Countermeasures
A group of Democratic Senators recently questioned Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the decision to begin fielding W76-2 “low-yield” nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads.
“We write to express our concern about the recent decision to begin fielding the W76-2 low-yield... Read More »
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would give National Guard and Reserve members equal hazard duty incentive pay (HDIP).
The bill was sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Similar legislation has already been introduced in the House.
“The... Read More »
The United States is struggling to implement a National Biodefense Strategy, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review, but there are additional efforts that could make the strategy more effective.
GAO first recommended that the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary should... Read More »
According to Dr. Amos Danielli, of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering at Bar-Ilan University, 15 minutes may be all it takes to diagnose cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), thanks to a new diagnostic technology.
While existing methods of diagnosing COVID-19 take around one hour,... Read More »
New legislation proposed by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Angus King (I-ME) seeks to create a permanent fund to encourage quicker responses to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently launched biometric facial comparison technology at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.
The technology is intended to secure and streamline international travel.
CBP has processed more than 43 million travelers using biometric facial... Read More »
A group of Senate Democrats expressed concerns to Trump Administration officials about the relative lack of resources to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
The request follows the release of the Trump Administration’s new budget proposal, which suggested cutting public health and... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force recently completed flight testing of the Collins Aerospace Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS) sensor, SYERS-2C, on the U-2.
The entire U-2 fleet has been upgraded with this sensor capability, which provides increased optical performance and accurate... Read More »
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) recently released a plan outlining counterintelligence approaches to threats that have evolved significantly since the last report in 2016.
The National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States of America 2020-2022 lists five... Read More »
In March, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) and the International Alliance for Biological Standardization (IABS) will co-host a Brussels-based meeting on the licensing of vaccine platform technologies, to consider the potential benefits of the new registration procedure.
This, the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has announced it is teaming up with Sanofi Pasteur to mix the authority’s expertise and funds with Sanofi’s egg-free, recombinant DNA platform to try and produce a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-TX) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) sent a letter to both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the development of medicine to combat Valley Fever.
Valley Fever is a fungal infection that can cause fever,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released funding opportunities for eight preparedness grant programs totaling nearly $1.8 billion.
The grant programs provide funding to state and local governments, as well as transportation authorities, nonprofits, and the private sector, to... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) is bringing enhancements to the FirstNet network in New Hampshire ahead of schedule.
AT&T and Gov. Chris Sununu recently hosted an event to celebrate.
FirstNet is a nationwide, wireless communications platform for first responders... Read More »
A new milestone in the fight against Ebola was achieved last week with the announcement that Merck’s injectable vaccine, Ervebo, has been licensed for use against Ebola in four nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Ghana, and Zambia.
Additional registrations of the... Read More »
As part of the response to the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak worldwide, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week outlined its efforts to facilitate diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the disease, keep an eye on the medical product supply chain and maximize the... Read More »
Legislation recently introduced in the House of Representatives would establish a Border Enforcement Security Team (BEST) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) focused solely on reducing arms trafficking.
There are currently 57 security teams within DHS, but none with this dedicated... Read More »
The Department of Defense has transferred $3.8 billion to fund President Donald Trump’s southwest border wall, of which democrats on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee strongly disapprove.
They recently voiced their opposition in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
The... Read More »
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) authored an article in The Journal of Infectious Diseases that updates the institute’s progress on tuberculosis (TB) research.
Specifically, the article summarizes recent progress in improved TB diagnostics,... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently called on the Department of Health and Human Services to set guidelines for how state and local governments will be reimbursed for costs incurred while assisting the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Many state and local health... Read More »
Since the rapid outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wuhan, China, and beyond, numerous governments have restricted travel to and from China, but a new university-run study reminds one and all that the effectiveness of travel bans remains unknown.
While the World Health Organization... Read More »
Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, is also a production hub for pharmaceutical ingredients for the United States. As the virus spreads throughout China, the U.S. drug supply remains vulnerable to reduced production and export of essential materials. There are 400 drug... Read More »
With the growing weight of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) felt at home and abroad, members of the Senate have grown increasingly uncomfortable with a nearly two-year-old vacancy for a national senior public health security expert -- and last week, 27 of them pushed for a change.
The vacancy... Read More »
Implementing autonomous-vehicle technology would make U.S. Army convoys safer by reducing the number of service members needed to operate the vehicles, according to a study by RAND Corp., a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges.
“With current technology,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) said the federal government must strengthen its capacity to produce pharmaceuticals to fight the novel coronavirus.
“For years, I have fought to ensure that funds are available in case of a public health emergency, and I was assured the Administration has the... Read More »
U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office awarded a contract to BAE Systems to develop technology to help detect weapons of mass destruction (WMD) activity.
The analytics technology will leverage multiple data sources and uses data fusion, adversary... Read More »
While the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has prompted a public health emergency declaration in the United States and renewed global concerns over pandemics, the White House 2021 budget would cut programs that help prevent infectious disease outbreaks and earned the ire of the Infectious Diseases... Read More »
Over the course of a two-day forum this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) brought together leading health experts and major research funders to discuss COVID-19.
They addressed the novel coronavirus from all angles: assessing current knowledge, identifying gaps, and collaborating on the... Read More »
Threats in the public areas of airports have increased, prompting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a recommendation to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administrator.
The recommendation suggests the administration develop a plan outlining roles and... Read More »
Programs that promote election security and combat cyberthreats will be fully funded in the next fiscal year’s budget, a DHS official confirmed at a Senate hearing.
The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) program as well as the Election Infrastructure Information... Read More »
Legislation was introduced this week to authorize a new grant program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities on government networks.
State and local governments have been frequent targets of cybercriminals. In 2019, ransomware attacks hit... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to add a new layer to its relationship with Janssen Research & Development as part of efforts to contain COVID-19 -- the 2019 novel coronavirus -- through shared R&D costs on the company's investigational vaccine.
The Biomedical... Read More »
The FBI Internet Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2019 Internet Crime Report found that last year, internet-enabled crimes spawned the highest number of complaints and losses since May 2000.
In all, IC3 took in 467,361 complaints in 2019 and tracked more than $3.5 billion in losses among individuals... Read More »
A recently introduced bipartisan bill would bring the Border Patrol pay system in line with other federal law enforcement agencies.
The Border Patrol Pay Security Act would ensure agents who work more than 80 hours per week would receive overtime pay at time and a half their normal rate. It... Read More »
The Trump Administration launched a new website called Schoolsafety.gov, which is a resource for kindergarten through grade 12 administrators, educators, parents, and law enforcement to prepare for various threats to safety and security.
"School safety is the number one priority of parents... Read More »
