Countermeasures
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) recently urged the Trump administration to protect the lives of the Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. or the Taliban will kill them. Moulton’s warning comes as the administration is negotiating a potential peace deal with the Taliban.
There are nearly 20,000... Read More »
BAE Systems recently launched its next-generation XTS Guard 7, a cybersecurity tool that has differing levels of security classification and allows U.S. intelligence organizations to share information.
"Our product is the guard of choice for Department of Defense and other Intelligence Community... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities said personnel staffing the Camp Bounds Forward Operating Base adjacent to the Antelope Wells Port of Entry recently apprehended 194 illegal aliens there.
The group, from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, illegally entered the camp and was... Read More »
The danger of malaria is growing worldwide, according to Dr. Mark Travassos, assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and that demands greater access for those with serious cases to intravenously-administered (IV) drugs.
At present, access to... Read More »
Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) is urging national passage red flag laws, which will allow state law enforcement to seize weapons from individuals perceived as a danger to themselves or others.
Brooks said the effort is in the wake of the latest round of mass shootings across the country. She noted... Read More »
Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Pete Stauber (R-MN) introduced last week a measure designed to enhance the nation’s fire station infrastructure.
The Fire Station Infrastructure Safety Act provides data on the age and conditions of every fire station in the country, which the legislators maintain... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently introduced legislation to significantly increase U.S. efforts in prevention, research, and technology development to help end the global tuberculosis epidemic.
The End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2019 would alter the existing Foreign... Read More »
The Maine Cyber Range, a cybersecurity training center at the University of Maine at Augusta, recently held its official launch.
The facility is the first of its kind in New England and will allow faculty and students to learn the best ways to combat cyberattacks and deterrence practices. The... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Public Safety Communications Research division (PSCR) and the Western Fire Chiefs Association have partnered to bring data analytics to firefighters nationwide.
Fire departments traditionally use one-way systems to maintain incident records,... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Army three recommendations regarding how forces will engage jointly with other services in multiple domains - specifically cyber and space.
The GAO said the analysis and subsequent recommendations stem from the House Armed Services... Read More »
The local commuter designated lane is returning to the Laredo Port of Entry, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintaining the benefits of the restored feature.
CBP officials said restoring the lane aids motorists not requiring benefits at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, which is... Read More »
As various bacteria continue to evolve and resist current vaccine treatments, West Virginia University (WVU) researcher Mariette Barbier is working to preserve vaccine effectiveness against pertussis or whooping cough.
Her efforts have been awarded $2.6 million from the National Institutes of... Read More »
The National Science Foundation recently awarded the University of Rochester a $1.5 million grant quantum computing research.
Researchers will use the funding to investigate the challenges of working with and stabilizing quantum particles, called qubits. The university also will use the funds to... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority passed an $82 million budget for Fiscal Year 2020, which includes funding for future investments in the nationwide public safety broadband network.
“The FirstNet Authority is an organization solely focused on public safety’s critical communications needs... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) released a draft of a bill Wednesday that would make domestic terrorism a federal crime.
Domestic terrorism is defined in the criminal code but is not a distinct federal crime with specific punishments. This makes it more challenging to track domestic terror acts,... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved drug treatment for resistant tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs.
The FDA approved Pretomanid Tablets in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid for the treatment of a specific type of tuberculosis of the lungs, specifically drug-resistant,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) is asking U.S. Attorney General William Barr to investigate federal criminal and hate crime charges people who doused police officers with buckets of water.
In July, police officers in New York City were drenched with buckets of water and one officer was hit on the head... Read More »
A recently published The Lancet Infectious Diseases article detailed the identification of new markers aiding the effort to expedite the timeframe of Yellow Fever detection.
“Many patients admitted to the health services with a diagnosis of yellow fever aren't initially severely ill,” Esper... Read More »
North Dakota officials are touting the benefits of a new, $32 million Army National Guard Readiness Center, which will house, support and train guard personnel.
“The North Dakota National Guard is always ready, always there,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), a member of the Senate Defense... Read More »
Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that certain molecules can boost the efficacy of antibiotics in fighting Staph infections and powering through antibiotic resistance.
The molecules are known as rhamnolipids, and their targets are staphylococcus aureus bacteria --... Read More »
The FirstNet communications platform has surpassed 750,000 connections and serves nearly 9,000 public safety agencies and organizations.
The platform, built by the First Responder Network Authority and AT&T, is used exclusively by first responders to communicate critical information and... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has developed a tool that standardizes how to measure the cyber resiliency maturity of a weapon, mission, or training system anywhere in its lifecycle.
Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Resiliency Level (CRL) model provides increased visibility into the current state of risk. It produces... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will implement Mobile Passport Control (MPC) in Puerto Rico.
That means that U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors will have the option to use MPC processing, which expedites the entry process to the United States by using a mobile app to submit users’ passport... Read More »
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) study findings revealed the RTS,S malaria vaccine could bolster protective antibodies production upon subsequent parasite infection.
The work involved the authors investigating how vaccination impacts natural immunity to the parasite upon... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has earmarked $600 million for its first exascale supercomputer, which will perform research to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The NNSA, housed under the Department of Energy, has signed an agreement with Cray Inc. to build El... Read More »
The Strategies to Address Antibiotic Resistance (STAAR) Act was reintroduced to the Senate this week, raising the issue of what to do in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in an attempt to increase data collection,... Read More »
Smallpox, eradicated globally in 1980, is on the cusp of a comeback thanks to advances in synthetic biology. Residual immunity in individuals who were previously vaccinated could mitigate the impact of a smallpox outbreak, but “a high degree of uncertainty” exists regarding the duration and... Read More »
A Colorado State University (CSU) study maintains the advent of Rift Valley fever in the state would deliver significant consequences for humans and livestock.
The virus is a global health concern caused by infected mosquitos and the handling of infected animal carcasses. Every 10 to 15 years,... Read More »
Biotechnology firm Public Health Vaccines, LLC has secured a Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) contract of up to $43.6 million to develop a single-dose Nipah virus vaccine.
Public Health Vaccine is slated to partner with Crozet BioPharma during the initiative while up to $9... Read More »
In a study published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, a scientific team reported that continued resistance to two critical antibiotic types that are still widely distributed in Southeast Asia is raising the risk of untreatable infections.
Carbapenems and polymyxins are being... Read More »
Legislation introduced Monday would provide evidence-based solutions to gun violence nationwide.
The Gun Safety Board and Research Act establishes a board responsible for conducting research aimed at reducing gun violence and evaluating federal and state policy proposals to identify gaps in gun... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) developed a corrective action plan on contracting practices in the DoD’s Office of Net Assessment.
The plan was developed at the request of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who sent a letter to then-Acting Secretary Mark Esper in July seeking more information on... Read More »
Acting Deputy Secretary David P. Pekoske and Attorney General William P. Barr recently participated in the Five Country Ministerial in London, England, to address emerging global security threats.
Pekoske and Barr joined Home Affairs, Interior Security and Immigration Ministers of the Five Eyes... Read More »
Hazard preparedness in Maryland will benefit from $23.8 million in federal grants recently announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The funds will be broken up into seven specific targets. The State Homeland Security Program, Urban Area Security Initiative, Emergency... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Commerce recently awarded more than $109 million in grants through the 911 Grant Program to 34 states and two tribal nations.
Funding will be used to upgrade 911 call centers to Next Generation 911 capabilities. Upgrades include... Read More »
