Charles Schumer is calling for a probe of security safeguards at nuclear plants following revelations that a suspected al-Qaida operative worked at six U.S. atomic facilities.

Sharif Mobley is now in custody in Yemen following a shootout at a hospital there.

The 26-year-old is a U.S. citizen and officials say he passed all necessary background checks when he worked as a contract laborer at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Schumer says he wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Inspector General to look into the reliability of background checks conducted on plant workers.

He says the episode suggests checks may need to be more thorough.

Source: AP

The New York congresswoman representing White Plains says the city’s federal courthouse should not be considered for the trial of the professed mastermind of the 2001 terror attacks.

The courthouse is part of the same federal district as Manhattan, where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed originally was to be tried. New York City officials objected, and Obama administration officials say other sites are being considered.

Rep. Nita Lowey, a Democrat, sent a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder, saying local opposition, security issues and costs argue against White Plains.

White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley also expressed concerns Tuesday, saying the city would immediately become a terror target if the trial were held there.

Source: AP

Facing growing opposition to its plans to hold the Sept. 11 terrorist trial in New York City, the Obama administration is considering moving the proceedings elsewhere.

Two administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Friday the Justice department is drawing up plans for possible alternate locations to try professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in case Congress or local officials prevent the trial from being held in Manhattan.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deliberation.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that the trial would be held in Manhattan federal court, generating stiff opposition in Congress and in New York.

Word that the administration is considering a backup plan for its most high-profile terrorism trial comes after President Barack Obama and Holder have spent weeks on the defensive about their handling of terrorism threats.

The administration has admitted intelligence missteps leading up to the failed Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner, and the case re-ignited a debate in Congress about whether such terror suspects should face civilian or military justice.

Moving the trial would be a major political setback for the administration’s oft-stated aims in the fight against terrorism.

The officials did not say where else the trial might be held, but others have suggested an unpopulated island near Manhattan, or nearby military installations.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally supported the plan, reversed his position this week and called Holder to lobby for moving the trial outside lower Manhattan. The city has claimed it will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars to provide security for a court case that is expected to last at least a year.

Following Bloomberg’s reversal, lawmakers stepped up their opposition as well. Rep. Mike Pence said Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it is “a terrible idea to return the mastermind of 9/11 to the scene of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.”

The Indiana Republican said he believes some congressional Democrats will join Republicans in seeking legislation to block funding for security-related costs if the administration doesn’t back down.

Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show Friday that he had spoken with several “high level” people in the administration and made his point that the trial would be expensive and disruptive to lower Manhattan. He said the administration understands and is “trying to do something.”

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said Thursday he has introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of Justice Department funds to try Guantanamo detainees in federal civilian courts. Hours later, New York Gov. David Paterson said he wants discussion with federal officials on the issue of venue.

In addition, six senators on Tuesday wrote to Holder and urged him to abandon the idea.

The letter read, in part, “You will be providing them one of the most visible platforms in the world to exalt their past acts and to rally others in support of further terrorism.”

It was signed by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut; John McCain, Republican of Arizona; Blanche L. Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas; Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine; Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia; and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina.

Paterson said that although he’s certain New York City will be safe, he thinks there should be a discussion with federal officials over whether to move the trial.

Source: AP

The police commissioner says he’s considering a proposal by Community Board 1 recommending a change of venue for the upcoming terror trial.

Last night, the community board voted unanimously to oppose the planned location of the so-called terror trials, including the prosecution of self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11th terrorist attacks Khalid Sheik Mohammed. The trial is set to take place at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

Instead, the board proposed the use of Governors Island, a former military detention and arms facility, as the location for the trial.

Lower Manhattan residents say the increased security for the trials, which could take several years, would be disruptive for the community. About $200 million in federal security funds has been set aside for increased security for the trials.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today that while 500 Pearl Street is the planned location, Governors Island may be an option.

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An American-educated Pakistani scientist accused of being an al-Qaida operative is set to go on trial today.

Opening arguments are scheduled in Manhattan federal court in the trial of Aafia Siddiqui.

She’s charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to shoot American soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan last July.

The mother of three is accused of leaving the United States for Pakistan in 2003 and marrying an al-Qaida operative related to admitted mastermind of the World Trade Center attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

The trial comes after a judge ruled she is competent to stand trial – rejecting the defense’s argument that she was mentally ill.

Source: NY1

The federal Department of Homeland Security secretary is in the city today discussing counterterrorism efforts and announcing a new funding package that will help pay for more police officers for the city’s transit system.

The announcement comes one day after the city learned it would not be getting an estimated $650 million in federal COPS funding.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the $35 million grant comes from the Transit Security program. It would put more than 100 additional officers on city subways and buses.

