°µºÚ±¬ÁÏ

The FBI raised eyebrows last week with a document that details plans for a map-based app that would help the agency gather intelligence from sources like Facebook and Twitter. Translating tweets and developing "a dictionary of 'tweet' lingo" are among the app's desired functionalities.

The case of a former FBI agent who disappeared from an Iranian resort island nearly five years ago has come back into the headlines. His family has decided to tell the media, for the first time, about some developments in the case that occurred last year — including a video of the former agent, Robert Levinson, who is shown asking the government to work for his release. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston talks to Lynn Neary about the questions surrounding the case and the family's efforts to bring Levinson home.

Authorities said employees were buying and selling prescription drugs like Oxycontin and Xanax inside the plant that manufactures CH-47 Chinooks and other military aircraft. The FBI and DEA said they made the arrests using evidence gathered during undercover operations.

In one session, an intelligence analyst said the key to defeating militants was to go after Islam. The FBI said the training was "discontinued because it was inconsistent with FBI standards on this topic."

Programs aimed at keeping a lookout for potential terrorists are not about profiling, government officials stress. But an analysis of suspicious activity reports of incidents at the Mall of America suggests that the mall may be questioning people based partly on their appearance.

Experts have been watching with alarm the phenomenon of officials with limited experience selling themselves as terrorism instructors. A new report by a Boston-based group says independent organizations that provide counterterrorism training to law enforcement officials often stereotype Muslims.

Evidence emerged recently that former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran four years ago, is alive. The U.S. government says he is being held somewhere in Southwest Asia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is appealing to Iran to secure his release.