►Tampa police are preparing for protests and other security concerns ahead of the GOP convention [1] scheduled for August. Police have spent $1.6 million so far on security items including 200 bicycles, 12 electric ATVs, seven Segways, 1,765 handheld radios, and various pieces of body armor.

►The Aurora shooter, James Holmes, spent months amassing weapons [2], ammunition, and body armor without raising suspicion by buying much of it online. Authorities say all of his purchases were legal. There are no restrictions on buying ammunition and only convicted felons are banned from buying body armor. As for explosives, authorities have not said how he acquired the materials he used in the attack on the theater Friday or the ones used to booby trap his apartment.

►Syria has acknowledged that it has both chemical and biological weapons [3], but said it would only use them in case of a foreign attack and never against its own citizens. “Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the stockpiles are secure, in an apparent response to widespread international concerns that they could fall into the hands of the disparate bands of rebel forces fighting the government,” the Associated Press reports.

►In other news, a new book explains how hackers use “chained exploits [4]” in sophisticated attacks. ♦ The U.S. has plans to send eight Raven UAVs to Kenya to help the country fight al Shabaab [5]. ♦ And a lab is working to created a shoe sole that would help track people in high security areas. “The concept is based on research that shows each person has unique feet, and ways of walking. Sensors in the bio-soles check the pressure of feet [6], monitor gait, and use a microcomputer to compare the patterns to a master file for that person. If the patterns match the bio-soles go to sleep. If they don't, a wireless alarm message can go out,” Phys.org reports.