Pelosi warns right of inciting “violence” — invoking Harvey Milk murder

An uncharacteristically emotional Nancy Pelosi is warning Republicans — and other groups getting whipped up over the health care debate — not to incite unstable supporters who might repeat acts of violence that struck San Francisco in the 1970s. Read the full story

Police to get access to classified military intelligence

In a move raising eyebrows among civil liberties advocates, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it would give so-called local and state “fusion centers” access to classified military intelligence in Pentagon databases. Read the full story

Small Businesses Urged to Prepare for Disruptions From Swine Flu

The Department of Homeland Security urged small businesses Monday to devise contingency plans allowing them to operate in the event a number of their employees become infected with the H1N1 virus. With half of the nation’s private-sector employees working at small businesses, federal officials said they want the enterprises to take precautions to prevent a disruption to the economy as the virus, also known as swine flu, wends its way across the United States. Read the full story

One question: Why would a United States agency conduct a training exercise in Washington D.C. on 9/11?????

This does not make any sense at all.

White House hits CNN for Coast Guard report

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today criticized CNN – not the Coast Guard – over the panic caused by the agency’s training exercise on the Sept. 11 anniversary, saying that the alarm could have been avoided if the network had checked its facts.

Gibbs said he wouldn’t second-guess Coast Guard leadership for holding a Potomac River exercise on the morning of the 9/11 commemoration. But he took a shot at CNN, which initially didn’t know the maneuvers in the Potomac were an exercise and erroneously reported that gunshots were fired – something the homeland security department said didn’t occur. Read the full story