particularly on persons."

From the Arizona Republic, on changes to the immigrant detention system:

The head of U.S. immigration enforcement on Monday announced plans for an overhaul of the government's controversial detention system for people who face deportation.

The moves described by John T. Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, address oversight, medical care and tracking of detainees at facilities in Arizona and across the country.

Plans include:

. Hiring 50 federal employees to oversee the largest detention facilities, which now are largely run by contractors without much government oversight, Morton said.
. Assigning regional case managers to keep tabs on detainees with significant medical problems to ensure they are getting proper care. Detainees with major problems will be housed in facilities near hospitals and medical centers, Morton said.
. In June, launching an online immigrant-detainee locator so family members can easily find their relatives when they are in custody awaiting possible deportation.

"You can look up their name and find out where they are and what the visiting hours are at that detention facility," Morton said, during a speech at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

From the Houston Chronicle, on the clean up effort in response to the Port Arthur oil spill:

As cleanup efforts of Texas' worst oil spill in more than a decade took shape Sunday, Coast Guard officials began examining radio transmissions to find out what went wrong in the moments before an 800-foot tanker collided with a barge carrying chemicals off Port Arthur.

Saturday morning's collision ripped a 15-by-8-foot hole in the hull of the Eagle Otome, which was loaded with Mexican crude oil intended for a Beaumont Exxon refinery. The crash dumped 462,000 gallons of oil into the intracoastal waterway in what Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said was the biggest Texas oil spill since 1994.

The slick spanned a stretch of seven or eight miles of waterway, threatening marshlands that serve as nurseries for juvenile shrimp and fish.

An army of 500 people manned the cleanup effort Sunday from helicopters, skimmers, boom vessels and several other Coast Guard boats. By the evening, cleanup crews had skimmed away 1,100 barrels of the 11,000 barrels spilled.

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will brief media and provide updates about her recent trip to Spain and Switzerland to discuss strengthening the security of the international aviation system with her European counterparts and global airline industry leaders
DHS Headquarters, Building 21
Nebraska Avenue Complex
3801 Massachusetts Ave NW

Public Events
11 AM PST
ICE Acting Los Angeles Deputy Special Agent in Charge Jorge Guzman will participate in a media availability hosted by the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Los Angeles, Calif.

The latest from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate.

Government brainiacs rethink the brain scanner so you can fly with all your liquids, gels, sprays, spreads…and so on.

Remember 2005, when you could still board a plane with shampoo in your bag, toothpaste in your purse, a can of soda in your hand? Do those fluid memories hurt right down to your denture cream?

Washington feels your pain. As Snapshots reported in 2008, researchers at the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have been fine-tuning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. By detecting ultralow magnetic fields, the lab’s creation—the Magnetic Vision Innovative Prototype (or MagViz)—can peer through whatever container you’re carrying, divine what’s in it, and let you pass with your bottled water or—during flu season—your hand sanitizer.

The first MagViz was an overachiever. It was programmed to be extremely sensitive, but like the palace sentinel who mistook the princess for a witch, it came off a bit paranoid. It “saw” danger in certain off-brand shampoos and sport drinks. Since then, with funding and guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the LANL team has fine-tuned the technology. MagViz’s spidey sense now casts a narrower net.
Last year, to test the new model’s selectivity, Department program evaluators planted a minefield of surprise liquids at Albuquerque International Airport. Their faith proved well-placed: Nothing nasty slipped past LANL’s brainchild; MagViz correctly flagged all liquid-bomb ingredients.

At the same time, MagViz gave the green light to all but one friendly fluid. And it withstood everyday mishaps—an outsize bag; a refrigerator magnet from the airport gift shop; a stuck-open door; a false loading, wherein an edgy passenger snatched back her half-inserted purse. (Yup.) On the operator’s display, threats were circled and lit up like Vegas, to the delight of screeners from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

And yet, MagViz’s precision does come with some challenges. In Albuquerque, the prototype had to be shielded from electromagnetic interference radiating from fluorescent ballasts, Wi-Fi laptops—even smartphones. That shielding came in the form of a hulking exoframe that would be too bulky for a real operational setting. To engineer a shielded MagViz in a compact enclosure, the Department will look to the private sector, where ingenuity spells profit.

Envisioning far-reaching applications for the new invention, R&D Magazine recognized the LANL team with a coveted 2009 R&D 100 Award. Such laurels are welcome validators, says MagViz program manager Stephen Surko of S&T’s Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA). But if MagViz is to earn its place behind thousands of X-ray stations, it must catch dangerous liquids reliably, affordably, and swiftly, while flagging few types of liquors as evil spirits.

To this end, Surko is evaluating a variety of concepts of operation. In most, MagViz would be placed immediately behind the X-ray machine, giving each carry-on a second scan. In smaller airports, where the screening area may be too short for a tandem arrangement, MagViz would sit off to the side. “You’d have to wait in a separate line,” concedes Surko, “but at least you could bring along that large bottle of H20.”

MagViz would be a tremendous improvement, but don’t expect miracles. Unlike a fingerprint, nuclear magnetic resonance signatures can vary. If, for example, a liquid is slightly warmer or cooler than expected, or its pH a bit more acidic or basic, the reading can change. “MagViz can see all these differences easily,” says Surko. “We need to learn how well we can predict them and account for them.”

