The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has launched a 30-day proof of concept at the McCarren International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, Nevada for automating the identity verification portion of airport screenings using biometric technology. The technology uses live facial recognition to compare a traveler’s current image with their identification.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (HCF Unit) executed 36 search warrants, including 15 pharmacies and six “pill mill” clinics, as well as other offices and residences, aimed at disrupting networks of opioid distribution. The DEA also served immediate suspension orders on seven pharmacies and two providers involved in dispensing controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose. In total, 41 individuals have been charged in nine indictments.

As summer time-off requests come to an end, it’s time to start thinking about your religious observances and any time off you may need in the coming months.

Law enforcement agencies use man’s best friend to assist in a variety of tasks; to not only make their jobs easier, but to make them safer. Many of those tasks require a honed set of skills taught by professional dog trainers, which take months to master.

Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) has released a discussion draft of legislation to make domestic terrorism a unique federal crime. Under current law, domestic terrorism is not a distinct federal crime with specific punishments. It is simply defined as an aggregating factor. The legislation would criminalize the act and give federal law enforcement greater authority in pursuing suspects.

It’s one of the first things we hear as a group of students makes its way down the stairs to the admissions desk: “Is that a helicopter?!” Yup. “Is it real?” Sure is. The story of how Eagle One came to rest here, hanging above the exhibit space in the National Law Enforcement Museum, is a good one to tell.

Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) introduced legislation last month to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis. Since the legislation’s introduction, more than 100 organizations have come out in favor of the move. In a recent op-ed for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Rep. Nadler called reform of marijuana laws a “moral responsibility” and urged the Judiciary Committee, which he chairs, to move on the measure.

The White House announced Wednesday a new regulation for handling migrants at the southern border. The new regulation would terminate the Flores settlement, which has been widely accepted as the precedent for handling children at the border and prevents children from being held for more than twenty days.

American Airlines has agreed to settle a False Claims Act allegation stating that the airline falsely reported the times it delivered certain packages. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Postal Service investigated the matter alongside the Postal Service Office of General Counsel. American Airlines paid $22 million to settle the matter.

On May 26, 2017, Miguel Angel Vega-Torres was a passenger on a commercial bus that stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas. Border Patrol Agent David Gonzalez conducted an inspection of the bus at the checkpoint. During that inspection, Agent Gonzalez asked Vega-Torres for his citizenship documentation. Vega-Torres handed Agent Gonzalez his Legal Permanent Resident (“LPR”) card. Agent Gonzalez had a difficult time matching Vega-Torres’s face with the LPR card photo because Vega-Torres was occupied on his cell phone and made brief eye contact with Agent Gonzalez.

Tune in to FEDtalk this week for a discussion on the importance of whistleblower protection. Whistleblowers play a key role in ensuring oversight and accountability within the federal government. Leading whistleblower advocates will break down current whistleblower protections, gaps in public policy, and a path for enhancing protections.

Last week, 53 college students completed a 10-week fellowship with the federal government called Coding it Forward, where they worked within agencies to improve data and technology projects. During their final presentations, several students discussed the importance of attracting young people to public service and opportunities for the government to improve their recruitment strategy.

Representative Lacy Clay (D-MO) has teamed up with Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) to introduce legislation that would create a single federal standard for use of force. Clay and Khanna held a press conference Friday to introduce the measure aimed at combating misuse of force by law enforcement.

A Colombian national has been arrested in Colombia and sent to the United States to serve his sentence for robbery. Oscar Javier Rodriguez Roa of Bogota pled guilty to his involvement in a South American theft ring targeting traveling jewelry salesmen in the U.S. and around the world.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced a commitment to improving some of the principle workforce problems identified in a May Blue Ribbon Panel on the agency’s human capital policy. TSA leaders have announced a focus on pay and development to improve workforce morale and retention.

As the next step in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s plan to cultivate a new “professional ethos” within the Department of State, Pompeo has announced several new pilots to encourage continued workforce training. The new “One Team” training program will formally launch later this month.

Nathan Catura, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), the nation’s largest non-partisan, not-for-profit professional association representing more than 27,000 federal law enforcement officers and agents across 65 federal agencies, today issued the following statement in support of the EAGLES Act.

The former Sheriff of Philadelphia John Green was sentenced last week to serve five years in prison followed by one year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $76,581. Green accepted several hidden personal benefits from a co-defendant in exchange for providing the co-defendant with millions of dollars of business through the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.

Whether the mere offer to buy or sell a controlled substance can, by itself, constitute the crime of an “attempt” to violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is currently on petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Firearms-related fatalities decreased 35 percent over same period last year.