ICE News Briefing for Monday, April 14, 2014

ICE NEWS BRIEFING

DATE: MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 8:00 AM EDT

TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS

LEADING THE NEWS:
+ Three Websites Linked To Synthetic Narcotics Sales Shut Down.

OPERATIONAL NEWS:
+ Mexican Murder Suspects Deported.
+ Man Convicted Of Minor Sex Crimes Deported.
+ Former Chief Of Staff Of Ex-Hidalgo County Sheriff Pleads Guilty To Failing To Report Felony.
+ HSI Assisted In Investigation Of Hialeah Mayor For Tax Fraud Case.
+ Former Sheriff’s Office Official Pleads Guilty To Charges In Texas.
+ Arizona Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty To Hiring Illegal Immigrants.
+ Operation Rundown Produces Almost 100 Arrests In Florida County.
+ Man Sentenced To Six Years For Bank Fraud, Other Charges.
+ South Carolina Man Charged With Copyright Infringement, Trafficking Counterfeit Apparel After HSI Investigation.
+ ICE Assists In Dismantling Methamphetamine Distribution Operation In Texas.
+ ICE Places “No Bond” Hold On Illinois Man.
+ Michigan Man In Prison For Harboring African Children, Forcing Them To Work.
+ Louisiana Woman Arrested For Prostitution Again.
+ Texas Man Arrested For Alleged Child Pornography Distribution.
+ Ohio Operation Checked Sex Offenders’ Residency.
+ Kansas Man Faces Child Porn Charges.
+ California Man Arrested On Child Porn Charges.
+ Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charges.

POLICY AND ISSUES NEWS:
+ Continuing Coverage Of Blue Ribbon Commission Recommendations.
+ Senator Sessions Disputes NYTimes Account Of Immigration Enforcement.
+ Immigrant Detainee Assaulted By Sex Offender In Minnesota County Jail.
+ Indian Immigrants Engaged In Hunger Strike At El Paso Processing Center.
+ Arizona Sheriffs Complain Of Lack Of Information On Released Detainees.
+ HSI Victim Assistance Specialist In Arizona Recognized By DOJ.
+ Former Acting ICE Director Discusses Immigration Enforcement.
+ Maryland Interfaith Group Recommend Either Reform Or Abolition Of 287(g).
+ Congress Members Call For End To ICE Detention Quota.
+ “Border Patrol Nation” Author Discusses Book.
+ ICE Facility A Factor In Petition To Change City Council Elections In Santa Maria, California.
+ Investors Business Daily: Administration Policies Causing “Great Wave” Of Illegal Immigration.
+ California Teenager Faces Deportation For Selling Marijuana Brownies.
+ Family Of Guyanese Deportee Discusses Experience.
+ US Sheriffs Warn Of Mexican Cartel Activity In US.
+ HSI Partnership With Santa Fe Police Concerns Immigrant Advocates.
+ Korean Government Seeks Return Of Royal Seals.
+ Mayor Of Indiana Town Expressed Opposition To Immigration Detention Center.
+ HSI Special Agent Presents Workshop On Avoiding Cyber Bullying And Sexting In New Jersey.
+ Federal Agents Allegedly Shoot Dog During Search.
+ Arizona Detainee Asks For Temporary Release To Receive Cancer Treatment.
+ Law Enforcement And Nonprofits Working To Educate Public About Human Trafficking.
+ ICE Hopes Phone App Will Help Apprehend California Fugitive.
+ Immigration Judge Rules Salvadoran General Should Be Deported.
+ New Program Aims To Help US Mosques Prevent Extremist Behavior.

IN BRIEF:
+ CBP Officers Seize Large Shipment Of Marijuana In Arizona.
+ CBP Makes Multiple Meth Busts At Arizona Border.
+ Georgian Nationals Arrested For Theft In Florida.

TOP DHS NEWS:
+ DHS Investigating Reports Of Heartbleed Attacks On Industrial Control Systems.
+ Outgoing FAMS Director Denies Retirement Due To Investigation.
+ Little New Information About Norfolk Navy Base Shooting.
+ Severe Weather Continues In Midwest.
+ All 36 Mudslide Victims Identified While Seven Still Missing.
+ Paul: Bush Could Have Been More “Artful” About Immigration.
+ Denver Schools Employing Deferred Action Teachers.
+ Cutter Returns Home After Deployment.
+ Coast Guard Needs Over A Dozen Additional Ships To Seize 40 Percent Of Cocaine Traffic.
+ Woman Accused Of Throwing Shoe At Clinton Freed From Jail.
+ Muslim Advocacy Group To Launch Program For Identifying, Dealing With Potential Extremists In Mosques.
+ DHS Specifies Purpose For Ammunition Contract Solicitations.
+ Critics Worried About Fusion Centers’ Collection Of Data.
+ Jury Selection To Begin Today In New York Terror Trial.
+ Federal Prosecutors Will Not Try To Prove Tsarnaev Shot Officer.
+ Russia Calls Claims About Intelligence Sharing On Tsarnaev “A Low Blow.”
+ Boston Bombing Survivor Walks Off Set Of “Meet the Press.”
+ Louisiana “Sovereign Citizen” Arrested For Illegally Placing Liens Against Former Employer, Others.
+ Federal Judge Rejects Suit Over Al-Awlaki Legal Memos.
+ West Point Wins Cyber Defense Exercise.

NETWORK TV NEWS COVERAGE:
+ NBC: Kansas Shootings.
+ NBC: Ukraine-Russia Conflict.
+ NBC: Ukraine-US Response.
+ NBC: California Bus Crash.
+ NBC: Severe Weather.
+ NBC: Chile-Fire.
+ NBC: UN-Climate Report.
+ NBC: Tax Filing.
+ NBC: Pope Francis.
+ NBC: NASA-ISS.
+ NBC: Pollen Index.
+ NBC: One Run For Boston.
+ ABC: Kansas-Shooting.
+ ABC: Severe Weather.
+ ABC: California Bus Crash.
+ ABC: Malaysian Missing Flight Search.
+ ABC: Chilean Fire.
+ ABC: US-Russia Sanctions.
+ ABC: Pope Francis-Speech.
+ ABC: Royal Family-Travel.
+ ABC: Pollen Vortex.

Leading the News:

THREE WEBSITES LINKED TO SYNTHETIC NARCOTICS SALES SHUT DOWN. The Buffalo (NY) News (4/14, Fairbanks, 474K) reports that three “Chinese websites that sell illegal and potentially dangerous drugs and chemicals” have been seized and shut down, according to US Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. The sites listed various types of synthetic narcotics for sale, “including Fentanyl, Bath Salts and Methylone.” According to Assistant US Attorney Richard D. Kaufman, HSI agents “have spent the past year investigating the increase in illegally controlled substances” bought from such websites. The article noted recent deaths and illnesses in Western New York attributed to drug purchases from Chinese websites.

The WIVB-TV Buffalo, NY (4/11, Kingston, 50K) website identifies the websites as kerrypharm.com, kaseeypharm.com, and kx-researchchem.com. The article quotes Kaufman as saying, “ICE agents have been working for almost a year now on a number of Chinese websites, making undercover purchases, following the sales of these illegal drugs into the United States, in the Western District of New York, and arresting individuals who are buying these for resale on the streets of Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester.”

WNLO-TV Buffalo, NY (4/12, 6:31 p.m. EDT, 912) reported that ICE initially learned about the businesses after arresting suspected drug leaders.

Operational News:

MEXICAN MURDER SUSPECTS DEPORTED. The Houston Community Newspapers (4/11, 8K) reports that Cesar Rodriguez-Ramirez of Houston and Jesus Delgado-Lara of HIghland, Texas, both Mexican nationals “wanted in their native country on separate murders charges,” were deported Friday. David Jennings, field office director of ICE ERO Houston, is quoted saying, “removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority...These cases are excellent examples of efficient, worldwide police work that resulted in two accused murderers being returned to face justice in their home country.” US Marshals Service officers reportedly assisted the Houston ERO office’s Fugitive Operations Team with the arrests. According to this article, HSI’s Attache Office in Mexico “works closely with the Mexican government as part” of an “expanded bi-national cooperation to identify, arrest and repatriate Mexican fugitives who have fled to the United States to avoid prosecution.”

MAN CONVICTED OF MINOR SEX CRIMES DEPORTED. The Brownsville (TX) Herald (4/11, 56K) reports that Jose Palermos, a “Mexican citizen convicted of sexual crimes against a 7-year-old,” was deported Thursday at the Gateway International Bridge, being handed over to Mexican law enforcement in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Palermos was arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department for child exploitation in May 2013.

FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF OF EX-HIDALGO COUNTY SHERIFF PLEADS GUILTY TO FAILING TO REPORT FELONY. KGBT-TV Harlingen, TX (4/14, Chapa, 12K) reports on its website that Pat Medina pleaded guilty to failure to report a money laundering felony after she helped ex-Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño hide campaign contributions by Weslaco drug trafficking suspect Tomas “El Gallo” Gonzalez in July and August 2011. Medina was the Treviño’s chief of staff and re-election campaign treasurer at the time. Both resigned last month due to growing pressure. Homeland Security Investigations worked with the DEA and Texas Department of Public Safety on the case.

HSI ASSISTED IN INVESTIGATION OF HIALEAH MAYOR FOR TAX FRAUD CASE. WFOR-TV Miami (4/11, Rodriguez, 31K) reports on its website that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assisted the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division in the government’s tax fraud case against former Hialeah, Florida Mayor Julio Robaina and his wife Raiza Villacis Robaina, which began on Friday. The charges stem from allegations by Luis Felipe Perez who pleaded guilty to running a $45 million Ponzi scheme in 2010. He claims that he borrowed $750,000 from the Robainas to finance the scheme and it was partially set up in the form of mortgages with an undisclosed and illegally usurious interest rate of 36%. Prosecutors were investigating whether Robaina paid taxes on cash payments that they received from Perez.

FORMER SHERIFF’S OFFICE OFFICIAL PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGES IN TEXAS. KRGV-TV Harlingen, TX (4/11, 6:10 p.m. CDT, 49K) broadcast that Maria Patricia Medina, the former Chief of Staff for former Hidalgo County, Texas Sheriff Lupe Trevino, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony Friday afternoon in a US District court. Medina held her former position during a period when Sheriff Trevino received cash contributions from a suspected drug trafficker and admitted to helping the Sheriff conceal the donations by falsifying election records. Medina will be sentenced July 3 and faces up to three years in prison and a potential fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by HSI, DEA, and the Texas Rangers.

ARIZONA RESTAURANT OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO HIRING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. KTVK-TV Phoenix (4/14, Hoey, 88K) reports on its website that Christopher Evenson pleaded guilty to impeding and impairing the function of the Internal Revenue Service, and engaging in a pattern and practice of hiring illegal aliens to work in the kitchens of his Chuy’s restaurants. HSI and the IRS conducted a lengthy investigation of the matter. “Employers who knowingly hire an illegal workforce encourage illegal immigration, take jobs away from legal workers and gain an unfair advantage over their competitors,” said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Arizona, in a news release. As a result, Evenson allegedly avoided $400,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes.

OPERATION RUNDOWN PRODUCES ALMOST 100 ARRESTS IN FLORIDA COUNTY. WOAI-TV San Antonio (4/14, 11K) reports on its website that Homeland Security Investigations participated in Operation Rundown which produced almost 100 arrests in Broward County, Florida on Friday related to illegal drugs, prostitution, child sexual predators, drunk driving, aggressive driving, and fugitives. Local, state, and Federal authorities also seized three firearms and $230,000 during the operation.