The challenges—accounting for each such variance and shielding MagViz while keeping it trim—may prove a bridge too far. But if the departments of Homeland Security and Energy and the free market can cross each bridge, then traveling with toiletries, snow globes, and drinks may be a thing of the future, rather than the past.

Let’s just say we switched from European Time to Spanish Time, as Interior Minister Rubalcaba himself said.

On Wednesday, Secretary Napolitano spent the day testifying in two major hearings on the Hill—and when these hearings ran a little long, our plane to Spain took off a little behind schedule as well. Departing late is fine under most circumstances—the schedulers build in down time so we have some cushion between meetings and events in case something like this happens.
Not on this trip.

We’re in Europe for two days to discuss aviation security with our international partners – a critically important issue given the attempted attack on Dec.25 – and the Secretary has a packed schedule of meetings, events, interviews and bilateral discussions.

So, we took off at 6 PM from Washington, D.C., got two or three hours of sleep on the flight as the Secretary spent most of her time preparing for the next day’s meetings, and landed at 6:45 AM local time in Spain. I’d say my mood as we deplaned could have generously been described as “groggy,” as we were whisked from the airport to the site, past some incredible local scenery and buildings – including the Cathedral of Toledo – and arrived barely on time.

We had only had 10 minutes before we began our first event. Here's hoping no one noticed we went to our first two bilateral meetings in the clothes we slept in!

Fortunately, next we had a brief break as the Europeans met behind closed doors. Freshly scrubbed we reconvened and went full force into the first full day and evening of scheduled events. Spanish coffee was dark and plentiful to get us past jet lag, though.

On this short trip, we had a lot to accomplish in our conversations with ministers from more than 30 countries about ways we can work together to make the world’s skies safer and more secure for passengers worldwide. The main event today was the Toledo ministerial – at the invitation of Interior Minister Alfred Rubalcaba – with all of the Secretary’s European homeland security counterparts.

We had an incredibly productive session. The attempted attack on Dec. 25 threatened people from 17 foreign countries, including more than 100 citizens of European nations, and Secretary Napolitano stressed the incident’s “international dimensions,” pressing the room for support to strengthen global security and screening standards.

I must say, I was amazed at the unanimity among the European ministers on the need for more international consensus as we take immediate steps to address the security shortfalls that allowed a man – armed with an explosive device – to board a plane headed for the United States. We discussed information collection, information sharing, technological cooperation, international standards, and foreign security assistance.

The ministers discussion was so lively we went overtime, so lunch was a quick bite before more bilateral meetings. Interior Ministers, Justice Ministers -- I think there were eight meetings, not including the press conference and a few press interviews.

In the private bilateral meetings, the sentiments were even more candid and it's clear there is a mandate to move forward on some European and some American ideas -- we put them together in the ministerial statement the Spanish hosts released. We and our European partners will talk more about and refine them in the coming days.

Finally came dinner in the beautiful Museo de Santa Cruz, hosted by the region of Castilla-La Mancha. Not everyday one eats dinner looking at 16th century tapestries. I hope to come back another time to do justice to Toledo, including the museum and the cathedral.

This was the first in a series of top-level meetings that the Secretary expects to hold with her counterparts around the world as she works to build toward more concrete international coordination on aviation security.

We’ll send another update tomorrow, when she has more bilateral meetings here before flying on to Switzerland.

Mark

Mark Koumans is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs

From AFP, on the Secretary's international trip:

Washington would Thursday try to overcome EU doubts about the installation of aiport body scanners at talks in Spain, but European officials are seeking privacy safeguards before agreeing to the measure.

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attending an informal meeting of EU interior ministers in Toledo to try to strike a deal, deemed crucial following last month's failed bomb plot on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

She began her talks with a bilateral meeting with Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The two are scheduled to give a joint news conference at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) after Napolitano and the interior ministers from the 27 nation bloc wrap up their talks.

The gathering comes just one day after part of Munich airport was closed for three hours due to a major alert sparked by a man running away from a security check when his laptop tested positive for possible explosives which has fueled concerns over airline safety. Related article: All-clear at Munich airport

Napolitano will try to rally the support of key interior ministers, such as France's Brice Hortefeux, at the gathering whose support for the measure could prove to be decisive, a European official told AFP.

From the New York Times, on yesterday's hearings:

Restrictions put into place last year that limit how people are added to terrorist watch lists unintentionally compromised the nation's ability to prevent attacks, the Obama administration's top counterterrorism officials testified Wednesday.

The assertion came during a marathon of testimony on Capitol Hill as Congress held four separate hearings on the Dec. 25 plot by 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria to blow up an airliner headed to Detroit.

One after another, top officials including Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, and Michael E. Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, agreed that they personally deserved part of the blame for failing to disrupt the plot.

But they also said that complaints about bloated terrorist watch lists - which at times mean that innocent travelers are subject to extra airport scrutiny - had resulted in a change in the final year of the Bush administration that too tightly governed how names were added to these lists.

"Why are you searching grandmothers?" Mr. Blair said of the criticism that led in 2008 to the approval of the new policy, which was only formally put into place last year. "I should not have given in to that pressure, but it was a factor."

The testimony came on the same day that Erroll Southers, a former F.B.I. agent and counterterrorism supervisor for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, withdrew his name as the nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees aviation security.

