Phillip Swarts

Want to help the United Nations fight off a zombie apocalypse? There’s an app for that

The State Department is launching a mobile app for the Model United Nations, a popular program for students that lets them assume the roles of country representatives and work out problems like in the real multinational body. Published September 22, 2014

Defense contractor sentenced to 7 years for giving secrets to Chinese woman

A Hawaiian defense contractor will serve more than seven years in prison for giving classified documents to a Chinese citizen, the Justice Department announced. Published September 18, 2014

U.S. watchdog wants answers in $6.5M Afghanistan telecom project

The United States' top watchdog in Afghanistan wants answers on why the State Department spent $6.5 million on six communication towers that aren't being used and have so far led to one fatality. Published September 18, 2014

Airline employees used sensitive TSA rooms as break lounges, report says

Controls were so lax at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that rooms with sensitive explosive detection equipment were being used as break areas by airline workers, complete with refrigerators, microwaves, blankets and TVs, according to a watchdog report. Published September 17, 2014

$6.5M telecom towers unused in Afghanistan; watchdog wants answers

The top U.S. watchdog in Afghanistan wants answers on why the U.S. spent $6.5 million on six communication towers that aren't being used and have so far led to one fatality. Published September 17, 2014

Pa. man guilty of shipping chemical-weapons detection equipment to Syria

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he tried to illegally send laboratory equipment to Syria. Published September 17, 2014

U.S. flag ban on Cinco de Mayo can stand: Appeals Court

A top U.S. court has refused to reconsider its ruling that let a school ban American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo, despite calls from parents and lawmakers that the decision violated students' free-speech rights. Published September 17, 2014

U.S. government wasting tax dollars on unused vehicles: Rep. John Mica

A top U.S. lawmaker is concerned that the government isn't using the vehicles it owns enough, potentially leading to a waste of taxpayer dollars for cars that are just sitting around. Published September 16, 2014

Border protection office overspends on housing by $4.6M, watchdog warns

Border protection agents will have some nice places to stay as they work along the border, after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency spent $4.6 million too much for housing, a watchdog said Thursday. Published September 11, 2014

Eric Holder meets with Central Americans about unaccompanied children at border

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. met Tuesday with his counterparts from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras during his trip to Mexico City, the Justice Department said. Published September 9, 2014

Justice Dept. officials hampering internal probes: watchdog

The top watchdog at the Justice Department traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to warn that the government's independent investigators are being hampered in their investigations of wrongdoing at the agency by senior department officials. Published September 9, 2014

Homeland Security unprepared for pandemic, watchdog says

The Department of Homeland Security is unprepared to protect its own workforce should a major infectious disease hit U.S. shores, a new watchdog report is warning, raising concerns the agency may not even be able to protect its own employees in the event of a deadly flu or other pandemic disease attack. Published September 8, 2014

Stuart Delery named Holder’s No. 3 at Justice Department

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that Stuart Delery will serve as the acting associate attorney general, the number three position at the Justice Department. Published September 5, 2014

Bob McDonnell verdict a much-needed win for Justice Department ethics unit

The criminal conviction Thursday of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell provided a much-needed victory for the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, a once-elite unit that has seen a series of setbacks in high-profile corruption cases in recent years. Published September 4, 2014

Holder announces federal civil rights probe of Ferguson police

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that the Justice Department will conduct sweeping civil rights investigations of the Ferguson Police Department and surrounding Missouri law enforcement offices following the August shooting of a black teenager. Published September 4, 2014