Michael Fabey of Defense News analyzed 3 million contract and modification records from 2000 through 2004 to show that U.S. agencies made more than 2,100 deals worth $1.2 billion for satellite telecommunications and related work. "U.S. federal agencies issued about 35,000 contracts and related modifications for general space-related work, worth about $40.2 billion, the analysis showed." Space work could include software, equipment or other components for any type of space work, including but not limited to satellites. The records showed that about 800 of the satellite-related contracts were for programs listed as "classified or non-discernible." The total number of all federal government contracts and associated modifications for classified programs show an increase from about 281,000 in 2001 to about 446,000 in 2003, an increase mirrored by space and satellite work.

David E. Kaplan of U.S. News & World Report finds the U.S. government has been monitoring more than 100 "Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities" since 9/11 in search of a terrorist nuclear bomb. As part of the top-secret program, investigators went "on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program."

In a Web exclusive report, Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball of Newsweek report that state emergency management directors have complained FEMA has concentrated too much on preparing for terror threats and not enough on natural disasters. "Internal Homeland Security documents obtained by Newsweek lend support to the state directors' complaints. Out of 15 'all hazards' disaster-planning scenarios approved by DHS and the White House Homeland Security Council last May, only three involved natural disasters, one document shows." (Note: For more stories looking at what went wrong in the Katrina disaster, please see IRE's Katrina resources page.)

Frank Bass and Dirk Lammers of The Associated Press examined nearly $5 billion in loans granted by the Small Business Administration as Sept. 11 recovery aid, and found that many went to businesses "that didn't need terror relief — or even know they were getting it." The SBA said it first learned of the problems from AP. "The records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also show that many other loan recipients who made cases they were injured by Sept. 11 were far removed from the direct devastation of New York City and Washington, like a South Dakota country radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop and a Utah dog boutique."

Rick Hepp of The (Newark) Star-Ledger analyzed state and federal spending on homeland security in New Jersey, finding that politics can make a big difference: Somerset County towns in the past three years "have received more than $2.7 million in federal Homeland Security grants designed for 'first responders,' but only $235,000 from New Jersey." The state money was controlled by the governor's office, often as a way to "reward Democratic Party loyalists. That was not a good equation for Republican-dominated Somerset County, which got 1 percent of the state grants between 2002 and 2005."

Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News used the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain data on weapon seizures at airports, finding that "daily for the past three years, passengers at U.S. airports surrendered an average of 14,000 potential weapons. That is enough to arm every passenger on 33 filled-to-capacity Boeing 747 jumbo jets - every day." Smaller airports have a higher rate of weapons being turned over, even though most prohibited items are collected at larger facilities. The haul includes nearly 5 million knives and more than 1,000 guns.

Pauline Arrillaga and Olga R. Rodriguez of the Associated Press reviewed court records from Mexico and the United States as part of an investigation into "the many pipelines in Central and South America, Mexico and Canada that have illegally channeled thousands of people into the United States from so-called 'special-interest' countries - those identified by the U.S. government as sponsors or supporters of terrorism." Individuals affiliated with Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers were among those who attempted to or were able to cross the border into America. "Even when caught, illegal immigrants from those countries and other nations are sometimes released while awaiting deportation hearings, then miss those court dates, according to the AP's investigation, which also documented deep concerns about security threats along the lightly patrolled, 4,000-mile U.S.-Canada border."

L.A. Lorek of the San Antonio Express-News used federal contracts data to examine the largest military contractors in San Antonio. Lorek found the Pentagon's reliance on private companies has let to a boom for local businesses who "provide everything from oil and food to aircraft parts and weapons research." In 2003, the top 20 contractors received $2.5 billion worth of contracts, making San Antonio the second-largest military contracting city in Texas. That money went toward making canteen covers, ammunition vests, aluminum cots; meals ready to eat; developing software, building and maintaining aircraft. (Editor's Note: The Federal Procurement Data System is available to journalists from IRE and NICAR.)

Bert Dalmer of The Des Moines Register reports on an analysis done by the Register using Iowa's critical-asset list. The list "has played a key part in determining how the state divides homeland-security money among Iowa's counties." They found that some "dams and schools on the list have been found not to exist." Historic buildings were left off, while "the state liquor warehouse in Ankeny, Living History Farms in Urbandale and the Danish Windmill Museum in Elk Horn" were put on the list.

Greg Barrett of The (Baltimore) Sun reviewed thousands of pages detailing homeland security spending in Maryland, finding that while most of the $161 million since 2002 has gone to assist first responders, "Maryland is so flush with anti-terrorism grant funds and spending authority is so broad that the state has struggled, at times, to manage the money." In one case, the state used more than $17,000 to conduct an exercise in which veterinarians "rescued" a llama and walking horse "injured" in a fake attack.