From McClatchy, on Temporary Protected Status for certain Haitians residing in the United States:

Federal immigration officials are expecting up to 200,000 undocumented Haitian immigrants, including nearly 68,000 in South Florida, to apply for a new federal immigration program that would allow the migrants to legally remain and work in the United States for 18 months.

The estimated number of potential applicants for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, is far larger than earlier predictions of about 30,000 Haitians nationwide, according to local immigrant organizations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials.

The higher figures emerged Wednesday during a briefing with reporters by USCIS
Director Alejandro Mayorkas. He was in Miami to meet with several South Florida immigrant aid organizations involved in assisting undocumented Haitian immigrants applying for TPS.

His visit comes on the heels of the Obama administration's announcement last week to grant TPS to undocumented Haitian immigrants who were in the United States on or before Jan. 12 -- the day the earthquake struck Haiti. Those who arrive after the Jan. 12 deadline will be repatriated to Haiti.

TPS is an immigration benefit reserved for selected undocumented migrants from countries disrupted by natural disasters, armed conflicts or other emergencies.

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will participate in a media availability following her meetings with her European counterparts to discuss ways to bolster international security measures and standards for aviation security
Hotel Beatriz
Carretera Ávila, Km 2,750
Toledo, Spain

We encourage you to check out a few of the following posts from The Compass, the Coast Guard's blog. They've been heavily involved in Haiti, and have been posting some first-hand reports from the field.

Guardians Report In: HS1 Larry Berman

Updated – Guardians Report In: FN Rebekah Runner

Field Notes: LCDR Christopher O’Neil

Guardians Report In from Haiti

A few stories this morning on the Haiti relief efforts:

From the Miami Herald, on humanitarian parole for certain Haitian orphans:

In a late development on Monday, the U.S. governmentannounced it was granting humanitarian paroles to hundreds of Haitian orphans who were waiting to be adopted by Americans before the earthquake.

``While we remain focused on family reunification in Haiti, authorizing the use of humanitarian parole for orphans who are eligible for adoption in the United States will allow them to receive the care they need here,'' said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The humanitarian parole policy will be applied on a case-by-case basis to the following children: . Children who have been legally confirmed as orphans eligible for inter-country adoption by the government of Haiti and are being adopted by U.S. citizens.

. Children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for intercountry adoption and have been matched to U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents.

Napolitano left the door open for other needy orphans to be considered for the humanitarian parole.

The Catholic Church in Miami has announced plans to launch a second Operation Pedro Pan, this time to house in South Florida Haitian children at risk. They have already identified three sites; two in Miami-Dade and one in Broward.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, on a group of Haitian orphans evacuated to the United States:

A group of 53 Haitian orphans was expected to arrive in Pittsburgh this morning as part of a mission led by Gov. Ed Rendell to rescue the children from an earthquake-battered orphanage run by two Ben Avon sisters.

A military transport plane carrying the Pittsburgh delegation, which included lawmakers, doctors and others, left Port-au-Prince shortly before 11 p.m., said Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Rendell.

The plane was expected to land first at Homestead Air Force Base in Miami, Tuma said. Republic Airways provided the charter jet to Haiti, according to officials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which helped coordinate the effort.

Plans called for the children to receive medical checkups at Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville after their arrival in Pittsburgh and stay with temporary caregivers licensed by Allegheny County. Volunteers from The American Red Cross and Catholic Charities were setting up cots and supplies such as clothing, blankets and food at the hospital, said spokesman Marc Lukasiak.

"I feel good about this," said Leon Pamphile, executive director of the nonprofit Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti, a native of Port-au-Prince who lives in Pittsburgh and whose niece was part of the contingent. "Everyone is so happy."

From the Washington Post, on Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the United States:

When a friend called a 36-year-old Haitian woman from Takoma Park to tell her Haitians who have been living in the United States illegally will be allowed to stay and work for the next 18 months, the woman dropped the phone.

"I screamed. I got on my knees. And I cried 'Lord, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,' " the woman, whose middle name is Stephanie, recalled. "Nine years I have been waiting for this."

But for Stephanie, who asked that only her middle name be used because she does not want acquaintances to know she has been an illegal immigrant all this time, the feeling was bittersweet.

The massive earthquake that prompted the Obama aministration to extend Haitians "temporary protected status" or TPS, flattened the house in Port-au-Prince where Stephanie grew up, leaving two of her brothers and their children homeless. Two other brothers are still unaccounted for.

"I said, 'Lord, All those people had to lose their lives so that you can deliver me from my hardship?' It's like joy and sorrow at the same time."

So it went in Haitian immigrant enclaves across the country this weekend as word of the TPS decision Friday spread among the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 foreigners expected to qualify.

Many are still trying to sort out the details.

"Will I need a lawyer?" wondered Vertus Louidor, 31, also of Takoma Park, who has mostly relied on close friends to house and feed her since she fled the poverty and unemployment of her rural hometown four years ago.

Dady Philogene, 28, a mother of two young American children who lives in Salisbury, was nervous about identifying herself to authorities--especially since there is no guarantee the status will be renewed after 18 months. "It's hard to put into words the feeling," she said. "You ask yourself what is going to happen afterwards."

But she was still keen to try. "Can I ask you a question, How long will the process take? When can I apply?" she asked a reporter.

