From the Associated Press, on a mutual pledge to cooperate in the fight against cartel-related violence:
The U.S. heads of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives plan to sign a letter of intent with the attorney general of Mexico again pledging cooperation and shared intelligence in the battle against drug cartels and other border violence.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora and ATF's acting director, Kenneth Melson, will meet in San Antonio on Thursday at a border security conference.
The letter of intent isn't as weighty as some previous agreements but was being used by officials to again pledge cooperation to stop escalating cartel-related violence.
From Weather.com, on the latest tropical outlook:
Tropical Depression 2 is slowly but surely gaining organization in the eastern Atlantic and is likely on its way to becoming Tropical Storm Ana.
Meanwhile, what is that big thunderstorm complex to its right? It's a well-developed tropical low that has now emerged off the coast of Africa. It definitely bears watching.
Model run after model run of several models continues to develop this tropical low into an eventual tropical depression, tropical storm and then hurricane.
A model run, by the way, is the time when a computer program produces a possible future weather scenario given the atmospheric conditions at the present time.
Generally speaking, this is done about 2 to 4 times a day (a few weather models, however, are run every 2 to 3 hours).
One such weather model that develops this large disturbance is the GFS (Global Forecast System) model. You can see its depiction of the tropical Atlantic for this coming Sunday morning below.
Take note of what happens to TD 2 (perhaps by then, Ana). It shows an eventual weakening of TD 2 as it approaches the northern Windward Islands.
Meanwhile, the GFS predicts that the tropical low just now off the coast of Africa could very well be a tropical storm or a hurricane by this Sunday. Could this be Bill?
From NextGov, on setting the record straight on the cyber mission:
Reports of a struggle among agencies about who should oversee governmentwide cybersecurity are inaccurate, and the biggest problem in locking down federal networks is recruiting enough information security workers, said Homeland Security Department officials.
"The misconception that concerns me most is that infighting is happening" among the federal agencies involved in cybersecurity initiatives, said Phil Reitinger, deputy undersecretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate in an interview with Nextgov. "I just don't see that. Are there disputes between agencies? Yes. Are there arguments between components of DHS? Yes. We're people -- that's how it works.
But the degree of collaboration and joint work around the mission is really amazing. There's hard commitment in DHS and across agencies . . . and a deep well of shared experience."
Leadership Events
11 AM CDT
Secretary Napolitano, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora, Mexican National Public Security System Executive Secretary Jorge Tello Peón, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton and ATF Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson will participate in a press conference
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Texas Ballroom Salon F (Fourth Floor)
600 East Market Street
San Antonio, Texas
Public Events
9 AM PDT
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate will participate in a media availability for the opening of the new Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
500 E. Temple Street
Los Angeles, Calif.
10 AM PDT
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Public Affairs Manager Suzanne Trevino will participate in a media availability about paperless boarding pass technology with Continental Airlines representatives
San Diego International AirportTerminal
23707 N. Harbor Drive
San Diego, Calif.
1 PM PDT
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas will officially open the new USCIS field office in West Palm Beach and participate in a naturalization ceremony
USCIS West Palm Beach Field Office
9300 Belvedere Road
Royal Palm Beach, Fla.
3 PM CDT
TSA Public Affairs Manager Sari Koshetz will participate in a media availability to introduce the new Explosive Detection System (EDS) equipment
Tunica Airport
White Oak Road
Tunica, Miss.