The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation recently advanced legislation that seeks to provide protections and resources for digital assets of small businesses at risk of falling victim to a cyberattack. The Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust … Read More
Battelle recently announced it has entered into a research and development agreement with Nanotherapeutics Inc. to expedite the creation of new medical countermeasures for deployed military forces facing a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. The agreement … Read More
According to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a monoclonal antibody treatment, MR191-N, successfully protected nonhuman primates against both the Marburg and Ravn viruses even when administered five days after infection. The study was conducted by … Read More
In the wake of a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stated one in ten women infected with Zika virus gave birth to a child with virus-related effects, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators … Read More
Congressional leaders said they supported President Donald Trump’s authorization of a missile strike against Syria on Thursday in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians. Trump authorized the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles at a … Read More
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) released the April terror threat snapshot, which found that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had merged with Al-Mourabitoun and Ansar Dine to form a new extremist group called … Read More
According to a recent study conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, individuals previously infected with West Nile virus or dengue fever may carry an increased risk of complications should they become infected with Zika virus. In … Read More
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report assessing how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies have allocated resources and established collaborative mechanisms for effective border control operations. In recent years, GAO was tasked with … Read More
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced this week the Confidential Informant Accountability Act (H.R. 1857), a bill to require extensive congressional oversight over the selection and use of confidential informants by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of … Read More
A bipartisan group of U.S. House members urged the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security this week to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NGSP), valued at $50 million, as part of the fiscal year 2018 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. … Read More
Officials from the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) and the Army Material Command (AMC) recently called on the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) to provide assistance to increase efficiencies and reduce costs in the nation’s … Read More
A pair of U.S. House members recently called upon the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to continue its funding of key U.S.-Israel defense cooperation programs. U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Grace Meng (D-NY) sent letters to both Subcommittee Chairwoman … Read More
In response to recent reports of a chemical weapons attack in the Khan Shaykhun area of southern Idlib in Syria, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) condemned the reported use of chemical weapons and provided updates of … Read More
With laws and federal personnel in place, additional resources should be dedicated to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enforce the nation’s border security challenges, particularly along the southern border, said DHS Secretary John F. Kelly. “We face … Read More
The Georgia Department of Defense and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency recently co-hosted the Vigilant Guard 17 emergency-response exercise to test emergency first response capabilities during a potential disaster scenario. The exercise was conducted in response to … Read More
FLIR Systems, Inc. released this week the latest version of its flagship video management solution, FLIR United VMS 8.0, along with three new high-performance security cameras. The FLIR United VMS 8.0 is described as an enterprise-level video management system for … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona recently apprehended two Mexican nationals and a U.S. citizen in connection to three separate narcotics smuggling incidents. The first incident began as officers stationed at … Read More
Former members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection downplayed the idea that a wall alone would be enough to strengthen the U.S. southern border in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, framing it as part of a broader strategy. Speaking at … Read More
The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently announced an immediate investment of $24 million and up to $24 million in additional, milestone-based payments over three years to accelerate the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics to treat diseases … Read More
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently came out in favor of the bipartisan Reinvigorating Antibiotics and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) Act, which provides a new tax credit for new antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections and addresses unmet … Read More
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an organization under the direction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently began its Phase 2/2b VRC 705 clinical trial, testing an experimental DNA vaccine designed to protect against Zika … Read More
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington recently arrested 84 foreign nationals during a three-day operation that targeted at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives. Among those detained by ICE was a previously-deported Mexican … Read More
Raytheon Company’s AN/SPY-6(V) air and missile defense radar (AMDR) system recently acquired and tracked a ballistic missile test target during the system’s first dedicated defense exercise. The exercise was conducted at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in … Read More
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently reintroduced the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act, which seeks to address concerns regarding the safety of the nation’s rail, transit, highway, and maritime passenger and freight transportation infrastructure. The group includes U.S. … Read More
CryptoMove, a company specializing in active defense data protection, was recently awarded a $200,000 contract from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to strengthen Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) security. … Read More
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing last week to examine the nation’s 911 networks and any weaknesses that may exist within the system itself. The purpose of the hearing, titled Realizing Nationwide Next-Generation … Read More
Emergent Biosolutions said on Friday it signed a $53 million modified contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in order to allow for future filling and deliveries of its botulism antitoxin to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. … Read More
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators recently introduced the Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust and Resilience and Enhance Enterprise Technology (MAIN STREET) Cybersecurity Act, which aims to help small businesses protect their digital assets from cybersecurity threats. The … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) intercepted a go fast-type vessel this week, carrying approximately 3,500 pounds of alleged cocaine. The incident began as a CBP DHC-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft detected a suspicious vessel traveling … Read More
Throughout the month of March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed in Cincinnati seized 83 shipments of illegal synthetic narcotics, totaling more than 290 pounds. Included in the seizures were more than 36 pounds of furanyl fentanyl, 233 … Read More
Build out of the nation’s first wireless high-speed communications system aimed at connecting all of America’s first responders via a dedicated broadband network will begin this fall, says AT&T, the new primary contractor in a federal government contract valued at … Read More
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) chaired a House Homeland Security Committee Cybersecurity Subcommittee hearing last week to examine the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) continuing efforts to secure federal networks. “Federal law has deliberately tasked DHS with a critical role … Read More
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently outlined the organization’s efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB), one of the world’s most serious infectious diseases. In a joint statement, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and other NIAID officials … Read More
A bipartisan group of House members recently introduced legislation to increase federal penalties for making bomb threats and provide $20 million in additional funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help safeguard faith-based community centers across the country. … Read More
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report surveying the overseas inventory of Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation, along with various State Department assistance efforts in order to determine if any redundancies exist. Since the Sept. 11, … Read More
