Tag Archive for: Alabama

US: Police responding to shooting in downtown Mobile, Alabama, late Dec. 31

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01 Jan 2023 | 01:28 AM UTC

Police responding to shooting in downtown Mobile, Ala., US, late Dec. 31. Avoid the area.


Warning

security

transportation

USA

Event

Authorities are responding to a shooting in downtown Mobile, Alabama, late Dec. 31. At least one person is dead and nine others injured in the incident near 200 Dauphin Street. Authorities did not immediately confirm a motive for the shooting. An investigation is ongoing as of early Jan. 1.

Heightened security, as well as localized business and transport disruptions, are likely in the coming hours as investigations continue.

Advice

Avoid the area until the situation stabilizes and authorities give the all-clear. Allow additional travel time and seek alternative routes to circumvent the incident site.

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CBP Expands Facial Biometrics to Mobile, Alabama Cruise Ship Terminal

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, expanded the use of facial biometrics into the debarkation process at the Port of Mobile, AL, becoming the latest seaport to modernize efforts to revolutionize cruise travel.

 “As we prepare for the increase in cruise travel around our nation’s ports, CBP is working closely with the cruise industry to make travel safer and more efficient, while also supporting travel recovery efforts,” said Steven Stavinoha, Director, Field Operations for CBP’s Gulf Coast Field Office. “The biometric facial comparison process adds an extra layer of security and streamlines travel into the United States by replacing the manual inspection of travel documents with a secure, touchless process.”

 When debarking the cruise vessel at a U.S. seaport, passengers will pause for a photo that will be compared to the traveler’s existing passport or visa photo in secure DHS systems to biometrically verify their identity. Upon an efficient match, passengers are allowed to proceed through inspections and exit the terminal. This innovative entry process further secures and enhances the customer experience while protecting the privacy of all travelers. The enhanced arrival process using facial biometrics verifies the traveler’s identity within two seconds and is more than 98% accurate.

U.S. travelers and select foreign nationals who are not required to provide biometrics and wish to opt out of the new biometric process can simply request a manual document check from a CBP Officer consistent with existing requirements for admission into the United States.

Already in use at major air and land ports of entry, facial biometrics in the cruise environment will strengthen CBP’s enforcement capabilities at several of the nation’s cruise ports while also enhancing the customer experience. Additionally, CBP and its cruise partners have expanded data sharing agreements to further strengthen security in cruise travel.

passenger approaches the biometric facial comparison machine while Carnival Cruise Line employee stands nearby
Passenger approaches the biometric facial comparison
machine while Carnival Cruise Line employee stands nearby

To date, facial biometric comparison technology is available at 13 seaports…

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Shooting at Ladd raises questions about security procedures | Mobile County Alabama News

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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA)- Last Friday’s shooting during the Vigor vs Williamson game once again raising questions about security procedures for high school games. You may remember security came under scrutiny in 2019 after a shooting during the Williamson vs Leflore game.

That’s when the school system bought metal detectors to be set up at the entrances to all Mobile County Public School football games. They also updated their security protocol. But something went wrong last Friday.

The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office says that both suspects in custody, and at least one other suspect they are still looking for left the game and returned some time after the metal detectors were removed.

The Mobile County Public School System says the metal detectors are normally taken down midway through the third quarter. At which time the gates are supposed to be secured and no one is allowed re-entry into the game.

The updated safety protocols that were announced after the 2019 shooting say “there will be a uniformed officer at both gates-the home and visitor gates- for the duration of the game until the game has ended and the stadium is cleared.”



Shooting at Ladd



The Ladd-Peebles Stadium board ofdirectors said last night that the Mobile County Public School System more or less dictates security measures. But the school system says Ladd-Peebles Stadium is responsible for providing the uniformed officers and for making sure the gates are secured. The contract between the Mobile County Public School System and Ladd says “security personnel as the stadium general manager decides in his sole discretion shall be paid by the board and reimbursed by the tenant.”

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Cyber security researcher reacts following the largest social media outage ever | Mobile County Alabama News

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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) — If you use Facebook or any of its apps, you may have been in the dark for a second time this week.

Another outage hit Facebook users early Friday afternoon, but it didn’t last as long as the one Monday that kept users offline for about five hours.

Facebook went on Twitter this afternoon to apologize about today’s problems.

And while it does not appear the outages were due to a hack, the possibility of a hack should be a reminder to us all that the information we share online is vulnerable.

And for some, Monday and Friday’s Facebook outages were more than an inconvenience.

“Some people can use it, and when it goes down can walk away from it,” said Dr. Michael Black. “There are other people that can literally panic about it. Why is it down? Why can’t I see my friends? I can’t communicate. They depend on it to communicate. They depend on it for other daily activities to do things.”

Black, who teaches at the University of South Alabama, also researches cyber security and digital forensics. He says the fallout from the outages could have people rethinking their reliance on social media.

“I think for a lot of people, it might be trust,” Black said. “As far as trusting if the service is going to be available or not. How can I know that it’s going to be there? What’s going to be the availability of it? When I need it, can I get to it?” 

That sentiment is shared by Brandon Nero, who uses Facebook heavily as a supply chain manager. But he also worries about the security.

“How safe is the information that I have?” Nero asked. “Which kind of makes me wonder if I should pull back from this being my primary means of communication.”

So, what can you do if you don’t feel confident that your information is staying private?

Experts recommend changing your social media passwords, and on accounts linked to your Facebook page

Also be on the lookout for fake accounts.

Be aware of…

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