Jun 24 Obama clears the way for hostages' families to pay ransom By Julie Pace, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is clearing the way for families of U.S. hostages to pay ransom to terror groups without fear of prosecution, as the White House seeks to address criticism from those whose loved ones have been killed… Continue reading
Jun 19 Report: Islamic State, Boko Haram contribute to spike in global terrorism By Matthew Lee, Associated Press Extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria unleashed a savage rise in violence between 2013 and 2014, according to new statistics released by the State Department. Attacks largely at the hands of the Islamic State and Boko Haram raised the number… Continue reading
Jun 09 Watch 6:09 How TSA can improve airport security effectiveness By PBS News Hour The U.S. Senate took a hard look at airport security after a damning report found that fake explosives, weapons and other banned items went unnoticed in 67 of 70 tests, while another report found that the TSA failed to identify… Continue watching
Jun 01 NSA powers expire as Patriot Act extension stalls in Senate By Erica Werner and Ken Dilanian, Associated Press The National Security Agency lost its authority at midnight to collect Americans' phone records in bulk, after GOP Sen. Rand Paul stood in the way of extending the fiercely contested program in an extraordinary Sunday Senate session. Continue reading
May 30 Watch 4:08 How will financial ties with Cuba change now that it's off the terrorism list? By PBS News Hour The State Department on Friday officially lifted its designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, in one of the many recent steps by the Obama administration to reestablish diplomatic ties between Cuba and the U.S. Carla Robbins of… Continue watching
May 29 Cuba removed from U.S. terror list By Matthew Lee, Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday formally removed Cuba from a U.S. terrorism blacklist as part of the process of normalizing relations between the Cold War foes. Continue reading
May 28 Watch 7:00 Are the Patriot Act provisions essential for fighting terrorism? By PBS News Hour What will happen if Congress allows key portions of the Patriot Act to expire? Judy Woodruff gets views from James Bamford, author of “The Shadow Factory,” and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey on what’s at stake, and whether the USA… Continue watching
May 28 Watch 7:30 'Uncontroversial' authorities at risk if Patriot Act provisions expire, says White House By PBS News Hour Three U.S. intelligence tools are scheduled to expire Sunday, including the NSA's controversial bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata records. President Obama has urged lawmakers to renew the Patriot Act programs, but so far the Senate has failed to compromise… Continue watching
May 20 Watch Trove of bin Laden papers includes handwritten will, al-Qaida job application By PBS News Hour New insights about Osama bin Laden -- gleaned from material seized after he was killed -- were made public today, including the terror leader's fixation on attacking the U.S. and what was on his bookshelf. The release follows a recent… Continue watching
May 20 Watch 6:34 Bin Laden bookshelf shows scholarship of American policy By PBS News Hour More than 100 papers and videos from Osama bin Laden were released by American officials today, offering new insight into what the terror leader read, wrote and envisioned for al-Qaida. Brian Fishman of the New America Foundation and Greg Miller… Continue watching