Federal Bureau Of Investigation

Growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods on Chicago's northwest side, Luis Flores could have easily gone the way of many kids his age. Fatherless and financially struggling, Flores went to a high school where the dropout rate was more than 70%, the streets were ruled by Puerto Rican gangs and the odds were good that you would end up in jail, or worse, if you didn't get out.

An internal Justice Department report accuses the FBI of underreporting its use of the Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer information in terrorism cases, according to officials. The report, to be released today, also says the FBI failed to send follow-up subpoenas to telecommunications companies that were told to expect them, according to several government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report had not yet been released.

Angry lawmakers on Friday threatened to amend the USA Patriot Act and limit the FBI's powers in the wake of a disclosure that agents had improperly obtained confidential records of people in the United States.

Southern California's street-gang problem drew national attention Wednesday when the FBI announced that a South Whittier gang member sought in a brutal attack on two sheriff's deputies would be placed on its 10 most wanted list. Emigdio Preciado Jr., also known as "Junior," "Trigger," "Spooky" and "Snyper," will join a list that includes Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Colombian drug lord Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez and Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.

Victims blasted a cruise ship crime-reporting deal between the industry and the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday, calling it too little, too late. The agreement to report crimes -- something the industry says it has been doing for years -- was dismissed as a last-minute attempt to stave off regulation. The agreement was sealed Monday on the eve of the third congressional hearing on cruise safety in 16 months.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III struggled Tuesday to allay congressional concerns about management problems at the bureau, including a report of widespread abuse of its power to obtain phone, Internet and financial records without court oversight.

Iran said Wednesday that it would look into the disappearance of a former FBI agent, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. Iran replied to a U.S. request for information or help and asked for additional details about the missing man's travel itinerary, Casey said. The United States and Iran have no diplomatic relations, but the governments do exchange information through neutral Swiss diplomats in Tehran.

Southern California environmental groups have criticized an attempt by the FBI to build a permanent shooting range on land near the retired El Toro Marine base that once was designated to become part of a national wildlife refuge. The land -- which has been used as a temporary training facility by the FBI since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- was included in a 1996 agreement that created a 37,000-acre nature reserve stretching from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Orange County coast.

The FBI and the largest U.S. retail group are creating a computer database to track crime rings that steal as much as $37 billion in merchandise each year from department stores, restaurants and jewelers. Sears Holdings Corp. and Federated Department Stores Inc. are among the retailers that will share information with the FBI. The data will be stored in a secure national database called the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network, the National Retail Federation said.

An FBI agent who was killed Thursday when a stakeout team opened fire on three armed bank robbery suspects might have been shot accidentally by another agent, the FBI said. Agent Barry Lee Bush, 52, assigned to the Newark office, died after agents confronted three men suspected in a series of armed bank robberies. Two of the men were captured.