US emergency response teams in Haiti will continue search and rescue operations until they receive instructions otherwise from the government of Haiti, first responders on the scene told reporters in a telephone press conference on Monday.

There is no set date or indication when the search and rescue mission will end and the teams will return to the United States.

Although it has been two weeks since the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti, the teams are still pulling survivors from the rubble and “hope always remains,” said Anthony Macintyre, a doctor with the Fairfax County Fire Department team. “Medical considerations weigh heavily,” he stated. “They have to be able to rehydrate.”

In one instance in the Philippines, he noted, an earthquake survivor lasted 14 days because he had “voidspace” and could drink rainwater. There has been no rain in Haiti since the earthquake.

US teams at work in Haiti come from Fairfax County, Va.; Los Angeles County, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; a second team from south Florida; a New York task force and a Virginia task force from Virginia Beach, Va.

The responders reported having to do a great deal with few resources beyond what they brought with them. In the first days after their arrival they reconnoitered the situation and responded to reports of trapped people or their own observations of people digging in the rubble. Medical response was primitive, with people being transported on broken doors and in the back of pickup trucks to medical facilities.

According to Captain Larry Collins of Los Angeles County, the teams are now using dogs and search cameras to find people trapped in the rubble. Teams have also found people from their text messages.

Collins also reported that the work was more difficult than the work they did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 because there is so much less infrastructure and what infrastructure there is has been extensively destroyed. Another responder reported that some Haitians have patched cracks in buildings and have begun using them again despite the fact that they remain structurally unsound.

Of the obstacles to their work, the responders reported language as being one difficulty, since Haiti is a French-speaking country, but interpreters are now assisting the teams.

Another significant obstacle is transportation. Traffic “is a nightmare,” reported one responder, and there is competition for the few emergency vehicles available.

Once the search and rescue mission ends and the teams return home, they’ll be leaving significant portions of their equipment as a donation to Haiti from the US government, including tents and rescue equipment.

The Morehead City port in North Carolina has been shut down and authorities say there's a voluntary evacuation of downtown Morehead City.

Morehead City police say nine containers containing highly explosive material were punctured at 4:44 a.m. Tuesday. Officials say the material is PETN. Experts say PETN is used in detonators, grenades and projectiles and is highly explosive. According to online information, it is usually shipped as a mixture with water.

PETN was the explosive used in the Christmas Day terror plot when a man is accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound plane.

[For more on PETN, its use in the Christmas Day bomb plot and by foreign jihadists, see the earlier HSToday.us report, "Detroit Bomb was Sophisticated, Well Thought Out"]

Morehead City is one of the deepest ports on the East Coast of the United States, and imports and exports large amounts of sulfur products, phosphate and rubber. In 2009, the port exported more than 2,000 tons of material classified as "military."

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Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) Wednesday criticized the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for failing to turn on security cameras that could have captured a security incident at Newark International Airport Jan. 3.

Authorities shut down a terminal at the airport when a man crossed a security checkpoint going the wrong way. The congressmen indicated that a review of the situation determined that the port authority had cameras at the exit point where the man crossed but that the cameras were not recording. The man remains unidentified due to the camera failure.

"Although an investigation is still underway, it appears that the incident at the Newark Airport is an astonishing example of a shared security lapse.  In the wake of the Christmas Day terror plot, more vigilance was required throughout the aviation system.  Instead, the security partnership between TSA and the airport authority failed," Thompson said in a statement Wednesday.

Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called on TSA to improve security at checkpoints and deploy cameras and other technology that actually work. He blamed the port authority for leaving inoperable cameras in the airport.

Pascrell, who represents the state where the incident occurred, invoked the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in slamming the lax security at the airport.

"It has been more than eight years since hijackers slipped through Newark International Airport's security checkpoint, boarded Flight 93 and made it one of four ill-fated airliners involved in the deadly terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001," Pascrell said in a statement. "Yet, over the weekend, we learned that at the very same airport, another security breach was able to occur."

Pascrell protested that too many investigations of simple lapses in aviation security had been uncovered since 9/11 to excuse the inoperable cameras.

"We need a full investigation and recognition that TSA staffing levels at Newark must be bolstered for the size and significance of the airport. Strong consideration must also be given to implementing a camera system that is monitored and recording at all times," he declared.

Around midnight on Tuesday morning, Mexican narco-cartel assassins murdered the mother, aunt, sister and brother of slain Marine 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo who died in the assault that killed narco kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva last week. Another sister was badly wounded and is in critical condition.

President Felipe Calderon in a speech stated, "These attacks are cowardly and detestable. They are an example of the lack of scruples of organized crime, going after the lives of innocents."

About a half dozen assassins burst into the home in Tabasco, wielding AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. 