MAN SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS FOR BANK FRAUD, OTHER CHARGES. The Northwest Asian Weekly (4/14) reports that Son Pham was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in a bank fraud scheme and for threatening people with a firearm while attempting to collect debts according to US Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. Pham pleaded guilty in November 2013. US District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered Pham to pay $115,690 in restitution for the bank fraud scheme. HSI investigated the case.

SOUTH CAROLINA MAN CHARGED WITH COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, TRAFFICKING COUNTERFEIT APPAREL AFTER HSI INVESTIGATION. WCIV-TV Charleston, SC (4/12, 25K) reported on its website that Delmar Ray, a Ridgeville, South Carolina resident, was charged this week with criminal copyright infringement and trafficking counterfeit apparel. Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case which involved counterfeit sports apparel, movies and music.

ICE ASSISTS IN DISMANTLING METHAMPHETAMINE DISTRIBUTION OPERATION IN TEXAS. The Gainesville (TX) Daily Register (4/14, 466) reports that the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE/ERO/Dallas assisted the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit and other local law enforcement groups in dismantling “a large-scale methamphetamine distribution operation” in a rural part of the Texas county on April 8. As a result, two suspects were arrested, including a fugitive wanted on past drug charges who is also the subject of an immigration hold. Also seized were 445 grams of methamphetamine, $605, 26 firearms, and 150 roosters to be used in cockfighting. The suspects are being held at Cooke County Jail.

ICE PLACES “NO BOND” HOLD ON ILLINOIS MAN. The Naperville (IL) Sun (4/14, Bird, 51K) reports that the US Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has placed a “no bond” hold on Larry Bebo of Naperville, Illinois after he was arrested for driving with a revoked license and possessing 2.3 grams of heroin and 0.3 grams of cocaine. Bebo has reportedly been arrested or ticketed about 90 times but it was not immediately clear why the hold was placed. Bebo is in jail and will appear in DuPage County Circuit Court on April 24.

MICHIGAN MAN IN PRISON FOR HARBORING AFRICAN CHILDREN, FORCING THEM TO WORK. On its website, WXYZ-TV Detroit (4/10, Russell, 101K) reports that Jean-Claude “Kodjo” Toviave of Ypsilanti, Michigan has been convicted of “forced labor, visa fraud, mail fraud and harboring aliens” and is serving a 135-month prison sentence for bringing four children from Togo into the US in 2006 using false identity documents which indicated that Toviave was their biological father. Toviave reportedly told the children’s parents “he wanted to give them an education,” but once in the US, Toviave “forced them to work for him” for five years, beating them if they did not comply, before his 2011 arrest. In an accompanying video report, ICE forensic interview specialist Amy Allen says “it was very surprising, because they had so much exposure to the community.”

WXYZ-TV Detroit (4/12, 7:15 p.m. EDT, 63K) reported that when the children were found, Allen said they were much smaller than they should have been due to malnutrition. The victims say that their tormentor subjected them to an array of physical and mental abuse and investigators assert Toviave was motivated by the allure of government monetary assistance for each child. Two of the victims that WXYZ interviewed say they want to become US citizens and lawyers from the University of Michigan are helping them obtain the necessary documentation to remain in the county.

WRTV-TV Indianapolis (4/14, 40K) also carries this story on its website.

LOUISIANA WOMAN ARRESTED FOR PROSTITUTION AGAIN. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (4/11, Hunter, 678K) reported that Leonarda “Leo” Martinez of Kenner, Louisiana was arrested April 5 and booked for letting her premises for prostitution, pandering, and probation violation in addition to being a fugitive from ICE. While serving an arrest warrant on Martinez, ICE agents and local detectives found a number of items that suggested and a witness that alleged prostitution was taking place in her home. The suspect had previously been arrested for running a similar operation in 2009 and pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution in 2010. Martinez remains in local custody and has an ICE detainer placed on her.

TEXAS MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY DISTRIBUTION. KVIA-TV El Paso, TX (4/11, Najera, 2K) reports on its website that HSI raided a residence in East El Paso Friday morning in furtherance of a child pornography investigation. Ricardo Antonio Ruiz was arrested for child pornography distribution, while Juventino Soliz Gonzales was charged with being a felon in possession of a weapon. HSI agent Javy Pedroza is quoted saying, “Last year HSI nationwide spent close to a million hours investigating these type of investigations,” referring to child pornography. Pedroza added, “we get leads from multiple sources. We have the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. We got the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. And the leads come in on a weekly, if not a daily basis.” Pedroza concluded with a message for potential child predators: “they should know that if they’re doing anything illegal on the Internet, whether it’s being in search of child pornography, whether it’s looking to entice a child and victimize them they should know we are watching.”

KFOX-TV El Paso, TX (4/11, Martinez, 2K) also reported this story on its website. KFOX-TV El Paso, TX (4/11, 9:04 p.m. MDT, 34K) and KVIA-TV El Paso, TX (4/11, 5:05 p.m. MDT, 33K) also broadcast the story.

OHIO OPERATION CHECKED SEX OFFENDERS’ RESIDENCY. The Canton (OH) Repository (4/11, Monsewicz, 171K) reported that Operation SCOPE took place this week in Stark County, Ohio with the purpose of determining where all of the county’s 630 sex offenders are living. The joint-agency operation assessed that about 90 percent of the county’s sex offenders are living at their registered addresses and more than a dozen are being sought on warrants for moving without notifying authorities. Six individuals were also arrested during the event that featured participation from the US Marshals and other state and local law enforcement agencies.

KANSAS MAN FACES CHILD PORN CHARGES. The Ark Valley (KS) News (4/11, Heilman) reported that Kyle B. Rains of Park City, Kansas is facing multiple Federal child pornography charges after being arrested two weeks ago. Rains was charged with possessing and distributing child porn after investigators executed a search warrant on his home. The suspect faces up to 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if convicted of all charges. The case was investigated by HSI, the Internet Task Force on Crimes Against Children, and the Wichita Police Department.

CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES. KOVR-TV Sacramento, CA (4/11, 47K) reported that Paul Sanfilippo of Stockton, California was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges. Police began investigating Sanfilippo last September after accusations surfaced that he molested a 13 year old girl. The suspect was arrested and released on bail. However, HSI agents later allege they found evidence that Sanfilippo had been receiving and distributing child porn both domestically and internationally and arrested him on Federal charges.

VIRGINIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORN CHARGES. The InsideNoVa (4/12, Jacobson Moore, 2K) reported that Ralph Watts Conrad III of Hamilton, Virginia pleaded guilty to 50 counts of possession of child pornography in a Loudoun Circuit Court Friday. Each count carries a five year maximum prison sentence and Conrad will be sentenced July 25. As part of Operation Protego, HSI began investigating a suspect back in 2011 after agents determined his IP address was being used to access and contribute to a known child porn website. After Conrad was identified as the suspect last June, further investigation discovered that his Email and home laptop contained illicit images and videos. He was arrested last Septembers after authorities searched his home.

Policy and Issues News:

CONTINUING COVERAGE OF BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS. MSNBC (4/14, Margolin, 45.1M) continues coverage of the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations for deportation policy changes. “Chief among the recommendations” is to “expand deferred action to as many undocumented immigrants as possible.” The commission’s report reportedly asserted that criminal records should not serve as a “categorical bar to inclusion” in deportation relief, due to the disproportional impact of the criminal justice system on low-income and minority communities, according to this article. The report also recommended the end of the Secure Communities and Criminal Alien Program, which “wrongly conflate criminal law and immigration laws, and make ICE officers a regular feature in local courtrooms, jails, and prisons around the country.” The commission also called on the President to improve detention facility conditions, which were described as “deplorable.”

SENATOR SESSIONS DISPUTES NYTIMES ACCOUNT OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) writes in a letter to the editor in the New York Times (4/14, Subscription Publication, 9.65M) that he disputes the assertion in the publication’s recent immigration enforcement article that “two-thirds of the nearly two million deportation cases involve people who had committed minor infractions, including traffic violations, or had no criminal record at all.” Sessions cites ICE data as saying that two-thirds of those removed last year were apprehended at the border, whereas “true deportations” decreased by 40 percent since 2009. Sessions accuses the New York Times of creating “the appearance of a surge in immigration enforcement against ‘minor’ offenders” when 70 percent of criminal aliens removed from the US interior had felony convictions. Sessions also objects to the article’s definition of “minor infractions,” noting that traffic infractions described this way “involve crimes like D.U.I. or vehicular manslaughter.” Other letters to the editor were more critical of US immigration enforcement.

Continuing Coverage Of TRAC Report. The Daily Kos (4/11, Lewis, 331K) continues coverage of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse’s study of ICE records, claiming that ICE’s increase in deportations of convicted criminal “was largely a result of an increase in the deportations of individuals whose most serious conviction was an immigration or traffic violation.” The most common charges were “illegal entry,” “driving while intoxicated,” “simple traffic violation,” and “conviction for marijuana possession.” The article notes that the report bolsters immigrant advocates’ claims that “the escalation of deportations...is ripping apart families who have been well established here.”

IMMIGRANT DETAINEE ASSAULTED BY SEX OFFENDER IN MINNESOTA COUNTY JAIL. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (4/14, Brunswick, Matos, 1.48M) reports that an 18-year-old held for ICE at the Sherburne County (Minnesota) jail “was repeatedly sexually assaulted last month by his cellmate,” a registered sex offender and “boarder” from the state’s Department of Corrections, according to a criminal complaint. The article claims that the incident “highlights an emerging nationwide pattern of sexual abuse at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers.” The article also claims that immigration detainees at Sherburne County jail “are routinely commingled” with other prisoners; detainees have reportedly been separated from prisoners in the wake of the incident. ICE detainees reportedly wrote a letter to the publication “outlining their concerns about being housed at the jail,” which include victimization from other prisoners to “improper medical care.” One detainee indicated that detainees “are too afraid to complain.” ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer is cited as saying that each facility must have a “formal classification process” to determine how detainees are housed.

INDIAN IMMIGRANTS ENGAGED IN HUNGER STRIKE AT EL PASO PROCESSING CENTER. The El Paso (TX) Times (4/14, Andrew Kreighbaum, 251K) reports that over 40 Indian immigrants have begun a hunger strike “in protest of their detention” at the El Paso Processing Center. An attorney indicated that some of the strikers seek political asylum, have undergone credible fear interviews, and “should be paroled and released” after their identities are confirmed and security checks run. The men are identified as Sikhs from Punjab State in India who “were active in a Sikh minority political party in India and were targeted for violent attacks.” Forty-three men began the hunger strike Tuesday, “although not all have continued with it.” ICE spokeswoman Letty Zamarripa is quoted saying, “while we continue to work with Congress to enact common sense immigration reform, ICE remains committed to sensible, effective immigration enforcement that focuses on its priorities, including convicted criminals and those apprehended at the border while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States.”

The Hindu (IND) (4/11, Lakshman, 77K) reports that 42 detainees entered the fourth day of the hunger strike, out of “over hundred Punjabi men...said to be held” in El Paso. The protest is reportedly “against authorities’ alleged denial of access to outside resources to the inmates.” However, Zamarripa is quoted as informing the publication that “I checked and there are no hunger strikers reported at the... Centre.” The North American Punjabi Association has reportedly filed a FOIA request with ICE requesting information regarding the hunger strike and an opportunity to visit the detainees.

