YAHOO/AP: Homeland Security boss says cartels under pressure

LAREDO, Texas – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says strategies outlined with Mexican officials this week will put warring drug cartels in a vice.

At a border crossing facility near the Rio Grande River, Napolitano said U.S. and Mexican officials reached agreement on several ways to stop the illegal flow of guns and drugs between the two countries.

Napolitano said beefed up border inspections, drug- and gun-sniffing dogs, more information-sharing and improved surveillance will "operate almost like a vice" on the cartels.

MISSOURI NEWS: Homeland Security Secretary advocates "all hazards" approach

United States Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has instituted an "all hazards" approach to public safety since joining the Obama Administration.

Homeland Security grew from the ashes of September 11, 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Yet, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano won't single out terrorism as the biggest threat to the security of the nation.

"There are always a number of threats to our security," Napolitano said during a news conference at the State Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson City. "They can be international, they can be terrorist, they can be domestic and domestically raised. So, it's hard to say what is the single largest."

DHS: Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to the National Fusion Center Conference in Kansas City, Mo. on March 11, 2009

DHS: Statement from U.S. Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary Sara Kuban on Secretary Napolitano’s Address to National Fusion Conference

WASHINGTON POST: Obama cabinet members pledge faster Katrina effort

NEW ORLEANS -- Disturbed by what they saw on a bus ride through a city still bearing Hurricane Katrina's scars, two members of President Barack Obama's cabinet pledged Thursday to speed the pace of the Gulf Coast recovery operation they inherited from the Bush administration.

On their first visit to New Orleans since Obama took office, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced millions in new funding for post-Katrina housing initiatives and vowed to cut red tape that has kept money out of local governments' hands.

"This will not be the last time we are here," said Napolitano, who is scheduled to take a helicopter tour of Mississippi's Gulf Coast on Friday. "We're going to get this done."

NOLA.COM: Napolitano, Donovan board buses to begin New Orleans tour

Two members of President Barack Obama's cabinet boarded buses Thursday to start assessing the Gulf Coast's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The two-day visit by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is their first to the region since Obama was sworn into office.

TORONTO STAR: U.S. security chief seeks to ease Canadian fears

OTTAWA – The new boss of the U.S. homeland security department rejects suggestions Canada and the United States have a "thickened border" because of excessive security regulation since 9/11.

Still, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, speaking to Canadian reporters in a conference call from Washington, signalled an important shift in American rhetoric from the Bush years, going out of her way to say an "important balance" between trade and security at the border needs to be struck.

Napolitano refused to divulge the "preliminary" results of a review she ordered of the Canada-U.S. border's "vulnerabilities." She portrayed it as an information-gathering exercise.

But she sought to allay Canadian fears that her review meant a further "thickening" of the border.

AP: Homeland chief orders gulf coast recovery review

WASHINGTON (AP) — In one of her first moves as Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano has ordered a fresh review of hurricane recovery efforts in the gulf coast 3 1/2 years after two killer hurricanes swept ashore.

In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing Wednesday, Napolitano said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will assign a new team of senior staff members to look at ways to improve hurricane recovery operations that have been under way since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of her testimony.

NY TIMES: Re-evaluation of National Security Ordered

WASHINGTON — The homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, is re-evaluating the largest federal program for testing the country’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks, one of several Bush administration initiatives she has ordered to come under review.

DHS: Secretary Napolitano Issues Bold Efficiency Review Initiative

EXCERPT: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today a department-wide action directive challenging every agency, component and office to generate new efficiencies and to promote greater accountability, transparency and customer satisfaction.

NY TIMES: Re-evaluation of National Security Ordered

WASHINGTON — The homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, is re-evaluating the largest federal program for testing the country’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks, one of several Bush administration initiatives she has ordered to come under review.

KASL LINK: Department of Homeland Security Secretary to Visit K-State

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit Kansas State University on Tuesday to highlight the importance of protecting the American food supply and agriculture economy from potential biological threats.

According to the Kansas Bio Science Authroity, Secretary Napolitano and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will tour K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute and convene a briefing with K-State officials, KBA president Tom Thornton, and other state leaders regarding food safety and the importance of research to be conducted at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

CNN: New homeland security chief dives right in

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In her first full week as the nation's homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano got a full dose of the job's diverse responsibilities -- responding to ice storms in the Midwest, dealing with Congress on budget matters and scrutinizing security plans for the Super Bowl.

DHS: Secretary Napolitano Issues First in a Series of Action Directives

On her first official day as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Janet Napolitano issued five Action Directives, all centered on one of the primary missions of DHS: Protection. In the coming days, Secretary Napolitano will issue other action directives focused on other missions critical to the department: Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Immigration.

ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Napolitano takes over Homeland Security

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has officially taken over as the third head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Just hours after Barack Obama was sworn in as president Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Napolitano as his pick to head the massive agency. Her appointment was approved on a voice vote. There was no roll call.

USA TODAY: Napolitano backs security tech

Gov. Janet Napolitano — President-elect Barack Obama's pick to run the Homeland Security Department — has strongly advocated using advanced security technology as a law enforcement tool, drawing praise from police and raising concern among civil liberties groups that warn about privacy invasion.

A Napolitano Nomination Could Signal Shift in Focus at Homeland Security

Multiple news sources are reporting Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has been selected by the Obama team as the next DHS Secretary.