Government
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was appointed to
serve as a commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe, or the Helsinki Commission.
The Helsinki Commission, founded in 1976, was
created to advance democracy and human rights through military, economic, and
environmental... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday issued a final rule that restricts both the use and distribution of Bacillus bacteria detection devices, which are prescribed to preliminarily identify and diagnose cases of anthrax and other infectious diseases.
“The FDA plays a critical... Read More »
A $96.8 million computed tomography (CT) systems contract from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was awarded last week to Smiths Detection, Inc.
The contract will cover the next five years, over which 300 CT systems and their affiliated equipment will be deployed at various... Read More »
Marine Corps Logistics Base personnel in Barstow, Calif., recently conducted a training exercise designed to enhance both man-made and natural emergency preparedness.
The Exercise Haber Rail effort involved a simulated rail tanker car carrying thousands of cubic feet of chlorine gas... Read More »
A mission by agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) seized more than three tons of drugs from a vessel off the coast of Central America last week.
The drugs, estimated to be worth $17 million, were plucked from a moderately-sized, open-bed fishing... Read More »
A group of Republican U.S. senators sent a letter to the
leaders of the Senate Budget Committee expressing their support for the $750
billion defense request in President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
The senators – including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dan
Sullivan (R-AK), Marsha... Read More »
Auburn University has secured $564,988 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds to develop projects designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of canines trained to detect explosives.
The funding allotment was provided through the DHS Science and Technology Directorate... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) recently led other agencies in conducting an active shooter drill at the airport's Terminal 4.
The CBP's Office of Field Operations at LAX joined forces with other federal and local law enforcement... Read More »
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a public health
disaster emergency for the state following the widespread flooding and flash flooding
that began March 13.
The declaration authorizes the Iowa Department of
Public Health to take the necessary actions to protect the public’s health. It
also... Read More »
Rep. John Katko (R-NY) introduced legislation to
create a cybersecurity advisory committee to help fight cyberattacks.
The Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) would
be comprised of cybersecurity professionals from every major business sector
that are responsible for protecting... Read More »
Air Force officials have selected Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to house the first operational B-21 Raider bomber and its formal training unit.
Officials also noted Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas, will receive B-21s as they become available.
"These three bomber bases are well... Read More »
The Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office at the Air Force Research Laboratory is seeking artificial intelligence (AI) industry input regarding incorporating artificial intelligence into its Skyborg unmanned combat vehicle.
SDPE office is seeking to develop Skyborg, a... Read More »
A U.S. Senate
bill aims to address the growing threat of white supremacists and other violent
right-wing extremists by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to
regularly assess this threat and provide training and resources to officers.
The bill, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act,... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would equip
state and local law enforcement with high-tech devices to detect dangerous
drugs like fentanyl.
The legislation – called the Providing Officers with
Electronic Resources (POWER) Act -- would create a new grant program through
the U.S.... Read More »
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) recently visited McAllen, Texas, to assess the situation along the southern border, meeting with law enforcement officials, landowners, agriculture producers, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
Challenges and resources needed to secure the border in a... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently questioned the Department of Defense's transfer of $1 billion in military personnel funding to an account designated for border wall funding.
Democratic members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on... Read More »
The White House appointed this week Hawaii Gov. David Ige as one of the two newest co-chairs of the Council of Governors.
Ige, along with his nine other council colleagues appointed this year, will serve a two-year term in their positions.
“Hawai‘i is home to the U.S. Indo-Pacific... Read More »
Huntington
Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division recently received a $1.47
billion, fixed-price contract from the U.S. Navy for the design and
construction of another amphibious transport dock.
The ship will be
a San Antonio class vessel,
supporting Marine Air Ground Task Forces... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen met this
week with senior officials from Mexico and other central American nations to
discuss border security and immigration.
On March 26, Nielsen met with Mexican Secretary of the
Interior Olga Sanchez Cordero and other senior Mexican... Read More »
Oshkosh Defense recently unveiled its L-ATV Ambulance at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala.
The ambulance enables Army medics and Marine corpsmen to keep up with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) while also offering protection for... Read More »
Recognizing the cybersecurity dangers posed by modern chip designs and accessible devices, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a new program dedicated to spreading scalable chip security through automation.
The Automatic Implementation of Secure Silicon (AISS)... Read More »
A bill recently
introduced in the U.S. House would provide blood testing for military
firefighters who were potentially exposed on the job to toxic chemicals.
The Protecting
Military Firefighters from PFAS Act would test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl
(PFAS) substances during annual physicals... Read More »
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency tested
two Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles (EKV), which destroyed a threat representative
intercontinental ballistic missile during a test of the Ground-based Midcourse
Defense System (GMD).
One EKV intercepted the target and the
other gathered test data in what is... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and Coast Guard personnel recently thwarted an attempt to smuggle 2,513 pounds of cocaine valued at $28.5 million.
Authorities arrested three Dominican Republic aliens found operating the vessel. Bales of narcotics were... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA)
Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) system successfully
completed a mission objectives test in February.
The test included unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with
CODE, which allow teams of systems to autonomously share... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force launched a new Infrastructure Investment
Strategy (I2S) that marks a significant shift in the way the Air Force
maintains its facilities.
In this new approach, the Air Force is using new analytics
and practices that better predict when work must be done. In essence,... Read More »
In an assessment of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) annually required reporting on 43 measures of border security effectiveness, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found data limitations and issues with statistical models.
It should be noted: most of what GAO... Read More »
A multi-agency examination
of shipping containers at the Area Port of Philadelphia discovered more than 1,100
pounds of cocaine on March 19.
The cocaine,
weighing 1,185 pounds, was discovered in a shipping container commodity of
natural rubber from Guatemala. The narcotics have a street value... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee
leaders are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) how it plans to protect consumer
privacy and increase data security enforcement activity.
Specifically,
they asked how the FTC would deploy resources if it received an additional funding
for... Read More »
As a means of bolstering forensics data gathering efforts, Marine Corps officials are updating the branch's Expeditionary Forensics Exploitation Capability (EFEC) with newer IT technology.
The EFEC, which is used to differentiate between friend or foe on the battlefield, also serves as a... Read More »
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
awarded BAE Systems a $3.1 million contract to continue developing autonomy software
for air mission planning for the military.
BAE Systems has created software called the Distributed,
Interactive, Command-and-Control Tool (DIRECT)... Read More »
While addressing the recent Commander’s Training Symposium (CTS), Navy Vice Adm. Richard Brown urged leaders to transition readiness into lethality, reinvigorate mission command and drive toward a culture of excellence.
“Driving to a culture of excellence is not a top-down management... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation (OSAI) have helped develop guidelines to aid building owners with operations evaluations.
The entities have partnered with the National Institute of Building Sciences... Read More »
More than 80 local, state, and territorial health
officials met Wednesday with Congress members with the goal of advocating for
public health funding.
The officials told Congress members that investing in public
health agencies is critical to protect and promote health. Federal... Read More »
Following last week’s terrorist attack on two New Zealand
mosques where the shooter live-streamed it on social media, U.S. Rep. Bennie
Thompson (D-MS) is calling on the CEOs of four major social media companies to immediately
remove violent terrorist content.
The request was sent to the CEOs... Read More »
