u.s. department of homeland security and a whole range of very large network of private companies many of. basically fortune five hundred companies it's something like i mean the figure in the report was twenty thousand but actually it's. an old figure it's more it's approaching thousands ago thirty thousand just under thirty thousand very very large corporations in partnership with the f.b.i. and this partnership. sickly involves them basically feeding information into the f.b.i. guiding them on what they want the f.b.i. to basically. get involved in in terms of espionage in terms of intelligence activity so it's no surprise range of various leaked documents and other kinds of information that has come out over the last year or so shows that the f.b.i. has been systematically spying. and systematically helping corporate entities to spy on. civil society groups occupy wall street activists of spied on organizations like greenpeace have been spied on and the pretext fortunately has been terrorism they've actually used the specter of terrorism to justify some of these operations but there wa

u.s. department of homeland security released this statement to fox news today. it says, quote, all ports of entry are equipped with radiation detection equipment. dhs, in coordination with our federal partner, will continue to closely monitor this situation and remains in close communication with mexican officials. now, officials at the international atomic energy agency, which is the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog group, are also involved in this investigation and they say there are more than 100 incidents of theft regarding radioactive materials reported to their agency every single year. bret. >> casey stegal, thank you. >>> the u.n. involved in another case saying there is growing evidence that syrian president bashir al assad and senior officials have been involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity. the complex dynamics in syria have the u.s. trying to talk peace with what is literally the lesser of two evils. good evening, katherine. >> reporter: the national security council staff and the intelligence agencies are referring all questions about the u.s. go

u.s. department of homeland security is helping in the search for a stolen truck carrying radio active material, cobalt 60 which the international atomic energy agency says could be used to make so-called dirty bombs. >> the agency says all of this happened monday near mexico city. the truck was transporting the material to a waste storage facility. the iaea says the material was properly shielded but could be very dangerous if that shield were damaged or removed. joining us now rafael romo, also evan perez. let's start with you, rafael. tell us about the kind of risk that this material presents in terms of that dirty bomb theory. >> well, one of the first questions was that exactly, michael. whether it be used to build a dirty bomb. the risk is certainly great but what we have found is that the cobalt that was stolen in the truck more than likely could not be used for that purpose and here's why. just a few moments ago, i spoke with an employee at the hospital in tijuana, mexico where it originated. he told me it came from a radio therapy machine that had been in operation for 30 years and was

security measures in place at our border with u.s. and mexico to prevent something like this from happening. and the u.s. department of homeland security releasing this statement today to fox, it reads in part and i'm quoting here "all ports of entry are equipped with radiation detection equipment. dhs in coordination with our federal partners will continue to closely monitor this situation and remains in close communication with mexican officials. officials at the international atomic energy agency working with this one too". >> casey stegall, thanks. autopsy results are in on the "fast and furious" star paul walker. what we've learned about the car crash that killed him along with brand new word about the future of the "fast and furious" franchise. that's ahead. >>> some breaking news and update on a news story we were reporting in the last hour from the news desk. we're awaiting for a news conference to begin on the orlando area high school shooting and the microphones are set up. they should be there shortly. the principal at west orange high school in orange county says a student was shot but is alert. he says the school

u.s. department of homeland security. also watching this closely. patrol is aware and i.s. border patrol is equipped with special material to detect maid ohio active material and something they are have much keeping a close eye on. harris: we told you earlier about a house hearing over what some are calling a power grab by the president. questions about whether he's pushing the constitution aside. picking and choosing which law he wants to enforce. and changes he wants to make to healthcare. what does that mean if america can't stop sit. >> what does america look like we have executive upon executive who build upon this continual stretching of the constitutional restraints and article one. >> i have great trepidation where we are heading. we are creating a new system. we have this rising fourth branch in a system that is tripartid. in that system you have the rise of an uber president. there could be no greater danger for individual liberty. i think the framers would be horrified by that shift. >> if the people come to believe the government is no l

