Terrorism

CNN reports: US intelligence and law enforcement agencies believe that ISIS and other terrorist organizations have developed innovative ways to plant explosives in electronic devices that FBI testing shows can evade some commonly used airport security screening methods, CNN has learned. Heightening the concern is US intelligence suggesting that terrorists have obtained sophisticated airport security equipment to test how to …

The Associated Press reports: An Indiana man who told police he was headed to a gay pride event in California and was found with a loaded assault rifle and chemicals mixed and ready to explode in his car has pleaded not guilty to weapons charges. James Wesley Howell, of Charlestown, Indiana, was also charged Tuesday with possessing a destructive device. …

The New York Daily News reports: The Baltimore man who selected a black man at random and stabbed him to death in Midtown has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism. James Harris Jackson, 28, faces life without parole if convicted of the charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office Monday. Jackson allegedly stabbed bottle-collector Timothy Caughman, …

Reuters reports: Eight people were arrested in overnight raids across Britain following a terror attack outside Parliament that left four people dead, including a police officer. Dozens more were injured, including one American, Prime Minister Theresa May announced. While the attacker’s identity has yet to be disclosed, May said the British-born man was once on the intelligence community’s radar – …

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: In a stunning action seeking to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for 9/11, the families of 800 victims have filed a lawsuit accusing the Saudis of complicity in the worst terror attacks on American soil. The legal action, filed in federal court in Manhattan, details a scenario of involvement by Saudi officials who are said …

Courthouse News Service reports: The widow of the gunman who killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub last June will remain behind bars while she awaits trial in Florida, according to a court order. Although a California magistrate judge earlier this month authorized Noor Salman’s release from an Alameda County jail on a $500,000 bond, a federal judge in Florida …

The New York Daily News reports: Blaming Obama and tweeting false facts — it’s Tuesday morning on Twitter with President Trump. Trump in a tweet inaccurately blamed former President Obama for releasing “122 vicious prisoners” from Guantanamo Bay — something the previous President did not even come close to doing. In fact, U.S. intelligence data shows it is former President …

The Indy Channel reports: Before walking into Downtown Olly’s bar Sunday night, Indiana State Police say Brandon Savage called them, saying he was “getting ready to go into a gay bar and shoot everyone. It’s going to be like Orlando.” According to a probable cause affidavit, Savage told police he was armed with a Glock, a Derringer and a machete. …

The Buffalo News reports: The people calling in bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers in Buffalo and across the country will lose their cloak of anonymity if Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer gets his way. The New York Democrat on Wednesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to grant a waiver to the nation’s Jewish Community Centers and others that …

NBC News reports: The owner of the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando has slammed Univision for planning to air a detailed reenactment of the shooting massacre at the club that left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured last June. The episode titled “Baño De Sangre,” or “Blood Bath,” is set to run on the broadcast network’s weekly news …

NBC New York reports: The Anti-Defamation League’s national headquarters in New York received a bomb threat Wednesday, and the group says it is working with authorities to determine if it is connected to the rash of threats targeting Jewish community centers across the country in recent months. The bomb threat to the Third Avenue office was anonymous, according to ADL …

The Associated Press reports: Congress on Wednesday sent President Donald Trump legislation blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people. On a vote of 57-43, the Senate backed the resolution, just one of several early steps by the Republican-led Congress to undo regulations implemented by former President Barack Obama. The House …

CNN reports: The Republican-led House voted Thursday to repeal an Obama-era Social Security Administration regulation to keep people with severe mental illnesses from buying guns. The vote was 235-180. “The Social Security Administration not only overstepped its mission with this regulation, it discriminated against certain Americans with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits. The agency should be focused on serving …

Canada’s National Observer reports: A strongly-worded letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has prompted Fox News to apologize and delete a false report, posted on Twitter, that incorrectly described the alleged gunman of the Quebec City shooting as a Moroccan. Kate Purchase, director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office, pointed out the “false and misleading language” in a …

You can’t be surprised by this: Social media postings by the suspect in the shooting attack that killed six persons and injured 19 at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday evening indicate he was a fan of US President Donald Trump, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and the Israeli army. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was arrested as a suspect in …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: Students at The Villages Charter Middle School are being heralded as heroes for speaking up and potentially stopping a school shooting. School officials said they heard rumors Tuesday about a 13-year-old student planning a mass shooting and carrying it out Friday. The middle schooler was taken into custody and admitted to authorities that he and a …

USA Today reports: The wife of Omar Mateen, the man who killed 49 people in a shooting rampage at an Orlando nightclub last June, was arrested Monday on a charge of obstructing justice, a federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY. Noor Salman was taken into custody by the FBI at her Northern California home. The law enforcement official, who …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Joking about the Islamic State can be a dangerous matter. A BBC comedy show featuring a sketch called “The Real Housewives of ISIS” has come under fire for trivializing the very real issue of Jihadi brides. The sketch, lampooning the Real Housewives TV series and posted online Tuesday to promote the show Revolting, features four British …

Mashable reports: The United States government has started asking a select number of foreign travelers about their social media accounts. The news came on Thursday via Politico and was confirmed to Mashable by a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after the new procedure reportedly began earlier in the week. The process dovetails with what has been expected for …

The BBC reports: A manhunt is under way across Europe’s Schengen states after prosecutors identified a suspect in the lorry attack on a Berlin Christmas market. A warrant was issued at midnight. Details were not given but media reports say the suspect is a Tunisian man named only as Anis A, born in 1992. His residence permit was found in …