UNCLASSIFIED - OPEN SOURCE INFORMATIONUNCLASSIFIED - OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION Medical Official Answers NCR Area H1N1 Questions (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) Thomas E. Gaiter,

UNCLASSIFIED - OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION

May 1, 2009 2009-253

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Assault with Intent to Kill Suspect Sought (Local DC BOLO) The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a suspect wanted in connection with two counts of Assault with Intent to Kill that were committed on Cedar Street, SE on the evening of April 29, 2009. The suspect is identified as 25-year-old Donte Lamont Evans of Southeast Washington, D.C. At approximately 7:30 am, first responders responded to an apartment building located in the 1400 block of Cedar Street, SE for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they located an adult male and an adult female suffering from gunshot wounds. Donte Lamont Evans is described as a 25-year-old medium to dark complexioned black male, 6’2” tall, weighing about 250 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. The suspect may have cut his hair since the day of the incident. He was last seen wearing a Boston Celtics jersey and black sweat pants with a green stripe on each pant leg. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Donte Lamont Evans or who sees him should taken no direct action, but call police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIM[E] (1-888-919-2746). The Metropolitan Police Department is currently offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of this suspect.

Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to D.C. CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS and to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. If the information provided by the caller to the Crime Solvers Unit leads to an arrest and indictment, that caller will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Dunbar Armored Truck Employee Robbed in White Oak (Local NCR Incident) Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division Robbery Section and the FBI are investigating the robbery of a Dunbar armored truck employee that occurred Wednesday in White Oak, Maryland. At approximately 10:27 a.m., police responded to the Chevy Chase Bank located at 11261 New Hampshire Avenue in the White Oak area of Silver Spring, for the report of a robbery that had just occurred. The preliminary investigation revealed that one suspect followed the armored truck employee into the bank and displayed a handgun. The suspect forced the employee to the ground and took the employee’s sidearm and an undisclosed amount of cash that the employee was delivering to the bank. The suspect fled on foot. No one was injured during the incident. The suspect is described as a black male, 30 to 35 years of age, 6’ tall, weighing 180 pounds. He had some facial hair. The suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black glasses, a black baseball cap, and jeans. Anyone who has information about this bank robbery or the suspect is asked to call the Major Crimes Division - Robbery Section at 240-773-5100. Callers may remain anonymous.

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Rockville, MD High School Closed for Probable H1N1 (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) EMERGENCY MESSAGE: Montgomery County Public Schools announces that Rockville High School will be closed on Friday, May 1, under the order of State of Maryland and Montgomery County health officials, due to a probable swine flu case. The school will be closed until further notice. For more information, call 410-517-3600. Information will be made available as soon as possible regarding the SAT administration scheduled for tomorrow at Rockville High School. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/emergency/ Maryland Reports 8 Probable Cases of H1N1 (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) Maryland state health officials are now reporting eight probable cases of the swine flu. Two new ones were announced today at the Maryland DOHMH. One is a 53-year-old man from Montgomery County. He is recovering. The second is a 40-year-old woman from Baltimore County. She was hospitalized, but is now recovering. This is in addition to six probable cases in Maryland that have already been announced. The cases announced Wednesday were three people in Anne Arundel County and three in Baltimore County. The Montgomery County man lives with his wife, who is a school teacher at Tacoma Park Elementary, and his two children, who attend Westland Middle and Einstein High Schools. Officials stress that the man's family has not shown any symptoms of the swine flu. Still, his wife and children were asked to stay home from school on Thursday. Montgomery County school officials say there are no problems with contamination at any of the schools, and the schools will be open. Maryland Health Department officials say they will only consider closing affected schools if the cases come back positive for swine flu. They say test results could start coming in from the CDC in Atlanta sometime on Thursday. http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/043009_maryland_swine_flu Swine Flu Confirmed in Virginia (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) Virginia health officials confirmed two cases of the H1N1 virus in the state Thursday night. One patient is an adult male from eastern Virginia, and the second is an adult female from the central part of the state. The patients are not students. Both had traveled to Mexico, had mild illnesses, and are recovering well. Neither required hospitalization. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Swine-Flu-Confirmed-in-Virginia.html

