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National Security

TikTok Ban Explained: What's The Fate Of Popular Video Sharing App? TikTok Ban Explained: What's The Fate Of Popular Video Sharing App?
TikTok Ban Explained: What's The Fate Of Popular Video Sharing App? Another sell-or-be-banned TikTok legislation is working its way up to the Senate. The House passed the sell-or-be-banned bill for the app (360-58) on Saturday, April 20 as part of a larger foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, giving Chinese TikTok owner ByteDance up to a year to sell the app. Otherwise, TikTok will be subject to a nationwide ban. According to Politico, the bill is expected to pass the Senate as it's considered "priority legislation" for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. A previous, standalone bill was passed by the House in March over national security co…
Rockland Advises Residents To Be On Alert After FBI Warning Rockland Advises Residents To Be On Alert After FBI Warning
Rockland Advises Residents To Be On Alert After FBI Warning Authorities at a county in the Hudson Valley are asking residents to be on alert if they "See Something, To Say Something," after a Federal Bureau of Investigation warning of a possible ISIS-like attack in the US. Rockland County officials said the county, towns, and law enforcement are on alert following an FBI warning sent to the US House of Representatives on Thursday, April 11. During that panel, FBI Bureau Director Christopher Wray said he was increasingly concerned about “the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concer…
'Altared' State: NJ Sisters Admit Staging Sham Marriages To Keep Non-Citizens In US 'Altared' State: NJ Sisters Admit Staging Sham Marriages To Keep Non-Citizens In US
'Altared' State: NJ Sisters Admit Staging Sham Marriages To Keep Non-Citizens In US UPDATE: Two sisters from Newark admitted obtaining phony marriage licenses and staging bogus wedding ceremonies, receptions and other events in an elaborate scheme to help undocumented non-citizens avoid deportation, federal authorities said. Regina Johnson, 59, and her sister, Andrea Torres, ran the sham scam for nearly three years, recruiting and paying U.S. citizens to pose as spouses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Their clients: non-citizens looking to remain in the country despite the lack of legal status or proper documentation. As part of the fraud, the sisters "…
Morristown Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Hezbollah Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen Morristown Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Hezbollah Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen
Morristown Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Hezbollah Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen UPDATE: A convicted New Jersey “sleeper agent” for Hezbollah who scoped out potential terrorism targets in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Alexei Saab, a 45-year-old software developer who lived in Morristown, must serve just about all of the sentence delivered in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, May 23, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Saab kept up appearances as an ordinary American citizen while working for Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) from 2000 to 2005, federal prosecutors said. Dur…
Man With Docs About 'Resetting Federal Government' Convicted For Bringing Rifle To DC: Feds Man With Docs About 'Resetting Federal Government' Convicted For Bringing Rifle To DC: Feds
Man With Docs About 'Resetting Federal Government' Convicted For Bringing Rifle To DC: Feds A Texas man formerly living in Ohio who claimed he was in Washington, DC on a matter of national security may spend time behind bars after being busted with a rifle in the backseat of his truck approximately a block from the White House. Brian Carruth, 45, now of Rockport, Texas, was found guilty after a three-day trial on multiple weapons charges for unlawfully carrying a rifle and ammunition into Washington, DC, according to federal prosecutors. On Dec. 5, 2021, Secret Service officers stopped Carruth, who was then living in Burbank, Ohio, in his vehicle near the corner of 18th Street and…
Catonsville Woman, Neo-Nazi Leader From Florida Plotted To 'Completely Destroy' Baltimore: DOJ Catonsville Woman, Neo-Nazi Leader From Florida Plotted To 'Completely Destroy' Baltimore: DOJ
Catonsville Woman, Neo-Nazi Leader From Florida Plotted To 'Completely Destroy' Baltimore: DOJ Federal officials say that a Catonsville woman and a Neo-Nazi man in Florida conspired to disrupt an energy facility in Maryland in furtherance of their violent extremist beliefs. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, and Orlando resident Brandon Clint Russell, 27, are facing federal charges for coming up with an elaborate plan to “completely destroy the city,” in a move that threatened thousands in Maryland, according to the Department of Justice. “This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark,” Maryland US Attorney Erek L. Barron said…
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Orders TikTok Ban In State Government Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Orders TikTok Ban In State Government
