Government
By a unanimous voice vote, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week sent the FY2018 Intelligence Authorization Act to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
While funding for the bill was slightly lower than in the Trump Administration’s FY2018 budget... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) recently participated in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany, where DHS personnel delivered a presentation on preparing U.S. scientists to serve as expert... Read More »
In response to fiscal concerns raised by a number of sheriffs in Arizona, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently introduced legislation that would reauthorize a program to reimburse state and local governments for incarcerating undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents recently made a large seizure of cocaine after intercepting a fishing vessel along the Miami River.
The incident began as CBP agents, along with one Border Patrol agent, boarded the vessel to process four crew members and their cargo as they... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Friday it plans to acquire Sanofi’s ACAM2000 business, the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization against smallpox, in an all-cash transaction totaling up to $125 million.
ACAM2000 is the primary smallpox... Read More »
Border Patrol agents stationed along Interstate 5 near San Clemente, California recently made a seizure approximately 58 pounds of illicit narcotics during a single traffic stop.
The incident began as agents stopped a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox SUV driven by a 45-year old U.S. citizen. During... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Greg Walden (R-OR) recently sent a public letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regarding the Blue Ribbon Panel’s review of the 2014 smallpox virus incident on the NIH campus that called into question a number of missed opportunities to discover vials... Read More »
Botulinum toxin, produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, is the most potent biological toxin known to exist on Earth. The toxin causes botulism, a severe muscle-paralyzing, potentially fatal disease, characteristics that increase its likelihood as a potential bioweapon.
And while the U.S.... Read More »
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) signed a letter this week, accepting the plan laid out by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T to build a wireless public safety broadband network throughout Virginia, making it the first state in the country to do so.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
According to a recent update conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Defense (DOD) has identified an infrastructure manager for the chemical and biological defense program (CBDP) and is in the process of developing the position’s roles and responsibilities.... Read More »
In response to a recently reported cyberattack that targeted the nation’s nuclear facilities, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a statement condemning the attack while reiterating a previous call for a cybersecurity assessment by the Trump Administration.
“The disturbing reports of... Read More »
Representatives of customs agencies from member states to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently convened at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to consider improvements to the CWC’s transfer regime during a three-day training seminar.
In... Read More »
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is set to host 10 hazardous materials response teams from Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Nebraska for the 21st annual Hazmat Challenge, pitting each team against one another in a series of graded, timed exercises from July 10 to 14.
The event, held... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at ports of entry along the California border with Mexico recently seized more than 700 pounds of illicit narcotics, captured 13 fugitives from justice, and apprehended two would-be illegal undocumented immigrants over a series of... Read More »
California-based Border Patrol agents recently seized more than 40 pounds of heroin and 34 pounds of fentanyl over separate incidents.
The first event occurred as agents encountered a 46-year old man driving a 2014 Nissan Versa sedan near the Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5 in San... Read More »
A bill that aims to strengthen the nation’s preparedness of its food, agriculture, and veterinary systems against terrorism and other high-risk events through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was recently signed into law by President Trump.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep.... Read More »
In the wake of mounting reports that actors within the Russian government worked to compromise the 2016 President election, a group of Democratic House leaders recently announced a new task force that aims to ensure the health and security of the nation’s election systems.
Developed by House... Read More »
Following the international WannaCry ransomware attack, which has reportedly infected approximately 300,000 computer systems in more than 150 nations, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that aims to combat cyberattacks and cybercrime against U.S. computer networks.
The Promoting... Read More »
The United States Secret Service and the Bankers Electronic Task Force, a group of state bank regulators, recently issued a series of industry best practices for managing risks related to cyber threats.
The recommendations were made after recent reports of a new international ransomware... Read More »
In the wake of reports that a new ransomware attack has affected computer systems in multiple countries, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for strengthening cybersecurity for the nation’s energy systems before a major... Read More »
In the wake of a massive cyberattack that led to the closure of the largest terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) said she would be reintroducing a bill that aims to improve coordination between port landlords and tenants to address various cyber-related threats.
... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the San Ysidro Port of Entry recently seized more than $3.2 million in illicit narcotics during a single traffic stop.
The incident began as officers encountered a 50-year old male Mexican citizen, who was also a B1/B2 Visa holder,... Read More »
Currently, Dr. Jeffrey Laskin, director of the Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence, leads a team conducting research on the exposure and health effects of chemical warfare agents used by terrorists. The researchers are determined to develop medical... Read More »
In the wake of the international WannaCry ransomware attacks, reports have recently surfaced that another attack, potentially related to an existing strain of malware called Petya, has been infecting computer systems throughout Europe and the United States.
While little is currently known about... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona recently made a series of narcotics seizures and arrested four Mexican nationals over separate incidents.
The first incident occurred on Sunday as officers assigned to the Dennis DeConcini crossing... Read More »
A bill that seeks to enhance Congressional oversight of future Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) detainee transfers by closing a loophole that allowed the executive branch to keep secret the terms under which terrorist detainees were released was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) recently sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions requesting that he reenact Operation Streamline’s zero-tolerance approach to illegal border crossings and reverse actions from the Obama Administration that undermined the program’s intent.
Flake’s... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stationed at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and the PedWest facility in southern California recently seized more than $1 million in cocaine and apprehended a U.S. fugitive wanted for homicide in separate incidents.
The first incident began as San... Read More »
Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee recently sent a public letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly requesting information regarding plans to work with states to secure election infrastructure in the wake of intelligence officials confirming that... Read More »
Joint efforts from university and federal researchers have prepared a checklist designed to help strengthen communities against infectious disease outbreaks – and what they’ve learned is it’s a messy web to navigate.
The report was prepared against the backdrop of the 2014 Ebola crisis,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced 26 awards totaling $10 million for the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Grant Program, which seeks to address the issue of violent extremism in the United States through a series of community-led initiatives.
DHS said the... Read More »
In a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang and its role in proliferating illegal immigration along the country’s southern border, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) addressed the fact that lawmakers need to tune out both the far left and far right of the... Read More »
A group of Democratic members of the U.S. Senate recently sent a public letter to President Trump, urging the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct a thorough analysis of Russian cyber capabilities on the nation’s energy infrastructure.
The letter specifically called for directing the... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at various ports of entry along the California border with Mexico recently made a series of narcotics seizures that resulted in the interception of more than 230 pounds of illicit substances, valued at more than $1.4 million.
In total,... Read More »
Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), recently gave a speech to key U.S. State Department officials in a commemorative event to mark the Chemical Weapons Convention’s (CWC) 20th anniversary during his visit to the United States.
... Read More »