Public Events
2 PM Local
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) US-VISIT Director Robert Mocny will deliver remarks about US-VISIT’s current and upcoming initiatives at the First Conference on Technical Cooperation for Border Management
Shangri-La Hotel, Grand Ballroom
New Road
Bangkok, Thailand

Current Situation

UPDATE 1/15/2010 - 5:30 PM EST: The Secretary just announced the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. This is a historic disaster, and TPS will allow eligible Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States to continue living and working in our country for the next 18 months. This designation is part of the Administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery, and will protect Haitians who would otherwise be endangered by returning home.

From the Secretary's statement:

"At this moment of tragedy in Haiti it is tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhere. But attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation. The international community has rallied to deliver relief to Haiti. Much has already arrived and much more is on the way. The Haitians are resilient and determined and their role in addressing this crisis in their homeland will be essential to Haiti's future.

It is important to note that TPS will apply only to those individuals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. Those who attempt to travel to the United States after January 12, 2010 will not be eligible for TPS and will be repatriated.

Haitians in the U.S. who are eligible to apply for TPS should go to http://www.uscis.gov/ or call USCIS toll-free at (800) 375-5283.”

Read the full text of the Secretary's statement.

The department continues to stand up assets as the situation in Haiti develops and the extent of the devastation is more fully realized. The Secretary recorded the following message on the disaster and the department's response in the aftermath:



As we mentioned yesterday, The United States Coast Guard has deployed four cutters - the Forward, Mohawk, Valiant and Tahoma - to Haiti to render assistance. They are joined by two C-130 Hercules fixed wing aircraft conducting over flights and patrols, and two Coast Guard helicopters are forward deployed in the area to provide rescue or other assistance. The Coast Guard and FEMA remain in close contact with the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (the U.S. entity tasked with coordinating U.S. efforts), as the situation develops. We'll keep you updated on the operational details as we have them.

How You Can Help

The White House has set up the following site for individuals who wish to donate money, goods, and services to the relief effort, and to get information on the entire federal response to this unspeakable disaster.


You can also visit usaid.gov, the lead federal agency coordinating the relief efforts, for updates.

We've also received an outpouring of goodwill and requests from individuals wishing to offer their personal assistance to the relief effort. We commend anyone who is willing to travel to help the people of Haiti. However, we must remind everyone that we cannot permit any personally identiable information to be posted in the comment section of the blog. This means email addresses, physical addresses, telephone numbers, and social security numbers. Please visit the White House website above to find out how you can help those affected by this disaster.

From the New York Times, on the U.S. response to the Haiti earthquake:

President Obama, facing the first large-scale humanitarian crisis of his presidency, moved quickly to send help to Haiti, pledging Wednesday that the Haitians and their devastated island nation would have the "unwavering support" of the United States.

Within hours of Mr. Obama being informed of the quake in Haiti on Tuesday, United States officials were plotting a response that included ships, transport planes, helicopters and thousands of Marines.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decided Wednesday night to cancel the rest of her Pacific trip and return to Washington.

Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of the United States Southern Command, said that one of the Navy's large amphibious ships would probably be sent to Haiti, with a Marine expeditionary unit aboard, and that other American military forces were on alert, including a brigade of 3,500 troops. He said the Pentagon was "seriously looking" at sending thousands of Marines to help the disaster effort.

The Navy aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was deployed from Norfolk, Va.; military commanders said it should arrive in two days. In addition, White House officials said the military was looking into sending the Southern Command's hospital ship, the Comfort, in light of reports that most of Haiti's medical facilities were severely damaged if not destroyed. The Coast Guard also sent four cutters.

From the Miami Herald, on the halting of U.S. deportations to Haiti:

In the aftermath of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, the Obama administration announced Wednesday it was temporarily suspending deportations of undocumented Haitians.

But there was no immediate indication that the federal government would grant Haitian nationals Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, an immigration benefit long sought by Haitian activists and South Florida lawmakers.

TPS is granted to selected immigrants who cannot safely return to their homelands
because of natural disasters, armed conflicts or other emergencies. Those eligible are allowed to remain here and obtain work permits and temporary stays for specific periods -- a status often renewed indefinitely.

``TPS is in the range of considerations we consider in a disaster, but our focus remains on saving lives,'' Matthew Chandler, deputy Homeland Security press secretary, said in an e-mail to El Nuevo Herald after the department announced it was halting deportations.

From USA Today, on how people can donate in the wake of the earthquake:

After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma ravaged cities along the Gulf Coast in 2005, private donations by Americans to help victims totaled $6.47 billion, according to a philanthropy center.

After the 2004 tsunami struck in Asia, private donations approached $2 billion, Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy said.

Although government agencies provide assistance after natural disasters, charity experts say private donations will again be critical to helping Haiti.

"It's immediate cash for immediate needs," said Patrick Rooney, executive director of the philanthropy center. "Then there are other needs for longer-term, more sustained rebuilding of . the whole infrastructure."

Among organizations that need assistance:

. The American Red Cross has pledged an initial $1 million donation. People can contribute online (redcross.org), or make a $10 donation by sending a text message with the word "Haiti" to 90999.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

From the San Jose Mercury News, on a disrupted lottery scam:

Federal authorities Monday handed a $7,000 check to an elderly San Jose woman, money that was intercepted at the Canadian border as part of a sweepstakes scam - but she still lost $300,000 in a previous scam.

The $7,000 was recovered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Canadian police have not yet arrested those involved with that scam, officials said.