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Orders TikTok Ban In State Government Some popular social media apps - including TikTok - are being banned in state government offices in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced. Youngkin issued an Executive Order on Friday, Dec. 16 that will ban the use of certain Chinese-owned mobile phone applications and websites on state government technology, according to officials. The ban includes TikTok, WeChat, “and any other applications developed by ByteDance Limited or Tencent Holdings Limited on state government devices and wireless networks. It also requires businesses that contract with the state government to also prohibit the …
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Orders TikTok Ban For Government Employees Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Orders TikTok Ban For Government Employees
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Orders TikTok Ban For Government Employees Outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan is taking steps to ensure that there will be no TikToking coming out of the Maryland State House anytime soon. Hogan announced on Tuesday, Dec. 6 that the state is issuing an emergency cybersecurity directive that will prohibit the use of certain Chinese and Russian-influenced products and platforms - including TikTok - in the state's executive branch. “These entities present an unacceptable level of cybersecurity risk to the state, and may be involved in activities such as cyber-espionage, surveillance of government entities, and inappropriate collection of sensi…
Navy Engineer, Wife Sentenced For Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Crypto: Feds Navy Engineer, Wife Sentenced For Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Crypto: Feds
Navy Engineer, Wife Sentenced For Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Crypto: Feds The wife of a former Navy engineer who worked with her husband and attempted to sell American secrets to a foreign country to an undercover operative got a longer sentence than her husband, federal officials announced on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Diana Toebbe, 46, of Annapolis, and husband Jonathan Toebbe, 44, serviced three “dead-drops," which were picked up by undercover FBI agents during a year-long sting operation, federal prosecutors said, leading to lengthy prison terms for both. On Wednesday, Jonathan Toebbe received a sentence of 232 months - more than 19 years - in prison, while his wife…
Westchester Native Tony Blinken Sworn In As Secretary Of State Westchester Native Tony Blinken Sworn In As Secretary Of State
Westchester Native Tony Blinken Sworn In As Secretary Of State A prominent politician from the Hudson Valley will serve as America’s top diplomat after being sworn in as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of State. Yonkers native Antony "Tony" Blinken, age 58, a longtime confidant and aide of the new president, was approved by the Senate with a 78-22 bipartisan vote this week and will return to the White House following time spent as a top member of the Obama administration. From 2009 to 2013, Blinken was the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, where he was tasked with helping to craft foreign policy in t…
Thousand More Pennsylvania National Guard Members Ordered To D.C. For Inauguration Day Thousand More Pennsylvania National Guard Members Ordered To D.C. For Inauguration Day
Thousand More Pennsylvania National Guard Members Ordered To D.C. For Inauguration Day An additional thousand Pennsylvania National Guard members are headed to Washington D.C on Inauguration Day. The troops are set to join the combined 25,000 U.S. Secret Service, Capitol police, and D.C. police at the U.S Capitol for the swearing in of President-elect Joe Biden, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday. This addition will bring the total number of PNG members supporting operations in Washington, D.C., to approximately 2,000, Wolf said. For Trump’s inauguration in 2016, there were only about 8,000 members of security, The Guardian reports. Federal officials have yet to provide a reaso…
FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists
FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists FBI agents arrested a Sussex County woman Wednesday and charged her with supporting a Syrian terrorist group. Maria Bell, a 53-year-old former U.S. Army solider and member of the National Guard, provided money and advice to “fighters based in Syria who were members of various factions fighting the Assad regime,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Bell cited her professional experience in specialized weapons training, offering to provide guidance on operational security issues, weapons purchases and military intelligence, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Accord…
NYPD Officer Accused Of Acting As Illegal Agent For China NYPD Officer Accused Of Acting As Illegal Agent For China