National Capital Region H1N1 Updates


http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/emergency/http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/043009_maryland_swine_fluhttp://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Swine-Flu-Confirmed-in-Virginia.html


Latest Posts on BirdFluGov Twitter Site

http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov 1. WHO Updates International H1N1 (Swine) Flu Situation: http://bit.ly/CIgw8about 2 hours ago 2. Patient Fact Sheets on Relenza and Tamiflu: http://bit.ly/3h1iinabout 11 hours ago 3. Secretary Sebelius Takes Two Key Actions On Strategic National Stockpile: http://bit.ly/Ifcu6about 11 hours ago 4. Report Suspected Fraudulent or Criminal Activity Associated with H1N1 Flu Virus: http://bit.ly/ylwQpabout 11 hours ago 5. New video on CDC YouTube channel demonstrates how to put on and take off disposable respirators: http://is.gd/vzs6about 15 hours ago

More than 100 U.S. schools closed because of swine flu (Family Emergency Planning) At least 74 schools have closed across the country because of confirmed or probable cases of swine flu and 30 more have closed as a precautionary measure. The closures of public and private schools across eight states affect about 56,000 students out of an estimated 55 million students attending the nation's 100,000 kindergarten through 12th grade schools. Some of the schools that were closed had already reopened, an official said. In addition to closures announced earlier Wednesday, the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas said it will temporarily close all of its schools until further notice, affecting roughly 80,000 students, according to its Web site. The Madison County, Alabama, Schools district, which includes Huntsville, will also close its schools Thursday and Friday due to two probable cases at an elementary school. Schools are urged to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a school has a confirmed case of swine flu, the CDC recommends closing the facility for about seven days. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/29/swine.flu.schools Analyst Note: For information and resources on family emergency planning visit: http://www.ready.gov/ What Feds Need Masks? During a Thursday afternoon Web cast on the swine flu with top federal medical officials, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano received an e-mailed question from a TSA worker wondering about the use of face masks. Napolitano said DHS will issue instructions to its workforce on Thursday on flu prevention measures, including which workers need to wear the (now) ubiquitous masks. She said this would include workers who have close contract with the public who might have flu exposure, such as Customs and Border Protection agents working closely with people from countries with an H1N1 outbreak. http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2009/04/what_feds_need_masks.php


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/29/swine.flu.schoolshttp://www.ready.gov/http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2009/04/what_feds_need_masks.phphttp://twitter.com/BirdFluGovhttp://bit.ly/CIgw8http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1668313743http://bit.ly/3h1iinhttp://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1665252377http://bit.ly/Ifcu6http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1665222147http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1665222147http://bit.ly/ylwQphttp://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1665140428http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1665140428http://is.gd/vzs6http://twitter.com/BirdFluGov/status/1663481823