Arturo Beltran Leyva, who styled himself the "boss of bosses" in Mexico's drug underworld, was killed in a two-hour shootout with Mexican Marines on Dec. 16. Angulo was killed during the raid on the apartment in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, and was given a hero's funeral. In that raid four other cartel members were killed, one of them taking his own life.

According to a report, "Mexican Navy Finds Beltran–Los Zetas–Tijuana Cartel Ties," from La Chronica de Hoy, Marines found a treasure trove of information linking the Beltran Leyva organization with other cartels and gangs.

According to today's Wall Street Journal, the assassins of Angulo's family left a note stating that Beltran Leyva's organization was alive and active and urged support for Edgar Valdez Villareal, a Texas-born member of the cartel who served as Leyva's top enforcer and is a leading contender to succeed him.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday his intent to nominate Vice Adm. Robert Papp as the 24th commandant of the US Coast Guard.

Papp, whose nomination requires Senate confirmation, would succeed Adm. Thad Allen when his four-year term ends in May 2010.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hailed the nomination as one that would keep an experienced leader at the helm of the US Coast Guard.

"The Coast Guard plays a vital role in protecting our nation-securing America's borders, protecting our ports, and providing critical aid during disasters," Napolitano said in a statement. "Vice Admiral Papp's extensive knowledge of the Coast Guard's operations and broad mission will strengthen our efforts to ensure the nation's maritime security."

If confirmed as Coast Guard commandant, Papp would head an agency consisting of 42,000 active duty military personnel and more than 7,000 civilian personnel. The service also is about to make several critical purchases for its 25-year, $24-billion Integrated Deepwater System program, including the National Security Cutter.

At present, Papp serves as the commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area and Defense Force East. In this post, he acts as the operational commander for all Coast Guard missions in the "eastern half of the world," according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Before taking his current post, he served as the chief of staff of the Coast Guard in Washington, DC.

In the past, Papp served as Ninth Coast Guard District Commander from 2004-2006, and he held the job of USCG director of reserve and training in October 2002.

Papp holds a bachelor's degree from the US Coast Guard Academy and a master's in national security and strategic studies from the US Naval War College as well as a master's in management from Salve Regina College.

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, endorsed the selection of Papp in a statement Tuesday.

"I am pleased to hear the administration's announcement of Vice Admiral Papp's nomination to be the next commandant of our US Coast Guard," Rockefeller said.  "If approved, he will relieve a man who has been a great leader of the Coast Guard and for our nation.  Protecting America's waters is crucial to our national security, and I look forward to discussing with Vice Admiral Papp his qualifications for such an important job."

Mexican Marines stormed an upper-class apartment yesterday in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City and killed Mexican narco-cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the Federation cartel.

One Marine was killed and two were wounded in the two-hour shootout that killed six cartel members during the course of the battle. Another cartel member apparently committed suicide. Two women and a man were arrested.

The Marines rappelled onto the roof of the building at dusk and quietly evacuated residents of nearby buildings before calling on Leyva to surrender. Leyva and his confederates instead responded with grenades and automatic weapons fire. 

President Felipe Calderon, in Copenhagen for the international climate summit, stated that: "This action represents an important achievement for the government and people of Mexico, and a resounding blow against one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico, and on the continent."

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced December 8 the release of fiscal year 2010 grant application guidance kits for 13 DHS grant programs totaling more than $2.7 billion—funds for state, local, tribal and territorial governments and private sector entities to strengthen our nation’s ability to prevent, protect, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.

“These grants play a major role in our efforts to work with our state, local, tribal and territorial and private sector partners to build a national culture of readiness and resilience,” Napolitano said, adding that "this year’s guidance focuses on maximizing efficiency and value while prioritizing risk in awarding grants to strengthen our nation’s security.”

DHS said the grant program guidance kits also incorporate the input of DHS’ state, local, tribal and territorial and private sector partners and include specific steps undertaken by DHS to improve the ability of state and local partners to apply for and utilize grant funding.

Napolitano said the guidance has increased tribal funding, reduced administrative paperwork for state and local government and enabled local jurisdictions to use preparedness funding for ongoing maintenance contracts, warranties, repair or replacement costs, upgrades and user fees for equipment purchased with previous DHS grants.