Nypd Officer Accused Of Acting As Illegal Agent For China A Long Island man working for the NYPD has been arrested for allegedly acting as an agent for a foreign government and spying on New Yorkers, prosecutors said. Baimadajie Angwang, 33, who was born in the autonomous region of Tibet in China and now lives in Williston Park in Nassau County, was arrested on Monday, Sept. 21 for allegedly reporting to officials at the Chinese consulate about the activities of Tibetans in New York. In addition to his work as an NYPD officer, Angwang also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve. It is alleged that Angwang, who works in the 111th precinct in Queens, init…
DV Plus - Fairfield
Around The Towns: CT Senators Bash Iran Attack, State Transit Hearing, Plan To Merge Colleges Around The Towns: CT Senators Bash Iran Attack, State Transit Hearing, Plan To Merge Colleges
Around The Towns: CT Senators Bash Iran Attack, State Transit Hearing, Plan To Merge Colleges On national television and at a Hartford news conference,  Connecticut’s two U.S. senators expressed concerns about the fallout from killing Iran’s top general, questioning whether President Donald Trump and his administration have a plan to protect Americans from reprisals. Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said previous Democratic and Republican administrations also had opportunities to kill Gen. Qassem Soleimani but chose not to because his death might make him a martyr and make him more dangerous to the U.S. “My guess is that the assassination o…
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Congressman Jim Himes Blasts President Trump For Alleged 'Witness Intimidation And Tampering' Congressman Jim Himes Blasts President Trump For Alleged 'Witness Intimidation And Tampering'
Congressman Jim Himes Blasts President Trump For Alleged 'Witness Intimidation And Tampering' Fairfield County Congressman Jim Himes came to the defense of two new witnesses in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. During the third day of public testimony,  the Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee took Trump to task for sending a Tweet that he said maligned Tuesday's first witness, Jennifer Williams.  Himes, who represents Connecticut's 4th Congressional District also came to the defense of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a highly-decorated Army officer and Ukraine expert at the National Security Council. When Trump's calls with the Ukrainian…
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Obama Pentagon Expert On Russia From Chappaqua Joins Race For Westchester Congressional Seat Obama Pentagon Expert On Russia From Chappaqua Joins Race For Westchester Congressional Seat
Obama Pentagon Expert On Russia From Chappaqua Joins Race For Westchester Congressional Seat A former assistant defense secretary from the Obama Administration -- who has been openly critical of President Donald Trump’s Russian connections -- officially joined the race for the New York congressional seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison. Evelyn Farkas, a national security analyst and author, announced her campaign on Monday, Nov. 18 here on Twitter and on national television. She planned to attend a candidate forum near her hometown of Chappaqua, where Bill and Hillary Clinton now resides. Lowey is a close friend and political associate of the Clintons. Farkas, who…
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Westchester Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney Takes Leading Role In House Impeachment Inquiry Westchester Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney Takes Leading Role In House Impeachment Inquiry
Westchester Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney Takes Leading Role In House Impeachment Inquiry Maybe you were at work and unable to tune into, watch or listen to Wednesday's opening day of public testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.  Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, whose 18th Congressional District includes northern Westchester County and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was there. As part of the House impeachment inquiry, Maloney questioned William Taylor, chargé d’affaires and now acting ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, two witnesses subpoenaed by the House Perman…
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CT Congressmen Rip Trump's Turkey Ceasefire CT Congressmen Rip Trump's Turkey Ceasefire
CT Congressmen Rip Trump's Turkey Ceasefire President Trump declared Thursday's ceasefire at the Turkish-Syrian border was "an incredible outcome." But the Republican's assessment was immediately shot down by congressional Democrats from Connecticut. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal tweeted: "The President got rolled, & so did our national integrity. It is yet another betrayal to our Kurdish partners & a boon to our adversaries, Russia & Iran. "This illusory solution is a catastrophic, roundabout way for President Trump to give President Erdogan exactly what he wanted: a Kurdish withdrawal, & free reign over northern Syr…
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Engel's Committee Subpoenas Pompeo As Part Of Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Engel's Committee Subpoenas Pompeo As Part Of Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry
Engel's Committee Subpoenas Pompeo As Part Of Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry U.S. Rep. Eliot L. Engel, as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; Rep. Adam Schiff, as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, as chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent this letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday, Sept. 27 for documents, including many he has refused to produce for weeks. The Committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congre…
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U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump
U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump This article has been updated. U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have called for an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. "I am calling today for a House Select Committee to investigate and move forward with impeachment proceedings against the President. I reached this decision with sadness, but also anger, after the President has repeatedly broken laws and betrayed his oath of office," Blumenthal said on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Earlier, Murphy warned that the United States is on the verge of turning into a "Banana Republic." Murphy's full statement can be read by cl…
N.J. Congresswoman Joins Call For Trump Impeachment Inquiry N.J. Congresswoman Joins Call For Trump Impeachment Inquiry
N.J. Congresswoman Joins Call For Trump Impeachment Inquiry A congresswoman from North Jersey was one of seven freshman Democrats to pen an op-ed in The Washington Post Monday calling for impeachment proceedings to begin against President Donald Trump.  Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11), whose district is centered in Morris County and includes parts of Passaic, Essex and Sussex counties, was part of a group who are either military veterans or who worked in some other capacity in national security. Sherrill, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, flew helicopters for the Navy.  The lawmakers said in their op-ed that Trump's attempts to get the Ukrainian p…
Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say
Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say A longtime Hezbollah member from Morristown man has spent the past 22 years scouting terror-attack locations in NYC for the organization, according to new federal indictments against him. Alexei Saab, 42, on Thursday was charged in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to supporting the organization, the U.S. Justice Department announced. A Hezbollah member since 1996, Saab provided the organization with photos and intelligence on landmarks across New York City including the Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building, New York Stock Exchange, New York City…
Uptick In UFO Sightings Sparks Concerns Uptick In UFO Sightings Sparks Concerns
Uptick In UFO Sightings Sparks Concerns A series of recent UFO sightings is beginning to spark concerns among various military organizations, officials say. The U.S. military has claimed an increase in what it calls “unexplained aerial phenomena,” or more colloquially known as unidentified flying objects, in recent years. According to The Washington Post, recently observed UFOs have entered military-designated airspace as many as several times each month. Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for office of the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told The Washington Post that he fully intends to “investigate each and…
Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For NJPAC Speakers Series Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For NJPAC Speakers Series
Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For Njpac Speakers Series NJPAC's speakers series kicks off in October with a talk by John Kerry, former U.S. Senator, former Secretary of State and the 2004 Democratic nominee for president.  Other speakers include Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor of The Economist magazine who was named one of the world's most powerful women by Forbes.  Livingston native and Seinfeld star Jason Alexander is also part of the speaker series and is scheduled to appear April 30, 2020.  Rounding out the roster for 2019-2020 are former national security adviser Susan Rice; entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPri…
Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump Administration For Overriding Dozens Of Security Clearance Denials Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump Administration For Overriding Dozens Of Security Clearance Denials
Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump Administration For Overriding Dozens Of Security Clearance Denials Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took President Donald Trump’s administration to task over the overrides of dozens of security clearance denials. The 2007 Yorktown High School graduate expressed her outrage at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday, April 2, calling for subpoenas for White House staffers because the administration is not cooperating with lawmakers. A White House whistleblower stated that no less than two dozen members of Trump’s administration were initially denied security clearance, but have since seen that decision overturned. The reported override…