Government
A group of U.S. Senators recently introduced legislation that would stop the United States from entering into a 21st Century nuclear arms race.
The Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2018 is sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Markey... Read More »
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) is urging progression toward the Navy meeting its goal of a 355-ship fleet, which became policy when President Donald Trump signed the Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act into law last year.
Wicker, chairman of the Senate Seapower... Read More »
Federal officials are pushing for the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (PAHPA), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, to be signed into law this year.
In a discussion on Wednesday hosted by the Alliance for Biosecurity... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently praised the House advancement of legislation designed to reduce worldwide violence, enhance engagement, and address instability in other countries.
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Ted Poe (R-TX), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Bill Keating (D-MA) said the... Read More »
As a means of expediting the acquisition process, Air Force officials recently awarded more than 100 contracts to small businesses in 40 hours.
Officials said personnel from varied departments met at the AFWERX Innovation Hub in Austin, Texas to streamline contracting processes and develop new... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued three recommendations to improve how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspects air carriers and assesses foreign airports in regards to U.S.-bound air cargo.
The GAO examined the TSA’s screening process to monitor the... Read More »
The Accident Response Group (ARG), a group of technical experts within the Department of Energy (DOE) meant to respond to nuclear weapons accidents, has been regrouped into the Military Liaison Department, more closely aligning it with military interests.
Department officials hope that this will... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate S&T will host an event for first responders in the Houston area on new technologies available to them.
The event -- called the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Harris County Operational Experimentation (OpEx)... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has joined over 60 global health security organizations in calling for bolstered funding in the Trump Administration’s 2020 budget request to counter biological threats.
The groups forwarded correspondence to Secretary of Health and Human Services and Chair... Read More »
Thanksgiving 2018 was the busiest travel period in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA)17-year history.
More than 25.6 million passengers and crew members were screened, a 6 percent increase from 2017, and more than 15 million bags were checked.
The busiest travel day in... Read More »
Zoobia Shahnaz, from Brentwood, New York, recently pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Between March and August 2017, Shahnaz defrauded numerous financial institutions, according to prosecutors.... Read More »
During the recent NATO-hosted Mediterranean Dialogue Conference, representatives from six nations shared intelligence insights as a means of broadening the scope of challenges the region faces.
The NATO Joint Intelligence and Security Division welcomed to the NATO Headquarters Intelligence... Read More »
Five illegal aliens from El Salvador, currently wanted in their home country for various serious offenses, were deported last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations officers.
The fugitives were flown on a charter flight from the George Bush... Read More »
Kim Jong Yang of the Republic of Korea has been elected the new president of Interpol, a network of police forces from 194 countries around the world.
Kim has served as Interpol’s Vice President for Asia since 2015 and was the head of Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Seoul from 2011 to... Read More »
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) recently secured a $1.6 million federal grant to increase the La Salle County Fire Rescue Department's staffing level.
The lawmakers said funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate is working with public safety officials in the Houston-area to evaluate first responder technologies.
DHS, along with industry partners and 13 local Houston-area public safety agencies on a HAZMAT-related scenario... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Navy conduct a business case analysis as part of an effort to address attack submarine maintenance delays.
The GAO said the effort would assist in pinpointing maintenance workload allocation across public and private... Read More »
The next five years of focus for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be decided at the 23rd session of the Conference of the States Parties and fourth Review Conference beginning today.
For the next two weeks, member states will discuss budgets, programs,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) outdated BioWatch Program, launched in 2003 as an early warning system for potential bioterrorist attacks in the United States, is being replaced, a federal expert told members of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense on Nov. 14 during a report... Read More »
Dakota State University President José-Marie Griffiths has been selected to serve as a member of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) recently announced Griffiths appointment to... Read More »
There was a changing of the guard at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week, under which Boston’s Area Port Director, Clint Lamm, was officially made the organization’s Preclearance Director.
That new role puts Lamm in command of 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture... Read More »
President Donald Trump on Nov. 16 signed into law a bill that creates the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which establishes a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security to lead the federal government’s civilian response to cyber threats.
The CISA will be a... Read More »
Barnard Construction Company has received a $172 million Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Army Corps of Engineers base contract to build 14 miles of Arizona Primary Pedestrian Replacement Wall.
The total contract value, which includes up to 32 miles and options, is $324 million, with work... Read More »
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to ensure Congressional oversight of U.S. policy on Yemen and demand accountability from Saudi Arabia for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2018 would suspend weapons... Read More »
Against the backdrop of a spreading Ebola outbreak in Congo, where a worsening war has stymied U.S. aid amid increasing security concerns, the Trump administration is trying to wrap its arms around what is and isn’t working in biodefense against man-made, accidental, naturally occurring... Read More »
Law enforcement officials said a New York man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the... Read More »
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized $512,000 worth of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in four separate instances at Arizona’s Port of Nogales over the holiday weekend.
On Nov. 9, a Mexican woman was pulled from a tourist bus at the Mariposa Crossing, after which a... Read More »
The National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2017, which directs the Secretary of Transportation to work with the Secretary of Homeland Security and Commandant of the Coast Guard to establish, sustain and operate of a land-based, alternative timing system to Global Positioning System (GPS)... Read More »
The U.S. Senate passed a bill that includes new authorities for the U.S. Coast Guard to combat maritime drug trafficking and smuggling at the border.
The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (S.140) includes provisions related to maritime border security. It would further... Read More »
Rapidly evolving wearables and 3D printed devices are among the inexpensive and portable diagnostic tools on the market today, some of which can detect and diagnose disease in less than an hour for biosurveillance.
However, developing these devices on a much greater scale for biosecurity... Read More »
In the wake of several severe storms, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is using a probe device to assess soil conditions around bridge pillars.
S&T officials said hurricanes and heavy rains often cause strong, overflowing river currents that can... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) El Paso Field Office officials are advising travelers of potential border processing delays in the wake of recent personnel adjustments related to the caravan.
CBP officials said a large number of officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa, and Tornillo ports of... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security urging funding to strengthen security at places of worship.
The senators asked the committee to maintain the... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation this week to create the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The bill, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act (H.R. 3359), would reorganize DHS’... Read More »
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (USAF AFLCMC) has selected Rockwell Collins to provide combat fighter aircraft with Digital GPS Anti-Jam Receivers (DIGAR).
DIGAR receivers will bring highly-reliable navigation for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve F-16 aircraft operating in... Read More »