of cleaning the food but not damaging it. and so there was an alert, an international alert, because the u.s. homeland -- the u.s. department of homeland securitycheckpoint stations at the border, just in case anybody tried to smuggle that subresponse into the united states. >> a truck with radioactive material stolen. there you go. six people now in the hospital. we'll stay on it, get an update on the people. thank you very much. >>> coming up next, today, remembering an icon who shaped a country and a generation. from world leaders to folks like you and me, many are honoring nelson mandela and his legacy today. next, i am honored to talk to a woman who has a unique perspective on mandela's impact. she's bernice king, the daughter of dr. martin luther king jr. she has amazing stories to share about mandela's life, meeting nelson mandela, going to south africa. we get to hear from her next. >>> also ahead, a man warrested for what he allegedly did near the spot paul walker crashed. we'll teyou why he is now facing charges. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before recei

u.s., there's been a lot of concern about the possibility of a dirty bomb or somebody using radioactive material to try to do some big dirty bomb inside the united states. now, the u.s. department of homeland securitys the border, at border crossings to try to make sure that border officers can detect the stuff if it tries to come across in a truck. they say they're on alert for that. they don't believe that's the case, again, at this point, more of a public safety danger rather than a concern about dirty bombs. >> evan perez in washington. evan, thank you very much. >>> coming up, was it highway hypnosis or did this train operator simply nod off? conflicting information about what exactly happened to the driver of that train that derailed early sunday morning in the bronx, killing four people, injuring at least 67 others. what could happen to that driver. i'm talking legal ramifications here. later today, four students at university of california santa barbara have been diagnosed with the virus that causes meningitis. one of those students even had to have his feet amputated. we'll tell you what the university is doing about it when it comes to the rest of the community there. >>> and this picture

of the u.s. delegation will be former secretary of the department of homeland security janet napolitano. offense. but janet napolitano. in addition the delegation includes the u.s. ambassador to russia, a presidential assistant from the white house, a deputy secretary of state and a bevy of former u.s. olympians, figure skater, a speed skater, also two u.s. athletes who are openly gay. tennis star billy jean king and ice hockey olympian kaitlin kayhow. no word on whether the decision to send this particular group, including two openly gay athletes has been -- but the combination of having openly gay people in the delegation and pointedly, not sending any high ranking high profile people from our government, it does seem like a particularly satisfying snub. i don't know exactly if that's how they meant it. but that's sure how it feels. more ahead, please stay with us. [ male announcer ] this is jim, a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's

on the one hand, i was dismayed to find out the department of homeland security ranked last on their list of cabinet departments. however, however, u.s. citizenship and immigration services, led by ali mayorkas, was one of the highest ranked components within the department of homeland security, coming in i think at 76 out of some 300 federal agencies. and after mayorkas took over in 2009, employee satisfaction with senior leadership didn't drop, it increased by over 20%. we need more of that kind of proven, committed leadership at d.h.s. mr. president, everything i have learned about director mayorkas over the past year -- and i've learned a lot -- has led me to conclude that he is an exceptional candidate to be the next deputy secretary of this department. but just don't take my word for it. director mayorkas has received glowing accolades from a number of my colleagues. he's been strongly endorsed by every single former secretary of this department, every one of them twovmen. two appointed by george w. bush and one by our current president. they've all endorsed him. he's also been endorsed by mary landrieu, who knows him well, a v

u.s. officials saying about this case? >> wolf, the department of homeland security has alerted all border crossings at the southern bordernd the agencies manning them of this theft. the alert's gone out because of the possibility you just mentioned that someone could use the radio active substance inside that truck which is cobalt 60, to make a dirty bomb. first now to the active search however. the mexican officials are looking for the stolen truck and alerted the international atomic be energy agency in geneva which put out an international advisory. u.s. law enforcement officials tell cnn the government has skens cores at border crossings. agents are carrying portable devices which kk scan vehicles. it's not clear that the thieves were after the cobalt 60 inside. they say the truck also carried waste and scrap material which may have been the reason the truck was skarthed but it may have been that the cobalt 60 was inside. this material is used for brain imaging and to treat cancer, wolf. it is highly radio active. >> how difficult would it be to weaponize this material? >> experts are telling us it would be fairly di

