Countermeasures
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 »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said a pair of recent Laredo enforcement operations yielded narcotics seizures worth a combined estimated street value exceeding $4.1 million.
“I congratulate our officers for their dedication which has prevented these dangerous narcotics from... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Safeguards Statement for 2018 recently determined that the amount of nuclear material subject to IAEA safeguards is continuing to rise.
“Since 2010, the amount of nuclear material under safeguards has increased by 24 percent,” Massimo Aparo,... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $3.15 million grant to scientists at Portland State University (PSU) to fuel research into a pill-based cure for malaria.
The funding will go to advance the research toward clinical trials. The study is built on the back of a compound created... Read More »
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other global agencies, held a workshop last month addressing biosecurity and biosafety gaps.
More than 50 experts from the Southern African region met in... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is holding a competition where teams use robots to navigate and search dark, dangerous, and unpredictable underground tunnels.
The Virtual Tunnel Circuit competition features nine teams vying for prizes totaling $500,000. The competition... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) personnel recently joined a series of partners in addressing the increasing risks of a catastrophic biological event.
Citing such factors as rapid technological advances, an increasingly interconnected world with health security challenges, ongoing global... Read More »
House officials said language from Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) Counterintelligence Accountability Act bill has been incorporated in the 2019 Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA).
The IAA ensures the Intelligence Community has the necessary resources, funding, and authorities to protect and... Read More »
A shipment of malangas -- a starchy root vegetable common in South America -- from Mexico to Florida’s Port Manatee was found to contain a rare, aggressive and highly destructive type of New World army ant known as Eciton.
The discovery, made in June, was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border... Read More »
Following the release of a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Representatives Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1), Eliot Engel (D-NY-16), Peter King (R-NY-2), and Al Green (D-TX-09) recently urged the advancement of a bill that would preserve the T-Band spectrum for use by emergency... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) announced last week that several key provisions that he worked to advance were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Taking Back Congressional Authority Over War Authorization amendment prohibits the United States from spending funds that could... Read More »
The Department of Justice said an electrical engineer has been found guilty of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and faces a maximum prison sentence of 219 years.
After a six-week trial, Yi-Chi Shih, 64, a part-time Los Angeles resident, was found guilty of... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials said the 2019 Indianapolis 500 aided the department’s nuclear, biological and chemical threat detection process.
During the event, an advanced network of sensors kept continued vigilance, providing security real-time awareness of any... Read More »
