Steve Neavling

FBI artists are crafting facial models of people whose remains were found and never identified, The Virginian-Pilot reports.

The idea is to release the images to the public and hope someone can identify them

Forensic artists construct “facial approximations ” using plastic and molding material, The Virginian Pilot reported.

The busts were unveiled at a news conference in Norfolk.

Since 2011, Leah Bush, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, worked with the FBI on 15 faces, three of which led to identifications.

Steve Neavling

The Justice Department faces $1.6 billion in cuts – nearly 10% of it budget – if Congress and the White House can’t reach an agreement on the nation’s spending plan by later today, NPR reports.

Obama earlier warned of big cuts to federal law enforcement.

“FBI Agents will be furloughed,” Obama warned. “Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said a sequestration would be painful, NPR reported.

“Under sequestration, we’ll do the best that we can to minimize the harm that actually occurs as a result,” Holder said. “But the reality is that there is going to be harm. There is going to be pain, and the American people are going to be less safe. That is just a fundamental reality that people have got to get their heads around.”

Other Stories of Interest

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• Relationship Between FBI, Muslims Illustrated by Response to Mosque Attack
• Chicago Area Has At Least 28 Bank Robberies Already This Year
• Developer Hopes to Lure FBI Office from Milwaukee to Menomonee
• Feds Search for Sex Offenders Displaced by Hurricane Sandy
• FBI Investigates the ‘Harlem Shake’ Performed in Airplane

istock photo

Customs and Border Protection has purchased 10 drones since 2005 to hunt down illegal immigrants, ABC 10 News reports.

The Predator drones helped track down nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants and nine tons of marijuana, ABC News reported, citing records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The local ACLU said drones pose threats to privacy rights.

“All of this has happened without important questions being asked. A lot of our movements may be captured by these drones without us knowing where that information is going,” said Sean Riordan, staff attorney for the San Diego chapter of the ACLU.

Steve Neavling

Department of Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano said she had no part in the recent release of hundreds of low-risk, undocumented immigrant detainees ahead of impending federal spending cuts under the sequestration, ABC News reports.

“Detainee populations and how that is managed back and forth is really handled by career officials in the field,” Napolitano said, acknowledged the timing was bad.

Two Arizona officials, Gov. Jan Brewer and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, complained to CNN that they were never notified of the release.

“This is a criminal element that the federal administration has decided to release into the communities,” the Republican governor told CNN. “It’s wrong and it’s outrageous and it’s appalling to do something of this magnitude and not contact myself or my homeland security people.”