Friday Afternoon Federal Newscast – May 14

The Afternoon Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Daily Debrief hosts Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris discuss throughout their show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air.

• Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday he has named two high-level officials to oversee a restructuring of an agency that oversees offshore drilling. Salazar previously said he wants to split the Minerals Management Service in two. One agency would be charged with inspecting oil rigs, investigating oil companies and enforcing safety regulations, while the other would oversee leases for drilling and collection of billions of dollars in royalties. The plan would separate the agency’s two core responsibilities, which critics say are diametrically opposed _ making money off the industry, while also cracking down on it in ways that may affect the industry’s bottom line.
• Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the men taken into custody in connection with the Times Square bombing attempt apparently provided money to would-be bomber Faisal Shahzad. Asked at a news conference for details about the three men picked up Thursday morning, Holder said “we believe” there is evidence that they were providing Shahzad with funds. Holder said “one of the things we are going to be trying to determine” is whether the men knew they were supplying funds for an act of terrorism.
• The Obama administration has submitted to the Senate a nuclear arms treaty reached with Russia last month. President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed the deal to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Control Treaty. If ratified by both countries, the deal would slash the former Cold War rivals’ warhead arsenals by nearly one-third. Ratification in the Senate will require 67 of the 100 possible votes.
• Facebook’s millions of users are a lucrative target for Internet criminals looking to steal passwords and more. To combat malicious attacks, phishing scams and spam, the online social network is rolling out new security features. You can ask to be notified by e-mail or text message when your account is accessed from a computer or mobile device you haven’t used before. The log-in attempt may be legitimate when you’re traveling, but if you haven’t left home in a week, you probably ought to change your password. Facebook is also adding roadblocks when it notices unusual activity, such as simultaneous log-ins from opposite sides of the planet. For example, you might be shown a photo with your friends tagged, and be asked to correctly identify who they are before the second log-in goes through.

MONDAY MORNING ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

Coming up on the Federal Drive

** The Cybersecurity Contracting and R&D Opportunities Summit just happened — and we learn more about it from Tom Billington, conference host and C.E.O., CyberSecurity Seminars

** Science and National Security with Randy Larsen returns

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