Maggie Ybarra

FBI arrests several in connection with July Fourth plots

The FBI arrested several people in connection to Fourth of July terror plots aimed at killing U.S. citizens during the national holiday, FBI Director James Comey said Thursday.

July 9, 2015

James Comey, FBI chief, says his own info was hacked in OPM breach; it was ‘enormous’

The White House is expected to announce that the cyberhack into the Office of Personnel Management allowed a government adversary to obtain data on "millions and millions" of government background records, some that date back to two decades, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told lawmakers Wednesday.

July 9, 2015

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fires Police Commissioner Anthony Batts

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired the city's police commissioner and called him a "distraction" amid a crime surge in which 155 men, women, teenagers -- even a 7-year-old boy -- have been slain.

July 8, 2015

James Comey, FBI director: Encryption technology fosters furtive terrorist talks

FBI Director James B. Comey will be arguing for a robust debate on message-encryption technology to lawmakers Wednesday, as he takes to Capitol Hill to plead his case that terrorist groups such as the Islamic State could take advantage of such technology to recruit Americans into their organization.

July 7, 2015

Ramiro Pena Jr., Army sergeant, pleads guilty to accepting bribe from Afghan vendors

Army Sgt. Ramiro Pena Jr. has pleaded guilty to accepting $100,000 in bribe payments and jewelry from Afghan vendors in exchange for lucrative contracts at the Humanitarian Assistance Yard at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

July 2, 2015

House panel’s ‘Terror Threat Snapshot’ shows sharp uptick in Islamic State plots

The Islamic State's deadly plots against Western targets are on the rise, spiking to 28 this year while the group is steadily expanding its supporter base in the U.S., according to a "Terror Threat Snapshot" circulated by Rep. Michael T. McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

July 2, 2015

Islamic State nears Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile; U.S. unprepared for attack

The U.S. government is unprepared for a chemical attack against the homeland, a new report shows, even as the Islamic State takes responsibility for more terror attacks around the world and inches closer to gaining access to Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.

July 1, 2015

Fires at black churches do not appear to be linked, racially motivated: ATF

A string of fires at black churches in Southern states have sparked concerns that racial friction has spiked in the aftermath of the racially-motivated mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

July 1, 2015

July 4 terrorist attack on U.S. soil a legitimate threat, officials warn

U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers are worried that chatter about a terrorist attack on U.S. soil this Fourth of July may be more than just talk.

June 29, 2015

House Republicans call for OPM Director Katherine Archuleta’s removal

House Republicans are asking President Obama to fire Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta following a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of federal employees

June 26, 2015

Elijah Cummings seeks Justice Dept. clarification on police arrest procedures

Rep. Elijah Cummings wants the Department of Justice to provide clarity on when Baltimore police officers can and cannot exercise their arrest powers when responding to emergency calls and the various crimes that sprout up across the city.

June 26, 2015

Congress examines plans to reform justice system

Lawmakers on Thursday peddled their ideas to the House Judiciary Committee on how to reform the criminal justice system, which spanned from preventing police departments from investigating their own officers to limiting the amount of property that cops are able to seize and sell for a profit.

June 25, 2015

Loretta Lynch: Justice Dept. to expand Eric Holder’s anti human-trafficking pilot program

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Thursday the Justice Department plans to expand a pilot anti-trafficking program that has successfully dismantled sex rings and cracked down on corrupt actors in various states across the nation.

June 25, 2015

Mike McCaul to float bill to counter homegrown terrorism

Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will introduce a bill Thursday to establish a full-time federal office dedicated to combating violent extremism on U.S. soil and developing a counter-messaging program aimed at dulling Islamic State propaganda.

June 24, 2015

Majority of fatal attacks on U.S. soil carried out by white supremacists, not terrorists

Nearly twice as many people in the U.S. have been been killed by white supremacists and anti-government radicals than by Muslim jihadists in the 14 years following the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, a new study says.

June 24, 2015

Baltimore pastor at nearby church during Charleston massacre, gets police escort out of building

A Baltimore pastor who found himself in South Carolina at the time of Wednesday's church massacre said the "heinous" crime is a sign the religious community needs to take a stand on gun reform and combat the "systemic evil and oppression" that exists inside America.

June 18, 2015

After OPM hack, law enforcement officers want separate database to protect their information

Federal law enforcement officers are concerned that the Office of Personnel Management's security "blunder" has made cops, sheriffs and agents vulnerable to attacks by those who oppose police enforcement and terrorists.

June 17, 2015

Omar Gonzalez, White House fence jumper, sentenced to 17 months in prison

An Army veteran who ran through the White House with with a knife last year, highlighting the gaps in Secret Service security, was sentenced to 17 months in prison Tuesday.

June 16, 2015

TSA tells Congress that airport workers with alleged terror ties posed no real threat

A Transportation Security Administration senior official said Tuesday the agency conducted a review of the 73 individuals with links to terrorism and did not find them to be a threat to the security of the nation's airports.

June 16, 2015

Murder and shooting rates spike as police try to balance fighting crime and civil rights

Shooting and homicide rates are spiking in major U.S. cities including Baltimore and New York in the wake of nationwide protests against policing tactics such as stop-and-frisk and the questionable use of force against unarmed black men by law enforcement officers.

June 16, 2015