These 13 preparedness grant programs may fund a variety of activities including planning, organization, equipment purchases, training and exercises:

Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP)—$1.78 billion targeted for states or urban areas to build capabilities critical to security. HSGP consists of five programs:

•  State Homeland Security Program (SHSP)—$842 million to build capabilities at the state and local levels to implement the state homeland security goals and objectives identified in the State Preparedness Report. The 9/11 Act requires states to dedicate 25 percent of SHSP funds to law enforcement terrorism prevention-oriented planning, organization, training, exercise and equipment activities.
• Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)—$832.5 million to enhance regional preparedness by strengthening capabilities in 64 high-threat, high-density urban areas across the country. The 9/11 Act requires states to dedicate 25 percent of UASI funds to law enforcement terrorism prevention-oriented activities.
• Operation Stonegarden (OPSG)—$60 million to enhance law enforcement and border security operations in states that border Canada (including Alaska) or Mexico and states and territories with international water borders.
• Metropolitan Medical Response System Program (MMRS)—$39.3 million to enhance and sustain comprehensive regional mass casualty incident response and preparedness capabilities, divided evenly among 124 MMRS jurisdictions.
• Citizen Corps Program (CCP)—$12.4 million to engage citizens in community preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery activities.

Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program (THSGP)—Up to $10 million available to eligible tribal applicants to help strengthen the United States against risks associated with potential terrorist attacks.

UASI Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP)—$19 million to support target-hardening activities at nonprofit organizations at high risk of a terrorist attack.

Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) Program—$329 million to assist state and local governments in enhancing and sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities.

Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP)—$48 million to assist governments in carrying out initiatives identified in Statewide Communication Interoperability Plans and improve interoperable emergency communications used to respond to natural disasters and acts of terrorism.

Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP)—$ 33.6 million to enhance catastrophic incident preparedness in high-risk, high-consequence urban areas and their surrounding regions and support coordination of regional all-hazard planning for catastrophic events, including the development of integrated planning communities, plans, protocols and procedures to manage a catastrophic event.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Grant Program—$57.6 million to support the construction or renovation of Emergency Operations Centers to improve state, local or tribal emergency management and preparedness capabilities to ensure continuity of operations during disasters.

Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP)—$48 million to increase preparedness capabilities for safeguarding critical infrastructure sites and key resource assets, such as chemical facilities and nuclear power plants, through planning and equipment acquisition.

Driver’s License Security Grant Program (DLSGP)—$48 million to help states and territories improve security of state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards in order to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud and enhance the reliability and accuracy of personal identification documents.

Port Security Grant Program (PSGP)—$288 million to help protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness and strengthen risk management capabilities in order to protect against improvised explosive devices and other non-conventional weapons; conduct training and exercises; and implement the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).

Intercity Bus Security Grant Program (IBSGP)—$11.5 million to support security measures including plans, facility security upgrades and vehicle and driver protection for fixed-route intercity and charter bus services.

Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP)—$15 million to protect critical freight rail systems infrastructure from acts of terrorism and major disasters, as well as other emergencies resulting from railroad cars transporting toxic inhalation hazardous materials.

Intercity Passenger Rail (Amtrak)—$20 million to protect critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from terrorism, major disasters and other emergencies within the Amtrak rail system.

DHS said the EMPG Program applications are due no later than January 22, 2010. IECGP, FRSGP, PSGP, IPR (Amtrak), IBSGP, EOC, BZPP, and DLSGP applications are due no later than February 12, 2010. Applications for HSGP, THSGP, NSGP, and RCPGP are due no later than April 19, 2010.

The FY 2010 application guidance packages reflect DHS’ strategic priorities, as well as the National Preparedness Guidelines and the National Response Framework.

Further information on preparedness grant programs is available at www.dhs.gov and www.fema.gov/grants.

President Obama signed a proclamation on December 2 designating December as “Critical Infrastructure Protection Month."

“Critical infrastructure protection is an essential element of a resilient and secure nation,” Obama stated in his proclamation, noting that “critical infrastructure are the assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, public health or safety.”

“From water systems to computer networks, power grids to cellular phone towers, risks to critical infrastructure can result from a complex combination of threats and hazards, including terrorist attacks, accidents, and natural disasters,” Obama’s decree states.

“During Critical Infrastructure Protection Month,” Obama stated that his administration pledges “to work together to shelter our communities from the harm of uncertain threats.”

“My administration,” the President said, “is committed to ensuring our country's essential resources are safe and capable of recovering from disruptive incidents. The Department of Homeland Security [DHS] is leading a coordinated national program to reduce risks and improve our national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery in the event of an attack, natural disaster, or other emergency. The department, in collaboration with other Federal stakeholders, State, local, and tribal governments, and private sector partners, has developed the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) to establish a framework for securing our resources and maintaining their resilience from all hazards during an event or emergency.”

“During Critical Infrastructure Protection Month,” Obama explained, “we rededicate ourselves to safeguarding and strengthening our Nation's infrastructure. Additionally, members of the public and private sectors should work with their appropriate state, regional, and local authorities to engage in critical infrastructure protection activities being coordinated across the country.”

To learn more about the NIPP and its partnership framework, go to: www.dhs.gov/criticalinfrastructure.

