Before big break in case, Austin bombs frustrated police

Law enforcement officers secure the neighborhood at the scene of Walnut and 2nd Street in Pflugerville, Texas, on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 where Austin, Texas bombing suspect Mark Anthony Conditt lived. As a SWAT team closed in, the suspected bomber whose deadly explosives terrorized Austin for three weeks used one of his own devices to blow himself up early Wednesday.

Austin Bombings: Suspect bought nails, batteries for bombs

The chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security committee says authorities seem to think the Austin bombing suspect had "above average intelligence." Republican Congressman Michael McCaul told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the suspect matched the FBI's initial profile suspicion that the bomber was likely a white male.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., speaks to the media during a news…

Nearly two dozen House Republicans are pushing Speaker Paul D. Ryan for a quick vote on a bill to get more records into the national instant check system, as lawmakers search for a legislative response to the most recent mass shooting that has a realistic shot at passing Congress . The Republicans pushing for the vote say Sen. John Cornyn's "Fix NICS" bill could help the system flag more people who show signs of violent mental behavior, without infringing on Second Amendment rights.

Top Democrat rescinds offer of $25 billion for Trump’s wall – Wed, 24 Jan 2018 PST

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has pulled back an offer of $25 billion for President Donald Trump's long-promised southern border wall, as lawmakers scrambled to figure out how to push a deal to protect 700,000 or more so-called Dreamer immigrants from deportation. Schumer had made the offer last Friday in a last-ditch effort to head off a government shutdown, then came scalding criticism from his party's liberal activist base that Democrats had given up too easily in reopening the government without securing more concrete promises on immigration.

Top Democrat rescinds offer of $25 billion for Trump’s wall

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has pulled back an offer of $25 billion for President Donald Trump's long-promised southern border wall, as lawmakers scrambled to figure out how to push a deal to protect 700,000 or more so-called Dreamer immigrants from deportation. Schumer had made the offer last Friday in a last-ditch effort to head off a government shutdown, then came scalding criticism from his party's liberal activist base that Democrats had given up too easily in reopening the government without more concrete promises on immigration.

Bipartisan lawmakers meet to craft fix for a Dreamersa

Building off momentum from a bipartisan meeting hosted by President Trump, lawmakers are racing to craft a plan to protect so-called 'Dreamers' - but Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on how to fix the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In a news conference Wednesday, the president likely made that negotiation even harder - by insisting again that any immigration deal must include funding for a border wall.

House Republicans’ hard-line immigration stand clashes with Trump overture

Prominent House Republicans stepped forward on Wednesday with a vision of immigration policy that clashed fiercely with President Donald Trump's recent overtures of bipartisanship and highlighted how difficult it will be for Congress and the president to reach accord in the coming weeks. The proposal, championed by the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, would crack down on illegal immigration and sharply reduce the number of legal immigrants to the United States.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Ed Royce Latest Republican Leaving Congress

Republican U.S. Rep. Ed Royce said on Monday he will not run for a 14th term representing his southern California district, a seat that could be a key to Democratic efforts to win back control of the House of Representatives. Royce is the latest in a wave of some 30 House Republicans who have announced they are retiring, running for another office or resigning.

Cybersecurity bill features rare collaboration in House; now comes the Senate challenge

House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is tantalizingly close to achieving one of his top remaining cybersecurity goals - a year before he gives up the gavel after six years of running the committee - in creating a prominent, stand-alone cybersecurity agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act was unanimously approved by the House on Dec. 11, and the fate of McCaul's bill is now in the hands of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and other senators, who apparently want to make some last-minute tweaks to the measure.

3D scanners can ‘digitally unpack’ carry-ons and transform airport…

Technology used in the medical field for years may soon revolutionize screening of carry-on bags at airports - bolstering security while dramatically cutting bottlenecks at checkpoints. Computed-tomography machines being tested at airports in Phoenix and Boston allow Transportation Security Administration screeners to rotate a three-dimensional image of a suspicious object without opening up a bag, meaning travelers can whisk through faster without removing items such as laptops and small containers of liquids.

LA, Long Beach port security concerns prompt congressional hearing

Security concerns at the nation's ports, heightened by a security breach and a cyberattack this year at the Port of Los Angeles, will be the focus of a hearing by a congressional committee Monday in San Pedro. Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security will take testimony from officials of the L.A. and Long Beach ports, the Trump administration and longshore union starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Port of L.A. Harbor Administration Building.

Trump nominates Kirstjen Nielsen as homeland security secretary

Nielsen followed Kelly to the White House, where she has worked as assistant to the president and principal deputy chief of staff since early September. "Ms. Nielsen has extensive professional experience in the areas of homeland security policy and strategy, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and emergency management," read a statement from the White House, which also noted that "she is the first nominee for this position to have previously worked within the Department of Homeland Security."

U.S. House committee approves Texan’s bill to put $10 billion toward border wall

WASHINGTON The House Homeland Security Committee voted to send a bill to the full U.S. House on Wednesday that aims to follow through on President Donald Trump's campaign promise of constructing a wall at the United States' southern border. The bill from U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul , an Austin Republican and the committee's chairman, included $10 billion toward building a wall.

3 problems that could block Democrats’ DACA ‘deal’ with Trump

Democrats in the House and Senate said Thursday they had a deal with President Trump to protect immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, but passing that "deal" through Congress still faces significant hurdles. By Thursday afternoon, three major problems emerged with the supposed deal described by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. First, Pelosi said Democrats are angling to pass a "Dream Act" bill from Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., that would give so-called Dreamers a path to permanent resident status in the U.S., and even U.S. citizenship.

FEMA chief: a Millionsa could be without power from Irma

As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida's southern coast, the nation's emergency management chief is warning that 'millions' of residents could be without power, in some instances for weeks. "We could see millions of people without power in Florida for multiple days in some areas, maybe weeks, and so I think it's very important to set the expectations of citizens," Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long told CNN's Rene Marsh at his agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., Saturday.

House panel to hold hearing on white supremacist threat

The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing next month about threats from extremist groups, including domestic terrorism, following a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. The panel's chairman, Republican Representative Michael McCaul, announced the Sept.