Capitol Police lack "adequate resources" to investigate a surge in new threats, watchdog finds
CBSN
Threats have surged against the people and property that Capitol Police are charged with protecting, according to the most recent report by the department's inspector general, which also found the department did not have "adequate resources" to analyze and investigate the rising risks.
The April report, obtained first by CBS News, revealed that the number of threat cases increased from 171 in 2017 to 586 in 2020 and have already topped 200 through the first three months of the year. The department views a threat as "a communication or action showing clear or implied intent to inflict physical, psychological, or other harm," including those targeted at lawmakers and the Capitol building itself. So-called "Direction of Interest" cases also shot up, nearly doubling since 2017, to 8,778. These are cases "where a subject expresses an unusual interest in any person or property under USCP jurisdiction," such as through disturbing social media posts, stalking, or harassment.Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.