A federal judge in San Francisco signed off on a court order for cellphone customer data, which was then used by FBI investigators to quietly justify the deployment of a powerful surveillance technology known as “stingrays,” privacy groups contend in a new court filing.

The nation’s vast network of anti-terrorism “fusion centers” for law enforcement have produced shoddy, untimely and often useless intelligence reports that have done little to keep the U.S. safer, a scathing U.S. Senate report concludes.

The watchdog agency that polices the Homeland Security Department for waste, fraud and abuse may have given the wrong impression on the extent of crimes committed by immigration officers, border agents and other employees in a recent summary report of its accomplishments.

In the latest sign of trouble for the Homeland Security Department's inspector general, the agency has removed five oversight reports from its website pending an internal review of a possible conflict of interest.