Countermeasures
After nearly a year of battling an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo without success, the World Health Organization (WHO) this week declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The declaration means the outbreak now poses a considerable... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Colorado State University (CSU) have partnered to advance the development of a Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus vaccine.
The European Union’s (EU’s) Horizon 2020 program enabled CEPI to provide up to $9.5 million to the university... Read More »
After accessing the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 2019 Border Security Improvement Plan, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending CBP ensure the guideline addresses statutorily required elements.
GAO’s assessment stems from an effort to examine the extent to which the... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force has issued a request for proposals for five production lot options to produce and deploy its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system.
The effort stems from the branch’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase.... Read More »
Indiana’s South Bend International Airport (SBN) opened its new General Aviation Facility this week, granting a new home for general aviation, charter and scheduled international flights.
The facility comes with several advantages for the airport. For one, it grants the option for flights to... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations panel, said Tuesday that there needs to be a national fentanyl-response strategy to combat a rising number of opioid-related deaths.
Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic... Read More »
A bill that would prohibit the removal of Chinese telecom company Huawei from the Commerce Department Entity List without an act of Congress was introduced in the U.S. Senate Tuesday.
The Entity List identifies entities reasonably believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DOD) recently released Digital Modernization Strategy, which replaces the 2014 Resources Management Strategic Plan and outlines the department’s implementation of information technologies.
The strategy addresses artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, the cloud, and... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is committing $35 million for a new DHS Center of Excellence for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research (TPCR).
Colleges and universities in the United States are invited to submit proposals to serve... Read More »
With an outbreak of Ebola continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations (UN) hosted Monday a high-level meeting that reaffirmed support for their system-wide approach to combating the disease and reaffirmed support for the government-led response.
The disease has... Read More »
A new amendment advanced by the House last week will require the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD) to investigate claims that the DOD weaponized Lyme disease in ticks and other insects from 1950 to 1975.
The amendment was introduced by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who has... Read More »
House and Senate lawmakers have approved a measure restoring grant funding for law enforcement support services, enabling the establishment of suicide-prevention programs and mental health services.
The Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis Act was co-sponsored by Sen. Martha McSally... Read More »
Rep. Susan W. Brooks (R-IN) recently expressed her support of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), citing its ability to prioritize national security and provide military readiness funding increases.
She had previously voted against the House edition NDAA and... Read More »
With measles outbreaks growing globally by as much as 300 percent in the first three months of 2019 alone, public health experts are calling for action through strong political support and equally strong public health systems.
"In a globalized society in which we are all connected, a disease as... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Squad X Experimentation program has field tested technology that allows infantry squads to collaborate with artificial intelligence and autonomous systems to make decisions in complex, time-critical combat situations.
The test was... Read More »
The U.S. government is planning to invest additional funding in F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, President Donald Trump announced last week during a visit to Derco, a Milwaukee-based aircraft supplier.
"From here in Milwaukee, you are supporting magnificent aircraft, and soon you'll support the... Read More »
The Rhode Island Department of Health will receive $5.4 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The bulk of the funding, through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement, will be used to prepare for natural disasters and public health... Read More »
At an event on Google’s campus known as the Text-to-911 Translation TechFest, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) joined with the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute focused on public safety communications improvements that could... Read More »
House legislators have adopted an amendment prohibiting U.S. sales of nuclear power equipment to Saudi Arabia without safeguards preventing nuclear weapon development.
Officials said the House adopted the language as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to... Read More »
Citing the disabling of smuggling and trafficking as a national intelligence priority, Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced last week a measure to address the matters along the border.
The Trafficking and Smuggling Intelligence Act of 2019 ensures the intelligence... Read More »
An effort similar to the Manhattan Project — in which American-led R&D produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II — is needed now in defense against the growing global threats posed by infectious diseases and bioterrorism, sources said Thursday during a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on... Read More »
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) maintains a recently completed audit determined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacks contract management policy and guidance.
The OIG said DHS components did not always properly solicit, award, and manage contracts according to federal and... Read More »
Reps. Paul Cook (R-CA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced Wednesday a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment as a means of aiding military bases sustaining recent earthquake damage.
The amendment includes damages sustained at Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin, and Naval Air... Read More »
The House this week advanced a measure introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), following similar successful efforts in the Senate, and raising the potential to prosecute the possession of biological toxins.
The Effective Prosecution of Possession of Biological Toxins and Agents Act of... Read More »
The Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act, which would improve mental health treatment and support for our nation’s law enforcement officers, now heads to the president’s desk for signature.
The bill highlights the need for suicide prevention. Law enforcement officers are... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) criticized the Trump Administration for its refusal to provide Congress with copies of National Security Presidential Memoranda (NSPM) regarding Department of Defense cyberspace operations.
Langevin, the co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus and... Read More »
The Coast Guard released this week a best practices Safety Alert in the wake of what is categorized as a growing cybersecurity threat landscape amid expanded reliance on technology to support vessels.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is encouraging vessel and facility... Read More »
Edwards Air Force Base personnel provided emergency crews to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake near Ridgecrest, California, in the wake of a pair of high desert area earthquakes.
“Crews maintained their posture locally after the July 4th earthquake; responders went through the base looking... Read More »
Under a new partnering agreement between Wageningen Bioveterinary Research and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), up to $12.5 million will be put to manufacturing, research and a phase 1 study of a single-dose vaccine for the Rift Valley fever virus.
The vaccine is made... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security recently released its annual report on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces (MAPS).
Last year there were 27 targeted attacks in the United States in public spaces in which three or more persons were harmed. A total of 91 people were killed and 107 were... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) proposed legislation to give the District of Columbia home-rule authority over the D.C. National Guard.
This bill -- filed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 -- would give the D.C. mayor the same authority that... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a contract of up to $4.7 million to BAE Systems to integrate machine learning (ML) into platforms deciphering radio frequency signals.
Officials said the Controllable Hardware Integration for Machine-learning Enabled Real-time... Read More »
With a focus on biological threats to the United States and a new, public-private effort to counter them, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense will host its first public meeting in New York City this week.
Their main topic of discussion will be ‘A Manhattan Project for Biodefense’ -- a... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 20 tons of cocaine last month at the Port of Philadelphia and seized the vessel July 4.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a seizure warrant for the vessel, MSC Gayane, after an application was filed by the U.S.... Read More »
A Houston man pleaded guilty to attempting to join and provide information to the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, 20, attempted to join and support ISIS, the U.S. Justice Department claims. He provided information to other ISIS... Read More »