sensors, devices carried by agents, all border crossings have been alerted by the department of homeland security, but u.s cobalt-60 or even knew it was inside the truck when they stole it. >> the police report doesn't clarify that, either. >> no, we have details of this report. it says the driver and his stand were resting, when a man with a gun rapped on the window and demanded the keys. they were taken out, hand and feet bound, they were told not to move. they heard one assailants use, and say, quote, it's done. that speaks to some organization, but it does not indicate they were actually after that cobalt-60. brian, thanks very much. >>> still ahead, a winter storm is unleashing snow and ice. it's set to spread across much of the nation. in some places temperatures could plunge as much as 50 degrees in one day. stand by. we'll have team coverage. >>> a look inside the very messy home shared by one of the washington's power players. it's the inspiration for a new tv series. i'll talk with one of the stars. honestly? no way did i think a tablet was gonna be a good deal. you're talking to the guy who has

nomination of alejandro mayorkas to be deputy secretary of the department of homeland security, which i will support. as director of the u.s. citizenship and immigration services, mr. mayorkas has been charged with implementing did a carks the president's executive order -- with implementing daca, the president's executive order. it was a complicated job, but he did it in an outstanding way. earlier this week, my colleague and friend, senator grassley from iowa, spoke about mr. mayorkas and the daca program. i want to responding to some of the things he said in the "congressional record." senator grassley initially questioned the legality of this daca program. i want to be clear. daca is entirely appropriate and legal. throughout our history, our government has decided which person should be prosecuted and who would not be prosecuted based on law enforcement priority and available resources. past administrations of both political parties have stopped deportations of low-priority cases and courts have long recognized their authority to do that. in a decision last year striking down arizona immigration laws, the court reaffi

okay, so you were the chief of staff at the department of homeland security during the period of time when we now know, that the definitions of what the u.s. government wanted to get out of the internet providers took place, all the companies that we were talking about here. and when the court was issuing these orders, basically to turn over the data, including as we now know, the telephone laws, not the conversations, but the laws of the phone calls made, the haystack in which you could pull the needles. please tell us how that clamping in to this giant data pipeline differs, if at all, from what the u.s. government tries to do with like what it huawei does and nothing has been classified. >> you can still keep going. >> okay. [laughter] >> with respect, it is a fair question. .. to read the constitution in article iv, the government does have a ability to search, but when we say in our country they can't have a right to an unreasonable search without probably cause. what that means is in order to have a search you have to have something to search. and the accumulation of the data of the haste act, the meta data itself is an example why

department of homeland security, janet napolitano. some one who is not even currently in the cabinet or any elected position. it also includes the u.sador to russia, a presidential assistant, a deputy, secretary of state, a handful of former u.s. olympians including two athletes who are openly game. billie jean king. ice hockey olympian. we're not sending any high profile politicians to the games but are two sending two openly gay athletes. the statement the government wants to make. in a lot of ways a new experience for russia. a proud country at many times in its history has been happy to ignore, defy, thumb its nose at conventions of the rest of the world. that can change a little bit when you invite the planet over for a couple weeks. that does it. rachel will be back here tomorrow night. more of me and "up" this weekend. starting 8:00 a.m. eastern time. now time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. have a great night. . >>> good thursday morning. right now on "first look," massive breach. the u.s. secret service is investigating a major credited a debit card theft from shoppers at target dating back to black friday. >>> p

of the u.s. citizenship and immigration senior senator's service. in january of 2012 the department of homeland security inspector general released a report cri crit criticizing ther pressuring its employees to rubber stamp applications for benefits. in that report, nearly 25% of the uscis officers surveyed and supervisors had pressured them to improve applications that should have been denied. we want to know if he'll take measures to better screen applicants and do away with the get-to-yes fil philosophy. that philosophy is a gigantic risk to our national security. luke at the eb-5 program. we asked about whether he'd make it a priority to improve that program. we asked mr. johnson about his position on immigration reform, especially since the bill passed the senate and the house could act sending a bill to the president. we asked if people who are in the country illegally in removing proceedings are subject to a offered removal should be eligible for immigration benefits, including legal status. we asked whether illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or convicted of multiple misdemeanors should be