ARIZONA SHERIFFS COMPLAIN OF LACK OF INFORMATION ON RELEASED DETAINEES. Newsmax (4/11, Beamon, 486K) reports that Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, “Arizona’s top two sheriffs,” discussed their “uphill battle” against illegal immigration, which they attributed to the Federal government’s refusal to provide “information about the illegals they released from local jails last year due to budget cuts.” Arpaio is quoted as saying, “we turn them over to ICE, and they keep coming back to jail...Either they’re letting them out the back door — or they’re deporting them, and they keep coming back. There’s a problem with this.” ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen informed Newsmax last year that the agency reviewed the cases of those released, found them to be “low-security threats,” and placed them on supervised release.

The American Free Press (4/14, Thorn) quotes Arpaio as saying, in an interview with the publication, that he found in a survey of Maricopa County inmates three months ago that “of the 1,300 illegal aliens that were currently being held, 400 of them with criminal records had been previously released to ICE.” Arpaio accused ICE of “violating their criteria and the laws passed by Congress” and the President of “trying to circumvent our laws to pacify the Hispanic community.” Arpaio also indicated that he would “keep doing my surveys of illegal aliens in my jail to determine the recidivism rate of returnees,” each month, then “write a letter to DHS and inform them of the results.”

HSI VICTIM ASSISTANCE SPECIALIST IN ARIZONA RECOGNIZED BY DOJ. The Yuma (AZ) News Now (4/14) reports that Marc Tetzlaff was one of 10 Federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors to receive service awards in a ceremony at the office of the US Attorney for the District of Arizona on Thursday as part of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.. Tetzlaff is a victim assistance specialist with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Phoenix. Matt Allen, special agent in charge of HSI Arizona, said, “Marc has gone above and beyond the call of duty to build crucial working relationships with community-based and non-governmental organizations and our state and local law enforcement partners” to help victims of human trafficking, hostage-taking, and identity theft.

FORMER ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DISCUSSES IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT. Al Jazeera America (4/11, 79K) interviews several immigration “experts” regarding immigration enforcement, including former acting ICE director John Torres. According to Torres, the agency began counting voluntary returns as deportations because it would “expend resources getting [voluntary returns] across the border.” Torres claims that these removals were noted with an asterisk because “these are numbers we hadn’t counted before,” but that eventually “the asterisk got lost and everything started getting counted.” Torres also notes that CBP apprehensions, historically handled by that agency separately, “would get turned over to ICE” within the last two or three years, and that “that’s where I believe those numbers would be somewhat artificially inflated.”

Sociology Professor Criticizes Administration’s “Misguided Tactics.” Tanya Golash-Boza, associate professor of sociology at the University of California at Merced, writes in Al Jazeera America (4/13, 79K) that the Administration’s “misguided tactics” with respect to immigration enforcement have angered its “closest allies,” such as the National Council of La Raza. Golash-Boza cites the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse report as evidence of how DHS “has been doing exactly the opposite” of the President’s claim that immigration enforcement has been focused on “dangerous criminals and gangbangers.” Golash-Boza also claims that the Secure Communities program has caused ICE to “cast a wide net — using its resources to sweep up as many deportable aliens as possible, with little regard for the nature of their criminal record.” Bolash-Goza concludes that the Administration’s deportation policy is “creating a massive Latino problem for the Democratic Party” and recommends that the President “use his executive authority to create a deportation policy that is smart not only in name but in reality.”

MARYLAND INTERFAITH GROUP RECOMMEND EITHER REFORM OR ABOLITION OF 287(G). Members of the Frederick Immigration Coalition in Maryland write in the Frederick (MD) News-Post (4/13, 102K) of their “deep concern” regarding Frederick County Sheriff’s Office’s participation in the 287(g) program. The group claims to support the stated aim of the program, but express concern, based on sheriff’s office data, that the program “is not accomplishing what it was intended to do,” as “over 90 percent of the arrests leading to detention and potential deportation have been for misdemeanors, mostly motor vehicle violations.” The group also claims that most undocumented immigrants held for transfer to ICE “are not provided due process in local courts” in that they are typically prevented from appearing in court to face their original arrest charge, leading to an additional charge of failure to appear. The group endorses and earlier recommendation from the Conference of Catholic Bishops that the 287(g) program be either reformed or ended.

CONGRESS MEMBERS CALL FOR END TO ICE DETENTION QUOTA. The El Paso (TX) Times (4/12, Diana Washington Valdez, 251K) reports that 80 members of Congress, including Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), have signed onto a letter “seeking to end the mandatory 34,000-bed detention bed quota for” ICE. The letter claims that the quota “wastes taxpayer dollars by forcing ICE to forgo alternatives to detention that are far less costly and equally as effective.” Josiah Heyman, endowed professor of border trade issues at the University of Texas at El Paso, is quoted saying that the quota is in place because of “people who think that punishment will be a deterrent to unauthorized migration, and the direct economic interests of the ICE bureaucracy, detention officers and their union, and contract detention center operators.” According to critics of the policy, ICE “has used women in various stages of pregnancy to help meet the quota.” ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa is quoted saying, “for pregnant detainees who are determined to be inadmissible but who claim credible fear upon entering the United States, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations work to expedite their interview process; we make every effort possible to minimize the expecting-mother’s time in custody.”

In an interview with KVIA-TV El Paso, TX (4/12, 5:05 p.m. MDT, 37K), Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas) called for a “needs based system” instead of filling beds for the sake of it, while O’Rourke said the practice provides incentives for detaining individuals who pose no real threat to communities.

“BORDER PATROL NATION” AUTHOR DISCUSSES BOOK. The Texas Observer (4/11, Miller, 252) interviews freelance journalist Todd Miller about his new book, “Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Homeland Security.” Among other themes, Miller discusses ICE’s “increased operations...in the interior of the country,” which has led to “that reality from the southern border moving north and into the interior of the country” due to the agency’s collaboration with local law enforcement agencies.

ICE FACILITY A FACTOR IN PETITION TO CHANGE CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS IN SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA. The Santa Maria (CA) Times (4/11, 40K) reports that the city council of Santa Maria, California has rejected a petition for council elections to switch to a district format from its current at-large format. Hazel Davalos of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, which collected signatures in favor of the petition, said that the change would “make city leaders more responsive to residents’ concerns.” Davalos cited the approval of a construction permit for an ICE facility in the city, “despite thousands of protesters speaking out against it at meetings,” as an example of the need for change.

INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY: ADMINISTRATION POLICIES CAUSING “GREAT WAVE” OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Investors Business Daily (4/11, 491K) claims that the Administration’s immigration enforcement policies “outweigh the powerful demographic and economic factors that have until now slowed illegal immigration into the US.” The article notes that illegal immigration had been falling, but recent reports of increasing numbers of undocumented immigrants apprehended at the border point to a “great wave of immigration” caused by the President’s call for comprehensive immigration reform, instructions to the Attorney General to use “prosecutorial discretion,” and such police as deferred action for undocumented immigrants brought into the US as children.

CALIFORNIA TEENAGER FACES DEPORTATION FOR SELLING MARIJUANA BROWNIES. FOX News Latino (4/11, 140K) continues coverage of Saira Muñoz, a teenager from Yuba City, California, who decided to sell marijuana brownies to raise money for a prom dress. Munoz was arrested for having an underage friend help her sell the brownies, which led to the hospitalization of a schoolmate. Munoz has been sentenced to probation and nine days in jail; the Sutter County Probation Department referred her case to ICE and “now, she may be deported.”

FAMILY OF GUYANESE DEPORTEE DISCUSSES EXPERIENCE. The Aurora (IL) Beacon-News (4/12, Crosby, 71K) discusses the experience of Mark Isaacs of Oswego, who was incarcerated for “illegally selling phone minutes from his mobile phone stores,” then detained and deported to Guyana. Isaacs’ son Ahmed indicated that “those years in ICE limbo...were even harder on him than when his dad was in prison.” Ahmed also vowed “to use those mistakes to carve out a ‘better path for myself and my children.’”

US SHERIFFS WARN OF MEXICAN CARTEL ACTIVITY IN US. Town Hall (4/12, Barkoukis, 131K) continues coverage of US county sheriffs’ warning that Mexican drug cartel activities “are now reaching places in the United States far beyond the Border States.” Rockingham County (North Carolina) Sheriff Sam Page is quoted as saying, “I’m literally outgunned” by cartels who have established a drug warehouse nearby. Rusty Fleming, a spokesman for the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, estimated that cartels “are recruiting local gangs, former prisoners and teenagers to do their dirty work” in over 3,000 US cities. Sheriff Chuck Jenkins of Frederick County in Maryland indicated that 50 of the 1,250 undocumented immigrants detained in the county through an agreement with ICE “have had connections to Mexican drug cartels and organized crime.”

HSI PARTNERSHIP WITH SANTA FE POLICE CONCERNS IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES. The Santa Fe New Mexican (4/12, Garcia, 58K) reports that the Santa Fe Police Department has worked with HSI to “apprehend drug traffickers who are suspected of having ties to Mexican drug cartels.” Police department spokeswoman Celina Westervelt indicated that the objective is to place Federal charges on “midlevel drug-trafficking suspects...to keep them off the streets longer” and that only “dangerous and very violent criminals” are targeted. However, given DHS’ role in immigration law enforcement, immigrant rights groups are concerned that the partnership “might lead to arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants for low-level offenses.” Kevin Abar, assistant special agent in charge of HSI’s Albuquerque, New Mexico, office, said that his agency targets the “worst of the worst” and that resources are focused on criminal organizations engaged in activities ranging from art theft to drug smuggling.

KOREAN GOVERNMENT SEEKS RETURN OF ROYAL SEALS. The Korea JoongAng Daily (4/14) reports that the government of South Korea is “is actively negotiating the return of valuable Joseon-era royal and national seals” ahead of President Obama’s scheduled visit to the country later in April. The article notes that most of the seals were taken out of Korea “following the 1950-53 Korean War through unofficial means.” A source advised that “in the case an individual or a group is in possession, legal steps have to be taken and will be dependent on the procedures at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice.” The article notes that last November, HSI agents “seized nine seals from the family of a deceased U.S. Marine lieutenant who served in the Korean War.”

MAYOR OF INDIANA TOWN EXPRESSED OPPOSITION TO IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTER. The Hobart (IN) News (4/13) reports that Brian Snedecor, mayor of Hobart, Indiana, announced that “his administration will not support a privately owned immigration detention center in” the city. Snedecor reportedly sent a letter to GEO Group expressing his administration’s opposition to the project; the company purchased 40 acres in the area. The mayor informed a local group named Concerned Citizens of Hobart to “keep an eye out on the city’s Planning Commission, which would be the first to receive proposals from GEO.” The group has reportedly contacted Rep. Pete Visclosky to help arrange a meeting with ICE officials “to discuss the center and alternatives to the detention center.”

HSI SPECIAL AGENT PRESENTS WORKSHOP ON AVOIDING CYBER BULLYING AND SEXTING IN NEW JERSEY. The New Jersey Herald (4/13, Carlson, 60K) reports that Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent David Fallon gave a presentation to Hopatcong, New Jersey parents and children about how to stop cyber bullying and sexting as part of Homeland Security Investigations Project iGuardian. Fallon said, “Young children need to be taught not to use bad language, not to post inappropriate content and not to trust people they meet online.”