The victim, an 82-year-old woman who asked not to be identified, told the Mercury News she was told by phone in early 2009 that she won $4.5 million in the Canadian sweepstakes. She said a "lovely gentleman'' who claimed to work for the U.S. Department of Justice told her she needed to pay taxes before she was to claim the winnings.

The woman cashed in her savings and sent in three checks totaling about $300,000, she tsaid. Then, the man told her she'd also won a $10 million lottery in Hong Kong and would have to pay $1 million in taxes to claim that prize. And she sent in even more money - $7,000 in cash - before authorities got wind of what was happening?.

They intercepted the envelope containing the money at the Canadian border, according to ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

From the Eureka Times Standard, on the damage toll form this weekend's earthquake in California:

As Humboldt County continued the process Monday of assessing the destruction left in the wake of Saturday's earthquake, the figures kept creeping up, with more than $28 million in damage now estimated in Eureka alone.

"We're still inspecting damaged buildings, so we do expect that number to increase," said Gary Bird, public information officer for Eureka's emergency response team.

While Eureka was the hardest hit in Saturday's 6.5 earthquake that struck at 4:27 p.m. about 20 miles west northwest of Ferndale, damage reports trickled in Monday from other areas of the county. Meanwhile, the Humboldt County Chapter of the American Red Cross continued to help the 14 individuals displaced by the quake connect with services, retain shelter and generally move on with their lives.

The county's state and national representatives also continued working Monday to ensure the area is in line for federal and state aid, if it's needed.

From the Associated Press, on a fuel spill in Alaska:

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a report that an underground diesel tank on Alaska's Adak Island has leaked fuel.

Adak Petroleum personnel said Monday night that a tank containing about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel had reportedly released an unknown amount into Sweeper Cove.

The workers reported that the fuel is contained within the cove, and they are using recovery equipment to clean it up.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen says Coast Guard personnel and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation workers are making plans to fly to Adak on Tuesday to assess the size of the spill and monitor cleanup.

Public Events
1:30 PM EST
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Under Secretary Rand Beers will deliver remarks highlighting NPPD’s critical infrastructure protection efforts at the National Infrastructure Advisory Council Quarterly Business Meeting
National Press Club (Ballroom)
529 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C.

Cross-posted from the Coast Guard Compass.

Results are in! The winners of the first annual Coast Guard Video of the Year Award are…

Drum roll please…..

First Place

With an average rating of 4.64 (out of a possible 5) stars, Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish wins first place for their video featuring the dewatering of the fishing vessel Blue Diamond about 90 miles off the coast of New Jersey. The 87-foot CGC Sailfish is homeported in Sandy Hook, NJ.

“The entire crew is pumped to win this contest!” said the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Steve Davies. ”When Chief Goss was taking the pictures and video during the rescue, he was just thinking about the families and friends of Sailfish. We hadn’t thought about posting anything online, but then the First District Public Affairs staff put a great video together and posted it online for everyone to see. It’s a great feeling to get some recognition for the work we did that day. The Coast Guard did a lot of great things in 2009 and we were just lucky the case was successful, the three fishermen and their vessel were saved, and that we were able to capture some of it on film.”

Click here to read more on the rescue and watch our winning video (or watch the extended version of the rescue operation here).


Second Place

With an average rating of 3.53 stars, Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 409, a Tactical Law Enforcement Team South (TACLET South) unit located in South Florida, won second place for a Navy video of the LEDET capturing suspected pirates as part of Combined Task Force 151.

“It was a great working relationship between the LEDET and the crew of USS Gettysburg,” said Lieutenant Dave Ratner, Commanding Officer of TACLET South. “It is a big honor to be involved in showing the public the Coast Guard’s involvement in non-traditional, overseas missions and our efforts to help combat the international piracy efforts.”

Click here to read about the mission and watch our second place video (or watch an extended version of the operation here).

LEDET 409 places second in the 2009 Coast Guard Video of the Year contest. Click the image to watch the extended version of the joint operation.

Third Place

With an average rating of 3.35 stars, Coast Guard Air Station Astoria won third place with a video featuring the rescue of a paraglider from a cave on the shoreline of Cape Lookout. The rescue swimmer, AST3 Robert Emley, and his flight crew were featured as the Guardians of the Week a few days after the SAR case. Amazingly, this rescue was just one of five missions in 12 hours the air crew conducted that day.

Click here to read about this daring rescue and watch our third place video.

AirSta Astoria places third in the 2009 Coast Guard Video of the Year contest. Click the image to watch the video of the rescue operation.

All of the video nominations were fantastic, but the top three winners were determined by the public’s vote using YouTube’s rating system of one to five stars. The winning units will receive an HD Flip video camera in a waterproof case to enhance their ability to capture and share imagery of their operations.

Congratulations to all of this year’s top 11 videos! Excellent job using video to highlight the missions and stories of America’s Guardians.

The next contest featured on the Compass blog will be the People’s Choice Award for this year’s Coast Guard Photo Contest. Click here for details.

