Fwd: Justice Department: Border Patrol Agents Assaulted Daily, Kidnappings Every 35 Hours in Phoenix, 1 in 5 Teens using Drugs Supplied by Mexican Traffickers

Today's Headlines Thursday, April 29, 2010

Justice Department: Border Patrol Agents Assaulted Daily, Kidnappings Every 35 Hours in Phoenix, 1 in 5 Teens using Drugs Supplied by Mexican Traffickers (CNSNews.com) - Three Border Patrol agents are assaulted on the average day at or near the U.S. border. Someone is kidnapped every 35 hours in Phoenix, Ariz., often by agents of alien smuggling organizations. And one-in-five American teenagers last year used some type of illegal drug, many of which were imported across the unsecured U.S.-Mexico border. These facts are reported in the recently released National Drug Threat Assessment for 2010, published by the National Drug Intelligence Center, a division of the U.S. Justice Department. Napolitano: U.S.- Mexico Border 'As Secure Now As It Has Ever Been' (CNSNews.com) - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, told a Senate panel Wednesday that she knows the U.S.-Mexico border "as well as anyone," and "I will tell you it is as secure now as it has ever been." Some Democrats See Drugs and Border Security As 'Distraction' to Comprehensive Immigration Reform Washington (CNSNews.com) – Some congressional Democrats say concern about drug traffickers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is distracting attention from the main issue of comprehensive immigration reform. "Sealing the border is not the entire issue," Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) told CNSNews.com. Other Democrats declined to discuss drugs or border security. "Got to go, sorry," one Democrat told CNSNews.com. Another Democrat told a CNSNews.com reporter who asked about drugs and border security it was a "punkish" question. House Committee Questions Legality of Drone Strikes against Terrorists (CNSNews.com) – The House National Security and Foreign Affairs subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to question whether using drones (unmanned military aircraft) to kill terrorists violates international law. The panel, comprised of four international law experts, was largely in agreement that the use of drones by both CIA and military personnel to kill terrorists is legal. Military is Muzzling Chaplains and Others Who Support 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy, Former Chaplains Say (CNSNews.com) – Arthur Schultz, a former Army chaplain who now is legal counsel to the National Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, told reporters that servicemen overseas have been told not to speak in support of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." White House Says President 'May Not' Break Tax Pledge in Effort to Reduce Deficit (CNSNews.com) – Everything must be on the table to reduce the massive federal deficit, President Barack Obama on said Tuesday. However, Obama did not address his campaign pledge to avoid raising taxes on households earning less than $250,000, and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president "may not" break that pledge. Iran Hopes to Shift Focus to Israel at U.N. Nuclear Conference (CNSNews.com) – As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awaits a visa to attend next week's nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York, Iran's fellow Non-Aligned Movement members are finalizing plans to use the event to focus on Israel, not on Iran. Egypt is leading the drive to force Israel to come clean and dismantle a nuclear weapons arsenal whose existence it neither confirms nor denies. CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO Harrison Ford to Green Critics: 'I'll Walk Everywhere When They Walk Everywhere' (CNSNews.com) - Actor, environmental activist and pilot Harrison Ford, who owns seven airplanes, told his environmental critics that he will "start walking everywhere when they start walking everywhere." Ford spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES   Obama Says Congress May Not Have 'Appetite' for Immigration After Tough Year Democrats, Eyeing Midterm Elections, Want Border Security Before Legalization Millions of Seniors Are Not Choosing Quality Health Plans Republicans Relent on Bringing Financial Regulation Bill to Senate Floor Gunmen Attack Human Rights Caravan in Remote Southern Mexico, Killing Foreign Activists Lawsuit Seeks to Bar Enforcement of Arizona's New Immigration Law Obama Administration Approves Wind-Farm Project Off Nantucket; Lawsuits Coming BP Would Welcome U.S. Military Help in Containing Gulf Oil Leak Lawmakers Call for Restrictions on Political Ads Navy to Allow Women to Serve on Submarines Egypt Rejects Claims That It Gassed Gaza Smuggling Tunnels Donate Today! Please help CNSNews.com keep bringing you 'The Right News - Right Now!' Make a contribution to CNSNews.com today. It's fast, simple and secure. Help CNSNews.com and Donate Today!  NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP: Mass. bill to block public benefits for illegal immigrants fails by narrow margin White House seeks to soften Iran sanctions; Wants exemption for Chinese, Russian firms Insurance-plan coverage for infertility urged Classes of 35 may violate fire code, Chicago teachers union says Cape Wind OK'd in a first for the nation Cape Wind decision could mean more renewable-energy projects along Atlantic coast Six out of 10 Central American women raped while passing through Mexico to U.S. N.H. Senate keeps 200-year-old adultery law on the books Bill Clinton on immigration: New talent, tax money needed for aging America Women with suntans will be arrested, Iran police chief warns Boy Scouts offer new merit badge -- for video gaming Women seeking abortions could face forced ultrasounds in Florida Catholic bishop bans RI hospitals from pro-health reform group Republican Gov. McDonnell lets Va. troopers refer to Jesus in public prayer Federal court ruling gives boost to victims of Chinese drywall COMMENTARY Salt Tyrants By Walter E. Williams What the anti-tobacco zealots established is that government had the right to forcibly control our lives if it was done in the name of protecting our health. America's tyrants have now turned their attention to salt. DOJ Intel Report Downplays Terror Threat at Border By Terence P. Jeffrey A recent report by the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), a division of the U.S. Justice Department, downplays the threat of terrorists crossing the U.S.-Mexico border even as it paints a picture of a border wide open to the smuggling activities of Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The NDIC's National Drug Threat Assessment for 2010, released on March 25, twice appears to assert that there have been no documented cases of terrorists illegally entering the United States across the Mexican border, an assertion contradicted by a 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, a 2007 statement to the El Paso Times by then-Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and 2005 testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence by FBI Director Robert Mueller.