Terrorism

ACLU sues 2 psychologists who ‘designed the torture methods’ used by CIA

Two former military psychologists who played a significant role in developing a U.S. interrogation program described by some opponents as tantamount to torture were never charged with any crime. But in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington state, the American Civil Liberties Union seeks to hold the…

Oct 14, 2015 12:20 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether Iran reparations law violated separation of powers

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether Congress violated the Constitution when it allowed victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism to seize nearly $2 billion in assets, although their cases were still pending. The court agreed to hear the case on Thursday despite a brief by the U.S. solicitor general…

Oct 2, 2015 8:03 AM CDT

Strong Cities Network will foster collaboration to fight violent extremism, US attorney general says

Four U.S. municipalities are participating in a new group, the Strong Cities Network, which aims to fight violent extremism through international collaboration between cities. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch joined with other world leaders to announce the global network,…

Sep 30, 2015 7:16 AM CDT

Justice officials threatened mass resignation over retroactive approval of NSA program

Justice Department officials threatened mass resignation after President George W. Bush tried to retroactively approve bulk collection of purely domestic metadata for Americans’ phone calls and emails, according to papers disclosed in a lawsuit. The newly declassified information sheds new light on the hospital room showdown in which Attorney General…

Sep 21, 2015 11:16 AM CDT

14 years after Sept. 11 attacks, families of victims and others await justice

Fourteen years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the legal system is still dealing with those alleged to be responsible for the hijacked commercial airlines that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. (The fourth plane is thought to have been headed toward…

Sep 11, 2015 12:20 PM CDT

After UK kills citizens in Syria in drone strike, critics question policy

Four years after a U.S. killing of an American-born cleric in Yemen through a drone strike sparked concern and criticism, the U.K. is facing similar questions about the drone-strike deaths last month of two British men in Syria. The target, Reynaad Khan, 21, was said to be an Islamic State…

Sep 9, 2015 2:44 PM CDT

West Point law prof resigns after arguing pacifist legal scholars could be attacked by military

A professor in West Point’s law department has resigned after claiming in a legal treatise that some U.S. legal scholars are exhibiting “pernicious pacifism” that is helping ISIS undermine America from within. The law professor, William Bradford, argued that the legal scholars who criticize the war on terror are a…

Sep 1, 2015 8:33 AM CDT

Injunction against NSA phone records program is vacated by DC Circuit

A federal appeals court on Friday vacated a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone metadata, while allowing the plaintiff to try to prove standing on remand. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a suit by…

Aug 31, 2015 9:07 AM CDT

NY man convicted of use of WMD in plot to kill Muslims

An upstate New York man has been convicted of plotting to build a remote-controlled radiation device to kill Muslims. Glendon Scott Crawford, 51, was convicted Friday in federal court in Albany of use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to build and use a radiological dispersal device, Reuters…

Aug 24, 2015 10:55 AM CDT

Guantanamo lawyer’s concerns about cancer cluster are being investigated

A Guantanamo lawyer’s request for an investigation into cancer deaths among those working on detainee trials has gotten the attention of the U.S. Navy. Guantanamo base spokeswoman Kelly Wirfel said in a statement that the U.S. Navy is investigating “whatever steps may be necessary” to address concerns about possible carcinogens,…

Jul 28, 2015 10:59 AM CDT

Suspect in Charleston church massacre is indicted on federal hate-crime charges

Already facing South Carolina murder and attempted murder charges over a shooting massacre that killed nine people last month at a historic black church in Charleston, suspect Dylann Roof has now been indicted as well in a federal hate-crime case over the shootings. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the 33-count…

Jul 22, 2015 4:00 PM CDT

US Attorney labels fatal attacks on military sites in Chattanooga ‘domestic terrorism’

Updated: The shootings at two military facilities in Tennessee that led to the deaths of four Marines are an “act of domestic terrorism,” says U.S. Attorney Bill Killian. He pledged FBI and Department of Homeland Security resources for an investigation into the attacks. The first attack began at the Armed…

Jul 16, 2015 4:14 PM CDT

After critical Sidley report, leaders leave psychologists group that backed harsh interrogations

Top officials of the nation’s largest professional organization for psychologists have left their jobs after a critical report by Sidley Austin. The report, commissioned by the American Psychological Association’s board, found that the group had colluded with Bush administration officials to maintain professional guidelines that would not prohibit harsh interrogation…

Jul 15, 2015 10:00 AM CDT

Obama: New policy lets US talk with hostage-takers; families won’t be prosecuted for paying ransom

A revised U.S. policy for dealing with hostage-takers retains a “no concessions” bedrock approach and the country will not pay ransoms, President Barack Obama said during a Wednesday press conference at the White House. However, the revised policy allows U.S. officials to communicate with hostage-takers. It has also been made…

Jun 24, 2015 3:45 PM CDT

Boston Marathon bomber sentenced to death by federal judge

Following a federal jury’s decision last month to impose the ultimate penalty on the Boston Marathon bomber, it was no surprise when the judge in the case gave the mandatory death sentence to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday. What was perhaps unexpected was the defendant’s acknowledgement of his guilt and his…

Jun 24, 2015 2:45 PM CDT