From USA Today, on advanced imaging technology:

Air travelers strongly approve of the government's use of body scanners at the nation's airports even if the machines compromise privacy, a USA TODAY/Gallup poll finds.
Poll respondents appeared to endorse a Transportation Security Administration plan to install 300 scanners at the nation's largest airports this year to replace metal detectors. The machines, used in 19 airports, create vivid images of travelers under their clothes to reveal plastics and powders to screeners observing monitors in a closed room.
"It would seem much more thorough than the process that we're doing now," poll respondent Joel Skousen, 38, of Willcox, Ariz., said. "It would put me more at ease getting on a plane."
In the poll, 78% of respondents said they approved of using the scanners, and 67% said they are comfortable being examined by one. Eighty-four percent said the machines would help stop terrorists from carrying explosives onto airplanes. The survey was taken Jan. 5-6 of 542 adults who have flown at least twice in the past year.
Only 29% of respondents say they are more concerned about air safety since the alleged Dec. 25 attempt by a Nigerian passenger to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight. Bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab got through an airport metal detector in Amsterdam with powder explosives in his underwear.

From CNN, on ICE's Secure Communities program:

Evans Mesadieu has racked up a lengthy rap sheet during the three years he has lived illegally in the United States.
He has been convicted of at least six charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer and cruelty to children.
Each time he was arrested, Mesadieu lied about his status, using 15 aliases in Georgia and Florida that allowed him to continue living illegally in the country.
Now, he faces deportation back to his home country, the Bahamas, because of a new fingerprinting program launched by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"What we are introducing to the process is the digital exchange of the fingerprints so that we can run them through the databases, not only at the FBI but at the Department of Homeland Security for immigration purposes in a matter of minutes and get them back to the law enforcement officials," said John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security.
The Secure Communities program was launched in one county in October 2008 and has been growing ever since. It is now available in 108 counties in 11 states, and DHS hopes to have the program available nationwide by 2013.
"Secure Communities is all about public safety, and it is all about trying to identify for removal from this country serious criminal offenders in local communities," Morton said.

From the Associated Press, on this weekend's earthquake in California:

Residents of a Northern California county gingerly cleaned up Sunday after the area dodged a catastrophe, escaping a 6.5 magnitude earthquake with little more than bumps, cuts and broken glass.
Entrances to Eureka's Bayshore Mall were blocked as engineers surveyed for damage. Area bridges suffered some bent rails, and local stores reported messy aisles where bottles and jars flew from shelves and shattered, authorities said.
"We're very, very fortunate that it's not worse, but there is a lot of damage," Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., said in a Eureka press conference. "This is a big deal."
Still, the Saturday afternoon temblor - centered in the Pacific about 22 miles west of Ferndale - caused only limited structural damage and a few hours of power outage. There were no major injuries, other than an elderly resident's fracture hip.
A preliminary estimate of damage in Eureka came to $12.5 million, said the city's fire chief, Eric Smith. No countywide assessment was available.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

The Secretary just posted an entry in the Leadership Journal about yesterday's report and briefing, and about the steps the department is taking - both at home and abroad - to enhance our aviation security and information sharing methods and practices.  We encourage you to give it a read.

Yesterday, I joined White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan to announce recommendations that DHS has made to the President for improving the technology and procedures used to protect air travel from acts of terrorism.

The attempted attack on Northwest Flight 253 is a powerful illustration that terrorists will go to great lengths to try to defeat the security measures that have been put in place since Sept. 11, 2001. The steps I outlined yesterday will strengthen aviation security—at home and abroad—through new partnerships, technology and law enforcement efforts.

These steps include

• Re-evaluating and modifying the criteria and process used to create terrorist watch lists—including adjusting the process by which names are added to the “No-Fly” and “Selectee” lists.
• Establishing a partnership on aviation security between DHS and the Department of Energy and its National Laboratories in order to develop new and more effective technologies to deter and disrupt known threats and protect against new ways by which terrorists could seek to board an aircraft.
• Accelerating deployment of advanced imaging technology to provide greater explosives detection capabilities—and encourage foreign aviation security authorities to do the same—in order to identify materials such as those used in the attempted Dec. 25 attack. The Transportation Security Administration currently has 40 machines deployed throughout the United States, and plans to deploy 300 additional units in 2010.
• Strengthening the presence and capacity of aviation law enforcement—by deploying law enforcement officers from across DHS to serve as Federal Air Marshals to increase security aboard U.S.-bound flights.
• Working with international partners to strengthen international security measures and standards for aviation security.

Additionally, last week I dispatched Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials to meet with leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South America to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights and work on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists

Later this month, I will travel to Spain for the first of a series of global meetings with my international counterparts intended to bring about broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures.

These steps come in addition to the Department’s immediate actions following the attempted attack on Dec. 25, 2009—including enhanced security measures at domestic airports and new international security directives that mandate enhanced screening of every individual flying into the United States from or through nations that are State Sponsors of Terrorism or other countries of interest and threat-based, random enhanced screening for all other passengers traveling on U.S.-bound flights.

I want to thank the Department of Homeland Security personnel who have been working day-in and day-out to implement these security measures since Christmas—as well as the traveling public for their continued patience. The public remains one of our most valuable layers of defense against acts of terrorism.

Janet Napolitano

From AFP, on the President's address and the subsequent briefing:

President Barack Obama has declared "the buck stops with me" over major intelligence flaws exposed by an Al-Qaeda attack on a US passenger jet and ordered a sweeping homeland security overhaul.

Releasing two reports on the thwarted Christmas Day bombing, Obama said spy agencies did not properly "connect and understand" disparate data that could have busted the plot as it was planned by an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen.

He said the probes revealed that US analysts knew alleged attacker Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was an extremist and knew Al-Qaeda in Yemen was plotting an attack -- but could not connect the two strands of intelligence.

