By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI and NFL security leaders said they’ve identified “no credible threat” to Super Bowl 50 – so far, the Associated Press reports. 

Security will continued to examine the perimeter of Levi’s Stadium to assess any terrorism risks.

Jeffrey Miller, NFL senior vice president of security, expressed satisfaction with the joint effort between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to address any issues that arise.

“It gives the NFL a great deal of confidence in the safety of our premiere event, our teams and our fans,” Miller said at a news conference Wednesday. “I can speak for Commissioner (Roger) Goodell in saying that we are deeply appreciative of the leadership, resources and attention to detail put forth by our public safety partners.”

Officials said the lessons from recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have been helpful.

“Every year is different. The world situation, the threat picture is different every February,” said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “We are, with the NFL, with our federal partners, and state and local law enforcement, focused on layered security, seen and unseen. We learned from events of the past but we have to protect against events of the future. So, we try to anticipate things that can happen from multiple different directions. But we’re always informed by recent events and what we see in the world situation.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

To tackle the alarming increase in heroin and opiate abuse that is reaching every demographic, the FBI has produced a “searing film” with testimony from overdose survivors, the Washington Post reports. 

The documentary, “Chasing the Dragon,” was produced at the request of FBI Director James Comey, who has taken personal interest in the film.

Comey also plans to meet with school officials in the Washington region today to discuss the rise in prescription opiates among young people.

The rise in heroin use is linked to the increasing number of people who have access to prescription painkillers.

About 46,000 people die annually from drug abuse, about a quarter of which are related to heroin.

“The numbers are appalling and shocking — tens of thousands of Americans will die this year from drug-related deaths and more than half of these deaths are from heroin and prescription opioid overdoses,” said Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “You will see in ‘Chasing the Dragon’ opioid abusers that have traveled a remarkably dangerous and self-destructive path. I hope this will be a wakeup call for folks. Please pay close attention to this horrific epidemic. Help reverse it. Save a life. Save a friend. Save a loved one.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Homeland Security released an estimate of foreign visitors who overstay their permits to be in the U.S., Pew Research reports. 

About 416,500 people remained in the U.S. this year after their visas expired in fiscal 2015. That’s out of 45 million people whose visas expired during that period .

Canada led the list of overstays with an estimated 93,035 still in the U.S. Mexico was second with 42,114, followed by Brazil with 35,707.

Homeland Security released the data under pressure tom Congress.

But the information is incomplete because it’s difficult to track how many people have remained in the U.S.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

While secretary of state, Hillary Clinton forwarded information to her personal server that contained references to undercover CIA officers.

But NBC News disputes reports that the e-mails revealed the identity of an undercover intelligence operative.

U.S. officials said the contained veiled references to intelligence officers. Still, those reference were considered classified when the e-mails were reviewed.

NBC News wrote:

In one case, an official said, an undercover CIA officer was referred to as a State Department official with the word “State,” in quotes, as if to suggest the emailer knew the officer was not actually a diplomat. In another case, an email refers to “OGA” for “other government agency,” a common reference to the CIA. Yet another now-classified email chain originated with a member of the CIA director’s staff, leading some officials to question how Clinton could be blamed.

A spokesman for Cinton’s campaign insisted the intelligence officers were not identified and that any information to the contrary is part of an effort to hurt her candidacy.

“This shows yet again how the leaking of selective details gives a completely false impression about what is actually contained in the emails forwarded to Hillary Clinton,” said Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon. “Whenever the full contents of these emails are learned, there is invariably less than meets the eye.”

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