FEDERAL AGENTS ALLEGEDLY SHOOT DOG DURING SEARCH. KZTV Corpus Christi (TX) (4/11, 6:01 p.m. CDT, 8K) reported that Federal agents are being accused of shooting and killing a dog while carrying out an operation Thursday morning. ICE agents and US Marshals were looking for Cirilo Benito Carranza at a house near Pierce, Texas when they came upon a pit bull in the home’s yard. According to the residents, the agents maced the dog and eventually shot it six times when it began sniffing an officer, claiming the action was done for self-protection. The Campos family, who lives at the home, hopes to hire an attorney to hold someone accountable for the incident. The agents later found the man they were looking for at a different address.

ARIZONA DETAINEE ASKS FOR TEMPORARY RELEASE TO RECEIVE CANCER TREATMENT. KSAZ-TV Phoenix (4/12, 10:06 p.m. MST, 30K) reported that Ruth Alvarez, an illegal immigrant detained by Maricopa County, Arizona authorities, is asking to be temporarily released so she can undergo cancer treatment with her family present. Before being arrested last week for using a false ID to obtain employment, Alvarez had scheduled a mastectomy on April 23. She was also arrested last September by ICE on the same charges, but was released so she could receive chemotherapy. She says she is willing to receive punishment for her crime, but would like to battle her cancer first.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NONPROFITS WORKING TO EDUCATE PUBLIC ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING. The El Paso (TX) Times (4/13, Martinez, 251K) reports Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are working with anti-human trafficking groups in El Paso, Texas to raise awareness about sex trafficking. Edward Owens, HSI Assistant Special Agent in Charge for El Paso, said the city is a hub for sex trafficking both because of the amount of sex slavery there and because traffickers use it as a key stop along their way to selling victims elsewhere. Owens says it is “more important for us to try to intercede at this level” because “It gets harder once” victims are moved further into the US.

ICE HOPES PHONE APP WILL HELP APPREHEND CALIFORNIA FUGITIVE. The Imperial Valley (CA) News (4/11, 1K) reported fugitive Jose Alberto Centurion-Cruz of Sunnyvale, California has been added to ICE’s Operation Predator smartphone app that seeks tips on predators at-large. Centurion-Cruz, an El Salvadoran national, was indicted by a Federal grand jury in January 2013 for possession and distribution of child pornography. The suspect was scheduled to appear in Federal court in San Jose last month but never showed up. Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Francisco, said that the agency hopes the addition will produce some valuable leads in the case, noting that “Social media has proven to be an invaluable asset in HSI’s efforts to identify and locate offenders in child sexual exploitation cases.”

KTVU-TV San Francisco (4/13, 128K) reports on its website that Federal investigators believe Centurion-Cruz may have fled back to El Salvador.

IMMIGRATION JUDGE RULES SALVADORAN GENERAL SHOULD BE DEPORTED. The New York Times (4/12, Preston, Subscription Publication, 9.65M) reports that Immigration Judge Michael C. Horn in Miami “has found that a former defense minister in El Salvador, a close ally of the United States during a civil war there in the 1980s, should be deported because of his involvement in a number of human rights violations, including the assassination of an archbishop and the massacre of more than 1,000 peasants.” Judge Horn’s decision “against the former officer, Gen. José Guillermo García, was issued on Feb. 26 but only released on Friday after a Freedom of Information Act request by The New York Times.” The ruling “went beyond earlier court decisions and found that General García had played a direct role in some of the most egregious killings and torture in El Salvador at a time when Washington was supporting the Salvadoran military in its battle against leftist insurgents.” Judge Horn “found ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that General García ‘assisted or otherwise participated’ in 11 violent episodes that scarred the Central American country, including the 1980 murder of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero as he was saying Mass in the capital, San Salvador.”

NEW PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP US MOSQUES PREVENT EXTREMIST BEHAVIOR. The Wall Street Journal (4/14, Audi, Subscription Publication, 5.51M) reports that the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) today will launch a program to help US mosques identify potential extremists. The initiative, which was sparked by the Boston Marathon bombings, is voluntary and it is unclear how many Islamic communities may adopt it. Officials with MPAC contend that the overwhelming majority of US Muslims have no connection to extremist behavior, but they argue that rare incidents of racial violence, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, affect the entire community, and that extremist voices should be addressed so that violent behavior may be headed off. The Safe Spaces Initiative urges leaders to directly address congregants who espouse radical ideas by arranging meetings with spiritual leaders and family members, and even possibly law enforcement officials.

In Brief:

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE LARGE SHIPMENT OF MARIJUANA IN ARIZONA. The Arizona Daily Star (4/14, 389K) reported CBP officers at the Port of Nogales in Arizona Wednesday arrested a Mexican man for attempting to smuggle over 8,000 pounds of marijuana into the US. After a drug dog alerted agents to the presence of drugs of drugs in the tractor-trailer the man was driving, officers discovered 298 bales of the drug, worth more than $4 million. The trailer was supposed to contain bell peppers. The suspect was arrested and turned over to the custody of ICE’s HSI.

The Nogales (AZ) International (4/14, 13K) reported that the seizure was “the 12th million-dollar marijuana seizure in Santa Cruz County since the start of 2013.”

CBP MAKES MULTIPLE METH BUSTS AT ARIZONA BORDER. KPHO-TV Phoenix (4/11, Stout, 74K) reported on its website that CBP officers at the Port of Nogales in Arizona seized over 100 pounds of methamphetamine, worth approximately $304,000, during a series of busts last weekend. On April 4, officers intercepted 41 pounds of the narcotic during a bust and arrested one Mexican man. On April 5, authorities intercepted 52 pounds of meth during three separate incidents that resulted in two Mexican men and one US man being arrested. And on April 6, agents confiscated 8.6 pounds of the drug from a Mexican woman. All suspects were referred to ICE’s HSI for further processing.

GEORGIAN NATIONALS ARRESTED FOR THEFT IN FLORIDA. WPTV-TV West Palm Beach, FL (4/12, 10:00 a.m. EDT, 1K) broadcast that three Georgian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of electronics from a Wal-Mart in Fort Pierce, Florida. The three suspects had been employed by a cleaning service that the Wal-Mart contracted with. The Georgians are in the custody of ICE and three other individuals were also arrested in connection to the case.

Top DHS News:

DHS INVESTIGATING REPORTS OF HEARTBLEED ATTACKS ON INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS. The Christian Science Monitor (4/11, Clayton, 566K) reports that DHS’ Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team issued an alert Friday regarding “unconfirmed reports that Heartbleed has already been used to attack encrypted communications systems of US industrial control systems,” which the department is investigating. The alert is quoted as saying, “ICS-CERT is aware of reports of attempted exploitation and is in the process of confirming these reports...ICS-CERT continues to monitor the situation closely and encourages entities to report any and all incidents regarding this vulnerability to DHS.” Industrial control systems expert Ralph Langner is quoted saying, “the impact of the Heartbleed vulnerability on the cyber security of critical infrastructure (where it involves industrial control systems) is minimal” as “the majority of this infrastructure still uses non-encrypted and non-authenticated protocols,” a “far worse vulnerability,” according to this article.

The Hill (4/11, Hattem, 237K)”Hillicon Valley” blog reports that DHS has “warned people to monitor their online accounts at banks and other websites for improper activity” as “it is still possible that malicious actors in cyberspace could exploit un-patched systems.” The department also indicated that public-facing government websites “are not exposed to risks from this cybersecurity threat.” DHS has reportedly contacted unnamed companies to determine the vulnerability of “critical networks on Wall Street, at utility companies and other telecommunications firms.” The department is quoted saying, “cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and when we take steps to ensure our own cyber safety, we are also helping to create a safer Internet for others.”

Android OS Version Vulnerable To Heartbleed. Bloomberg News (4/12, Robertson, 2.76M) reports that “millions of” smartphones and tablets that use version 4.1.1 of the Android operating system are susceptible to Heartbleed. A Google blog post from April 9 identified this version as the “limited exception” to its assertion that all Android versions are immune to Heartbleed; the company indicated that “less than 10 percent of active devices are vulnerable,” but the article notes that “over 900 million Android devices” worldwide are active.

Websites “Taking Longer Than Anticipated” To Respond To Heartbleed. Bloomberg News (4/14, Robertson, 2.76M) reports that websites affected by Heartbleed “are finding that it’s taking longer than anticipated to recover” as they deal with “the time and cost needed to restore user data” and interruptions caused by partner companies. Team Snap Inc. and Yahoo Inc. were identified among companies who experienced difficulties in their response to the flaw.

“Heartbleed” Bug Prompted Discussion Of NSA’s Use Of Security Holes. The Wall Street Journal (4/13, Nagesh, Subscription Publication, 5.51M) reports that the controversy surrounding the “Heartbleed” encryption bug is providing insight into the segment of the White House’s surveillance overhaul package concerning how the government deals with software holes and vulnerabilities. The NSA has put together a list of software bugs and holes, called “zero days,” which it has used to access secure networks before they can be fixed. While a presidential advisory committee recommended that the Administration to adjust its process for dealing with these vulnerabilities to ensure they are quickly fixed, intelligence agencies which opposed the recommendation. According to a senior Administration official, while there was a high-level reassessment of the Administration’s handling of the security holes, no substantive changes were made to the process.

Canada Shuts Down Government Websites Vulnerable To Heartbleed Virus. AFP (4/12) reports Canada on Friday “ordered all federal department websites vulnerable to the ‘Heartbleed’ bug to be shut down.” Canadian Treasury Board President Tony Clement said the action is “being taken as a precautionary measure until the appropriate security patches are in place and tested.” AFP notes the announcement comes “two days after Canada’s tax agency shuttered its website,” despite the approaching April 30 tax deadline.

Los Angeles Times Says Heartbleed Shows Importance Of Private Sector Initiative In Information Security. A Los Angeles Times (4/13, 3.46M) editorial says that Heartbleed is “typical of the security issues that arise online” and that the key issue is “whether the companies that store sensitive data will be diligent about responding to problems as they are discovered.” The editorial accuses Congress of having “balked” at requiring private companies to improve their information security or maintain their software current, due to lobbyist influence; meanwhile, the incentives for companies to safeguard against cyberattacks “haven’t stopped companies from carelessly storing sensitive data without encryption and ignoring important software updates.” The editorial applauds the Federal Trade Commission’s initiative in “rooting out bad corporate data security” and concludes that the “upside” of Heartbleed is that it serves as a reminder that, in addition to coders, websites and services should be vigilant and “stay on top of the changes.”

WPost Warns Against Complacency In Dealing With Threats To Internet Security. The Washington Post (4/13, 4.22M) in an editorial on the subject of data theft, specifically the “Heartbleed” bug that apparently could allow hackers to read data encrypted by OpenSSL “such as passwords or credit cards.” It says this is further evidence that the Internet “is vulnerable to theft, intrusion and disruption on an appalling scale.” The Post says that the Administration’s promise “that sharing cyberthreat information among companies would not bring on antitrust liability,” is “useful” but says the problem is a “lack of a consensus in Congress and a failure in the private sector to take all threats more seriously.”