u.s. defense department and saudi arabian telecommunications companies the mesh network as part of a two point seven million dollar. paid for the by the department of homeland security but according to officers leading it it's not going to be used for surveillance power even though the claim is that it's not used for spine they can't tell us what it is being used for but before you think this bizarre big brother box is coming to your city here's the good news public outrage is actually derailed the program at least for the time being the mounting pressure from concerned residents about what these boxes are and what the hell they're doing to finally force cities servants to consider being in the loop according to the stranger for now the boxes will be disabled into the city can adopt a policy for their oversight thanks guys so although local and state law enforcement often act like they are above the law whether it be unaccountable murder or the installation of surveillance boxes across a big city turns out they still work for us so remember if what we want is transparency and accountability we've got to get out there and demand it ourselves . six years ago a seeming

of a search by the u.s. homeland security department and mexican authorities. the material is used in medical treatments.other potential concerns. >> reporter: it is something that has been voiced as something that could potentially be used to make a fairly low-level kind of dirty bomb to be honest with you. but at the same time, if it's in fairly small quantities, it's not particularly harmful to the public. but that said, obviously this particular cargo in the quantity that it was is jumed as extremely dangerous by the mexican authorities. >> they say they believe the suspects were only after the truck and had no idea that it was carrying toxic material. >>> fast food workers take their fight for a minimum wage hike nationwide tomorrow. there have been a number of protests over the last year beginning in new york and spread to other cities. but tomorrow's is being build as the biggest yet for the campaign. alison kosik is here with more on this. >> reporter: a year after they started those strikes, they're returning here to new york city tomorrow. they're across the country to cities like chicago, l.a.

will vote confirmation of the deputy secretary of the department of homeland security, the commissioner of the internal revenue service, and a u.s. allrict judge in florida this morning. earlier on thursday, senators had been preparing for a rare weekend session as democrats and republicans were at loggerheads on when to help -- hold votes. senate democrats were informed during their closed party meeting that they would be staying in washington through saturday. republicans had sketched out a plan ensuring one of their members with stay on the floor to keep their eye on democrats. six other executive branch nominees were pending, mostly deputy ands for state. that batch of nominees will be sent back to the white house because they were not cleared by the senate. from the hill newspaper, sets debtecretary lew hike deadline. congress will need to set a deadly meant. in a letter sent to congress on warned that he does not see a reasonable scenario in which treasury will buy more than a few weeks of ise before the debt limit reached. this is from roll call this morning. now the hard part. three weeks to apportion $1 trillion. capita

u.s. the smuggler was caught and convicted. the judge wrote a scathing opinion because of the conspiracy being broken up the department of homeland security helped complete the conspiracy by delivering the 10-year-old to her mom. the mother wasn't arrested, charged or deported. as the judge noted it was the fourth time dhs had done it in a four-week period. the judge wrote if the human traffickers are successful, mission accomplished. even if their coconspirators are unsuccessful the government will finish the job of the human traffickers, mission still accomplished. the judge said there was no excuse but dhs offered this statement. again quoting here. the department of homeland security adheres to the trafficking victims protection reauthorization act and other applicable laws when encounteriencounte encountering unaccompanied minors. we couldn't find a reference to the federal government ignoring illegal activity. the the judge wrote the dhs is encouraging parents to jeopardize their children's safety by placing them in the handses of traffickers and funding the drug cartels because they control the human oh trafficking. in short the ju

department of homeland security. a federal court in san francisco will oversee the case, although ibrad has imwill n-- ibrahim don the u.s>>> this past weekend was president obama's deadline to get a sick patient back on its feet -- health care website. it's been getting emergency car since it began life in critical condition two months ago. after the disastrous start that cost the president a big dip in poll numbers, he promised to have it work by the end of november, this past weekend. karen traverse explains that the website seems to be working tonight. >> reporter: since its launch two months ago, health care.goff has be-- healthcare.gov has bee plagued by system crashes and slow speeds. the obama administration says the site's on the mend. >> we were able to make the necessary improvement to the website so the vast majority of americans who use the website have an experience in which the site functions effectively. >> reporter: the white house set a deadline of december 1st to reach the goal. over the weekend, it released a report touting what it says is significant progress. some 400 software bugs and hardware prob

