This is a bit surreal. I sent the article on to my accountant as he probably needs to read it before April 15th arrives. Thanks for the posts MamaD.
Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.
"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration. "Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.
Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa. But in thousands of cases that has not happened, according to the documents and current and former government officials involved in the program. "TSA's enforcement is basically nonexistent," said former FAA inspector Bill McNease, in an interview for ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson."
Excerpted
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4353991
Undercover Auburn police detectives bought a live hand grenade (TACOMA, Wash.)
February 28, 2008
Undercover Auburn police detectives bought a live hand grenade, 17 blasting caps, and tear gas from three Pierce County men. The three men were jailed Tuesday in Tacoma for investigation of possessing explosives without a license. Investigators are trying to trace where the grenade came from.
Sgt. Scott Near said the officers took some risks to gain control of the explosives. The detectives were assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15437382/detail.html
Banning police investigate suspicious bomb discussions (California)
02/28/2008
BANNING - An anonymous tip led police to a business Thursday afternoon where the caller said he believed a bomb had been hidden. Banning police were notified of the bomb by Palm Springs police, who heard the tip on an anonymous tip line.
The caller was was inside a Palm Springs store when he heard two men talking about a bomb they had placed in the Ace Colors/Remax building at 515 W. Ramsey Street in Banning, according to a Banning police news release. Officers and a K-9 searched the building but no suspicious devices were found.
Your accountant will certainly find this interesting news.