OUTGOING FAMS DIRECTOR DENIES RETIREMENT DUE TO INVESTIGATION. The CNN (4/14, Ahlers, Cnn, 77.95M) website reports that outgoing FAMS director Robert Bray claimed in an interview that “he bought several guns from an employee under investigation” for possibly using “his position to get free and discounted firearms,” but denied having done anything wrong “or that the probe is behind his decision to retire.” Bray is quoted saying, “I’ve been in law enforcement for 39 years, 39 years. I’ve never had one allegation of misconduct...I have nothing to hide. I’m not trying to hide anything.” According to the TSA, an employee named Daniel Poulos is on administrative leave pending an investigation “for allegedly buying weapons at a discount and selling them to other employees.” Bray and TSA spokesman David Castelveter reportedly said that Bray’s home was not raided in connection with the investigation, contradicting a FoxNews.com report. Castelveter indicated that the TSA’s Office of Inspections is investigating allegations of Bray’s improper purchase of handguns.

The Daily Caller (4/14, Stoltzfoos, 408K) cites documents obtained by Fox News.com as saying that the FAMS director and former deputy director “received several firearms from [the supervisor] that included ‘special purchases’ such as long guns and assault rifles,” and that the investigation “is being conducted quietly to keep Congress in the dark on the gross mismanagement and misdeeds that the FAMS senior management staff have perpetrated for several years.” Homeland Security subcommittee chair Rep. Richard Hudson is quoted saying, in a letter to TSA Administration John Pistole, “I am outraged at the apparent attempt by TSA and the Federal Air Marshal Service to hide this from Congress.”

LITTLE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT NORFOLK NAVY BASE SHOOTING. The Hampton Roads (VA) Virginian-Pilot (4/14, Reilly, 422K) reports that “little else has been disclosed” about the shooting incident at Norfolk Naval Station, other than the sequence of events in which Jeffrey Tyrone Savage “boarded a destroyer,” took a sailor’s gun, and killed another sailor. Officials have declined to answer questions about Savage’s motives and his ability to pass checkpoints, citing investigations by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and another “headed by a one-star admiral.” Officials also “said they could not estimate when the investigations might wrap up.” DHS has reportedly “not responded to repeated inquiries from” the publication regarding Savage’s TWIC credential or the TWIC program. The article cites Virginia Senator Mark Warner spokesman Kevin Hall as saying that Warner met with DHS, TSA, and Navy officials last Thursday, and that “Senator Warner is concerned that TSA doesn’t have the tools or the access it needs to conduct thorough background checks.”

SEVERE WEATHER CONTINUES IN MIDWEST. ABC World News (4/13, story 2, 2:00, Muir) reported a tornado watch in eastern parts of Oklahoma, “watching an entire orange zone on the map from Aklatex to Missouri.” Hail and strong winds are also predicted for Tennesse, Mississippi and Alabama.

NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 5, 1:30, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported there have been severe weather alerts “across much of the nation’s midsection” which includes tornado watches. Winds in Michigan caused damage to schools, as well as power lines which left 150,000 customers without power.

ALL 36 MUDSLIDE VICTIMS IDENTIFIED WHILE SEVEN STILL MISSING. The AP (4/14) reports the Snohomish County medical examiner’s office has confirmed that it has identified “all 36 victims it has received from the Oso mudslide.” On Friday, Denver Harris, 14, was identified, killed due to “blunt force injuries.” Seven people remain on the missing list. Governor Jay Inslee visited Oso on Friday, “spending time with school children and first responders.”

PAUL: BUSH COULD HAVE BEEN MORE “ARTFUL” ABOUT IMMIGRATION. The Washington Post (4/13, Sullivan, 4.22M) reports in its “Post Politics” blog that US Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said yesterday that Jeb Bush’s comments about some illegal immigration being an “act of love” could have been “more artful” in their presentation. Speaking in an interview on “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” Paul stated that he would have instead said “people who seek the American dream are not bad people.” He added that the US “can’t invite the whole world” to immigrate and suggested Bush should have spoken about securing the US borders as well.

The Hill (4/13, Jaffe, 237K) stated that Paul’s comments were a defense of Bush’s immigration statements and The Christian Science Monitor (4/14, Sappenfield, 566K) says Paul’s stance “could suggest that the entire tone of the conversation” on immigration issues “could change next year.” The Monitor supports its theory by noting Paul was speaking from a conservative summit in New Hampshire, “not the time or the place to go soft on illegal immigration” for a person with potential Presidential ambitions.

The AP (4/13) reports the story as well.

Bush’s Statements Met With Mixed Response. The AP (4/11, Mishak) reported that besides the predictable outrage Bush’s comments elicited from conservatives, the former Governor has enjoyed support from “some of the GOP’s most powerful insiders and financiers, who are hoping the party can woo Hispanic voters and rebound from Mitt Romney’s damaging ‘self-deportation’ rhetoric in 2012.” AP adds that the “furor over Bush’s remarks shows the potential perils of picking up the issue.”

DENVER SCHOOLS EMPLOYING DEFERRED ACTION TEACHERS. The AP (4/14) reported Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said Friday that his district began reaching out to teachers who are illegal immigrants last year after the President initiated his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. The district currently employs two teachers who qualified for deferred action status. Boasberg acknowledged the move likely creates controversy, but said it “is about finding the very best teachers for our kids.” He added that the district has had trouble finding bilingual teachers, a skill immigrant teachers can bring to schools, and that such educators can be an inspiration to students who have immigrant parents.

Reuters (4/14, Coffman) reported “Denver schools were the first in the country to hire teachers under” the President’s program, according to Boasberg. Fred Elbel, director of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, criticized the district’s move, noting there are “at least 20 million Americans who either do not have a full-time job or are underemployed,” including teachers. He also questioned the qualifications of teachers who have deferred action status.

CUTTER RETURNS HOME AFTER DEPLOYMENT. The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (4/14, Hagerty, 696K) reports that the Coast Guard cutter Stratton returned to its home port in Alameda, California, after a nearly 100-day deployment in the eastern Pacific Ocean that resulted in the seizure of “about 500 kilograms of cocaine” and the disruption in the transport “of an additional 1,650 kilograms valued at more than $70 million.” The Stratton’s crew reportedly boarded two boats suspected of transporting cocaine; one was seized, and the other sunk off the Central American coast. Capt. Andrew Sugimoto said of the sinking operation that “everything came together perfectly...It was like a Coast Guard commercial.” This was the Stratton’s first operational deployment, according to this article. The cutter was welcomed back to Alameda by many of the crew’s family.

COAST GUARD NEEDS OVER A DOZEN ADDITIONAL SHIPS TO SEIZE 40 PERCENT OF COCAINE TRAFFIC. The Navy Times (4/13, Myers, 185K) reports that the Coast Guard would need “more than a dozen additional ships to” fulfill its goal of seizing 40 percent of the cocaine transported from South America to the US. Air Force Brig Gen. Steve DePalmer said that the annual Sea-Air-Space exposition that “we need about 16 ships, and in the words of [U.S. Southern Command chief Marine] Gen. [John] Kelly, they don’t need to be destroyers, they don’t need to be fancy...They just need to be something that floats, that can trundle along, maybe launch a helicopter — and also launch a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment.” An estimated 890 metric tons of cocaine is transported each year, “based on intelligence gathered on growing productions,” according to deputy for operations and policy Rear Adm. Dean Lee.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF THROWING SHOE AT CLINTON FREED FROM JAIL. The AP (4/14, Ritter) reports that Alison Michelle Ernst, “accused of throwing a shoe...toward Hillary Rodham Clinton,” appeared aware of the allegation against her when questioned by Secret Service agents. Ernst was issued a summons for misdemeanor disorderly conduct, then freed after being booked at Clark County jail in Nevada. Secret Service supervisory special agent in Las Vegas Brian Spellacy indicated that “an orange and black athletic shoe was recovered from the stage” after the incident; Spellacy added that Clinton, as a former first lady, has lifetime Secret Service protection.

MUSLIM ADVOCACY GROUP TO LAUNCH PROGRAM FOR IDENTIFYING, DEALING WITH POTENTIAL EXTREMISTS IN MOSQUES. The Wall Street Journal (4/13, Audi, Subscription Publication, 5.51M) reports that the Muslim Public Affairs Council will unveil on Monday a program called the Safe Spaces Initiative to help mosques in the US identify potential extremists in their congregations. The program was reportedly spurred on by the Boston Marathon bombings. The program, which is voluntary, is reportedly a departure from the Muslim community in the US’ practice of distancing itself from extremist Islamic strains and expelling Muslims who appear to espouse such views. The Muslim Public Affairs Council has begun briefing DHS and law enforcement authorities regarding the program.

DHS SPECIFIES PURPOSE FOR AMMUNITION CONTRACT SOLICITATIONS. Congressional Quarterly (4/14, Margetta, Subscription Publication, 967) reports that DHS seeks to buy “up to five million rounds of shotgun ammunition and 250 million rounds of training ammunition” in the next five years. The department’s “strategic sourcing” contract solicitations “are normal and are simply contracts which facilitate multi-year purchases,” according to DHS spokeswoman Marsha Catron, who added that the specified total quantities “represent contract ceilings” which help DHS control costs “by locking in a low price and also meeting our goal of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.” The article notes that the department’s orders have “attracted negative attention” and “conspiracy theories” of the department “stockpiling bullets or trying to deplete the commercial market,” though official statements and audits have discredited such accusations. A Government Accountability Office report noted that DHS’ annual ammunition purchases represent a small percentage of the total consumer ammunition market and “are driven primarily by firearm training and qualification requirements.”

CRITICS WORRIED ABOUT FUSION CENTERS’ COLLECTION OF DATA. McClatchy (4/14, Shulevitz, Subscription Publication, 23K) reports from Baltimore County, MD that as many “Americans question the data collection programs of the National Security Agency and worry about other privacy breaches, information from license plate readers, suspicious activity tipsters and more is being collected and stored at the state level in dozens of databases around the country.” Fusion centers, “created after 9/11, collect and sort data from municipal, state and national sources in the name of combating domestic terrorism,” but critics of the centers, “including members of Congress and civil liberties organizations, say they often violate Americans’ privacy, waste taxpayer dollars and have demonstrated little success catching terrorists.” In Baltimore County, the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, “one of 78 fusion centers nationwide, sees itself like links in a chain, connecting doers and go-getters when the time calls. ‘We were one of the first fusion centers in the country,’ said Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey Eisenberg, the official coordinator of Maryland’s anti-terrorism efforts. ‘What we’re set up to do is to receive information from all sources and to look at it ... with some trained eye to see who then should get it.’”

JURY SELECTION TO BEGIN TODAY IN NEW YORK TERROR TRIAL. The Wall Street Journal (4/14, Smith, Subscription Publication, 5.51M) reports that jury selection is slated to begin today in the New York terrorism trial of Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who is charged with conspiring to kidnap Americans in Yemen and of trying to open a terrorist training camp in Oregon. Al-Masri’s case is the second of three major terrorism trials scheduled in New York this year.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS WILL NOT TRY TO PROVE TSARNAEV SHOT OFFICER. The AP (4/14, Moye) reports that in a court filing on Friday, Federal prosecutors “say they won’t try to prove Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev shot Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Officer Richard Donohue, but say he’s still responsible for the officer’s injuries.” Prosecutors in the filing said “the government doesn’t intend to offer evidence that Tsarnaev shot Donohue,” and instead, prosecutors allege that Tsarnaev “is responsible for Donohue’s injuries because Donohue was shot while he and other officers were attempting to prevent Tsarnaev’s escape.” The AP notes that Federal prosecutors “are also requesting attorneys for Tsarnaev notify them if they plan to introduce any evidence that Tsarnaev had a mental illness.”