Swine Flu Scenarios: Computer Simulations (Public Health Awareness Resource) Large-scale computer simulations run by Northwestern University researchers show worst-case scenario projections of approximately 1,700 cases of swine flu for the entire United States four weeks from now. Researchers have found that the major areas projected to have incidents in the worst-case scenario include California, Texas and Florida. Worst-case scenario means that no measures have been taken to combat the spread of disease. These numbers would, of course, be lessened by preventive measures already under way. Under the worst-case scenario, more than 100 cases are projected for the Chicago area. The affected locations largely correspond to major transportation hubs in the country. Northwestern researchers say their swine flu results are in excellent agreement to those of a research group at Indiana University that is using a different method. “The Indiana group uses a different computational approach, and the agreement of our results is promising and an indicator of reliability in both methods.” Researchers are constantly updating the simulation, taking into account new information on confirmed cases and more precise information on transmissibility and disease-specific parameters. In order to understand how disease travels, researchers also must understand human transportation networks. “These networks play an important role in the spread of infectious disease. We’re looking at how people travel in the U.S. and Europe and trying to find a theory behind human traffic. Then we can unravel the structures within these networks and explain them.” One way to track how people travel is to monitor how money travels. In a 2006 study, researchers used data from WheresGeorge.com -- a site where users enter the serial numbers from their dollar bills in order to track their travels. From there, researchers found a key factor in the disease-spread modeling approach. http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=4682 WRTAC Public Health Intelligence Analyst Comment: To this date, modeling cannot adequately simulate human-to-human social contacts. The results of Northwestern University researchers are estimates based on stochastic mathematical models (having a random variable). This model does confirm the CDC’s information that this disease will spread, therefore, citizens should be prepared to care for themselves and their families during a possible health emergency.


http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=4682


Medical Official Answers NCR Area H1N1 Questions (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) Thomas E. Gaiter, M.D. and chief medical officer, Community and Family Medicine at Howard University Hospital, was online Thursday, April 30, at 12:30 p.m. ET to discuss the latest news about the spread of the virus and detail what special preparations have been made in the region to identify and treat the disease. ____________________ Bowie, Md.: Can H1N1 be spread in the swimming pool? Thomas E. Gaiter: At this time, there are no reports that swine flu can be transmitted through the use of swimming pools. It is commonly believed that chlorine is effective in killing the virus. As with any situation in which individuals congregate, all precautions should be adhered to so as to prevent the spread of infection between individuals. _______________________ Rockville, Md.: Is it true that instant hand sanitizers offer no protection against catching this virus? Thomas E. Gaiter: Hand hygiene is very important in decreasing the spread of this virus from human-to-human. This includes appropriate hand washing and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers which are effective. Hand sanitizers along with other measures of avoidance are recommended. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: Do you recommend avoiding domestic flying at this time? Thomas E. Gaiter: The CDC has not issued restrictions for domestic travel. However, if you are planning to travel, the following recommendations will help you to reduce your risk of infection: monitor the national international situation, prepare for your trip before you leave by visiting CDC's website which discusses disease risks and health recommendations, practice healthy habits to help prevent the spread of infection, seek medical care if you feel sick and upon your return, monitor yourself for flu-like symptoms. Contact your physician as necessary. _______________________ Riverton, W.Va.: What immediate steps should a person take who suspects that he/she has contracted the virus? Thomas E. Gaiter: If you suspect that you have been exposed to the virus and you have respiratory or flu-like symptoms, contact your physician who will assess your health condition. Identify your travel history and exposure to individuals who have symptoms of the flu which will assist your physician in making a diagnosis. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: I've heard that face masks are not useful in preventing the spread of or catching the virus. Is that true? If so, why are people wearing it? Thomas E. Gaiter: Face masks alone are not 100% effective in preventing the spread of infection. However, when used correctly, the mask functions as a barrier to minimizing the transmission of respiratory droplets amongst individuals. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: If, in fact, a pandemic occurs, what plans has the District of Columbia made for distribution of available medicines? Will the drugs be distributed only to hospitals, or to pharmacies as well? Also, does the District's plan call for even distribution of medications throughout the district's eight wards? Thomas E. Gaiter: The Department of Homeland Security has released 25% of its stockpile of Tamiflu and Relenza (antivirals to treat flu)to various states. Tamiflu is available by prescription at pharmacies and hospitals. The Department of Health in the various states and jurisdictions will identify their need and distribute these antivirals appropriately if necessary. For additional information regarding the District of Columbia's preparedness efforts, please go online to www.dc.gov _______________________ Virginia: I got a flu shot and a pneumonia shot too. Am I still safe? Thomas E. Gaiter: I applaud your efforts in getting pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. These vaccines however are of little to no effect in fighting this virus. Currently no vaccine is available for swine flu.



