Government
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) must address various management challenges, including aligning budgets with plans to modernize its nuclear weapons systems, according to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
GAO said its report was based on 13 different reports... Read More »
A bill that would expand the ability of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to collect information under geographic targeting orders (GTOs) to prevent money laundering for terrorist groups was recently introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA).
The bill, titled... Read More »
A bill that would establish a process for federal, state and local governments to work together to manage the use of recreational and commercial drones was recently introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
... Read More »
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently approved a series of bills that would provide authorizations for the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Maritime Commission, among other provisions.
The first of six bills passed by the committee,... Read More »
A bill that seeks to address the rising costs of disaster recovery, provide additional support for first responders, and reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the first time ever was recently advanced by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The... Read More »
As the third anniversary passes of the deadly Isla Vista, California shootings, which killed six people and injured 14 others, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill that would allow family members to keep guns away from those who have a severe mental illness.
The Gun Violence... Read More »
A bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen the nation’s homeland missile defense reliability and capacity was recently introduced in the Senate.
The Advancing America’s Missile Defense Act was introduced by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ted Cruz... Read More »
In the wake of the deadly bombing in Manchester, United Kingdom, which killed 22 people, U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) introduced two separate bills that aim to prevent would-be terrorists from traveling in and out of Western countries undetected.
The first bill, the Strong Visa Integrity Secures... Read More »
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this week, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) questioned intelligence officials on countering threats from North Korean chemical weapons and potential homegrown terrorists in the United States.
In speaking with Director of National Intelligence... Read More »
Officials with the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently signed an agreement to establish a joint Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which seeks to address new and evolving threats related to extremist financing.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said the... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry in California recently seized three separate shipments of illicit narcotics, totaling 370 pounds.
The narcotics, which included 316 pounds of methamphetamine and 55 pounds of cocaine,... Read More »
Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently requested information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its efforts in preparing for and responding to a potential Zika virus outbreak over the summer, when mosquito populations will be at their... Read More »
The United States appears ill-prepared to deal with a Zika virus outbreak although the nation’s federal public health agencies have learned valuable information during the last few years about the disease, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report released on Tuesday to... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Cornyn (R-TX) recently sent a public letter to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Anne Schuchat, regarding the agency’s coordination efforts with Texas public health agencies to prepare for the heightened risk of Zika virus... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Hidalgo International Bridge in Texas recently intercepted a large shipment of liquid methamphetamine valued at approximately $3.7 million.
The incident occurred May 14 when a 20-year old female U.S. citizen approached the bridge... Read More »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee recently held a hearing discussing the nation’s emergency alert systems and how technological advancements could alter their future.
“Outfitting first responders with the robust capabilities of broadband... Read More »
In the wake of the international WannaCry ransomware attacks, U.S. Reps. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) and Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) recently called upon the House Homeland Security Committee to hold hearings on the cybersecurity posture of the nation’s healthcare and lifeline sectors.
The... Read More »
A bipartisan bill to help mitigate security risks of potential foreign government espionage by collecting beneficial ownership information prior to the federal government leasing buildings for high-security purposes was recently introduced by U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Peter King (R-NY).... Read More »
A bill to provide state and local law enforcement offices with tools to combat cybercrime recently advanced the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 was introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX).
Ratcliffe’s bill authorizes... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), recently announced the availability of $6 million in funding for research in combating antimicrobial resistance.
The funds were authorized as part of the the 2014 Farm Bill and will be... Read More »
To achieve a goal of global health security, the United States must extend its legacy as a global leader through forward-looking policies, international partnerships, and continued investment into innovate medical advancements, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences,... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) recently introduced three separate bills intended to provide additional layers of protection for law enforcement officers across the country.
“My legislation stands for two simple propositions: First, America's law enforcement officers should be at least as well... Read More »
A six-week, nationwide gang operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit netted a total of 1,378 arrests across the country, the largest such operation conducted by HSI to date.
In total 1,098 individuals were arrested on federal... Read More »
A single engine marine vessel, carrying approximately 159 pounds of cocaine, was recently intercepted north of Arecibo, Puerto Rico by officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and the Puerto Rico Police Department.
The incident began as a CBP... Read More »
A malicious ransomware software known as WannaCry has recently infected more than 200,000 computer systems across multiple nations, forcing users to pay the equivalent of $300 in the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, before users regain access to their files.
The ransomware reportedly infects systems... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken numerous steps to reduce the risk of avian influenza, but needs a plan to evaluate its efforts going forward, according to a recent report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In preparing its report, GAO was asked to... Read More »
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti recently visited Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to hold a meeting with the country’s national authorities to discuss an effective response plan in regards to the recently-verified outbreak of... Read More »
President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order last week, which aims to strengthen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) role in securing federal networks from potential cyberattacks.
“Our nation’s economic and national security rely on a safe, secure, and reliable cyber... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) recently sent a public letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai requesting information on the reported distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattack on the FCC’s website and the ability of the agency to defend... Read More »
News on Friday about the reemergence of several Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) highlights the need for both a robust global and national health security strategy, said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, immediate past chairman of the public health committee for the Infectious Diseases... Read More »
In testimony provided to a Senate panel on Tuesday, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers stated that U.S. Cyber Command (Cybercom) is continually increasing its cyber mission forces’ readiness to hold targets that are at risk in the face of intensified international conflicts and cyberspace threats.... Read More »
A scenario-based discussion, centering around how the United States and the People’s Republic of China could better cooperate to address nuclear threats, was recently conducted amongst representatives from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the China Institutes of Contemporary International... Read More »
A 20-year old New Jersey man, Gregory Lepsky, recently appeared in federal court to face allegations that he planned to construct and detonate a pressure cooker-style explosive in support of the extremist group the Islamic State and Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Lepsky is charged with one count of... Read More »
The United States is continuing its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) Afghanistan branch by recently deploying its most-powerful, non-nuclear bomb on a network of underground tunnels which killed 36 members of the extremist group, according to the House Homeland... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued a statement of public support last week for the recent congressional passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which helps support a variety of infectious disease programs for public health benefit in the United States and... Read More »
