Espionage arrests, Visa rules relaxed

Espionage arrests

A Pentagon analyst and a former Boeing engineer were arrested on unrelated charges that they passed secrets to the Chinese government. Weapons analyst Gregg Bergersen, arrested in Virginia, was charged with providing Chinese agents information about arms sales to Taiwan. In California, the FBI arrested former Boeing employee Dongfan Chung and charged him with stealing information about the space shuttle. The cases are not connected, but officials say the arrests highlight the threat of Chinese espionage.

Visa rules relaxed

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Battling a backlog of visa applications, federal authorities relaxed requirements for FBI background checks of immigrants seeking permanent residency in the U.S. More than 1.5 million people a year request the so-called green cards. Under the relaxed rules, applicants’ fingerprints will still be checked against a federal criminal database, and their names checked against a terrorist watch list. But applications won’t be held up while a more extensive FBI investigation is being completed.