Medical Official Answer NCR Area H1N1 Questions (Continued) _______________________ Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: As what point should people stop gathering in large groups? I know of a daily gathering of 435 people, and I am beginning to wonder if maybe we should ask the group to stop meeting for awhile until this threat is over. Thomas E. Gaiter: Currently no recommendation is in place to completely avoid gathering of groups when there is no evidence of illness. Keep in mind that precautions must be adhered to inclusive of hand hygiene efforts. If individuals are ill, they should absolutely avoid large crowds or settings where close contact is required. Some jurisdictions have closed schools and public areas due to suspected cases of swine flu in an effort to minimize or decrease the spread of infection. It is important to continue to monitor the day-to-day developments of this health concern. _______________________ "Colds": A lot of the people coming in with "colds" probably have allergies! My sister is an ER doctor and says they have been slammed with people the last few days whose only symptoms are sneezing and a scratchy throat. Thomas E. Gaiter: The pollen count has been reportedly high in the Washington Metropolitan area over the past several days. Reactions to such may indeed mimic some of the symptoms of the flu. Knowledge of the virus and the specific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, body aches, diarrhea, and vomiting should contrast allergies from flu syndromes. _______________________ Arlington, Va.: How long does the virus remain on objects? I've been wondering since I got a package from out of state recently. Is it possible for an infected person to cough/sneeze on something, mail it to a friend far away, and leave a trail of infection in his wake? I'm guessing no, but I haven't seen any direct denial of this. Thomas E. Gaiter: Droplets main remain viable on objects for a period of two or more hours. A package going through the mail system would have little to no viable droplets as you have described. _______________________ Bowie, Md.: What are hospital(s) doing to prepare in the event that there is a pandemic? At your hospital, are there staff on hand to handle patient inquiries? Thomas E. Gaiter: District of Columbia hospitals are working in concert with the DC Goverment and DC Department of Health for a joint approach to this health concern. Our healthcare team at Howard University Hospital have utilized many venues to try to respond to inquiries from the community (television, print media, community announcements as well as participating in forums such as this). As you might imagine, area hospitals are inundated with calls and visits. We will continue to reach out and support the community. _______________________ Thomas E. Gaiter: Thank you for your great questions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/04/30/DI2009043001691_pf.html New Cards Explain NYC Street Stops by Police (LE Initiative) New York City police have begun handing out small cards telling people why they were stopped and searched on city streets. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday that the pilot program began earlier this month in three precincts. It follows a study of so-called "stop-and-frisk" tactics that says officers need to better explain what they're doing. The cards cite a state code allowing stops by officers if they reasonably think a person may be a suspect. They say "the NYPD regrets any inconvenience" if it wrongly stops someone. The department, which made more than a half million street stops last year, says it's a valuable crime-fighting tool. Civil right activists have filed a lawsuit accusing police of singling out minorities. http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/US/Default.aspx?id=512410


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/04/30/DI2009043001691_pf.htmlhttp://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/US/Default.aspx?id=512410