Meanwhile Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s efforts to raise awareness about the importance of our nation’s Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) continued this week with a series of events that showcased the broad diversity of these assets.

CIKR encompasses everything in the US essential to national security, economic vitality, public health and safety, and way of life.

A DHS announcement stated that “while certain assets – like energy grids, banking and finance systems, and transportation networks, for example – are obvious examples of CIKR, the reality is critical infrastructure encompasses a diverse range of sectors that affect all of our lives in many ways.”

For example, DHS emphasized,” sector is an example of this diversity. While the wide array of landmarks that represent our nation’s core principals and heritage may not connect you to work or turn on your lights, they represent the foundation upon which our country was built. An emergency at these historic sites could not just mean the potential loss of life or property, but also the loss of symbols that define our country’s values.”

DHS directed interested persons to check out this video about DHS’ partnership with the city of Philadelphia to safeguard critical American monuments.

DHS said Napolitano remains committed to working closely with each of the 18 unique sectors that comprise CIKR, and that on Monday she held the last of three meetings with leaders from every critical infrastructure sector. These sessions … brought the Secretary together with key partners and stakeholders to discuss ways to improve information-sharing, and to strengthen the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) – the Department’s unified public-private strategy to protect CIKR nationwide.

In addition, Napolitano travelled to New York City this week to meet with private sector leaders from a variety of industries to discuss the shared responsibility to protect critical infrastructure and to build a national culture of readiness and resiliency.

“While CIKR is comprised of diverse assets, every sector must be aware of the risks posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs),” the DHS announcement stated, adding, “in a speech Wednesday at the Interagency Council for Applied Homeland Security Technology’s Counter-IED Symposium, the Secretary discussed how we all must remain vigilant against the threat of IEDs, particularly to our nation’s CIKR.”

Continuing, DHS noted that “critical infrastructure touches all of our lives in many ways. The more we recognize the diversity of CIKR, its importance in our daily lives, and what we can do to help protect it, the safer we will be from threats of all kinds.”

It’s for these reasons that “President Barack Obama has proclaimed December 2009 as Critical Infrastructure Protection Month,” DHS said.

At least thirteen people were killed Thursday afternoon and over 30 were injured in a shooting rampage which took place shortly after 1:30pm Central time at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas.

The event is believed to be the worst mass shooting at a US military base in American history.

The initial shootings occurred at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers were getting medical check-ups before leaving for overseas deployments, the Army said.

There have been reports that at least one and possibly other shootings occurred at different locations of Fort Hood.

According to several news organizations Fort Hood quickly went into lockdown, along with schools and businesses in the area. Dozens of agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives converged on the post, federal officials said.

Ft. Hood spokesman Christopher Haug told news outlets Thursday ecvening that authorities suspected there were two shooters.

Three men in addition to the main shooter were initially taken into custody, but two of those were quickly released.

The shooter, who was wounded during a shoot-out with frist responders, but survived and is described as in sta ble condition, has been  identified by several US news organizations as Major Malik Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who had transferred to Fort Hood in July of this year after spending six years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Hasan had received orders to deploy to Iraq in late November.

The Washington Post reported Friday morning that Hassan was a "devout Muslim", according to his aunt, Noel Hassan of Falls Church, Va., who had asked to be discharged form the Army for several years and had expressed deep opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan..

The Associated Press has reported they were told by federal law enforcement officials that the suspected Fort Hood, Texas, shooter had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

In Washington this evening, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence."

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano early Thursday announced the transfer of the Federal Protective Service (FPS) from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) in a move said is to “streamlining decision-making and aligning the protection of federal buildings with DHS’ broader critical infrastructure protection mission.”

“Securing government facilities is a vital aspect of DHS’ critical infrastructure protection mission,” Napolitano stated. “Transferring FPS to NPPD will enhance oversight and efficiency while maximizing the department’s overall effectiveness in protecting federal buildings across the country.”

The President’s fiscal year 2010 budget requested the transfer of FPS from ICE to NPPD, and the provision was included in the DHS appropriations bill President Obama signed into law on Oct. 28.

The realignment allows FPS to focus on its primary mission—securing General Services Administration (GSA)-owned and leased federal buildings by performing building security assessments and deploying appropriate countermeasures—while enabling ICE to focus on the smart and effective enforcement of immigration and customs laws.

FPS and NPPD already work together on many initiatives, including the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)—under which FPS leads the protection activities of the Government Facilities Sector—and the NPPD-led establishment of government-wide physical security policy.

Under NPPD, FPS will maintain its current responsibilities to secure federal facilities. No workforce or employment changes are expected.

FPS delivers integrated law enforcement and physical security services to federal agencies in nearly 9,000 facilities owned and leased by GSA throughout the United States and its territories.

For more information about the FPS transfer, visit www.dhs.gov/fps.