The Boston Herald (4/14, Zaremba, 783K) reports that prosecutors “asked ‘for notification in writing of any intention by the defendant to introduce expert evidence relating to a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant which bears on either the issue of guilt or the issue of punishment.’ Prosecutors have asked for such notification by May 7.”

Tsarnaev’s College Friends Seek Dismissal Of Charges. The Boston Globe (4/11, 1.62M) reports that a college friend of Boston Marathon bombing defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev asked a Federal judge on Friday “to dismiss charges that he lied to investigators about visiting Tsarnaev’s dorm room several days after the attack, saying he repeatedly told authorities he could not recall the visit because he was high on marijuana.” Robel Phillipos “attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with Tsarnaev, and he ultimately admitted that he accompanied two friends to Tsarnaev’s dorm room after authorities released a picture of the suspected bomber to news organizations.” The other two “were later accused of removing evidence from the dorm room, including a backpack filled with fireworks and a computer.” Attorneys for Phillipos said in a court filing on Friday “that their client spent the entire day of the visit smoking marijuana and that federal agents would not accept his repeated statement that he did not recall entering the room.”

Reuters (4/14) reports that attorneys for another of Tsarnaev’s college friends, Dias Kadyrbayev, asked US District Judge Douglas Woodlock on Friday to dismiss the criminal charges against him, arguing that the charges are unconstitutionally vague. Attorneys for Kadyrbayev also asked Judge Woodlock to strike referenced to “terrorism,” arguing that Kadyrbayev was not involved in the attack but is charged with removing items from Tsarnaev’s dorm room three days after the attacks.

RUSSIA CALLS CLAIMS ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SHARING ON TSARNAEV “A LOW BLOW.” AFP (4/14) reports from Moscow that Russian officials on Saturday “dismissed as a ‘low blow’ claims that Moscow had failed to provide intelligence over one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, blaming anti-Russian sentiment in Washington over Ukraine.” Russia reportedly “declined requests from the FBI for information on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who died in a gun battle with police after a four-day manhunt following the bombing,” but “Moscow hit back, with the foreign ministry saying in a statement: ‘It seems that they are trying to push responsibility onto us. If that’s true, it’s a low blow.’ ‘Given the anti-Russia campaign being waged in the US, due to the events in Ukraine and Crimea, we do not rule out that someone is trying to exonerate the American special services, which did not see that a terrorist attack was in preparation,’ the statement said.”

BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR WALKS OFF SET OF “MEET THE PRESS.” The Christian Science Monitor (4/14, Sappenfield, 566K) reported that Boston Marathon bombing survivor Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who had her left leg amputated mid-calf, on Sunday was “to be the face for survivors of the attack again, this time on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ but she left the studio in tears Friday, saying on Twitter that she felt ‘so disrespected.’” Haslet-Davis said in Twitter posts and in an open letter on her website that “she was misled by the program.” Haslet-Davis, who “has refused to speak the names of the two bombing suspects,” said that she “agreed to do the show on the condition that the names wouldn’t be mentioned.” NBC spokeswoman Erika Masonhall told the AP that upon arriving to tape the show, Haslet-Davis “was told that producers couldn’t make that guarantee given the nature of the discussion.”

Markey: Boston Was Prepared On Day Of Bombing. Sen. Edward Markey said on NBC’s Meet The Press (4/13, Gregory, 3.08M), “We were prepared. We were Boston Strong because we were Boston ready. The city was ready. … It was a lot of cooperation at the local level. And then we needed the bravery of people to respond on that day and they did, and the resilience of people afterwards.”

Patrick: Boston Will Be Secure For This Year’s Marathon. Gov. Deval Patrick said on ABC’s This Week (4/13, Stephanopoulos, 2.73M), “I think we’ve made every possible provision. The planning has been very, very thorough. The teams are well coordinated. In fact, we had a sort of table-top exercise, a practice session, a full day, a couple of weeks ago. There were 450 people in the room from every state, Federal, and local agency and municipal leadership, as well, for each of the cities and towns along the route. We’ll be very prepared. And I think we have struck an appropriate balance between having more law enforcement presence, but also assuring that it continues to be a family outing and a civic ritual.”

Brothers Injured In Bombing Profiled. The New York Times (4/14, Seelye, Subscription Publication, 9.65M) reports on brothers J.P. and Paul Norden, who each lost a leg in the Boston Marathon bombing, noting that since the bombing, “they have slowly, achingly, been rebuilding their lives.” While they “do not want to dwell on what happened at the marathon or be defined by it,” the “approach of the first anniversary is pulling them in.” It has “assumed enormous symbolic significance as the survivors and Boston itself are determined to show their defiance and resilience.”

Relay Raises Funds For Survivors Of Boston Marathon Bombing. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 12, 2:30, Mott, 7.86M) reported on the One Run for Boston cross-country relay, which began in March “in Santa Monica, California, and coursed through 14 states, a 3300 mile trek with more than 2,000 runners, recruited and tracked in realtime on social media, raising money every footstep of the way” for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing.

LOUISIANA “SOVEREIGN CITIZEN” ARRESTED FOR ILLEGALLY PLACING LIENS AGAINST FORMER EMPLOYER, OTHERS. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (4/14, Shaw, 678K) reported that Melvin Lewis II, age 51, of Harvey, Louisiana was arrested last Thursday on terrorism charges after allegedly scheming to defraud his former employer, Dynamic Industries, by sending threatening letters aiming to charge the company for “perceived injustices.” Lewis purports to be a “sovereign citizen” who views himself as immune to local, state and Federal laws. The perceived infractions, the Times-Picayune explained, could include using or saying Lewis’ name under what sovereign citizens describe as “common law copyright.” FBI agent Kevin Miller wrote in an affidavit that some sovereign citizens believe that “common law copyright” means “their names may not be spoken or written without their permission.” Lewis reportedly placed multi-million dollar liens against those whom he believed had violated this practice and refused to compensate him.

FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS SUIT OVER AL-AWLAKI LEGAL MEMOS. Politico (4/14, Gerstein, 73K) reports in its “Under The Radar” blog that US District Judge Claudia Wilkin “has rejected a lawsuit seeking to force disclosure of Justice Department memoranda detailing the legal basis for the U.S. government’s killing of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar Al-Awlaki in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen.” Judge Wilken “issued an opinion Friday throwing out the Freedom of Information Act suit brought by a California-based press group, the First Amendment Coalition.” Judge Wilkin ruled that “one legal memo the government acknowledged, an opinion issued to the Defense Department, was properly classified on national security grounds,” and she also “found that the government’s refusal to say what other documents existed was proper, even though President Barack Obama acknowledged last year that the U.S. had killed Al-Awlaki and three other Americans in drone strikes.”

WEST POINT WINS CYBER DEFENSE EXERCISE. The AP (4/14) reports that the US Military Academy has won the annual Cyber Defense Exercise, a “cyber-warfare competition among the service academies” to see which of them “could create a computer network that would best withstand a four-day barrage from experts at the National Security Agency.” Air Force, last year’s winner, finished in second place, followed by Coast Guard and Navy; the Merchant Marine “participated, but not for points.”

Network TV News Coverage:

NBC: KANSAS SHOOTINGS. NBC Nightly News (4/13, lead story, 1:15, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “But first, multiple shootings at a Jewish community center on the eve of Passover have left at least three people dead in Overland Park, Kansas. The suspect is a white male in his 70s. A report from Andres Gutierrez from our affiliate. Good evening.” NBC (Gutierrez) added, “Good evening. Police tell me three people are dead and a 14-year-old boy is in critical condition tonight following this afternoon’s shooting. Law enforcement says multiple shots were fired around 1:00 P.M. At the Jewish community center here in overland park, 20 minutes south of Kansas City, Missouri. Shots were also fired at village Shalom. I was there when they took him into custody. As he was sitting in the back of the police car, that man yelled an anti-semitic remark to our camera. All programs schedule here at the Jewish community center have been canceled for the rest of the day. Two places of worship will be holding a vigil for the victims tonight. Carl?”

NBC: UKRAINE-RUSSIA CONFLICT. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 2, 2:35, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “Now to crisis in Ukraine. The UN Security Council will meet tonight in an emergency session at Russia’s request as the Ukrainian government threatens a full-scale operation against the pro-Russian separatists. Some fear they’re on the brink of an all-out war. We have two reports tonight, beginning with Ayman Mohyeldin in eastern Ukraine. Ayman, good evening.” NBC (Mohyeldin) added, “Good evening. The crisis in Ukraine may be entering a new chapter, this after the government in Kiev says it is entering a large scale operation to regain territory it has lost over the past week. But Moscow says this order is illegal. In fact, the former Ukrainian president says it’s the CIA who is behind the unrest. But nonetheless, with thousands of troops amassed on the Ukrainian-Russia border, the situation in Ukraine is very volatile and to be entering a new dangerous part of its war. With military grade weapons and precision, this was the moment pro-Russian separatists took control of the police station. It’s a scene that has repeated itself over the past several days across eastern Ukraine, and one that has pushed the country to the brink of widespread violence, if not all-out war. Heavily armed men in military uniforms widely believed to be backed by Moscow taking buildings and positions ins they are want to break away from Ukraine. Separatist groups now control some of the roads in and out of towns. Ukraine’s police have struggled to confront the militias. Both sides say they have lost men to the violence that is increasing. But now the Ukrainian government says its patience has run out. The country’s president has ordered the military to launch a large scale operation to oust the pro-Russian separatist militias. He also gave gunman a deadline to lay down their weapons and leave government buildings like this one in Slovyansk. For the past several hours, they have been reinforcing the barricades on both ends of the street, and they have been reinforcing their positions after taking over police headquarters here. A lot of the men we are seeing are openly brandishing their weapons in pleasure, and it’s definitely a sign that they are now in control of this area. At rallies in the eastern part of the country, Ukrainians are fighting each other. This amateur video shows two men attacked by pro-separatist protesters. With the Ukrainian government deadline now rapidly approaching and separatist militias digging in, Ukraine’s violent turmoil may be far from over.”

NBC: UKRAINE-US RESPONSE. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 3, 1:45, Welker, 7.86M) reported, “I’m Kristen Welker at the White House. Tonight the Obama administration is accusing Russia of escalating the crisis in eastern Ukraine.” Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the UN: “Certainly it bares the telltale signs of Moscow’s involvement.” Welker: “US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power warning Russia if it continues to increase tensions, this will be more consequences.” Power: “The President has made clear that depending on Russia behavior, sanctions against energy, banking, mining could be on the table. And there is a lot in between.” Welker: “This after Russia tried to point the finger at Ukraine for the violence. Today the Russian foreign minister told the US it should get its allies in the region under control, writing in a statement it now depends on the west to avoid the possibility of civil war in Ukraine. But today there was bipartisan agreement that Russian president Vladimir Putin is the instigator, and Republican Senator John McCain urged the Obama administration to go further to help Ukraine.” John McCain, Republican Senator: “We ought to at least, for God’s sake, give them some weapons, light weapons with which to defend themselves.” Welker: “That’s under consideration as tensions have mounted since Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine last month. The US imposed sanctions against more than a dozen oligarchs, causing Russian stocks to plummet. But Putin seems undeterred. Experts warn a regional war is on the horizon if the situation isn’t diffused soon.” William Taylor, former US Ambassador: “When the Russians invade, as they have done covertly already, they will be met and are about to be met by the Ukrainian military. It is going to be very bloody.” Welker: “The White House will dispatch Vice President Biden to Ukraine next week to reinforce the United States’ support of the new government there. Carl?”