And as critics charge his administration is too soft on terror and slow to act after the attack, Obama said the United States is "at war with Al-Qaeda" but promised terrorists would not force Americans to adopt a "siege" mentality.

"I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer," Obama said, signaling there would be no immediate firings of top spy chiefs over the security breakdown.

"Ultimately the buck stops with me. As president, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people, and when the system fails, it is my responsibility."

From the Washington Post, on the use of full body imaging technology:

The United States will urge governments around the world to deploy controversial whole-body imaging scanners at airports to detect explosives and other objects hidden beneath people's clothing, President Obama said Thursday.

The announcement came as Obama and top security aides detailed intelligence failures and responses to aviation security gaps uncovered in the Dec. 25 incident in which a 23-year-old Nigerian man linked to al-Qaeda allegedly tried to blow up an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight with explosives hidden in his underwear.

On air travel screening, administration officials elaborated on decisions previously announced: ramping up the presence of federal air marshals, for example, particularly on the 2,000 daily U.S.-bound international flights, and buying 300 advanced imaging scanners, as previously planned, to augment 40 already in place and 150 set to be deployed later this year.

Obama called on U.S. intelligence and security communities to strengthen terrorist watch lists, especially the nation's no-fly list, by expanding criteria for people to be included. The president also demanded reviews that could lead to additional travelers being subjected to time-consuming secondary security checks at airports, as well as visa denials and revocations at consulates.

One sensitive debate is whether and how to expand scrutiny at airports beyond the roughly 4,000 people on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's no-fly list and a "selectee" list of about 14,000 people identified for further questioning, said one senior domestic security official. Alleged Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was never placed on those lists.

There are no public events scheduled for today.

UPDATE: The Secretary will now brief from the White House today at 5:15 PM EST. You can still watch live at whitehouse.gov/live.

We mentioned it in the morning roundup, but the Secretary will participate in a briefing this afternoon at the White House with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan to discuss the report on the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack.

You can watch the briefing live on the White House’s website at 3:45 PM EST today.

From AFP, on today's release of the attempted terrorist attack review:

The White House will on Thursday release an unclassified version of a report into intelligence failures relating to terrorist watch-lists, following the thwarted Christmas Day airliner attack.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he anticipated the public portion of the report "will be released tomorrow" after President Barack Obama receives a classified version of the data from his top anti-terror expert John Brennan.

"I think you'll see tomorrow that this is a failure that touches across the full waterfront of our intelligence agencies," Gibbs said, adding that Obama would make a public statement on the review on Thursday.

"The review will simply identify and make recommendations as to what was lacking and what needs to be strengthened," Gibbs said.

On Tuesday, Obama said that the review into the terrorist watch-listing system had revealed "human and systemic failures" that led to the attempted downing of a Northwest jet carrying 290 people on Christmas Day.

From the New York Times, on enhanced airport screening and security procedures:

As he arrived at O’Hare International airport here on Wednesday, Dennis Weyrauch, a passenger, described two hours of waiting and scrutiny at the airport in Amsterdam before his plane took off: as happened to all passengers on his flight, his carry-on bag was searched methodically by hand, the insides of bottles in his toilet kit studied and his body patted down.

“It was thorough; it was extensive; it felt like a police pat down,” said Mr. Weyrauch, who is 53 and a lawyer from Eagle, Idaho. “It seemed excessive to tell you the truth. I didn’t get any additional measure of comfort from the security measures, and I wondered, as a practical matter, how long they’re going to be able to do this.”

At airports around the country nearly two weeks after a thwarted terrorism attempt on a flight to Detroit, dozens of travelers told of remarkably different experiences with security measures. For domestic flights, many noticed little new, aside from more police dogs in terminals and, in some instances, random pat-downs and bag checks.

From the Associated Press, on the indictment of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab:

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day was indicted Wednesday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear, authorities say.

The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish.

The bomb was designed to detonate "at a time of his choosing," the grand jury's indictment said.

There is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment, but President Barack Obama considers the incident an attempted strike against the United States by an affiliate of al-Qaida.

Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. His father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had drifted into extremism in Yemen, but that threat was never fully digested by the U.S. security apparatus

Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will participate in a briefing with Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan, and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C.

From the New York Times, on President Obama's meeting and subsequent remarks on the last month's attempted terrorist attack:

President Obama said Tuesday that the government had sufficient information to uncover the terror plot to bring down a commercial jetliner on Christmas Day, but that intelligence officials had "failed to connect those dots."

"This was not a failure to collect intelligence," Mr. Obama said after meeting with his national security team for nearly two hours. "It was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had."

He added: "We have to do better, we will do better, and we have to do it quickly. American lives are on the line."

The tone of the president's remarks on Tuesday - the sharpest of any of his statements since the incident nearly two weeks ago - underscored his anger over the lapses in intelligence as well as his efforts to minimize any political risks from his administration's response.

The president said he was suspending the transfer of detainees from the Guant?namo Bay military prison to Yemen, where a Qaeda cell has been connected to the Dec. 25 attack. While Mr. Obama also renewed his commitment to close the prison, halting the transfer underscores the difficulty he faces in closing the center and reflects the criticism Republicans have directed at the administration.

From USA Today, on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and travel to and from the Olympics:

When the 2010 Winter Olympic Games start in Vancouver on Feb. 12, they not only will draw athletes from across the globe but legions of citizens from the USA - all of whom will need to present newly-required forms of identification to cross the border.

