Morning Security Brief: Increase in Hate Groups, Warrantless Wiretapping Appeal, Pirates Kill 4 American Yachters, & More

♦ A new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says the number of hate groups in the United States surged last year. "By its count, there are now more than 1,000 active extremist groups in the U.S.," according to NPR.com "Experts say the largest increase comes from militias that consider the federal government their enemy."

♦ The Obama administration has appealed the first judicial ruling against the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program initiated after 9-11. "A San Francisco federal judge in December awarded $20,400 each to two American lawyers illegally wiretapped by the George W. Bush administration, and granted their counsel $2.5 million for the costs litigating the case for more than four years," reports Wired.com's Threat Level blog. "Although US District Judge Vaughn Walker had called it “unlawful surveillance,” the judge went soft on the government because the authorities, he said, believed they were protecting the country in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack on US soil."

♦ Somali pirates killed four American yachters they originally had taken hostage yesterday. "It is not clear why the pirates killed their hostages, either accidentally during a firefight or possibly out of revenge for the Somali pirates killed by American sharpshooters in a hostage-taking in 2009," reports The New York Times. "United States naval forces had been shadowing the hijacked yacht, called the Quest, and as soon as they saw a burst of gunfire on board, American Special Operations forces rushed to the yacht in assault craft, shot one of the pirates and knifed another. But all four hostages were already dead or fatally wounded."

♦ Chipotle Mexican Grill fired 450 employees from its Minnesota restaurants after they could not prove they were eligible to work in the United States. "The Denver-based restaurant chain previously hadn't disclosed how many workers were dismissed after a Department of Homeland Security audit of employees' work documents, saying only that it was in the hundreds," according to the Associated Press. "Chipotle disclosed the number in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chipotle says it requires all employees to have documents proving they are eligible to work in the U.S. but some workers may still be unauthorized."

♦ Hedge funds are bugging out. "In the wake of the massive probe into insider trading at hedge funds, in which feds have been able to level charges against individuals via evidence garnered from wire taps and covert recordings, hedge fund managers are having their offices and homes swept for listening devices," reports Business Insider based off of a Financial Times' report.