NBC: CALIFORNIA BUS CRASH. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 4, 2:10, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “New details are emerging tonight in the investigation into that fiery bus crash in northern California. NBC’s Janet Shamlian has more from Willow, California. Janet, good evening.” NBC (Shamlian) added, “Hi, Carl. What is left of the bus and the truck have been moved here. Investigators aren’t close to being done with them. But they have learned more about this horrific accident. An important clue from the charred shell of the bus. Investigators have found the black box-type device. But the more critical one from the FedEx truck was incinerated in the fire.” Mark Rosekind, NTSB: “We can look at aspects of steering and other pieces that did survive to possibly get a sense of the speed range and the revolutions of the wheels, to maybe even know the direction they were in.” Shamlian: “The NTSB says this were no skid marks from the FedEx truck, indicating the driver never hit the brakes. Did he fall asleep or suffer a health problem? Investigators are looking at everything, including cell phone records and his schedule the 72 hours before the crash. Blood samples were taken from both drivers, sent for alcohol and drug testing.” Miles Hill, passenger: “I could hear screams of people who were trapped inside burning alive. They were screaming ‘help me, I don’t want to die.’” Shamlian: “Vivid memories from Miles Hill, who is covered in burns. The 18-year-old was sitting right behind the bus driver and saw the truck coming directly at them. There have been some reports that the other truck, the fed ex truck, was actually in flames as it crossed the median. Did you see anything?” Hill: “It was not in flames. It was in perfect condition. It exploded upon impact on the bus.” Shamlian: “The NTSB tonight concurs, saying there is no physical evidence yet.” Rosekind: “What that means in the overall investigation we’re not ruling anything out.” Shamlian: “A small memorial along the interstate is the only physical sign here of the tragedy. The scars now are mostly out of view. Families of those who died planning memorials, and survivors just trying to hold on. A handful of high schools will be without one of their classmates in the morning. They are in the Los Angeles area, and those schools are providing counselors to the friends left behind. Carl?”

NBC: SEVERE WEATHER. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 5, 1:30, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “Severe weather alerts are up across much of the nation’s midsection tonight, including tornado watches. High wind, damaging hail and heavy rain already left a destructive path in Michigan. The latest from NBC’s Joe Fryer.” NBC (Fryer) added, “Strong storms ripped up the landscape across Michigan. And where hail ricocheted off buildings and cars. And powerful winds flipped small planes, with gusts reaching 80 miles an hour.” Unidentified speaker: “Before I knew it, in about 60 seconds, man, it came through and blew my fence down, left my garage door up.” Fryer: “The roof of this high school gym was ripped clean off, and this pile of dissected tree limbs crushed a house and car, with the family inside barely escaping. Power lines took a hard hit in Michigan. More than 150,000 customer lost electricity. Severe spring storms stretch aid cross the country’s midsection, hitting Wisconsin and Illinois. Now the threat moves into the south.” Unidentified speaker: “Stay weather aware and take this seriously.” Fryer: “Forecasters warn it’s not over yet. As the system moves east on Monday, forecasters say the tornado risk should drop. But not the threat of damaging storms. Joe Fryer, NBC news, Houston.”

NBC: CHILE-FIRE. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 6, 1:35, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “Now to the still unfolding disaster in Chile, where raging wildfires have killed at least 11 people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and force in order than 10,000 people to evacuate. All this in the pacific coast city of Valparaiso. NBC’s Ron Allen has our report.” NBC (Allen) added, “The deadly inferno erupted in the forested hillsides of Valparaiso, one of Chile’s most important seaports. Thick, black smoke shrouding the picturesque city visible miles away. ‘When the fire was just a few blocks away,’ she says, ‘we ran with just our clothes and pets.’ Some 10,000 people evacuated their homes. At least 500 houses destroyed as the flames or the through several densely populated neighborhoods. The blaze broke out Saturday afternoon, burned through the night, and for much of today. Journalist Graciela Ibanez is there.” Graciela Ibanez, reporter: “The country’s president declared a state of emergency. Thousands of troops moved in to maintain order. ‘It’s a tremendous tragedy,’ she says, ‘possibly the worst fire in the history of Valparaiso.’ More than a thousand firefighters from the surrounding area battled to contain the blaze.” Allen: “Late today, hot spots continued to burn. Shelters overflowed. Hospitals are treating hundreds of victims. With officials warning the toll of 16 lost lives could rise. Ron Allen, NBC news.”

NBC: UN-CLIMATE REPORT. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 7, 2:05, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “A new UN report out today warns the world must act now to address climate change to avert disaster. Details from our Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson.” NBC (Thompson) added, “The report says time is running out to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Melting ice sheets that will raise sea levels and swamp coastlines. Stronger heatwaves and droughts that could put the world’s food supply at risk, particularly the basic crops of wheat and corn. The UN panel says the world must act now.” Leon Clarke, JPPC lead author: “We wait for more than about 10 or 15 years, we really will make it extremely difficult for us to keep climate from changing substantially, and really, exposing ourselves to some substantial harms.” Thompson: “To protect itself, the report says the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 70 percent by the year 2050 and be near zero by 2100. Those are the emissions we create burning oil, coal, and gas for power and transportation. In its place, the report calls for a low carbon energy supply, tripling renewable power, solar, wind, and geothermal, more nuclear power. Coal only if carbon is captured stored, or instead of coal, clean burning natural gas, a bridge to a greener future.” Alan Leshner, AAAS CEO: “It’s like an insurance policy because we don’t have the answers to everything other than that we know there is a tremendous risk.” Thompson: “But it may not be enough. The report warns by the second half of this century, we May need technologies to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This video illustrates one company’s idea.” Geoffrey Holmes, carbon engineering scientist: “We’re trapping over 100 kilos of CO2 here every day.” Thompson: “Currently, only forests remove carbon dioxide from the air on a large scale. The report acknowledges all of this has a price, but not one that would sink the world’s economy.” Clarke: “That’s absolutely the case. And all the scenarios that are explored in this report, we still find robust economic growth.” Thompson: “The cost and difficulty will only increase, says the UN, the longer the world waits to act. Anne Thompson, NBC News, Detroit.”

NBC: TAX FILING. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 8, 2:15, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “As an estimated 35 million Americans race to meet Tuesday’s tax filing deadline, some good news. The IRS says your chance of getting audited this year are the lowest since 2005. That’s because of budget cuts and new responsibilities that IRS agents have. Meantime, a warning about filing your taxes on your favorite wireless device. Here is CNBC’s Jon Fortt.” NBC (Fortt) added, “Mike Rehm doesn’t own a PC, but he does just about everything, including his taxes on his tablet. Rehm is part of a growing wave of filers doing their taxes on a touch screen. He is one of more than six million Turbotax customers who have already filed taxes on mobile devices this year, on track to double over last year.” Mike Rehm, tax payer: “I still don’t like to pay the taxes. However, it does make it a lot easier. A little more painless.” Fortt: “Gone are the dark images of doing your taxes or being overwhelmed by paper receipts. These days, people are buying more tablets and smartphones, fewer PCs, and they’re doing their taxes on mobile devices too, even in a place like a coffee shop. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. But with hackers these days looking to steal personal information, is it safe to file wirelessly?” John Otero, St. John’s University: “What people don’t understand, there is no 100 percent way of making wireless secure there is none. Don’t use open wifi. Don’t use wifi that is not under your control. And once it’s done, make sure that you’re securing your information somewhere else. Do not leave it on that phone.” Fortt: “Turbotax, the most popular in the country says they use the same encrypted technology as banks. Accounts are password-protected and...” Bob Meighan, Turbotax Vice President: “Put your phone down and leave it unattended for eight minutes, we will automatically delete that information. But it is store on our servers.” Fortt: “Mike Rehm says the time he saves doing his taxes on his tablet makes it all worth it.” Rehm: “Doing it in the comfort of my own home makes me available to my daughter, to spend more time with her, to spend more time with my wife.” Fortt: “Even if he is not getting a refund this year. Jon Fortt, NBC news, New York.”

NBC: POPE FRANCIS. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 9, 0:20, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “Pope Francis led Palm Sunday services today for a crowd of more than 100,000 worshipers at St. Peter’s square. For Christians, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of holy week, culminating with the celebration of Easter. After mass, the Pope gave groups of young people something they’ll always remember. He hopped off his pope--mobile to take selfies, including these with a group all the way from Rio de Janeiro.”

NBC: NASA-ISS. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 10, 0:20, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “NASA has ordered a spacewalk to fix a computer outage on the International Space Station. Two astronauts are now scheduled to step out into space next week to repair a backup computer for some robot systems. It failed on Friday. NASA assures the main computer is working just fine.”

NBC: POLLEN INDEX. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 11, 1:25, Quintanilla, 7.86M) reported, “Experts say it’s a direct result of our severe winter weather, what is being called the pollen vortex is expected to produce one of the worst allergy seasons in years. Joining us tonight, Dr. Mika Roberson with Care Point Health Medical Group in Hoboken, New Jersey. Doctor, how bad it is and how much worse it is going to get?” Dr. Mika Roberson, Care Point Health Medical Group: “Well, they’re saying it’s going to be the worst allergy season in the past ten years. The trees and plants that have been dormant during this bad winter season in February and March will all have a huge surge of pollen right now. This pollen in the air will be such high counts that it will really affect the allergy sufferers.” Quintanilla: “Not good news for any of White House suffer from it. What can we do to get some relief?” Roberson: “Sure. The severe allergy sufferers should already have gotten – I’m sorry, the immunotherapy shots. So that should have happened about three to six months ago. That’s when it really becomes effective is three to six months after the allergy shots. You should also go to your doctor, get skin tested. Find out exactly what pollen you’re allergic to, which trees, which grass, which mold. And then there are many over-the-counter remedies there is many antihistamines and nasal sprays. Other than that, it’s just routine things you can do around your house. Keep your windows closed. Use the central air. When you’re driving, keep the windows up. Sunglasses, a big hat, all of that really help.”

NBC: ONE RUN FOR BOSTON. NBC Nightly News (4/13, story 12, 2:30, Mott, 7.86M) reported, “In Boston tonight, an inspiring cross-country relay race just crossed another finish line. It was a race of endurance, team work, and most of all sacrifice. The entire effort benefiting survivors of last year’s attack. More now from NBC’s Ron Mott in Boston.” Mott: “In groups large and small, they ran. Day or night, rain or shine, no matter, they ran. Through countless towns across America, they ran for just one. One Run for Boston, for marathon survivors, an idea put into motion by three friends. This already the second such relay since the tragedy.” Kate Treleaven, One Run for Boston: “The running community transcends international boundaries. And so for us, it hit us at heart like so many other people.” Mott: “Like Kate, co-founder Danny Bent has been along for the ride the whole way, driving, running here and there. Sleeping occasionally in runner’s homes.” Danny Bent, co-founder, One Run for Boston: “We have to keep this going. Really, we live off hope.” Mott: “The ran began in March 16th in Santa Monica, California, and coursed through 14 states, a 3300 mile trek with more than 2,000 runners, recruited and tracked in realtime on social media, raising money every footstep of the way. Four hundred thousand dollars and counting. Stage 302 took off, bringing the torch nine miles closer to its destination.” Treleaven :”We all have a message that we’re trying to send. But mine is through solidarity we can come together for a cause and make a difference.” Mott: “The difference for marathon survivors like John Bodham, on hand for the first stage in LA last month is invaluable. Wheelchair bound for a while, he is back in Boston for the final stretch with other survivors.” John Bodham, Boston marathon survivor: “The prayers and the support that they gave to me and my family. Now I feel that I have to give back that to people that I see.” Mott: “Tonight, they finished what they started, the goal of any race. Though after last year it’s become a goal never again taken for granted. Ron Mott, NBC news, Boston.”

