Countermeasures
A new global index offers an original way to monitor national-level preparedness for infectious disease, providing a holistic view of a country’s capacity to mitigate the spread of illness and pandemics.
Created by researchers at Metabiota, the Epidemic Preparedness Index (EPI) factors... Read More »
While addressing the recent Commander’s Training Symposium (CTS), Navy Vice Adm. Richard Brown urged leaders to transition readiness into lethality, reinvigorate mission command and drive toward a culture of excellence.
“Driving to a culture of excellence is not a top-down management... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation (OSAI) have helped develop guidelines to aid building owners with operations evaluations.
The entities have partnered with the National Institute of Building Sciences... Read More »
A new tuberculosis (TB) test developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will be marketed and distributed by Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) under the terms of a licensing agreement reached between the two companies this week.
The test -- DeepCheck-TB -- is... Read More »
More than 80 local, state, and territorial health
officials met Wednesday with Congress members with the goal of advocating for
public health funding.
The officials told Congress members that investing in public
health agencies is critical to protect and promote health. Federal... Read More »
Following last week’s terrorist attack on two New Zealand
mosques where the shooter live-streamed it on social media, U.S. Rep. Bennie
Thompson (D-MS) is calling on the CEOs of four major social media companies to immediately
remove violent terrorist content.
The request was sent to the CEOs... Read More »
Air Force officials maintain training with the Air Mobility Command (AMC) expands the proficiency level of those who work with the CV-22 Osprey aircraft.
“We are very familiar with our own Air Force Special Operations Command counterparts and have a habitual relationship of getting fuel from... Read More »
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) personnel are being credited with intercepting an international cocaine smuggling attempt in which the narcotics were valued at over $76 million.
Authorities said officers patrolling the Eastern Pacific ocean aboard a P-3 aircraft detected suspects transporting... Read More »
A study conducted by Australia’s University of Queensland and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute recently uncovered the Zika virus’s evolutionary processes, allowing access to the genetic factors responsible for Zika’s dangerous spread.
The technique used in the study utilized... Read More »
Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen delivered Monday the 2019
State of Homeland Security Address, which included operational challenges, the ever-changing
security landscape and the department’s strategic plan.
The address also
included the department’s major... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions said on Tuesday it will begin a Phase 3 trial of a new anthrax vaccine it is developing.
The Phase 3 trial will evaluate the lot consistency, immunogenicity, and safety of the vaccine, called AV7909. AV7909 is designed to elicit a faster immune response than other anthrax... Read More »
A recent Senate Defense Appropriations Committee hearing explored the importance of updating the nation’s nuclear forces, developing pilot training programs and advancing the Arctic mission.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) reviewed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget with Air Force (USAF) Secretary... Read More »
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the topic of a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee this week, highlighting successes and failures in the fight against it.
Foremost, it was shown that the outbreak not only... Read More »
U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) recently swore in Donald R. Kusser as port director for
the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
In this role,
Kusser is responsible for managing all operational and administrative aspects
of port security and trade facilitation, including air cargo,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee
on Homeland Security, is requesting a briefing by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and Justice Department on the threat of domestic terrorism.
“Recent high-profile acts of violence and attempted violence
have... Read More »
Members of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on
Biodefense praised the passage of legislation that incorporates its
recommendation to direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a
detailed analysis of the Trump Administration's budget for biodefense as part
of the annual budget... Read More »
The Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) will have another tool at its disposal allowing the Marine Air-Ground Task Force to identify enemy activity.
The effort employs a vehicle-borne device enabling Marines to discern what happens inside the electromagnetic spectrum, connecting several... Read More »
New relief and border support efforts could be available to Florida and Puerto Rican communities hit by hurricanes last year if a new bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) gains traction.
The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Border Security and Disaster Relief Act of 2019... Read More »
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate last week would prohibit
commercial users of facial recognition technology (FR) from collecting and
sharing consumer data without their consent.
The Commercial Facial Recognition Privacy Act of 2019 was
co-sponsored by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Brian... Read More »
Several states are grappling with how to handle current public health threats around the re-emergence of measles just as they also continue efforts to end the ongoing tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.
Both threats came up during discussions at the March 14 hearing, entitled the “Review of the Ebola... Read More »
The United States is struggling to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other partners in fighting what has become the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, federal public health officials on Thursday told members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to aid agencies in identifying critical workforce needs and categorize IT and cyber-related positions.
The analysis, which resulted in 28 recommendations, stemmed from having a qualified, well-trained... Read More »
In a randomized trial, the antimalarial effects of ivermectin showed that the drug has the potential to reduce malaria episodes among children aged five or younger by as much as one-fifth.
Repeated mass administration of ivermectin could reduce those episodes from 2.49 to 2 cases per child... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has developed a new system to connect remote
regions in the event of an emergency.
The company’s LTE-over-Satellite system is designed to
provide connectivity to remote regions, including areas without cellphone
coverage, boats on the water, or during natural disasters like... Read More »
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, introduced Wednesday a pair of measures designed to address small cybersecurity threats.
The SBA Cyber Awareness Act would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop a cyber... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently crafted legislation designed to enhance Internet-connected devices cybersecurity.
The Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 is being introduced in the Senate by Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Cory Gardner(R-CO), co-chairs of the Senate... Read More »
Reps. Norma J. Torres (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) recently introduced a bill reclassifying 9-1-1 dispatchers in the Office of Management and Budget Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) catalog to ensure classification standards place public safety first.
The 911 Supporting... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) warned this week that President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal not only neglects but actively undermines investments necessary to maintain immediate and long-term responses to infectious disease threats.
The organization lauded the $58... Read More »
The Department of
Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) are researching Internet of Things (IoT) as it relates to emergency
communications for first responders.
S&T is
testing a multicomponent communications system... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force will see a $10
billion budget increase in fiscal year 2020 under the White House spending plan
unveiled this week.
With the proposed increase, the Air
Force’s budget would rise to $165 billion in fiscal year 2020, which begins
Oct. 1, 2019. It includes funding for new... Read More »
Citing ongoing violence, deteriorating security, and humanitarian crisis circumstances, a group of lawmakers recently requested that the Trump Administration designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined Dick Durbin... Read More »
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials recently launched this year's initial Innovation Challenge, which organizers said seeks to find ways for NATO to respond to security challenges and crises.
NATO officials said they are seeking solutions from entrepreneurs, designers,... Read More »
INTERPOL and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) held a three-day workshop last month for law enforcement from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, meant to train them on means of countering internet and social media use by terrorists.
In all, 15 participants... Read More »
Several U.S. senators are asking federal security officials
to review the Trump Administration’s compliance with security clearance
policies and procedures.
This request comes following reports that President Donald
Trump ignored objections from White House Counsel Donald McGahn and Chief... Read More »
As a means of targeting gangs and violent crime, a pair of North Carolina lawmakers are advocating additional funding for the Middle District of the state's U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Richard Burr (R-NC) recently forwarded correspondence to Jim Crowell, director of... Read More »
