Today is the 16th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security beginning operations in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The 22-agency department was established by President George W. Bush and was the largest reorganization of the federal government since the Department of Defense was created following World War II.
Bush tapped Tom Ridge, a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, to lead an agency whose mission was to coordinate all “homeland security” efforts.
Official operations began on Jan. 24, 2003.
The department absorbed border protection, cybersecurity, immigration, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Secret Service.
The Department of Homeland Security operates with a $40.6 million budget and has 240,000 employees.
President Trump congratulated the Secret Service on its 152nd anniversary.
Here is the president’s statement:
My family and I send our congratulations to the dedicated professionals of the United States Secret Service as it proudly celebrates its 152nd anniversary.
The Secret Service, most renowned for ensuring the personal protection of our Nation’s top officials and their families, began protecting the President in 1901, following President McKinley’s assassination. Every day, the elite Federal law enforcement officials of the Secret Service willingly put their lives on the line to ensure the security of the President, the Vice President, our former Presidents, the heads of visiting foreign governments, and many others.
As President of the United States, I am honored to recognize the men and women of the Secret Service for their hard work and dedication. Melania and I are especially thankful for those who selflessly stand by our side to safeguard our family every day. We are privileged to benefit from the unfailing professionalism and skill of these extraordinary men and women.
Together, we send our very best wishes for success to Director Randolph “Tex” Alles and we pray for the continued safety of the entire United States Secret Service family.
The CIA commemorated the five-year anniversary of killing Osama bin Laden with a series of live tweets.
On Sunday, the CIA tweeted that bin Laden was found “on third floor and killed.”
“The takedown of bin Laden stands as one of the great intelligence successes of all time. History has been a key element of CIA’s social media efforts,” CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said, according to ABC. “On the fifth anniversary, it is appropriate to remember the day and honor all those who had a hand in this achievement.”
To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today.#UBLRaid
Thirty years ago this month, the first female FBI agent was killed in the line of duty.
Robin Ahrens had only been a special agent for six months when she died following a shootout on Oct. 5, 1985, the Hudson Star-Observer reports.
She was just 33 years old.
Ahrens was staking out a Phoenix apartment complex when she was shot by two other agents who falsely believed she was the girlfriend of an armed robbery suspect.
Hundreds of people, including FBI Director William Webster, attended the funeral.
DETROIT — I remember back in 1983 interviewing Jimmy P. Hoffa about his father’s disappearance and asking if it bothered him that comedians like Johnny Carson used his father as a punch line in jokes.
Eight years had passed since his disappearance, but time didn’t seem to soften the blow. Hoffa, who was 42 at the time and a labor attorney, said in no uncertain terms that it did bother him and he didn’t appreciate it one bit. He also wanted to know what really happened. To this day, no one has ever been charged.
Today marks the 40 year anniversary of the disappearance of James Riddle Hoffa, who would now be 102.
Hoffa, who is now the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, declined to comment on Thursday on the anniversary.
Instead, the union issued a press release that said:
Hoffa was devoted to his union and to his family. He gave his life while fighting to remove corrupt elements from the union and return power to the members.
On this tragic anniversary, Teamster members and retirees from across North America join together in honoring the man who forever improved the lives of millions of workers and their families.
On July 30, 1975, he was supposed to meet two gangsters — Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano of New Jersey and Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone of the Detroit area — at the Machus Red Fox on Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Township. They didn’t show and he reportedly got into someone’s car in the parking lot and was never seen again.
Theories abound. Over the years, properties have been dug up on the hunch that the body was buried there.
Some gangsters who likely knew what happened are dead including Giacalone and Provenzano. And the Machus Red Fox is gone as well.
WDIV’s Kevin Dietz reports on the anniversary. He goes over some of the theories, reports on the embarrassing FBI digs and talks to Scott Burnstein, a Detroit area reporter who specializes in organized crime.
President Obama and other four former presidents joined Secret Service officials to celebrate the agency’s 150th anniversary.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secret Service Director Joe Clancy gave brief speeches at the small, private gathering inside the National Archives building Tuesday, CNN reports.
The nation’s four living former presidents – Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush – delivered video speeches in what CNN described as “a rare and poignant tribute that could only be reserved for the Secret Service.”
This come amidst troubles in the agency that caused a shakeup in leadership, but officials managed to stay clear of that subject during the celebration.