department of homeland security. a federal court in san francisco will oversee the case, although ibrad has imwill n-- ibrahim don the u.swas president obama's deadline to get a sick patient back on its feet -- health care website. it's been getting emergency car since it began life in critical condition two months ago. after the disastrous start that cost the president a big dip in poll numbers, he promised to have it work by the end of november, this past weekend. karen traverse explains that the website seems to be working tonight. >> reporter: since its launch two months ago, health care.goff has be-- healthcare.gov has bee plagued by system crashes and slow speeds. the obama administration says the site's on the mend. >> we were able to make the necessary improvement to the website so the vast majority of americans who use the website have an experience in which the site functions effectively. >> reporter: the white house set a deadline of december 1st to reach the goal. over the weekend, it released a report touting what it says is significant progress. some 400 software bugs and hardware problems have been fixed.

of hours ago about a guy came on, lives in brooklyn. he's been studying this. >> former ins officer. >> the u.s. government may be involved in smuggling children? >> it is absolutely involved. the department of homeland security this country and taken them to their parents in the united states or who are here illegally. has acted as a link in the chain moving these kids illegally into the country and leaving them here. also not enforcing the law, breaking the law, in fact. >> which is something that just seems reminiscent of other things the obama administration has done, too. there are some laws that maybe are inconvenient to follow and somehow they pick and choose which ones to really make sure are enforced. here is what he had to say earlier. >> let's remember we have immigration laws for two primary purposes. to protect american lives and protect the jobs of american workers. how does having immigration hand-deliver illegal alien children to the illegal alien parent and not act against the illegal alien parent? how does that create more incentives for more people to come here in violation of our borders and laws? >> so it's hard to argue with that point. the whole purpose of having the department of homel

homeland security. his successor, might chertoff, had been a judge on the u.s. court of appeals, but more significantly to me was he had had a long time in the department of justice and as a united states attorney in one of the biggest offices in america, the district of new jersey. he worked with every one of these agencies for a long period of time, decades of prosecuting cases, and he understood the culture of the agencies that came together to form homeland security. and even secretary napolitano had been governor of arizona for six years and had been the state attorney general, both of which were management positions. so in an interview with the blog abovethelaw.com, the nominee, mr. johnson, was asked why he left a lucrative private practice to join the department of justice, and he replied loyalty to this president, commitment to public service and safety for our country. the first thing he mentioned was loyalty to this president. according to one article, johnson was described as a loyal political operative of the president who often referred to himself as -- quote -- the president's plan -- close quote -- at the department of defense. so the president ha

inspector general for the department of homeland security released an embargo version of its audit for the eb-5 immigrant investor visa program. the report states that the u.s. custom immigration service has difficulty ensuring the integrity of the program and does not always ensure that regional centers meet all eligibility requirements. specifically, the report said -- quote -- "u.s. custom immigration service did not always enforce its own regulations and procedures to assist with managing the regional center programs." end of that quote. another quote -- "until imriewsmimprovements are made, . customs immigration service is unable to prevent fraud and national security threats." eppedthreats. "end of quote. "it cannot report the results of the program accurately or ensure the eb-5 program is benefiting the u.s. economy and creating jobs for u.s. citizens as created by congress." end of that quote. you understand mr. mayorkas is in charge of these programs. the i.g. said that the agency needed to improve coordination and rely on the expertise of of other agencies. the i.g. had several recommendations for the u.s. customs immigration service that, frankly

u.s. canada relations. at johnseaches hopkins, the american university school of public affairs, the state department's foreign service institute and at the department of homeland security. he is a frequent commentator on print and on television. last but not least, our captain. scott is senior advisor for international business. before that, he was the director of global trade policy at procter & gamble where he led i think every campaign supporting u.s. free-trade agreements. and ao served as liaison state department advisory committee on international economic wallace he. he has been and remains a leader in our field. so please, laura. think if you will forgive me a minute, i will catch my breath and be dazzled. it is quite an honor that these two women have led the united states and canada through many important trade initiatives and it is a bit overwhelming for a trade professor to be the third speaker. scottd also like to thank for the invitation to speak this morning and putting this program together. it is lovely to see so many friends and colleagues from canada, mexico, the united the naftais is like all-star team in this room. if i say anything wrong, please t

