Countermeasures
Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently introduced a measure designed to reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program permanently.
S. 1231 is a federal grant program that helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase lifesaving bulletproof vests for... Read More »
Ke Du, a professor and researcher from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), created a microfluidic device based on CRISPR gene-editing technology to detect and monitor indicators of Ebola.
The small, automated device tracks nucleic acid markers indicative of the virus. Once approached... Read More »
The recently introduced Faith-Based Community Center Protection Act would allow Homeland Security Grant Program funds to be used to safeguard faith-based community centers and houses of worship.
If the bill becomes law, the Homeland Security Grant Program would be provided with $75 million in... Read More »
Legislation that seeks to limit the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
The Protecting NATO Skies Act of 2019 was introduced by Mike Turner (R-OH), John Garamendi (D-CA), and Paul Cook (R-CA). It is a companion bill to legislation... Read More »
Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jon Tester (D-MT) reintroduced last week a bill designed to ensure injured first responders do not have to pay taxes on injury-related compensation.
The Putting First Responders First Act would clarify the current tax code and stems from the circumstance of the... Read More »
Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Max Rose (D-NY), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) recently introduced legislation designed to implore the Chinese government to honor its commitment of making fentanyl illegal while providing tools to address traffickers.
The Fentanyl Sanctions Act... Read More »
Building on two years of recommendations surrounding modernization efforts of the U.S. Army, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found areas in which they believe the Army could improve to avoid costly failures.
Their report, which covers near and long-term modernization efforts,... Read More »
The most common mosquito-borne viral disease -- Dengue -- will now be preventable in endemic regions, thanks to the approval of the first dengue vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dengvaxia, as it is called, blocks all dengue virus serotypes in ages 9 through 16, providing a... Read More »
Five Democratic senators recently sponsored a bill that would preserve the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
The treaty, enacted in February 2011, reduces by 74 percent the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads from the original treaty’s limit of 6,000. It is the final... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) came out in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order designed to bolster the country’s cybersecurity education.
The executive order says the government “must enhance the workforce mobility of America’s cybersecurity... Read More »
A senior Air Force delegation recently visited several Arctic locations to gain greater insight regarding operational challenges while refining efforts to meet the security dynamics there.
“The Arctic has always been a vital, indispensable part of any strategy to ensure the security and... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made a series of recommendations designed to strengthen the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) management of its pipeline security program.
The GAO analysis stems from the fact pipeline system disruptions could result in commodity... Read More »
Climate change could affect the spread of animal to human diseases more than previously thought, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of Queensland and Swansea University.
Their research, published in Trends in Parasitology, found a link between environmental factors... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force halted the rebuilding Wednesday of two bases damaged by natural disasters because of a lack of Congressional funding.
Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida sustained $4.7 billion in damages in October 2018 from Hurricane Michael. Nearly 700 buildings were damaged, and 11,000... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called upon the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to increase funding for nonprofit groups to better secure their facilities from potential attacks.
The Senators are requesting $75 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have released the first set of National Critical Functions, which officials said would have a dire nationwide impact if interrupted.
The DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provided the functions they said are used or... Read More »
A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) technology designed to increase situational awareness is garnering security industry plaudits.
S&T’s Immersive Imaging System recently received the R&D 100 Award, presented at the annual R&D 100 Conference,... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is testing new chemical sensors that are pushing the ability to detect chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats to potentially region-scale efforts.
The effort is coming of age under the SIGMA+ initiative, which is a... Read More »
A total of 108.6 million passengers and crew and 63.4 million checked bags were screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) during the March 14 to April 28 spring travel period, reflecting a nearly 4.7 percent increase from 2018.
The average wait time at TSA checkpoints was 20... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) recently expressed support for the Border Patrol Pay Security Act of 2019 (H.R. 2335), which would reinstate overtime pay for Border Patrol agents.
“More manpower is desperately needed at our southwest border,” Rogers, ranking member of the House Homeland Security... Read More »
Justice Department officials said a foiled terrorist plot has resulted in a Reseda, California, man’s arrest under an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation.
Authorities said Mark Steven Domingo, 26, was recently arrested after he received what he thought was a live bomb, but it was an... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reallocating Southwest border resources as a means of addressing human smuggling operations and immigration law exploitation.
ICE is using personnel to investigate the use of fraudulent documents to create fake families seeking to exploit immigration... Read More »
A joint research project between American and Japanese interests has yielded a new technology that could ease development of H3N2 flu vaccines, by attacking one of their most common causes of concern: mutation during the development process.
Such mutations cause mismatches between the seasonal... Read More »
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently purchased mobile biometric fingerprint sensors from Integrated Biometrics.
CBP purchased Kojak Light Emitting Sensor technology 10-fingerprint scanners to use at more than 5,000 workstations at the United States Ports of Entry.
The scanners... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and John Thune (R-SD) are urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to publish a proposed rule for remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also called drones.
Remote identification would allow the public, the FAA, law enforcement, and... Read More »
The North American Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD) has recognized Armament Systems & Procedures (ASP) for its Transport Kit via the Public Safety Product Innovation Award.
The Transport Kit, which received the recognition during the recent NAUMD convention held... Read More »
A landmark study maintains while 2016 global malaria spending totaled $4.3 billion, it fell short of the World Health Organization's target goal of $6.6 billion.
The University of Washington School of Medicine Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) analysis, published in The Lancet... Read More »
Mount Sinai researchers have found detected sizeable delays in the reporting of cases of West Nile virus in the United States, which could actively harm efforts to track and predict the disease.
Their findings, published in the JAMA Network Open, uncovered reporting delays of anywhere between... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently held a tabletop exercise in collaboration with the Secure Community Network (SCN), a Department of Homeland Security Initiative for the American Jewish community.
The purpose of the exercise was to examine how federal and state... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to construct new bollard walls within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma and El Paso sectors in Arizona and Texas.
The projects call for approximately 53 miles of new bollard wall -- which is a wall made up of steel slats -- in place of... Read More »
As a means of aiding personnel in locating battlefield adversaries, Marine Corps officials said the branch is incorporating new technologies into existing handheld GPS targeting systems.
The Common Laser Range Finder-Integrated Capability (CLRF-IC), which officials said was fielded two years... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have selected Felix Chavez to serve as Chief Patrol Agent within the Laredo Sector.
Border Patrol Chief Carla L. Provost recently announced the selection, noting Chavez entered on duty with the Border Patrol in July 1985 as a member of Academy Class... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last week that the number of measles cases in the United States have reached levels unseen since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000 and poses a real threat of a country-wide endemic.
In all, 695 cases have spread across 22... Read More »
The University of Virginia won the Alamo Cup at the 2019 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC) April 23-25 in Orlando.
The University of Central Florida won second place and the Rochester Institute of Technology won third place.
More than 235 colleges and universities... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the contracting processes of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster recovery efforts.
The report, entitled “Actions Needed to Improve the Use of Post-Disaster Contracts to... Read More »
