Security & Safety Briefs - Nov. 17 - Nov. 23
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The Latest Headlines:
- GAO Report Faults Air-Cargo Security
- U.S. to Lift Mad-Cow Restrictions on Canadian Beef
- Trucker’s Retrial Delayed in Smuggling-Deaths Case
- Atty. General Seeks New Anti-Counterfeiting Laws
- U.S. to Lift Mad-Cow Restrictions on Canadian Beef
GAO Report Faults Air-Cargo Security
The Bush administration has failed to put in place comprehensive air-cargo security measures two years after a plan was formulated, according to a Government Accountability Office report.The GAO said the Transportation Security Administration won't be capable of protecting air cargos until it has defined security problems, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
About six billion pounds — or one fourth the cargo sent by air in the United States — were carried on passenger planes, the Journal reported. Transport Topics
U.S. to Lift Mad-Cow Restrictions on Canadian Beef
The Bush administration plans to lift all mad cow disease-related restrictions on Canadian cattle within the next year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Nov. 16.The restrictions, in place since Canada's first case of the disease was disclosed in 2003, were eased earlier this year to allow younger cattle to enter the United States.
A prohibition has remained on Canadian animals older than 30 months; levels of infection from mad cow disease are thought to increase with age. Such restrictions could hurt truckers who transport beef and cattle.
There have been two U.S. cases of mad cow disease: one in a cow imported from Canada and one in a Texas-born cow. Transport Topics
Trucker’s Retrial Delayed in Smuggling-Deaths Case
The retrial of a trucker blamed for his role in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants in the nation’s deadliest human smuggling attempt has been put on hold, the Associated Press reported.ury selection in the retrial of Tyrone Williams had been scheduled to begin Nov. 28 with opening arguments set for Jan. 3. But U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore said jury selection and the trial “are canceled until further notice,” AP reported.
Prosecutors want to retry Williams on all 58 counts he faces and thus have another shot at getting a death sentence. But Gilmore said she has a problem with this request because Williams was convicted in March on 38 of those counts, for transporting illegal immigrants, AP said.
Williams drove a tractor-trailer packed with more than 70 illegal immigrants for a smuggling ring in May 2003 near Houston. Seventeen people died inside the trailer and two more died later. Transport Topics
Atty. General Seeks New Anti-Counterfeiting Laws
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has called on Congress to beef up laws to punish counterfeiters of goods, and allow authorities to seize homes and other property bought from the proceeds of the illicit sales.Gonzales, speaking Nov. 10 at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting on preventing intellectual property theft, said the Justice Department is proposing legislation that “is absolutely necessary” to help prosecutors keep pace with technological advances that aid counterfeiters.
Counterfeit goods cost U.S. businesses as much as $250 billion a year in sales and are an estimated 5% to 7% of world trade, according to the Chamber, which estimates counterfeit goods made outside the country take away 750,000 U.S. jobs.
The bill would make forfeiture penalties the same as for drug offenses; make it illegal to attempt to counterfeit goods; and allow victims of copyright violations to receive restitution. Transport Topics