High School Students Charged in School Murder Plot (Public Safety/NCR Incident) Montgomery County, Maryland police say two high school students have been arrested and charged in an alleged murder plot that involved explosives, and plans to target staff members, and set fires to the school property, at Springbrook High School. School officials said Getachew 18, and Torrence, 17 are both juniors at Springbrook. Police officers responded to the school on Tuesday afternoon for the report of an attempted arson in the ROTC hallway, and in the boys' locker room. The two students were stopped as they were attempting to leave the school building. Through further investigation, police say, they learned the two students had been planning to assault a guidance counselor and the school principal, using explosive devices. Police say the students were also planning, over the past few weeks, to set fire to the school building with the intent to cause damage to the building and seriously injure other individuals. While the students were in the planning stages for this assault, police say, another fire was set in a restroom, while school was in session. That fire left walls charred but caused no injuries. Police officisls said that chemicals, flammable liquid and other components of explosives were recovered from the student's homes, along with a carbon dioxide cartridge, nails, balloons, homemade wicks and fireworks. Notes and other evidence of preparations for setting fire at the school building were also found, including plans written by Getachew and Torrence, and information about the physical design of the school building. http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_article.aspx?storyid=85081 Alabama: 1,000 Pounds of Fertilizer Stolen (Homeland Security) Approximately 1,000 pounds of high-grade nitrate fertilizer was taken from Greens Keepers on Gann Boulevard in Tuscumbia. The company handles fertilization and weed control for residential and commercial lawns. Sometime early Thursday morning, burglars broke in the business. First, they tried to break through the glass window in the front of the building. When that didn't work, police say the crooks pried open the side door. "It appears that 25 to 30 bags of high-grade nitrate fertilizer was taken off the premises." The thieves stacked the bags of fertilizer onto one of the company trucks, attached a trailer to the back, and loaded a lawn mower on it. The crooks also rummaged through the office - grabbing two computers, an iPod, and a cordless phone. The stolen property is valued at several thousand dollars. Tuscumbia police say as the burglars were driving off, the trailer, lawn mower, and some fertilizer fell off. Shortly after that, the burglars abandoned the truck. The truck and trailer were returned to Greens Keepers. Police are still on the hunt for the fertilizer and the people responsible for taking it. The Tuscumbia Police Department requests citizens to call if they have information about the crime or know where the fertilizer may be, call the Shoals Area CrimeStoppers at (256) 386 - 8685. (From GlobalIncidentMap.com) http://www.whnt.com/news/shoals/whnt-fertilizer-stolen-from-greens-keepers,0,2442663.story DMV Upgrades Unexpectedly Foil Fraud (LE Initiative) The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has implemented use of facial recognition software, resulting in hundreds of fraud cases being opened and a doubled arrest rate in the past year. The software checks applicant photographs against all other photographs in the DMV database and measures the size of a person's nose, the height of a forehead and the roundness of cheeks, then compares these metrics to others in the system. When it finds a potential match, it notifies law enforcement. The software is tagging some 200 potential cases of fraud daily. www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10184687


http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_article.aspx?storyid=85081http://www.whnt.com/news/shoals/whnt-fertilizer-stolen-from-greens-keepers,0,2442663.storyhttp://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10184687


Airport Disaster Preparedness in a Community Context (Resource) To see the final report of a study of the relationships between airports and emergency management agencies and how they affect both airport and community preparedness for non-aviation disasters, please go to www.airportstudy2008.com. The study documents and lists: 1. Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Airport Preparedness in a Community Context 2. Innovative Preparedness Measures 3. Characteristics of Successful Airports in Terms of Emergency Preparedness & COOP 4. Areas needing further study. To access the final report document, Power Point, and executive summary, visit: http://www.airportstudy2008.com/ Driver Dies after Aiming Car at Dutch Royals (Criminal/Terrorism TTP) The driver of a car that sped into a crowd in the Netherlands, killing five people and narrowly missing an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and members of her family, died overnight of critical injuries from the crash. A dozen people were wounded when the car sped into people attending a festival for the royal family. Shortly afterwards, the man, who has not been identified by name, admitted that he had aimed his car at the royal family. Officials said the driver was a 38-year-old Dutchman who appeared to have acted alone and carried no weapons or explosives. Officials said the man had no police record. Neighbors said he lived alone and had recently lost his job. The attack raised a host of questions about how the driver could have broken through several police barricades, coming within about 15 yards of the bus carrying the royal family. Numerous roads were blocked off before the parade, and about 700 police officers were in the area. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/world/europe/02dutch.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss Analyst note: Within the past year, there have been several “ramming-type” attacks reported in the open source media. In June of 2008, three people were killed and 45 injured when a Palestinian drove into a bus, civilian vehicles, and pedestrians in Jerusalem. In September of 2008, a terrorist rammed his care into a crowd of pedestrians in central Jerusalem, wounding 17. In February of 2009, a New Mexico woman rammed her truck into a fuel tanker and tried to ignite it. In March of 2009, a terrorist driving a bulldozer rammed a bus and police car, injuring two police cars. In April of 2009, an Arab motorist hit three border policemen in Jerusalem. There are numerous other ramming attacks reported globally, for both terrorist and criminal reasons. This method of attack proves to be difficult to protect against and successful in creating numerous injuries and fatalities. Bulldozer used to break into Dallas pharmacy (Criminal TTP) A bulldozer was used early Tuesday to bash the front of a pharmacy and breach an automatic teller machine in southwest Dallas. The incident was reported shortly after 4 a.m. at the Walgreens pharmacy near the intersection with East Colorado Boulevard, according to a police report. Police arrived to find the bulldozer crashed through the building, but whoever used it was gone. http://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/1344166.html


