Countermeasures
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced last week the Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019, which marks a roughly 2.5 percent increase over 2018 funding levels.
The bill provides $674.6 billion for the Department of Defense, including $606.5 billion in base discretionary funding... Read More »
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on June 27 passed the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2018 (PAHPRA), sending it to the full committee along with four other public health bills under consideration.
“The mark up of these five important bills... Read More »
A modernization effort for U.S. Army and special operations Chinook helicopters recently achieved a milestone in the wake of the loading of the first engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) helicopter into final assembly this week.
Boeing said the contract to develop the next-generation... Read More »
Organizers of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety communications platform dedicated to America's first responders, said the endeavor has been fervently embraced.
More than 1,000 public safety agencies across 52 states and territories have joined FirstNet, officials noted, nearly doubling the... Read More »
The hectic nature of public health emergencies may hardly leave officials time to reflect on what lessons are being learned on the ground, and in real time.
The Outbreak Observatory aims to change that.
Comprised of experts in public health and biosecurity, the Observatory’s team captures... Read More »
A pair of bills introduced by Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) designed to enhance Department of Homeland Security (DHS) border security efforts garnered House approval Monday.
The Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) Authorization Act seeks to establish the OBIM as the primary biometric... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) officials are incorporating the organization’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) into a three-day gathering designed to galvanize industry professionals.
The ERI, introduced in June 2017, is a multi-year, $1.5 billion investment in... Read More »
Citing significant threats to national security, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) urged the president on Tuesday to reconsider lifting a ban on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE and to support banning government purchases of Huawei equipment.
The senators noted in a... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved seven bills this week that aim to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to better identify cyber threats, secure the nation’s borders, shore up transportation security and improve reporting systems for suspicious activity.
U.S. Rep.... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has tasked AktiVax, Inc. with developing an auto-injector that allows drugs designed to counter chemical nerve agents to be administered without specialized training.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)... Read More »
New research from BAE Systems finds a gap between the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals and the number of available positions in corporate America.
The BAE study says 50 percent of businesses claim there is a lack of staff with the required security skills and expertise. Further, 40... Read More »
Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has been awarded a 364 million contract to produce Army missiles, the company announced Monday.
The production agreement for Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles also applies to a Foreign Military Sales customer.
The service... Read More »
Researchers recently found that preventing the chain of cholera transmission within households in high-burden areas may significantly impact efforts to reduce the number of cases worldwide.
Work by Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators published in Nature Genetics outlined nearly 80... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be directed to secure information and operational technologies used in critical applications to address vulnerabilities under a bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.
The DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities... Read More »
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office will use Rockwell Collins’ UrgentLink disaster communications network as a backup if primary communication infrastructure fails during natural or man-made disasters.
As a beyond-line-of-sight communications system that operates on the high-frequency... Read More »
Thirteen companies have been selected to take part in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) Smart Cities Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs program, which aims to enhance first responder situational and building security.
DHS S&T issued a... Read More »
Health officials in Jefferson County, Colorado, said a rabbit died from tularemia, a rare infectious disease found in animals that can affect humans.
Tularemia is typically spread through the bite of infected ticks and deer flies or through handling infected sick or dead animals, usually... Read More »
Italian researchers maintain different vector control strategies are needed as a means of addressing mosquito-borne pathogens.
Investigators noted new research based on the Italian experience with outbreaks of Chikungunya, a disease borne by the tiger mosquito, in 2007 and 2017, revealed varied... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently expressed optimism regarding efforts to enhance combat vehicle safety and effectiveness.
The agency’s Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T) program also seeks to improve mobility and survivability of future combat vehicles without... Read More »
A national registry would be created to collect data on the prevalence of cancer in firefighters to better understand how smoke inhalation and other occupational hazards contribute under a bill that cleared Congress on Friday.
The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017, H.R. 931 would require... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force and Boeing have announced plans for the first Boeing-built KC-46 Tanker, a military version of the 767 commercial aircraft, to be delivered to bases in Oklahoma and Kansas in October.
The announcement drew praise from U.S. Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Frank Lucas (R-OK), whose... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking to equip drones with different sensors other than cameras that may be useful in search-and-rescue, surveillance, active shooter response, hostage situations, and other scenarios.
The S&T has launched a... Read More »
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) recently supported an effort to steer federal funding toward enhanced security at a pivotal intelligence research laboratory.
Schumer and Gillibrand said the Senate version of the FY 2019 National Defense... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has integrated facial biometrics into Global Entry, celebrating the program’s 10 years of expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers.
The pilot program was launched last week at Orlando International Airport.
Global Entry... Read More »
A species of invasive mosquitoes in California is capable of transmitting the Zika virus, and their populations should be highly controlled, researchers from the University of California-Davis have discovered.
Researchers from the University of California-Davis infected three different species... Read More »
A “bug bounty program” competition would be created to reward cyber experts for identifying gaps in the cyber defenses of the nation’s election infrastructure under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.
The Prevent Election Hacking Act of 2018 would authorize... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Global Biosecurity Dialogue (GBD) brought more than 60 government officials, international organizations, nuclear experts and civil society leaders together in London last week to discuss solutions to strengthen global biosecurity and biosafety.... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is preparing for a record-breaking number of travelers this summer at airports in the Washington, D.C. area.
TSA expects 243 million passengers and crew to come through security checkpoints between Memorial Day and Labor Day in the nation’s... Read More »
University of Kansas students recently created a tool designed to enhance emergency preparedness efforts.
Officials said military, veteran, and civilian students in the university’s new homeland security master's program developed and implemented an emergency plan for a long-term blackout... Read More »
A 23-year-old Alabama man who pleaded guilty to acquiring bomb-making materials and planning an ISIS-inspired attack on a local police station was sentenced in a federal court Wednesday to 15 years in prison on Wednesday.
Aziz Ihab Sayyed of Huntsville pleaded guilty in March to a charge of... Read More »
The first West Nile virus-infected mosquito sample of the year was recently identified by the Dauphin County Conservation District in Washington Township, Pa., but no human cases have been reported.
The vector-borne West Nile virus can infect humans with an infection known as West Nile... Read More »
A bipartisan group of lawmakers raised concerns on Wednesday about the national security implications of a new strategic partnership between Google and Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company.
The lawmakers argued in a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai that Chinese telecommunication... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Make-It Program is making progress toward fully automated rapid molecule production.
The Make-It research teams are developing automated devices that create the desired chemical based on the software-generated recipe. These software tools... Read More »
Imperial College London researchers have determined that the use of a pair of experimental anti-malarial vaccines may reduce the number of malaria infections.
Details of the probe in eLife outlined the testing of two types of vaccines in mice: those preventing mosquitoes from transferring the... Read More »
Raytheon is the recipient of the nation’s 10 millionth patent, which covers a system for obtaining real-time readings on speed and distance from the data stream created by laser radars.
The company currently holds 13,000 active patents, which includes nearly 4,500 based in the United States,... Read More »
