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WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shopping mall operators need to increase security through more staff, cameras and other techniques in light of threats made against the Mall of America in Minnesota and other shopping centers by Somali-based Islamist militants this week, outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said.

"I certainly think we have to step up our sensitivities to what goes on in these commercial enterprises," Holder said in an interview with CNN that aired on Friday. "It would be the responsible thing for operators of these malls to increase their capabilities when it comes to keeping people safe who are just going about their everyday lives."

In a separate interview with Politico, also published on Friday, Holder said he would push in his final weeks in office to lower the standard of proof for civil-rights offenses that would make it easier for the federal government to bring charges in future cases.

The Justice Department recently closed its investigation into the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, without filing charges against gunman George Zimmerman because of "insufficient evidence."

"I think that if we adjust those standards, we can make the federal government a better backstop - make us more a part of the process in an appropriate way to reassure the American people that decisions are made by people who are really disinterested," he told Politico.

The Senate is expected to confirm Loretta Lynch, his successor, next month.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Susan Heavey)

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Eric Holder: U.S. Malls Should 'Step Up' Security

WASHINGTON Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder says he wants Congress to make it easier for the feds to intervene in civil rights cases.

In exit interviews as he wraps up his six-year tenure, Holder floated the idea of lowering the standard of proof just hours after the federal government declined to file charges in the case of the shooting death of unarmed black Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

There is a better way in which we could have federal involvement in these kinds of matters to allow the federal government to be a better backstop in examining these cases, Holder told NBC.

His proposal comes as the Justice Department is nearing an announcement following the investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

The feds also are investigating the choking death of Eric Garner while in police custody on Staten Island.

In the Martin case, a Florida jury acquitted shooter George Zimmerman of murder.

I think some serious consideration needs to be given to the standard of proof that has to be met before federal involvement is appropriate, and thats something that I am going to be talking about before I leave office, Holder told Politico.

One of the chief difficulties facing the feds under current law is that they need to establish that it was a suspects intent to violate a victims civil rights. Any changes would require action in the Republican Congress where the House voted in 2012 to hold Holder in contempt for withholding documents.

Holder has announced his retirement. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed the nomination of Brooklyn US Attorney Loretta Lynch to succeed him. Lynch still needs full Senate confirmation to fill the job.

Holder said he is writing a letter to Martins parents. [O]ne of the things its certainly going to talk about is my admiration for the way in which they have conducted themselves, he said.

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Holder wants Congress to make it easier to intervene in civil rights cases

Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder expressed his "great concern" over the threat of homegrown violent extremism in the U.S. It comes as the FBI director James Comey said this week that the bureau was investigating potential ISIS suspects in all 50 states. On Wednesday, three Brooklyn residents were charged with conspiring to support the militant network.

"It's something that keeps me up at night, worried about what these homegrown violent extremists are potentially capable of doing," Holder told CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues.

However, he believes the U.S. is winning the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"I think if you look at the recent battlefield successes that we've had, plans that are underway with regard to Mosul for instance, the degradation of ISIL leadership, I think we are winning," Holder told CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues. "This is not a battle that's going to be won overnight. It will take time, but I think ultimately ISIL will be destroyed."

Holder also said the country is safer now than before the Obama administration came into office.

"Al Qaeda's core, I think, has been decimated, but its offshoots are now things that we have to be concerned about, that we were not concerned about when I think this administration started. And then the homegrown ... component to this struggle is something that is that is new," he said.

In the interview, he also said he stands by his comments about police and race. He said "hard truths" need to be faced.

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Eric Holder: Homegrown terror threat "keeps me up at night"

TIME Politics Justice Department President Obama Gives Teary Send Off to Attorney General Holder Attorney General Eric Holder's official portait Image Courtesy of the Department of Justice Notes Attorney General Eric Holder's stance on civil rights in his parting address

The President got misty-eyed during the unveiling of Attorney General Eric Holders official portrait Friday when he shared a story about the impact he believes Holder has had outside of the Department of Justice.

President Obama said he hosted a number of young men who are mentees under his My Brother Keeper initiative, which is celebrating its first anniversary, for a White House lunch on Friday. As the students, all black and Latino young men from the around the Washington area, went around the table sharing their life aspirations, one shared that he wanted to be the attorney general when he grew up. That moment clearly touched the President, who wiped away tears as he shared it with the departing Attorney General.

I think about all the young people out there who have seen you work and have been able to get an innate sense that youre a good man, President Obama said. Having good men in positions of power and authority who are willing to fight for whats right thats a rare thing. Thats a powerful thing.

Obama listed the Attorney Generals accomplishments as the third longest-serving and the first African American to hold the job. Throughout his tenure Holder made criminal justice reform and championing civil rights a priority of the department, including his recent efforts to challenge strict voting laws.

During his prepared remarks, a teary-eyed Holder said that there was still work to be done on civil rights and criminal justice reform.

Make no mistake. We still have unfinished business and work to do, Holder said. In the defense of our nation we must always adhere to the values that define us. And, at all costs, the right to vote must be protected.

The unveiling came just days after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the nomination of Loretta Lynch, who was tapped to replace Holder. The President said the Department of Justice is being left in outstanding hands.

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President Obama Gives Teary Send Off to Attorney General Holder

Holder would not confirm in an interview with CNN's Justice correspondent Pamela Brown the suspected terrorist's identity or reveal whether the U.S. government knows where "Jihadi John" is -- but he insisted America will not relent in bringing to justice the man seen in ISIS videos showing the beheadings of U.S. hostages and other Westerners.

READ: ISIS militant 'Jihadi John' identified

"Whether it's through the use of our military or the use of our law enforcement capacity, if you harm Americans it is the sworn duty of every person in the executive branch to find you and hold you accountable, and we will do that," he said.

Holder, who will be leaving his post in the coming weeks, sat down for an interview with CNN at the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters Thursday in Washington D.C.

Brown pressed Holder asking, "Do you think we would go as far as to send U.S. troops to find Jihadi John and hunt him down?"

"I wouldn't put anything off the table," Holder said.

The attorney general also admitted the threat of a lone wolf attack inside the United States keeps him awake at night.

In light of a recent video urging attacks on shopping malls in the U.S. and other countries, Holder said malls should increase security to help prevent such attacks.

The video released last weekend by extremist group al-Shabaab, a group designated by the US government as a terrorist organization. The video pecifically named the Mall of America in Minnesota and appeared to be designed to inspire terrorist attacks similar to the one on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, two years ago in which 60 people were killed after a four-day standoff.

"I certainly think we have to step up our sensitivities to what goes on in these commercial enterprises," Holder said. "I think it would be the responsible thing for operators of these malls to increase their capabilities when it comes to keeping people safe who are just going about their everyday lives."

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Eric Holder: I'm worried about lone wolf attacks