Countermeasures
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding efforts to sustain its growing F-35 aircraft fleet.
The GAO said the F-35 fighter plays a key role in the nation’s defense. As of October, the United States and... Read More »
The European Commission granted marketing authorization to Merck for a vaccine to immunize adults against Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) caused by the Zaire Ebola virus.
The vaccine, called ERVEBO, can be marketed in the 28 countries that are members of the European Union, as well as European... Read More »
The U.S. Senate passed the Federal Advance Contracts Enhancement (FACE) Act, which requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to more effectively manage its advance contracts for goods and services.
Specifically, the legislation requires federal preparedness actions to be... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently awarded Transmute Industries, an Austin, Texas-based company, a $198,642 Phase 1 award to develop a proof-of-concept application for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The application must support... Read More »
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced last week the Stadiums Operating under New Guidance (SONG) Act, which empowers the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue temporary flight restrictions for stadium concerts and other events.
“Whether... Read More »
A group of public safety organizations recently agreed to work together to enhance global emergency communications systems that serve nearly 1 billion people.
Under the agreement, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the European Emergency Number... Read More »
Looking for ways to diagnose and treat infectious diseases in regions with limits health care and laboratories can yield some interesting results, but researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are working on the development of a lab-on-a-smartphone to help expand the currently... Read More »
A bill advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee seeks to reauthorize and increase funding for the northern United States border’s Operation Stonegarden program for the next five years, injecting $110 million into border security operations.
U.S. Sen. Jon... Read More »
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently extended praise to the FBI for stopping an attempted synagogue bombing in Colorado.
Reps. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Kay Granger (R-TX), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Brian Fitzpatrick... Read More »
Lockheed Martin recently demonstrated its ATHENA laser weapon system for the U.S. Air Force at the government test range at Fort Sill, Okla.
ATHENA, which stands for Advanced Test High Energy Asset, is a high-energy, transportable laser system designed to provide a cost-effective, anti-drone... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is embarking on a road tour to meet with small businesses.
The National SBIR 2019 Road Tour will begin with stops in Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We are continually seeking new... Read More »
The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) briefed the United Nations Security Council on issues related to Syria’s chemical weapons last week.
The UN officials expressed their support for the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the... Read More »
Three agencies under the Department of Justice umbrella have earmarked $95 million to support Tennessee public safety efforts.
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) funding allotment would target... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently sent a letter to members of the Trump administration urging the federal government not to do business with contractors that have forced labor or human trafficking in their supply chains of companies.
Two... Read More »
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has been designated as a Collaborating Center for Global Health Security by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Collaborating Centers are institutions that are selected to carry out activities and... Read More »
Techulon Inc. was awarded $785,000 to develop an antimicrobial that would kill drug-resistant bacteria by targeting specific genes critical to the bacteria’s survival.
The funding was from Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) – a global non-profit... Read More »
Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced Wednesday a bill to protect firefighters from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foams.
The Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances (PFAS) Act of 2019 has... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced a measure designed to address criminal and terrorist organizations’ use of the illegal tobacco trade to fund activities.
The Combating the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Act, which authorizes the executive branch to deny development and security... Read More »
A study conducted by Stanford University under contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been expanded to include new technologies capable of identifying viral reservoirs for both Ebola and Zika infections.
The study is part of a larger international effort to research how... Read More »
Researchers from Kansas State University say that a new risk assessment model for Ebola transmission accurately predicted the disease’s spread into the Republic of Uganda, opening the possibility of a better means of predicting disease spread.
"This is a very new type of model," Caterina... Read More »
Port of Savannah, Georgia, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized a port-record 2,133-pounds of cocaine via scrap aluminum and copper being shipped from South America to Europe.
“Drug Trafficking Organizations are relentless in their attempts to smuggle drugs into the... Read More »
Industrial technology firm FLIR Systems has launched the latest version of its handheld explosives trace detector, maintaining the Fido X4 delivers sensitivity for a broad range of explosives.
“Our new Fido X4 is mission-ready for all critical security applications – from high-volume... Read More »
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee recently held a hearing on the importance of the Department of Homeland Security actively combating the influx of deadly drugs across the Southwest border.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), a committee member, recently introduced new... Read More »
More than 40 experts from nine Central African nations met in October at an event hosted by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to advance biosafety and biosecurity in the region.
The event, held in Libreville, Gabon, was the... Read More »
A bipartisan bill designed to bolster science education and cybersecurity programs within various federal agencies was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
The Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (HACKED) Act Incentivize recruitment of cybersecurity educators... Read More »
Twitter suspended content affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah, following a request by members of Congress.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Max Rose (D-NY), sent a... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) blasted the decision by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to approve the exemption of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from the regulations for emergency planning and preparedness.
Markey, who serves on the committee, wrote to the Nuclear... Read More »
The Department of Interior recently decided to halt the use of non-essential Chinese-made drones or drones made from Chinese components pending a review of the program.
The exception would be drones used for emergency purposes.
All of the department’s 810 drones have Chinese hardware, and... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said an Austin, Texas-based start-up has secured funding designed to enhance security checkpoint operations.
S&T officials said the agency awarded $199,961.29 to Synthetik Applied Technologies to develop a... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force announced this week that the branch selected the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai to house the Air National Guard’s Space Control Squadron.
Officials said the effort would create a new, highly technical squadron to monitor satellites in support of the... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agreed to 11 tentative, reimbursable services agreements this week to boost cross-border trade and travel.
The agreements are an expansion of the Reimbursable Services Program that has been in place since 2013. All are public-private partnerships that... Read More »
This month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will deploy biometric facial comparison technology at three of the 22 pedestrian lanes through the Laredo Port of Entry.
The remaining lanes will have the technology installed during the first week of December.
The technology works by... Read More »
A bipartisan group of federal legislators introduced last week a bill to fight the spread of synthetic drugs.
Synthetic drugs are re-engineered to circumvent federal laws designed to outlaw them. The Stop Importation and Manufacturing of Synthetic Analogues (SIMSA) Act would allow substances... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the U.S. military installations that will be used to test 5G technology.
The bases picked include Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington; Hill Air Force Base in Utah; Naval Base San Diego; and Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga.
The four bases... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) officials said infrastructure owners and operators are urged to be alert in accordance with November being designated National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month.
Critical infrastructure (CI) plays an essential role in... Read More »
