Government
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry recently arrested a 26-year old woman from Eagle Pass, Texas for narcotics smuggling.
The incident occurred on April 12 as the woman attempted to enter the United States though the pedestrian lane of the... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents working at various points of entry in California apprehended 28 individuals with outstanding felony warrants over the last week, two of which were wanted for homicide.
The fugitives were wanted on a litany of charges, ranging from larceny and... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) Executive Council convened last week to discuss allegations that the Syrian regime, led by Bashar al-Assad, conducted a chemical weapons attack on its own people.
On April 4, a chemical weapons attack occurred in the Khan... Read More »
According to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, combating the next infectious disease epidemic will rely on strengthening clinical research programs on investigational therapeutics and vaccines in developing countries prior to the next epidemic... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released this week its electronic device search statistics for FY2017, which details the number of electronic devices the agency searched from international travelers as they passed through its various checkpoints.
In total, the agency searched 14,993... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently began the extensive process to dismantle the international Kelihos botnet, which has facilitated thousands of malicious attacks and cybercrimes throughout the world.
DOJ officials said the botnet played a part in harvesting thousands of login... Read More »
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation recently advanced legislation that seeks to provide protections and resources for digital assets of small businesses at risk of falling victim to a cyberattack.
The Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust and Resilience... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) released the April terror threat snapshot, which found that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had merged with Al-Mourabitoun and Ansar Dine to form a new extremist group called Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. House members urged the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security this week to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NGSP), valued at
$50 million, as part of the fiscal year 2018 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.
The group was led by U.S.... Read More »
A pair of U.S. House members recently called upon the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to continue its funding of key U.S.-Israel defense cooperation programs.
U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Grace Meng (D-NY) sent letters to both Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) and... Read More »
The Georgia Department of Defense and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency recently co-hosted the Vigilant Guard 17 emergency-response exercise to test emergency first response capabilities during a potential disaster scenario.
The exercise was conducted in response to... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona recently apprehended two Mexican nationals and a U.S. citizen in connection to three separate narcotics smuggling incidents.
The first incident began as officers stationed at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently came out in favor of the bipartisan Reinvigorating Antibiotics and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) Act, which provides a new tax credit for new antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections and addresses unmet medical needs... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington recently arrested 84 foreign nationals during a three-day operation that targeted at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives.
Among those detained by ICE was a... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently reintroduced the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act, which seeks to address concerns regarding the safety of the nation’s rail, transit, highway, and maritime passenger and freight transportation infrastructure.
The group includes... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Friday it signed a $53 million modified contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in order to allow for future filling and deliveries of its botulism antitoxin to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
The contract covers a... Read More »
Throughout the month of March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed in Cincinnati seized 83 shipments of illegal synthetic narcotics, totaling more than 290 pounds.
Included in the seizures were more than 36 pounds of furanyl fentanyl, 233 pounds of the designer date rape... Read More »
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new strategic plan last week to improve the prevention, surveillance, and emergency response to infectious diseases on the continent.
Prior to its approval, the plan was reviewed by Africa CDC experts, the advisory and... Read More »
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price told members of Congress on Wednesday that the nation’s emergency preparedness and response ranks high on the federal funding list at his agency.
The goal of the Trump Administration is not to deconstruct HHS, Price... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross plans to make an announcement on Thursday regarding the signing of a 25-year contract for a public-private partnership to create the first nationwide public safety broadband network.
AT&T is the only publicly known entity that is being considered for the... Read More »
Sustainable federal funding to develop and stockpile medical countermeasures is critical to the security and public health emergency preparedness of the United States, panelists said during a Bipartisan Policy Center event on Tuesday.
And medical countermeasures are needed now as the United... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently introduced the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, which aims to reduce the flow of illicit fentanyl coming into the United States.
Cosponsors of the bill include... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) recently intercepted two vessels carrying more than 2,900 pounds of cocaine traveling in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
“This latest seizure provides a glimpse of the vigilance our experienced aircrews exhibit when... Read More »
During a Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing this week, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) received support from U.S. Border Patrol for enhancing security along the northern U.S. border with Canada.
The hearing comes in the wake of President Trump’s request for 5,000 additional border agents... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently reintroduced two bills aimed at improving cybersecurity standards for both cars and aircraft.
The first bill, the Security and Privacy in Your Car (SPY Car) Act, would direct both the National Highway Traffic Safety... Read More »
The United States must prepare for surprise attacks at home and abroad from traditional weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and from the new, emerging and largely unknown consequences posed by synthetic biological threats, a senior defense official told House congressional members on Thursday.
... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed this week the TSA Administrator Modernization Act of 2017, which seeks to address various leadership issues within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The bill was authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and is currently... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) recently hosted a Digital Security Challenge at its Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, which saw digital forensic experts and cybercrime investigators from 20 countries compete to gather evidence, identify a suspect, and... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently published an oversight letter, requesting specific details regarding the Trump Administration’s $999 million request for the planning, design, and construction of the first installment of the proposed border wall between the United... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released two requests for proposals (RFPs) to award multiple contracts, along with initial task orders, for the design and construction of wall prototypes to be used in President Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
The President’s... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced a bill last week aimed at providing state and local law enforcement the tools necessary to combat cybercrime.
The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 would authorize the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), based in... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a study examining actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have taken to manage the use of medically-important antibiotics in food animals.
For its review, GAO... 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 Buildings and... 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. 8 by JTF-W STC and the Starr County... 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. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who serves... Read More »