ABC: KANSAS-SHOOTING. ABC World News (4/13, lead story, 1:45, Muir) reported, “Good evening. Thanks for joining us here on a Sunday night. We begin with the breaking news. An American suburb near Kansas city deadly shootings. In Overland park, Kansas. Gunfire at two different locations. A talent competition this Sunday at a Jewish community center. And a nearby senior center. All afternoon, parents racing to see if their children are okay. We begin here with Mara Schiavocampo.” ABC (Schiavocampo) added, “On the eve of passover, a shooting at a Jewish community center. Three are dead after that attack. A suspect has been taken into custody. Hospital officials confirm a 14-year-old boy remains in critical condition tonight. The shootings began around 1:00 P.M. local time at the Jewish center at overland park. Just as a teen talent competition was scheduled to begin. This video shows last year’s finalists for the scholarship contest. Police say a man opened fire in the parking lot, killing two. Concerned parents gathered at the center, which was immediately placed on lockdown. One tweet describing the tense moments. ‘Pray for the BNL board as we wait in a blocked off room because shots have been fired.’ The shooter continued several blocks south before the suspect was taken into custody outside a nearby elementary school. The third fatality took place at the assisted living facility.”

ABC: SEVERE WEATHER. ABC World News (4/13, story 2, 2:00, Muir) reported, “Next to the developing headline involving the weather this evening. A massive system left its mark. In Illinois, this is one family’s back deck, covered with hail the size of golf balls. In Michigan, a major cleanup. Families spending their Sunday cleaning up. This system is on the move. ABC’s Gio Benitez has the system coming in now.” ABC (Benitez) added, “Overnight, parts of Iowa had egg-sized hail. In Michigan, winds bringing down trees and power poles. People take cover as the trees lapped on homes and cars. And in Wisconsin, water from the river rising up and flooding roads. In Denver, we saw temps in the 70s. What a change today. It’s in the 30s there with heavy know snow falling overnight. While so many are enjoying the warm weather, cold air is expected to move in quickly. All over again. And here in New York’s central park, so many people are taking in the rays. But David, all along the east coast, they’ll be bundling up by midweek.” Muir: “Gio, thank you. I want to bring in Jeff Smith. A tornado watch tonight?” Jeff Smith, reporter: “We have the tornado watch for eastern parts of Oklahoma. We’re watching the entire orange zone on the map from the Aklatex to Missouri. If it’s not a massive tornado outbreak, we’ll have strong winds and large hail. We’ll have storms in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.” Muir: “Gio alluded to this. A real temperature change this week.” Smith: “A big plunge. Areas in the 70s and in some places 80s, down to freezing by Wednesday morning.”

ABC: CALIFORNIA BUS CRASH. ABC World News (4/13, story 3, 1:55, Muir) reported, “More news tonight on the tour bus crash and the FedEx truck. The skid marks are revealing a lot about who might have tried to stop and who didn’t.” ABC (Kanani) added, “Tonight, investigators releasing new details about the fiery head-on crash between a FedEx semi and a bus full of college students. The truck careened across a median into oncoming traffic. The tour bus driver hit the brakes, skidding for 145 feet then swerved trying to avoid the truck. Investigators say there was no evidence that the truck driver tried to brake. No skid marks. No evidence that the fire started before impact. Officials are still interviewing students that escaped the burning bus. Their statements will be key to helping to determine the cause.” Miles Hill, passenger: “I was in the front right behind the driver. I had a clear view of the truck. It was in perfect condition. The driver must have lost control or something.” Kanani: “We’re learning several of the ten people killed were ejected. The brand-new bus had seat belts on it. The students say they were not wearing them. Did the passengers know all windows were designed to be emergency exits?” Unidentified speaker: “We have to see the procedures to get out and how they were labeled.” Kanani: “The final report will take months to conclude. It will likely include safety recommendations. Hoping lessons learned from this crash will save lives down the road. Investigators were able to recover a black box like module from the bus. Neither driver was working a long shift.”

ABC: MALAYSIAN MISSING FLIGHT SEARCH. ABC World News (4/13, story 4, 1:40, Muir) reported, “Now to the search for the missing flight. Five weeks ago this weekend vanishing. This evening, something else vanished, too. The pings. While authorities believe the underwater signals were the real thing, they now fear the batteries have likely run out. Tonight, more than two dozen ships and aircraft scouring the region for debris. They’ll turn to a Bluefin Submersible, a drone they’ll send to the ocean floor. Does this mean we’re looking at months, perhaps longer. I want to bring in on John Nance. No pings since last week. Thirty seven days. Is it believed the batteries are wiped out?” John Nance, consultant: “Yes, if not wiped out, so weak, we can’t hear them. They got four excellent try triangulations on the ocean floor. The Bluefin will try to start searching in the middle of that triangulation.” David Muir: “You bring up the submersible. It scans an area the size of Los Angeles. How long can it stay down there?” Nance: “About 16 hour on station. It takes two hours to go down, two to come back. The total time is 20 hours they can work it. They have to visit go very slowly over the central area and kind of work out. Eventually they’ll map everything down there.” Muir: “And when it gets to the surface do they know if it picked up anything?” Nance: “Yes, this thing does not trance mitt to the surface. It has to come up for them to pull the recorder and chips and like at the data. Same thing with the photographic part.”

ABC: CHILEAN FIRE. ABC World News (4/13, story 5, 0:45, Muir) reported, “A raging fire in the Chilean city of Valparaiso. At least 16 people have been killed. Some 10,000 evacuated, air so thick, it’s difficult to breathe. The fire mostly contained. More than 500 homes destroyed.”

ABC: US-RUSSIA SANCTIONS. ABC World News (4/13, story 6, 1:30, Muir) reported, “To Ukraine next. The White House watching closely. The conflict takes a violent turn this weekend. Masked men on the move in several cities. The government announcing a deadline to retreat and the US weighing new sanctions against Russia.” ABC (Marquardt) added, “Growing chaos, as tonight the drum beats of war get loud personal clashes between pro and ant Russian sides. Today we see soldiers who have switched side. There’s no signed of the Ukrainian authorities here. The police station is seized. The large crowd assembled to call for a referendum. Ukraine’s president has warned he’ll launch a full-scale operation to stop this fresh unrest that he and the US say Russia is behind.” Samantha Power, US Ambassador: “It’s professional, it’s coordinated. There’s nothing grassroots seeming about it.” Marquardt: “The White House says more harsh sanctions on Russia could come in the next few days. Ukraine tonight said the protesters occupying the government buildings must put down their weapons by 9:00 tomorrow morning. A threat Russia calls ‘criminal.’ The feat now that is that a crackdown by Ukraine could provoke a Russian invasion. David?”

ABC: POPE FRANCIS-SPEECH. ABC World News (4/13, story 7, 1:15, Muir) reported, “Surprise from Pope Francis on this Palm Sunday. His words were not scripted. And his message? Here’s ABC’s Jeffrey Kofman.” ABC (Kofman) added, “For a Pope who never stops surprising his followers, Palm Sunday was no exception. Pope Francis ignored his prepared homily and in extraordinary departure from tradition, spoke entirely off-the-cuff. On this day that commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, he called on people including himself to look into their hearts to see how they are living their lives. But the 77 year-old Pope who is known for his sunny disposition was noticeably tired today, pausing frequently to catch his breath. He has functioned with just one lung since he was a teenager in Argentina, when his other lung was removed because of infection. But doctors say that as long as he’s healthy, that should not affect him. And there was certainly no sign that a little fatigue is dampening his passion. He delighted worshipers in St. Peter’s square when he hopped off his pope-mobile to pose for selfies with young people in the crowd. Jeffrey Kofman, ABC News, London.”

ABC: ROYAL FAMILY-TRAVEL. ABC World News (4/13, story 8, 0:30, Muir) reported, “And to the royal tea leaves tonight. The royal family responding to the talk about a possible clue from Prince William. He told a woman who gave me a shawl for baby George that she may need to make another one sometime. Today, William and Duchess Kate taking a ride in the jet boat. Zigzagging through narrow canyons. Later, they went wine-tasting. Kate with a glass of red in her hand, two things she probably would not do if she were expected. We’ll stay on it.”

ABC: POLLEN VORTEX. ABC World News (4/13, story 9, 1:30, Muir) reported, “We’re going to turn now to what is expected to be a brutal allergy season. Perhaps you’re already suffering. So much is budding out there at once, it’s creating what some are calling the pollen vortex. ABC’s Dr. Jennifer Ashton with ways to fight it tonight.” ABC (Ashton) added, “Wicked winter is over. Now, sinister spring. Sneezing and wheezing. Coughing and watery eyes. It’s hit fast and hard. And this season might be one of the worst ever for allergies. Because the brutal winter lasted so long, once the warmer temperatures arrive, everything blooms at once.” Unidentified speaker: “I feel very stuffed up. I feel like hazy, eyes watery, sore throat. It’s a horrible feeling.” Ashton: “Tree pollen counts are soaring this weekend. This pollen map, moderate across most of the country in yellow. But look at the more extreme levels. Orange and red in Texas and to the east from South Carolina up to Virginia. Here are some things that might help. Simple saline nasal spray. Keep your home and car windows closed. That will reduce the amount of pollen coming in. And remember to shower before bed to rinse the pollen out of your hair.” Muir: “And Dr. Jennifer Ashton with us now. Get it out of your hair before it hits the pillow. This pollen vortex. The real deal after a long winter?” Ashton: “Absolutely. Long winner, short spring. Everything hitting at once.” Muir: “Many doctors talking about a multilayered approach.” Ashton: “Anti-histamines are great. But prescription medication known as Oralair works almost like a vaccine against pollen. Then the medication called Montelukast, sold under the name of Singulair. And steroid medications. The key is if you suffer from allergies and you’re on one, ask your doctor about adding multiattacks.” Muir: “A multi-pronged attack. If you’re not feeling the symptoms yet, perhaps jump on it now to get ahead of it.” Ashton: “That’s the key. If you’re like you and me, you know you’re going to get allergies but you haven’t had your first sniffle, start now. Some medications take weeks or months to take effect.”


Copyright 2014 by Bulletin Intelligence, LLC. Reproduction without permission prohibited. Editorial content is drawn from thousands of newspapers, national magazines, national and local television programs, and radio broadcasts. The ICE News Briefing is published five days a week by Bulletin Intelligence, which creates custom news briefings for government and corporate leaders. We can be found on the Web at BulletinIntelligence.com, or called at (703) 483-6100.