In anticipation of that, and in the face of criticism of the increased documentation requirements and costs for cross-border travel that went into effect last June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a $2 million marketing campaign to remind people in the Northwest about identification options for border crossings.

Last month, the department began targeting Washington, Idaho and Oregon with radio, television, print and Internet ads, said Joanne Ferreira, public affairs officer with Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection office.

The ads, featuring Olympians such as skier Bill Demong, include reminders that identity documentation will be required to get back into the USA and direct people to a Homeland Security travel website -www.GetYouHome.gov -to find out about the various document options, several of which are less expensive than obtaining a passport.

"I know I'll stick my landing at the border crossing coming home," Demong says in one 30-second TV spot.

Public Events
3 PM EST
NPPD Infrastructure Protection Assistant Secretary Todd Keil will discuss the Infrastructure Protection mission and the important role of resilience in a Webinar entitled “Infrastructure Resiliency: The Next Frontier in Homeland Security.” For more information: www.dhs.gov/files/programs/critical-infrastructure.shtm

From the Associated Press, on the President's meeting with his national security team:

The government has added dozens of people to the ominous lists of suspected terrorists and those barred from U.S.-bound flights, a crackdown that comes as President Barack Obama is poised to announce changes to the nation's watchlists.

At the White House on Tuesday, Obama will speak in fresh detail about the findings of the urgent, sprawling reviews he ordered of how the government screens airline passengers and how it works to detect and track possible terrorists. Obama's remarks, to come after his meeting with top security and intelligence officials, will outline steps designed to strengthen the watchlisting effort and to thwart future terrorists attacks, the White House said.

The move comes after what officials call a botched effort by a Nigerian man to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas, one that exposed cracks in the nation's security system, which is built upon the ability of agencies to share information and connect dots.

Meanwhile, people flying to the U.S. from overseas will continue to see enhanced security. The Transportation Security Administration has directed airlines to give full-body pat-downs to U.S.-bound travelers from Yemen, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and 11 other countries the U.S. believes have terrorism activity - a move criticized by one Muslim advocacy group.

From The Los Angeles Times, on increased travel security measures:

A UC Irvine student from Bahrain and his father experience the increased screening efforts that took effect Monday in response to a Nigerian's alleged attempt to bring down a flight on Christmas.

Some international travelers faced increased scrutiny Monday from airport security officials before boarding flights bound for Los Angeles and other destinations in the United States.Flying from Saudi Arabia, a UC Irvine student and his father, both Bahraini, said they encountered more security than usual at London's Heathrow Airport, where they passed through metal detectors and, like other passengers, underwent pat-down searches.

Then, after arriving at Los Angeles International, they were questioned by authorities as they claimed their luggage at the Tom Bradley terminal, and officials searched a book bag the student was carrying. The passengers, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified for fear of being harassed, said authorities wanted to know why they were in the U.S. and where they lived.

Public Events
6PM MST
CBP Yuma Sector Border Patrol will host a community forum at the San Luis City Council Chamber
1090 E. Union St.
San Luis, Ariz.

From Reuters, on the Deputy Secretary's international trip:

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will dispatch senior agency officials to meet with airport executives around the world to review security and technology used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights, the department said.

The decision was announced late on Thursday, six days after a botched attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a plane en route to Detroit from Amsterdam.

Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute and Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman will spearhead a broad international outreach effort at major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, the department said in a statement.

"We are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports," Napolitano said in the statement.

"I will follow up on these efforts with ministerial-level meetings within the next few weeks," she said.

From the New York Times, on increased international travel security:

Citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will be subjected indefinitely to the intense screening at airports worldwide that was imposed after the Christmas Day bombing plot, Obama administration officials announced Sunday.

But American citizens, and most others who are not flying through those 14 nations on their way to the United States, will no longer automatically face the full range of intensified security that was imposed after the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight, officials said.

In the immediate aftermath of the episode, officials had put in place heightened restrictions, and the change on Sunday represents an easing of that response. But the action on Sunday further establishes a global security system that treats people differently based on what country they are from, evoking protests from civil rights groups.

Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, countries that are considered "state sponsors of terrorism," as well as those of "countries of interest" - including Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen - will face the special scrutiny, officials said.

From the San Diego Union Tribune, on Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements at the nation's borders and ports of entry:

U.S. citizens entering the United States at land or sea ports from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean must present one of these documents:

. U.S. passport or passport card
. Trusted-traveler document, such as SENTRI
. Radio-chip-enhanced driver's license available in some states, but not California
. Birth certificate or naturalization certificate for minors younger than 16
. Tribal identification
. Military identification for service members traveling under orders

In the months following the implementation of new travel-document requirements at U.S. land and sea port of entries last June, there was a spike in the number of people arrested along the southern border posing as U.S. citizens, customs officials say.

Between June 1 and the end of August, the latest period for which information is available, there was a 30 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier in the number of people who tried to enter illegally by either declaring themselves to be U.S. citizens, posing as citizens using someone else's documents, or using phony ones.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials aren't sure why the increase has occurred, but believe it is tied to the introduction of stricter document requirements at the border that began last year. Among other things, it has been a year since oral declarations of citizenship, once an accepted practice, were ruled out and travelers were required to present some sort of identification.

There are no public events scheduled for today.