U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) recently introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, which aims to preserve the effectiveness of medically-important antibiotics used to treat human and animal bacterial infections. U.S. Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rosa … Read More
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) held a hearing last week to examine the effectiveness of emergency preparedness grant programs that allow locales to identify and respond to various disaster scenarios. Barletta, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP), in conjunction with the Joint Task Force-West, South Texas Corridor (JTF-W STC), recently apprehended a known human smuggler operating in Rio Grande City. Abigail Del Angel was arrested in a joint operation on Mar. … Read More
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced legislation last week to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply by addressing various threats posed by acts of agro-terrorism. The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Sen. … Read More
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee introduced two bills last week in an attempt to prevent identity theft by enhancing protections for social security numbers (SSNs). The first bill, titled the Social Security MAIL Act (H.R. 1513), would prevent … Read More
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) sent a public request last week to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, for a comprehensive oversight hearing on the various domestic threats on religious institutions and … Read More
Emergent Biosolutions Inc. on Friday signed a two-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) valued at $100 million for the delivery of the company’s anthrax vaccine, called BioThrax, to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The … Read More
In response to recent missile launches by the North Korean government, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford held a 30-minute telemeeting with the Chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Sun Jin-Lee to … Read More
Secretary General of Interpol Jürgen Stock recently addressed the Chiefs of Police Conference of South Asia and Neighboring Countries, stating that regional and global police cooperation has never been more essential in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. “In … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and agriculture specialists stationed along eight different South Texas ports of entry seized a series of shipments containing a large amount of narcotics, currency, false documents, while uncovering numerous agricultural violations over the … Read More
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently discovered that a naturally-produced enzyme called 25-hydroxycholestrol (25HC) protects animals against Zika virus infection and can be manufactured to create compounds against a broad range of viruses. Research for this … Read More
Over a series of targeted enforcement raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, a total of 248 foreign nationals were recently arrested in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware. ICE officials said the raids were specifically targeted at … Read More
According to a recent study at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Zika virus and dengue fever are so closely related to one another that the body’s immune system treats Zika like another version of dengue. The researchers … Read More
Democrats serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security recently appointed its members to the committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States. Democratic members on the temporary panel include U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), vice … Read More
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its epidemiological information to its website regarding Zika virus, which includes implications to the blood and tissue collection community. The new information includes data about areas with potential increased … Read More
During a recent Stanford University School of Medicine study, a combination of two cancer drugs inhibited both dengue fever and Ebola virus infections in mice subjects, despite the viruses being so different from one another. Results of the study were … Read More
The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently adopted a decision to condemn the use of the Schedule 1 liquid nerve agent VX, which was used in a fatal incident last month at the … Read More
A group of Democratic members of Congress recently sent a public letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), questioning how actions by the Trump … Read More
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued last week a Zika virus travel notice for Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, and the Solomon Islands. The CDC’s travel notices warn individuals, particularly pregnant women, to practice enhanced precautions when traveling … Read More
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was convicted by a federal jury last week on charges of accepting cash bribes and sexual favors in exchange for providing employment authorization documents and concealing the employment of an undocumented migrant … Read More
Congressmen of the San Antonio, Texas delegation recently introduced a cybersecurity preparedness bill to both the U.S House of Representatives and the Senate, aiming for better training for local authorities against cyber attacks. The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act requires … Read More
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG), an initiative launched by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently provided an update in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on ARLG progress, outlining its ongoing and future efforts. The leadership … Read More
According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, more actions are needed from federal agencies to strengthen transportation security for risk-significant radioactive materials during ground transport. GAO was originally asked to review federal procedures over risk-significant radioactive materials ground … Read More
At a meeting coordinated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) of Qatar, experts discussed the latest trends in chemical safety, security, and nonproliferation initiatives. The Fifth … Read More
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) chaired a cybersecurity hearing last week to examine various opportunities for enhancing partnerships between the private sector and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The hearing, titled The Current State of DHS Private Sector … Read More
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, discussing the unusually large outbreak of yellow fever in rural Brazil and how the situation … Read More
The State of New York recently received more than $5 million in federal Homeland Security grant funding for local governments across the state to enhance counterterrorism initiatives and strengthen public safety-related projects. The funding was announced by New York Governor … Read More
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Boston Conference on Cybersecurity last week and laid out the bureau’s five-part strategy to address various cyber intrusions. The conference is part of a partnership … Read More
During a hearing with the U.S. House Small Business Committee, a panel of experts said that the government must do a better job coordinating federal resources to protect the country’s small businesses from various cybersecurity threats. The hearing comes in … Read More
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday marked up a bill that requires a stress test of various U.S. government protection and prevention programs against potential terrorist attacks. The Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017 was … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed near the Laredo Port of Entry recently seized a shipment of alleged cocaine worth approximately $365,000. The incident occurred on Mar. 2, as agents stationed at the World Trade International Bridge in … Read More
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, released this week a terror threat snapshot for the month of March, which stated that homegrown jihadist cases hit a new high since the Sept. 11 attacks. “This … Read More
Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently captured 3D images of operating high explosive detonators for the first time. For the study, the research teams utilized state-of-the-art imaging systems with computed … Read More
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Toronto and Public Health Ontario, Canadians who reported travel-related illnesses after returning from the Americas were commonly diagnosed with dengue, but actually were infected with cases of Zika virus that … Read More
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit recently arrested a former Colombian National Army battalion commander who was wanted for charges of forced disappearance, homicide of a protected person, and weapons and ammunition … Read More