http://www.airportstudy2008.com/http://www.airportstudy2008.com/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/netherlands/index.html?inline=nyt-geohttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/queen_of_the_netherlands_beatrix/index.html?inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/world/europe/02dutch.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rsshttp://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/1344166.html


Surveillance Effort Draws Civil Liberties Concern (Homeland Security Initiatives) A growing number of big-city police departments, and other law enforcement agencies across the country, are embracing a new system to report suspicious activities that officials say could uncover terrorism plots, but that civil liberties groups contend might violate individual rights. In New York and in nearly a dozen other cities, officers are filling out terror tip sheets if they run across activities in their routines that seem out of place, like someone buying police or firefighter uniforms, taking pictures of a power plant or espousing extremist views. Ultimately, state and federal officials intend to have a nationwide reporting system in place by 2014, using a standardized system of codes for suspicious behaviors. In Los Angeles, police officers, intelligence analysts and top commanders are trained in what kind of suspicious behavior to look for, based on a 65-item checklist. The checklist also takes into consideration privacy and civil liberties issues. The approach is based on experience showing that terrorists typically surveil their targets before an attack, conducting dry runs of their operations to note guard schedules, to gauge how emergency personnel react to false alarms or abandoned packages and to seek out security weaknesses. Senior police officers in other cities said a searchable network of standardized databases could help with reporting and analyzing suspicious behavior possibly linked to terrorism that might previously have fallen through the cracks. A branch of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is sponsoring the national pilot program that in addition to Boston and Los Angeles includes police departments in Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington, as well as state intelligence fusion centers in Florida, New York and Virginia. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/29surveil.html U.S. State Department’s Annual Assessment of Global Terrorism (Terrorism TTP) The State Department’s annual assessment of global terrorism said al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue to be the greatest terrorist threat to the U.S. despite ongoing efforts to disrupt their operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, North Africa, Somalia and Yemen. Terror attacks also rose in Afghanistan last year, the report said. Worldwide terrorist attacks dropped to 11,770 in 2008 from 14,506 in 2007. The number of deaths caused by those incidents declined 30%, from 22,508 in 2007 to 15,765 last year. Despite those positive signs, the rise of incidents in Pakistan reflected increased "coordination, sophistication and frequency" of suicide and other bombings by the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Attacks in Pakistan more than doubled between 2007 and 2008 to about 1,800 and have quadrupled since 2006. Attacks in Afghanistan were also up last year. That rise bucked the overall downward trend that included a sharp decline in Iraq, where the number of terrorist incidents fell nearly 50%. Largely due to the drop in attacks in Iraq, the number of suicide bombings declined worldwide, but were up in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. By November 2008, Pakistan recorded 57 suicide attacks, most of which hit high-profile government, military and civilian targets, including the massive Sept. 20 truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 200. Pakistan-affiliated militants were also blamed for perhaps the most well-coordinated terrorist strike in 2008, the Nov. 26 attacks in Mumbai, India, that targeted hotels, a Jewish center and other locations and killed at least 183 people. India continues to rank among the world's most terrorism-afflicted countries and that "the rise in terrorist attacks and their coordinated nature throughout India suggest(s) the terrorists were well-funded and financially organized." Elsewhere, al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue to pose threats, particularly in Algeria and Yemen. In Somalia, al-Shabaab continues to take advantage of a power vacuum in the country and is providing "safe haven" to al-Qaeda "elements." The report also noted that an American was responsible for a suicide bombing in Somalia in 2008. As it has for the past decade, the report identifies Iran as the main state sponsor of terrorism, focusing in particular on trying to disrupt Arab-Israeli peace efforts by supporting groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Although the report said Iranian-backed violence in Iraq was down, it accused Iran of transferring weaponry to select members of the Taliban in Afghanistan. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-04-30-terrorism-report_N.htm


