Countermeasures
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed a fiscal year 2019 close-out supplemental budget that triples funding for houses of worship and other nonprofit groups.
The funding is intended to enhance security against hate crimes and terrorist attacks.
The budget adds $1 million to the... Read More »
New Jersey lawmakers are calling for an increase in government funding to protect communities from hate crimes and domestic terrorism.
U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) are urging the federal government to increase funding from $90 million to $360 million for the Nonprofit... Read More »
BAE Systems recently secured a $175 million Navy contract to modernize the USS Vicksburg (CG 69) guided-missile cruiser.
The Vicksburg will undergo 18 months of work at the company’s shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, officials said, which serves as the ship’s homeport.
“Over the last few... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has received a $1.9 billion F-35 Joint Program Office contract to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet in 2020.
“The F-35 continues to deliver exceptional capabilities to the field, and this contract ensures F-35s are mission ready to meet warfighter... Read More »
Though everything might appear normal at first for Zika victims in the womb, according to a new report from a multi-institutional research group led by Children’s National Hospital, the long-term effects on Zika-exposed infants can fly under the radar.
In fact, in 77 out of 82 lab-confirmed... Read More »
Five members of New York’s congressional delegation recently sent a letter to top-ranking national security officials requesting an investigation into how foreign adversaries use social media to cause hate and civil unrest in the United States.
The letter was sent to Christopher Wray, Federal... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin following the U.S.-led airstrike that killed Qaseem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf stated that there... Read More »
In a series of catches made over the last two months of 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport intercepted 20 pounds of cocaine being transported by smugglers.
The amounts, which collectively accounted for around $280,000 in... Read More »
In a criticism of President Donald Trump, legislation has been introduced into both the Senate and House, respectively, which would require a debate and vote in Congress before any war with Iran would be allowed.
These War Powers Resolutions were introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Dick... Read More »
Curtiss-Wright Corp., a global company that provides highly engineered products and services to defense, industrial, commercial, and energy clients, recently completed a $132 million cash acquisition of 901D Holdings.
901D designs and manufactures mission-critical integrated electronic systems,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin processing migrants for return to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) at the Nogales Port of Entry.
This is the seventh port of entry where MPP returns will be made. Any migrants making illegal or entry at the Southwest... Read More »
In its last weekly report of the year, covering Dec. 18 to Dec. 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 29 new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease were logged in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The cases spread across four health... Read More »
A mission from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) spotted and intercepted a vessel in the Eastern Pacific last week, seizing 3,600 pounds of cocaine and arresting three Columbian nationals in the process.
The efforts were thanks to a P-3 Orion Long Range... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas seized more than $350,000 in marijuana over the final weekend of 2019. The seizures were the result of four narcotic smuggling attempts.
Three seizures were made Dec. 28.
Agents in Weslaco responded to a call about a suspicious man near Pharr, Texas. The... Read More »
A bill that would ensure that U.S. military service members are provided with ballots and registration cards necessary to vote while deployed overseas was signed into law by President Donald Trump.
The Military Voting Protection Act – introduced by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) – was included... Read More »
Though a vaccine for Valley Fever remains out of reach, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took time at the end of the year to list out all of the accomplishments made to bolster action against the disease over the past year.
“In order to fight this orphan disease, increasing awareness and... Read More »
In a recent study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) discovered that intravenous tuberculosis (TB) vaccination provided significantly greater protection than traditional injections in... Read More »
An allotment of $1.1 million in federal funds has been earmarked for the inaugural Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Manoa.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted the funds were included in the spending... Read More »
The U.S. Marines put a new amphibious combat vehicle (ACV) to the test this month, subjecting it to maneuverability and performance tests during low-light and night operations at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
“I am loyal to tracks, but the more I learn about these vehicles, the more impressed I get... Read More »
Lockheed Martin exceeded its joint government and industry delivery goal for 2019, delivering 134 F-35 aircraft.
The goal for the year was 131 aircraft. The deliveries represent a 200 percent production increase from 2016 and a 47 percent increase from 2018.
"This achievement is a testament... Read More »
U.S. Space Operations Command (SPOC) became official on Dec. 20 after Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett re-designated the Fourteenth Air Force.
Air Force military and civilian personnel previously assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force are now assigned to SPOC. The SPOC supports the U.S.... Read More »
Motorola Solutions was awarded a $23.8 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense to sustain the U.S. Navy’s enterprise land mobile radio (LMR) system.
The LMR system is used to coordinate the deployment of the first responder community at Navy bases. The LMR system connects Navy... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending package that includes $25 million for gun violence research.
The bill—sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) -- now moves to the Senate for consideration. The Senate will vote on final passage in the coming days.... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently advanced a bipartisan bill designed to fight international corruption.
The Combatting Global Corruption Act (S. 1309), introduced by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Todd Young (R-IN), would encourage greater transparency in U.S. foreign and security assistance and publicize... Read More »
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have discovered that outbreaks of human disease may be due to genetic mutations and that viruses may change as they expand their geographic range.
The researchers studied how the Zika... Read More »
BAE Systems has secured a $2.68 billion Navy contract for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity purchase of thousands of additional Advanced precision kill weapon system (APKWS) Laser-Guided Rockets.
“Our armed forces customers are looking to apply just the right amount of force at the right... Read More »
The announcement last week that antibiotic maker Melinta had descended into Chapter 11 bankruptcy highlighted the problems facing the antibiotic industry, as well as the danger corporate issues could cast over medication availability.
Melinta was the second antibiotic producer to file for... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Angus King (I-ME) and Jim Risch (R-ID) commended the enactment of a bill they introduced that would develop defenses for the U.S. energy grid.
The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which passed as part of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, would seek to develop defenses... Read More »
The Senate recently passed legislation that authorizes $75 million annually for the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program for fiscal years 2020 through 2024.
The program provides grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations to protect against a potential... Read More »
A group of Democratic lawmakers recently crafted legislation designed to combat Valley Fever through enhanced diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine development.
Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), TJ Cox (D-CA), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Josh Harder (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Ann... Read More »
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) recently introduced legislation classifying seven Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) as defined by section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The Identifying Drug Cartels as Terrorists Act would... Read More »
President Donald Trump signed the $738 billion defense bill into law last week, which includes funding to create the sixth branch of the military – the U.S. Space Force.
“Today [also] marks another landmark achievement as we officially inaugurate the newest branch of the military [United... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) established the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.
This leadership consortium will encompass NIAID’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs). NIAID, which is part of the National Institute of Health (NIH),... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has delivered a cautious appraisal of the federal spending bill for FY 2020, noting that while it will strengthen public health and research efforts, it undercuts -- at Americans’ peril -- HIV investment and immunization efforts, among... Read More »
It’s a disease that’s killed millions of pigs globally, crippled farming, and has no cure. African swine fever has devastated the Asian pork industry, as China has culled about half of its total swine population since the disease took hold of that country in August 2018.
Outbreaks of African... Read More »