Speaking at The Council On Foreign Relations on the Upper East Side this morning, Napolitano said the Department of Homeland Security is focused on fighting terrorism in a digital age. She highlighted the Mumbai terrorist attacks and how the organizers used GPS and other electronic devices to carry out the bombings.

Napolitano also said the agency is working to refocus counterterrorism efforts in order to make it a shared operation across federal and local agencies.

“The challenge is not just using federal power to protect the country, but also enlisting a broader societal response to the threat that terrorism poses,” she said.

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Four major cities — New York, Seattle, Houston, and Pittsburgh — will get no money from a $1 billion economic stimulus program to help cities avoid laying off police officers, officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details publicly, said about 7,000 state and local agencies applied for aid under the COPS program that is part of the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year. Only about 1,000 were approved.

Justice Department spokeswoman Hannah August declined to comment in advance of the official announcement.

Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder are to appear in Philadelphia on Tuesday to announce who gets what.

There will be plenty of winners, though, in the COPS grant program:

The Philadelphia Police Department will get money to create or keep 50 law enforcement jobs.

The police department in Rochester, N.Y. will get money to create or save about 30 law enforcement jobs.

Kalamazoo, Mich., will get nearly $2 million for 10 officer positions.

The roughly 1,000 places getting COPS aid also include: Mobile, Ala., Mesa, Ariz., Tulare County, Calif., Monroe County, Fla., the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Baltimore, Providence, R.I., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Huntington, W.Va.

As local governments bleed red ink and officials look to plug budget gaps, they have swamped the government with a record number of requests for aid under the program. There is only $1 available in grant money for every $8 sought.

As a result, the Justice Department decided the most worthy cities were those that faced serious budgetary problems and those that have relatively high crime rates.

New York is less needy by both measures, officials said, because of its low crime rate and stable city budget. New York also has the largest single police force in the country, and received some money from a different stimulus program earlier this year, about $29 million.

But the Big Apple also has a touchy history with Washington when it comes to federal aid for police costs. In 2006, the Bush administration sparked an uproar when it slashed homeland security money for New York.

Rep. Peter King of New York, the senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, criticized the decision.

“It is disgraceful for New York City to be shut out just because the NYPD is doing such a great job under trying circumstances and Mayor (Mike) Bloomberg is doing such a wonderful job of managing the city’s finances,” said King, adding that the city “is the No. 1 terrorist target and should not be penalized for its success.”

Officials familiar with Tuesday’s announcement said the Justice Department estimates the grant awards will help hire 3,818 new officers, and retain 881 positions that would otherwise be lost to budgetary belt-tightening.

That makes a total of 4,699 officers — still short of the program’s announced goal of hiring 5,000 officers.

Under the COPS program, the federal government pays the officers’ salary and benefits for three years, after which the local government is responsible for the costs.

Local police chiefs have been waiting anxiously for months to learn what they will receive, and understood even before the decisions were announced that many of them would be disappointed.

Source: AP

The New York Police Department has published a new report advising managers and developers of high-profile buildings to take more steps to guard against terrorist attacks.

Police officials plan to distribute the report Wednesday at a seminar for private security officials.

The recommendations include putting tighter restrictions on blueprints and floor plans that could fall into the wrong hands. The report also says builders in Manhattan and elsewhere in the city should position glass facades away from nearby landmarks.

The report doesn’t name the buildings they believe are at highest risk for attacks.

But the Empire State Building, the New York Stock Exchange and the Freedom Tower planned for ground zero have been previously cited as potential targets.

The report can be viewed via the NYPD’s website here

Source: AP

Source: NY1

The Department of Homeland Security is dismantling a next-generation biological attack warning system in New York City subways because of technical problems, U.S. officials said.

Robert Hooks, a deputy assistant secretary, said the department no longer believes it is necessary to expand the pilot program, as he told Congress in July, because of resource and technology limits. Hooks said a long-planned alternative sensor system, set for initial deployment late next year, also will not be available nationwide until 2012, to allow for more testing.

The deactivation of the pilot program in late March marks a setback in U.S. efforts to detect biological weapons, and its disclosure comes as the Obama administration is unveiling new security priorities as part of its 2010 budget today.

The federal government installed air samplers in more than 30 U.S. cities in 2003 to detect the release of potential bioweapons such as anthrax spores, plague bacteria and smallpox viruses. The BioWatch program, which cost about $500 million, was meant to speed up the response before disease could spread.

Critics said older samplers are of limited use, however, because they rely on air filters that must be manually collected and evaluated by a laboratory, taking as much as 30 hours. New York City activated newer sensors in late 2007 that can automatically sniff the air hourly for as many as 100 harmful species and transmit results immediately.

In the past three or four months, however, officials noticed that an instrument designed to detect a particular agent in several of the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System sensors began malfunctioning, Hooks said. The department’s science and technology directorate is working with an independent assessor and the sensors’ maker, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to troubleshoot the problem, he said.

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