department of homeland security worker promoted a race war is finally off the government payroll. five months after exposed that he was rn inflammatory racist website, dhs confirming he is not employed by the u.s. government. dhs would not say if he was fired or resigned. >>> also tonight, kathleen sl l sebelius is not dodging us. you're going to see what the secretary told us on the record in a minute. >>> but first, today, the secretary calling for an inspector general investigation into the rollout disaster. why now? and is the timing of it

u.s. soil and with family after being detained. north korean authorities seized newman off a departing plane more than a month ago. joining me now, congressman michael mccall, chairman of the house homeland security and congressman adam schiff, a member of the house select intelligence committee. thanks for coming in on a snowy day. not always easy in washington. i want to start with merrill newman because i know his son is in your district and you had been back and forth with him. why did north korea seize him and why did they let him go? >> it's a very good question, and i'm not sure we'll ever know completely the answer. it may be as the north koreans have said that as a personal peek, they found out about his war record and pulled him off the plane. it may have something to do with iran, with the fact that north korea is not the focus of attention right now, that they often will grab people to gain attention, to get a world leader to come and rescue them from north korea. it may have something to do with the internal fight going on, the purge of the uncle of kim jong-un. so it may be purely internal north korean politics. it may be a shout to the rest of the world, we want you to pay attentio

u.s. canada relations. he also teaches at johns hopkins, the american university school of public affairs, the state department's foreign service institute and at the department of homeland security. he is a frequent commentator on print and on television. last but not least, our captain. scott is senior advisor for international business. before that, he was the director of global trade policy at procter & gamble where he led i think every campaign supporting u.s. free-trade agreements. he also served as liaison and a state department advisory committee on international economic wallace he. he has been -- economic policy. he has been and remains a leader in our field. so please, laura. >> i think if you will forgive me a minute, i will catch my breath and be dazzled. it is quite an honor that these two women have led the united states and canada through many important trade initiatives and it is a bit overwhelming for a trade professor to be the third speaker. i would also like to thank scott for the invitation to speak this morning and putting this program together. it is lovely to see so many friends and colleagues from canada, mexico, the united states, this is like the nafta

department of homeland security worker promoted a race war is finally off the government payroll. five months after exposed that he was rn inflammatory racist website, dhs confirming he is not employed by the u.s. government. dhs would not say if he was fired or resigned. >>> also tonight, kathleen sl l sebelius is not dodging us. you're going to see what the secretary told us on the record in a minute. >>> but first, today, the secretary calling for an inspector general investigation into the rollout disaster. why now? and is the timing of it curious? just as congress give it is secretary another grilling. >> i've asked our inspector general to investigate the development of healthcare.gov including contractor acquisition, the management of the project and performance and payment of the contractors. >> and after that heated hearing today, tracking down secretary sebelius for answers. >> madame secretary -- >> your thoughts on today's numbers. >> i think enrollment numbers are definitely picking up and encouraged by the trends. >> would you call it a tide turner? a bit of a game changer? turning the tide? how would you phrase it? >> very positive direction. >> thank you. and one last question

leadership vacuum at the department of homeland security, not only with visionary leaders like ale mayorkas but with others as well. as i mentioned, he is the current director of the u.s. citizenship service which is now i got to meet him and know him and work with him in such a close fashion. many of my colleagues know that i have the responsibility, privilege of informally heading up our senate caucus and do some international travel helping strengthen child welfare work around the world as well as, of course, in louisiana and here domestically in the united states. we ran into a significant problem several years ago, which we're still trying to unwind, when guatemala closed adoptions anand our own state department s partner in that closure. there might have been -- might -- have been some good reasons for closure. the problem was that in the middle of that, there were 900 american families from every state in the union that were caught, were not placed on any transition list, were given no support -- virtually no support -- from either our state department or the country of guatemala, so some of us stepped in with partners at the state department and others to see