Countermeasures
Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan recently announced that Kenneth Cuccinelli has been named acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
USCIS administers the immigration system, adjudicating more than 8.7 million requests for immigration... Read More »
A bill introduced in the Senate would require shell companies to disclose their true owners to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Improving Laundering Laws and Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking of Criminal Activity in Shell Holdings (ILLICIT CASH) Act would help law enforcement... Read More »
A collection of the world’s chemical emergency response trainers recently spent a week in the Czech Republic teaching responders how to address crises with chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.
The training was co-organized by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical... Read More »
California’s Camp Pendleton hosted the annual Wildland Fire School last week, during which firefighters safely cleared out overgrown grasslands using prescribed fire.
The technique eliminates fuels from training areas and prevents future large-scale wildland fires. It also allowed firefighters... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took into custody more than 144,278 migrants along the southwest border in May, the highest total in 13 years.
It marked a 32 percent increase over April when 109,474 were taken into custody. This year over 530,000 have already been apprehended, and the... Read More »
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) recently assessed the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) roles and missions completed last year, determining the agency faces challenges in several key areas.
In 2017, the Committee initiated a study of the DIA as part of oversight... Read More »
The recently introduced Developing an Innovative Strategy for Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (DISARM) Act -- S. 1712 -- proposes to alter Medicare reimbursement for antibiotics, promote their use and encourage new developments.
Introduced by U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Casey... Read More »
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, last month flight tested its Black Hawk helicopter with full-authority, fly-by-wire flight controls.
The technology completely removes mechanical flight controls from the aircraft. Its development is part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced 22 separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval outlining Congress’ role of approving arms sales to foreign governments.
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and... Read More »
Tucson Sector Border Patrol Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel said the unit is facing increased challenges in the wake of greater human smuggling and narcotics activity.
“Alien smuggling is a lucrative business,” Roy Villareal, Tucson Sector Border Patrol chief, said. “It is... Read More »
Under a new partnering agreement with Themis Bioscience, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will provide up to $21 million for the company’s phase 3-ready Chikungunya vaccine.
CEPI seeks to hasten regulatory approval of the vaccine by providing a large portion of the... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation recently was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate that aims to advance the research and development of treatments for drug-resistant infections.
The Developing an Innovative Strategy for Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (DISARM) Act of 2019 would allow Medicare to offer... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) introduced Wednesday legislation that would increase research and data on domestic terrorism.
The Domestic Terrorism Documentation and Analysis of Threats in America (DATA) Act would require Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the... Read More »
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) risks spreading to Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, according to testimony by public health experts on Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The outbreak in the DRC began in August 2018 and... Read More »
Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) introduced a measure Tuesday addressing the nation’s asylum laws, establishing reforms focusing on the Southern border crisis straining Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resources, among others.
Hurd said the Asylum Reform Act of 2019 would overhaul outdated laws... Read More »
Three South Dakota entities recently joined forces to combat what they said is the ever-increasing issue of cybercrime, aided by a new Sioux Falls cyber intelligence analyst.
The state Department of Public Safety and the Sioux Falls Police Department will provide funding for the post, which will... Read More »
The capabilities of first responder network FirstNet were proven in a recent exercise in a remote part of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where the network was relied on for emergency communications during a search and rescue exercise.
FirstNet cooperated with the Virginia Communications Cache,... Read More »
New research from scientists at the Universities of Surrey and Cambridge has investigated a relatively undefined concept in disease research -- vulnerability -- and assessed it for both Ebola and Lassa fever.
Vulnerability is the assessment of a country’s ability or lack thereof to resist or... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has partnered with Azimuth1 to develop a navigation app called QuickRoute, specially designed for first responders.
The app warns users about hazards along the route and takes into account factors like traffic... Read More »
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, the Alliance for Biosecurity, and the Trust for America’s Health on Wednesday applauded the overdue reauthorization of the nation’s all-hazards preparedness and response law addressing public health threats, whether naturally occurring or... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergent BioSolutions Inc. approval to change the storage conditions and manufacturing facility for its oral cholera vaccine, Vaxchora.
Specifically, the FDA's approval of the Prior Approval Supplement (PAS) submitted by the company... Read More »
Attorney General William P. Barr recently noted 10 cities have joined the new National Public Safety Partnership (PSP), which officials said is designed to reduce violent crime.
“The Public Safety Partnership is a successful program that directs federal law enforcement resources to the cities... Read More »
Raytheon Company recently secured a two-year contract for the Air Force Mentor Protégé program to aid Infinity Technology Services (ITS) in bolstering its cybersecurity services outlay.
“Encouraging small business is a good thing for the government, as well as Raytheon, and ITS brings a... Read More »
The Reporting Offside Arrival-Mobile (ROAM) application, used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations to report small boats, has expanded its capabilities to new sites in Michigan and Minnesota.
In Michigan, the app now reaches four sites in the Sault Ste. Marie area: the... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DOD) recently awarded Texas Biomedical Research Institute a $2 million grant through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program to develop a Zika Virus vaccine.
Zika is a mosquito-borne disease that can result in birth defects such as microcephaly.
"If... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is urging Trump Administration officials to address potential security concerns related to China using wearable technology products to catalog American’s personal data.
“Chinese smartwatches and other devices can stockpile data about a user’s health, finances,... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the bipartisan Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing (PAHPA) Innovation Act of 2019, which now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature to make it law.
S. 1379, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) on May... Read More »
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr. took advantage of a recent speaking engagement to lend insight regarding Russia’s and China’s nuclear weapons capabilities and modernization.
Ashley shared the information while addressing the Hudson Institute in... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance U.S.- Ukraine cooperation and address effective deterrence from Russian aggression.
The U.S.-Ukraine Security Cooperation Enhancement Act provides specific lethal military assistance including... Read More »
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Air Force recently collaborated to address the national aircrew shortage.
The partners will work to reduce barriers for entering the pilot career field, increase the number of pilots, leverage technology to improve pilot training to meet the... Read More »
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan signed last week a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Guatemalan Ministry of Government to address factors driving irregular migration from Guatemala and combat human smuggling.
The MOC is an agreement between the Department of Homeland... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded a 10-year, $535 million contract to Emergent BioSolutions Inc. for the supply of Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV) into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile in support of smallpox preparedness.
VIGIV is the only... Read More »
Department of Justice authorities are crediting Operation Dark Gold,
the first nationwide undercover operation targeting darknet vendors, with yielding a series of illegal drug dealing indictments.
Authorities said Sean Shaughnessy, 51, of Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, was charged by a federal... Read More »
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) personnel are espousing the benefits of the recently completed Joint Innovation Battle Lab (JIBL), an exercise targeting integration of operations, intelligence, and technology.
“Our technology is cutting-edge and we’re excited to showcase it,” Matt Avery,... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has joined forces with vaccine safety organization Brighton Collaboration on a new project dedicated to assessing the safety of CEPI-funded vaccine candidates.
The project has been dubbed the Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines... Read More »
