Since 2011, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken steps to enhance its foreign airport assessments and air carrier inspection including aligning program resources based on risk and resolving airport access issues, according to a recently published report from the … Read More
A bipartisan bill to reform the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) organizational structure and to advance new security technologies was recently introduced to the Senate by U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). … Read More
Following reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contacted 21 chief state election officials whose election systems were targeted during the recent presidential election cycle, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) issued a statement questioning the … Read More
Members of the Qatar National Committee for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (NCPW) recently visited with leaders from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to discuss potential collaborative efforts on developing Qatar as a leader in biosecurity ahead of … Read More
The Ebola virus uses the body’s natural defenses to speed the rate of infection and cause its lethal effects, according to a recent study conducted by researchers with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). The study was … Read More
Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently sent a public letter to Comtech President and CEO Fred Kornberg, requesting a briefing regarding reports that company outages have prevented people from connecting with 911 operators. The letter was … Read More
Antibodies taken from patients infected with dengue fever are effective in treating Zika virus infection in rodents, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London and the Washington University in St. Louis. Found in multiple regions … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia recently intercepted an Ethiopian imposter using an immigrant visa. After arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the man presented officers with a diversity immigrant visa for … Read More
A bill that gives the children of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS workers the maximum Pell grant authorized by federal law was recently advanced by the U.S. Senate. The legislation, titled the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, … Read More
Raytheon’s Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) recently demonstrated its ability to acquire and track multiple threat-representative targets simultaneously during its third dedicated flight test held at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. “The speed, range, … Read More
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in tandem with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation’s NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd (NTP), recently completed conversion of its molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production process from highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which is frequently used for nuclear weapons … Read More
A five-year, $171 million contract was recently awarded to Emergent BioSolutions by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to supply the company’s Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion kit (RSDL), which protects human skin from chemical warfare agents and the T-2 toxin, … Read More
A roundtable discussion on the current landscape of biological risks posed by technology advancement in the fourth industrial revolution was recently hosted in New York City by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). While the … Read More
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in tandem with the Institute for Nuclear Physics (INP) of Almaty, Kazakhstan recently announced that the last remaining stores of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) have been repatriated from the institute’s VVR-K reactor. In total, more … Read More
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that it will be enhancing security measures for the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) in Latrobe, Pennsylvania as part of a larger strategy by the agency to better secure airline passengers throughout the … Read More
Following a decision by the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons and their eventual elimination, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Council recently pushed back against the move, stating that a total … Read More
Lockheed Martin’s prototype laser weapon system recently demonstrated its ability to deliver decisive lethality against unmanned aerial threats through a series of tests with the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command. The 30-kilowatt Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) … Read More
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently awarded a total of $11.5 million to a team of researchers from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, the University of Notre Dame and the Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) … Read More
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently sent public letters to the heads of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the global pharmaceutical company Merck concerning the NotPetya malware and its effects on drug … Read More
Two genes called Fut9 and SLc35c1, which regulate the metabolism of a particular sugar in cells, are responsible for making ricin so lethal to humans, according to a recently conducted study by researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Institute … Read More
Monaco, Syria and Bolivia, three Member States to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recently filed legal documents related to nuclear material protection, nuclear safety, spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management at a meeting of the IAEA General Conference. … Read More
Animals such as tayra, new world monkeys, sloths, porcupines, and coatis may be incubators for a parasite that causes Chagas disease, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Riverside (UCR). Despite affecting approximately 8 million … Read More
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently named John Bilich as the agency’s new permanent Chief Security Officer. Bilich, a former New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner of Operations, had most recently been serving as the Port … Read More
Two key provisions that will benefit Ohio-based defense manufacturers were recently secured as part of the Senate version of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In order to better protect aircraft within the 180th Fighter Wing based in Toledo, … Read More
In the wake of recent reports that Sputnik, a Russian radio network, allegedly used U.S. airwaves to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election cycle, members of Congress penned a public letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit … Read More
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, recently implemented visa sanctions on Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone in response to an overall lack of cooperation in accepting their nationals that have been removed … Read More
Fourteen confirmed cases of chikungunya virus have recently been diagnosed in Italy, six of which appeared in Rome with another eight appearing in the coastal region of Anzio, according to a recently published report from the World Health Organization (WHO). … Read More
Emergent BioSolutions said on Monday it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $63 million by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development of the first antidote spray device for treatment of acute cyanide poisoning. … Read More
A bipartisan bill was recently introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), aiming to establish a National Commission of the Cybersecurity of United States Election Systems. Based on a similar structure set by … Read More
A bill to help streamline and enhance intelligence sharing at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was recently advanced by the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation, titled the Unify DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act, was authored by U.S. Rep. … Read More
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced that U.S. Border Patrol will soon begin testing small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in an operational environment as part of a pilot program in late September. According to CBP, each … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced its intent to hire military veterans at the Military Job Fair scheduled last week in Baltimore, Maryland. “Customs and Border Protection is hiring, and we’re offering qualified candidates an opportunity to pursue … Read More
The Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) recently approved its FY2018 budget of $73.5 million, which will provide a focus on continued deployment, operation, and oversight of its nationwide public safety broadband network. The budget also includes provisions … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge near Laredo, Texas recently seized more than $9.7 million of alleged cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine over three separate incidents. On Thursday, Sept. 7, officers encountered a 2000 Ford … Read More
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a study on the capabilities and challenges of medical device technologies in order to assess their abilities to rapidly diagnose infectious diseases. As infectious diseases continue to pose a public health threat … Read More