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/29surveil.htmlhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-04-30-terrorism-report_N.htm


Puerto Rico sites redirected in DNS attack (Cybercrime TTP) An attack on the main domain name system registrar in Puerto Rico led to the local Web sites of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Coca-Cola, and other big companies being redirected for a few hours on April 26 to sites that were defaced. Those sites and others including PayPal, Nike, Dell, and Nokia, were redirected to sites that were black except for messages in hacker lingo saying that the sites had been hacked. A group calling itself the “Peace Crew” claimed that they used a SQL injection attack to break into the Puerto Rico registrar’s management system. DNS redirects could be used to send unsuspecting Web surfers to phishing sites pretending to be banks where they would be prompted to provide sensitive information. People should use the SSL (Secure SocketsLayer) protocol for encrypting communications with sensitive sites and use anti-phishing technology in the browser that colors part of the URL address bar green or red based on the safety level of the site being visited. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10228436-83.html Another security hole emerges (Cybersecurity) Security experts are recommending that people disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader following reports of a vulnerability in the popular portable document format reader on April 28. The vulnerability appears to be due to an error in the “getAnnots()” JavaScript function and exploiting it could allow someone to remotely execute code on the machine. “US-CERT encourages users and administrators to disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader to help mitigate the risk.” To disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader, open the General Preferences dialog box. From the Edit-Preferences-JavaScript menu, uncheck ‘Enable Acrobat JavaScript.’” All currently supported shipping versions of Adobe Reader (8.1.4, 9.1 and 7.1.1 and earlier) are vulnerable and Windows, Macintosh and Unix platforms are affected. Adobe said it would release updates for all the platforms but did not yet have a time frame for that. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10229070-83.html

Free GlobalIncident Map Displaying Actual and Suspected Cases of North American Influenza This resource provides a rolling scoller of the latest 50 news events relating to influenza. Additionally, the map provides a searchable archive of influenza news articles. The map can be accessed at : http://outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com/home.php


http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10228436-83.htmlhttp://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10229070-83.htmlhttp://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10229070-83.htmlhttp://outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com/home.php


Resources

Washington DC Links

Live Traffic Reports http://www.ddot.dc.gov/traffic

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency http://hsema.dc.gov/dcema/site/default.asp

Sign-up for Alerts https://textalert.ema.dc.gov/index.php?CCheck=1

It’s A Disaster (Disaster Preparedness, Prevention and First Aid Manual)

http://hsema.dc.gov/dcema/cwp/view,a,1226,Q,609437,dcemaNav,|31810|.asp

DC Community Preparedness Exercise http://www.dccommunitypreparedness.org

To request a DC Government Service, call 311 or 202-727-1000, also online at http://src.dc.gov

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Documents

UNCLASSIFIED - OPEN SOURCE INFORMATIONUNCLASSIFIED - OPEN SOURCE INFORMATION Medical Official Answers NCR Area H1N1 Questions (NCR Area of Interest/Public Health) Thomas E. Gaiter,