LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “I’ll be honest, I’ll be direct, I’ll expect the same from you. I’ll never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do.”Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel,
addressing several hundred civilian Defense Department workers and members of the military Article,this pageOfficials: Killer had 3 guns, wore armor
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The suspect in the killings of two California police detectives was wearing body armor and had three guns when he died in a shootout with other officers, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.
Authorities said 35-year-old Jeremy Goulet shot and killed Sgt. Loran Butch Baker and detective Elizabeth Butler on Tuesday afternoon at the doorstep of Goulet’s home.
The detectives wanted to question him regarding a report that he had made inappropriate sexual advances toward a co-worker. Sheriff Phil Wowak said that after shooting the two officers, Goulet disarmed them and left in one of their vehicles before being killed.
Obama wants rules on security firings
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is seeking new rules to allow federal agencies to fire employees without appeal if their work has some tie to national security, a move that advocates for whistle-blowers are saying has the potential to hurt efforts to keep government transparent and free from corruption.
Potentially thousands of positions would be covered, and government watchdog groups said it may provide a new way to crack down on leaks by government workers.
In a little-noticed one-page memorandum late last month, Obama instructed the director of National Intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management to propose standards for designating a position “national security sensitive.”
The president’s memorandum came out the day after a federal appeals court panel issued a 2-1 ruling that set aside an August court decision giving the government broad authority to remove employees from “sensitive” jobs without appeal. The full court will rehear the case, Berry v. Conyers, this year, and its decision may constrain the federal government’s power.
“There is so much secrecy, and employees have so few rights already in the national security bureaucracy,” said Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, a Washington-based whistle-blower advocacy group.
Attorney General Eric Holder has prosecuted more purported leaks by government officials under the Espionage Act than all his predecessors combined. Six individuals have been indicted under the Espionage Act since Obama took office in 2009 - five by the Justice Department and one by the Department of Defense.
Aliens free; agency exec calls it quits
WASHINGTON - The senior Homeland Security Department official in charge of arresting and deporting illegal aliens announced his resignation the same day the agency said hundreds of people facing deportation had been released from jail because of looming budget cuts, according to a resignation letter. The government said he had told his bosses weeks ago that he planned to retire.
Gary Mead, executive associate director over enforcement and removal operations at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, disclosed his departure in an e-mail to his staff Tuesday afternoon. The announcement of the release of the illegal aliens had been made earlier in the day.
In an e-mail to his staff obtained by the AP, Mead said he was leaving the agency at the end of April “with mixed emotions.” He did not say in the letter what prompted his departure, and he did not immediately respond to an email and a telephone call seeking comment.
A spokesman for the agency, Gillian Christensen, said Mead had told senior leaders in the agency several weeks ago that he planned to retire.
No links seen in 3 test-pond deaths
BALTIMORE - A spokesman for the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland said the deaths of two Navy divers at a testing pond are not believed to be connected to a death late last month at the site.
Aberdeen spokesman Kelly Luster said the two died during a routine dive training operation Tuesday at the Army base. One was declared dead at the scene, and the second died later at a medical facility, the Navy said. The identities of the two were not immediately released.
An engineering technician died last month while performing maintenance at the pond, which is used for a variety of tests, including shock testing of boat hulls. Investigations are under way into the deaths of all three.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/28/2013