Overly broad terrorist watchlist poses national security risks, Senate report says
CBSN
Washington — A growing terrorist watchlist and numerous screening processes implemented after the 9/11 attacks to identify travelers who could be a threat are uncoordinated and too broad, a dynamic that pose risk to national security, according to a new Senate report.
The 43-page report, released Tuesday by Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the watchlist and nearly two dozen screening processes can "spread limited national security resources out broadly rather than effectively target changing threats." The procedures lack oversight, and Americans have "insufficient" options if they are subject to wrongful screenings.
"A watchlist that is not properly maintained, coupled with unnecessarily duplicative screening practices that are not frequently assessed for their effectiveness is a risk to our national security. It may not reflect the latest threats, it could overextend limited security resources that should be focused on the best ways to protect Americans, and it breaks the trust with innocent Americans who get caught up in this net with no way out," the report said.
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, agreeing to review a lower court decision that upended the mechanism for funding programs that provide communications services to rural areas, low-income communities and schools, libraries and hospitals.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.