Countermeasures
The Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Association (DARPA) established a program to deliver powerful new defenses against public health and national security threats.
The program -- called the PReemptive Expression of Protective Alleles and Response Elements (PREPARE) –... Read More »
Scientists at UC Riverside are celebrating a discovery about 30 years in the making: a neurotoxin component of a bacteria with the potential to kill malaria-bearing Anopheles mosquitoes, without risk to humans.
The scientists said the neurotoxin poses no risk to any living thing beyond these... Read More »
House lawmakers have advanced an emergency spending package containing a provision restoring a robust Customs and Border Protection (CBP) presence along the northern border.
“Restoring hours at these ports is critical to commerce, emergency medical services, and to everyone who lives and... Read More »
Citing it as an investment in the nation’s Intelligence Community, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) recently commended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passage.
The NDAA, which addresses fiscal year 2020,... Read More »
A new study built on machine learning recently identified four bat species that have the potential to spread Nipah virus in India, which was hit by a virus outbreak in 2018.
The study, published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, claims that its findings could help guide surveillance and... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently passed the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes $74 million for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Funding for the base will be used to continue upgrades to... Read More »
The healthcare community needs to address antimicrobial resistance, or future generations will be at risk, a leading health expert said at the first-ever joint meeting of G20 Finance and Health Ministers in Osaka, Japan last week.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi,... Read More »
Dr. Asha George understands firsthand the threats biological agents can cause. George, who is executive director of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, served in Operation Desert Storm. She knows what it’s like to be standing on the battlefield wondering whether antimicrobial resistant... Read More »
Marine Corps personnel recently joined the Army and Navy in a joint training initiative designed to increase combat operational readiness in amphibious and prepositioning operations.
Marines with the 2nd Transportation Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics... Read More »
The Marine Corps has awarded a $67 million contract modification to BAE Systems and Iveco Defence Vehicles to develop variants for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Family of Vehicles program.
The effort would enhance battlefield situational awareness and firepower, with the contract calling... Read More »
New legislation, recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), seeks to increase vaccination rates through a campaign of awareness, grants, and research support.
Primarily, under the VACCINES Act, the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
Three government agencies are partnering with national and international first responders to address the problem of fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
The WUI is an area between the undeveloped land and urban areas. Fires in the WUI spread quickly and cover acres. Homes in the WUI are... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense designated Fort Drum in Jefferson County, N.Y., as an East Coast Missile Defense Site.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) commended the choice.
“I am proud to announce that after years of leading the effort on behalf of Fort Drum on the House Armed Services... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a two-year $561.8 million contract to produce Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles for the Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.
“The new-build ATACMS rounds under this contract will include sensor technology that provides the recently qualified... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is acting upon GAO recommendations offered to enhance airport screening tests while also addressing vulnerabilities.
In order to test screening at airports, TSA personnel regularly covert tests to... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched a large clinical trial to investigate the drug delamanid, understanding its safety and efficacy in regards to multidrug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB).
Throughout the study, MDR-TB will be compared to the older isoniazid in... Read More »
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate Tuesday would amend the Federal Employee Compensation Act to make it easier for firefighters who were injured or became ill as a result of their service to be covered by federal workers’ compensation.
Currently, federal law does not recognize certain... Read More »
A new report from U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tom Carper (D-DE) details the failure of eight federal agencies, over the course of two administrations, to address vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure.
The senators, who serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Permanent... Read More »
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) introduced a measure designed to create minimum standards preventing federal law enforcement officers’ service weapons from becoming lost and stolen.
The Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act stems from the fact in recent years in the Bay Area and... Read More »
Engineering and integrations systems firm BAE Systems has secured a five-year, $90 million contract to modernize and maintain C5ISR systems embedded within vehicles, watercraft, and specialized communications platforms.
The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity pact spans five years while... Read More »
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could continue indefinitely without proper funding and an end to in-country fighting, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a speech to Member States in Geneva, WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus... Read More »
The fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $1.7 billion in funding to upgrade 165 Abrams tanks and a $249 million for upgrading Stryker Vehicles, a $78 million increase from last fiscal year.
The bill also increases the Abrams tanks’ rate of production in Lima,... Read More »
The program that reimburses state, counties and local jurisdictions for up to 50 percent of the cost of body armor vests purchased for law enforcement officers was included this week will get funded via a House appropriations bill.
The U.S. House approved the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program... Read More »
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing (PAHPA) Innovation Act, S. 1379, became law on Monday with the president’s signature, prompting accolades from national stakeholders, company executives and federal lawmakers.
The far-reaching law ensures the United States will be better... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) last week seized more than 17.5 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.1 billion at the Philadelphia seaport.
Agents from the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP and HSI... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. House to authorize funds for the U.S. Coast Guard through fiscal year 2021.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 3409) includes funds to promote the U.S. maritime industry and offshore renewable energy development, authorization of funding to build... Read More »
Science and technology firm Battelle is a finalist in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s Opioid Detection Challenge.
The $1.55 million global prize competition seeks to develop tools to aid the process of locating illicit opioids in international... Read More »
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has deployed 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Southwest border to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding border security.
“The crisis at our southern border is unlike anything we’ve witnessed before and has put an enormous strain on the existing... Read More »
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), first responder communications are at serious risk with the pending, 2021 sale of the T-Band part of the radio spectrum.
In 11 large metropolitan areas, police, firefighters and other first responders rely heavily on that spectrum, and in... Read More »
Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) recently introduced legislation designed to strengthen the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP), which detects and deters illicit criminal entry.
BITMAP is... Read More »
Pennsylvania state and county officials recently attended the Tabletop the Vote 2019 cyber training exercise hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The exercise provided election, information technology, and security personnel... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) met in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss how to help industry and government stakeholders manage risks to information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains.
At the meeting, CISA’s Information and Communications... Read More »
The House of Representatives has adopted an amendment adding $6 million to the Defense Appropriations bill to increase funding for Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard training.
The effort, introduced by Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY), is part of H.R. 2740. It would take... Read More »
New legislation advanced last week by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee would allot $75 million annually for grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations specifically dedicated helping them secure their facilities.
The Protecting Faith-based and Nonprofit... Read More »
Legislation recently introduced in Congress would provide tax incentives to firearm manufacturers and small businesses for the development of smart gun technologies while encouraging consumers to purchase firearms that utilize the technologies.
The Start Advancing Firearms Enhancements and... Read More »
