Countermeasures
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have determined treating silent malaria cases could help stop the spread of the disease to others.
Officials said silent malaria cases are circumstances in which individuals are infected with malaria parasites without... Read More »
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently introduced an amendment to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, increasing the Buy American requirements to 100 percent domestic content.
Murphy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the revision... Read More »
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Terror Threat Snapshot for June highlights growing concerns about terrorists gaining access to existing smuggling routes between the United States and Mexico.
Rear Admiral Brian Hendrickson, director of the U.S. Southern Command Network Engagement... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently named the “Pandemic Pulse” intuitive dashboard developed by the Computational Epidemiology Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital as the $150,000 grand prize winner of the Hidden Signals Challenge.
Launched in October by the DHS Science &... Read More »
Cyber responsibilities within the U.S. Air Force will move from Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) to Air Combat Command (ACC), the Air Force announced.
The realignment designates ACC as the lead Air Force command responsible for organizing, training and equipping Air Forces to conduct cyber... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. plans to undertake a three-year, $50 million project that will expand the contract development and manufacturing capacity of the company’s Camden fill/finish facility in Baltimore.
Slated for completion in 2021, the expansion project also aims to address... Read More »
Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Peter King (R-NY) recently praised the efforts of the House Committee on Homeland Security in advancing legislation designed to address opioid trafficking.
The congressmen said passage of their Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act allows the Department... Read More »
Boeing and the San Francisco, California-based company Kittyhawk will collaborate to offer a unified approach to the safe operation of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Boeing officials said the company’s investment in Kittyhawk's technology would support the development of a UAS... Read More »
A draft of the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released Wednesday outlines $68 billion in spending for the global war on terror, $144 for military personnel and pay, and $245.9 billion for operation and maintenance, including key readiness programs.
The U.S.... Read More »
A bill that would authorize $50 million in federal grants for state and local governments to combat gang activity through 2021 cleared the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday with bipartisan support.
U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) introduced the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant... Read More »
With the death toll from the ongoing Nipah virus outbreak in India rising to at least 17, EcoHealth Alliance officials have warned that the outbreak could become an international incident if it spreads to neighboring states.
The outbreak is centered in the Indian state of Kerala. Five nearby... Read More »
The Chicago Field Office (CFO) for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employs 32 canine teams – each consisting of a dog and its handler – to detect drugs at airports, post offices, and other border entry locations.
The dogs are typically one of three breeds -- Belgian Malinois, German... Read More »
Members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Wednesday considered proposed updates to the nation’s law on preparing for and responding to national and global public health emergencies resulting from any chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agent, toxin,... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has added four new staff members, with the organization noting the actions serve as a means of enhancing its overarching mission.
Peggy Knudson has been tapped as chief development officer; Richard Johnson as senior director of NTI’s International Fuel Cycle... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said wildfire recovery funds are available via the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
The initiative spans Fire Management Assistance declarations for fiscal years 2017-2018 from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2018, noting 85 events in 19... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists recently found a rare invasive pest known as Cerambycidae in a shipment of Persian limes at the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry in Texas.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologists report that the pest, a member of... Read More »
As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) prepares to shift its F-35 program into full-rate production, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on Tuesday recommends that Congress consider withholding funding until “key deficiencies” are addressed.
Slated for full-rate... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has added forensic images of 14 popular drone models to its Computer Forensic Reference Datasets (CFReDS) to assist criminal investigations involving drones, the agency announced on Tuesday.
Forensic images consist of a complete data... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) selected the University City Science Center of Philadelphia as one of eight accelerators to drive innovation in medical technologies.
Accelerators look for innovative technologies and products that can be developed to solve healthcare... Read More »
INTERPOL recently hosted a conference designed to spur discussion regarding the latest vehicle crime investigation patterns, new law enforcement technologies available to law enforcement, and challenges in vehicle supply chain security.
Officials said the INTERPOL Global Conference on Vehicle... Read More »
Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Pfeifer has retired from the U.S. Border Patrol, closing out a career that spanned 31 years.
“It has been my honor to serve as the Chief Patrol Agent for the past seven years,” said Pfeifer, who began his career in Uvalde, Texas, after entering on duty... Read More »
With cancer, diabetes, heart conditions and other chronic diseases on the rise in the Caribbean, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently launched a four-year project to improve radiation medicine capabilities across the region’s 32 island countries.
IAEA convened a coordination... Read More »
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) would be directed to establish a computerized, searchable database of gun records under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Monday.
The Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act would strike a current federal prohibition on the creation of a... Read More »
Traces of Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus have been found in ticks embedded in birds migrating from Africa to Europe, providing new insights about how the virus spreads to new regions, according to a recent study led by researchers at Uppsala University.
First identified in Saudi Arabia in the... Read More »
FLIR Systems has been awarded a $2.6 million order from the United States Army for airborne video surveillance units.
Specifically, FLIR will provide its Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS), which is used by soldiers for surveillance and reconnaissance.
The FLIR Black Hornet... Read More »
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led investigation has resulted in 11 individuals facing federal drug charges in multiple indictments.
Officials said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics joined in the... Read More »
The San Diego portion of the border wall construction project is underway, just east of Border Field State Park.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the $147 million project, which replaces 14 miles of eight-to-10 foot high scrap metal wall with an 18-to-30 foot bollard-style wall... Read More »
A four-day training course coordinated by federal and territorial agencies in Puerto Rico last week culminated in a practice scenario that tested the ability of first responders and health care workers to respond to a simulated traffic crash that resulted in the release of chlorine gas.
The... Read More »
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dispatched a team of volunteer epidemiologists, physicians, communication experts, injection prevention and control experts and data managers to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As of June 2, the World... Read More »
The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. and Kongsberg Gruppen a contract to manufacture and deliver a long-range precision missile for littoral combat ships and future frigates over-the-horizon weapons systems.
The $14.8 million contract for offensive missiles and a single fire control suite... Read More »
U.S. Marines along with members of the British army Commandos concluded their Red Dagger training exercises last week.
This year's exercise is the fifth iteration of the bilateral training program, which took place at Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), Pennsylvania, May 12-25. The exercise featured... Read More »
Recently released study findings are lending new insight concerning the dengue virus impact in Ethiopia.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne RNA virus representing one of the most serious and rapidly spreading arboviral diseases in the world.
Details published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases... Read More »
Homeland Security officials have increased the number of temporary non-agricultural worker visas as a means of aiding American businesses.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary visas would be available for Fiscal Year 2018, in addition to the... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited multiple locations along the nation’s southwest border on Thursday, meeting with elected officials, local residents and representatives of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. National Guard.
Nielsen was joined by... Read More »
The RAND Corporation has been selected to oversee a five-year effort supported by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) to use data to better understand gun violence patterns and to find solutions.
LJAF has pledged $20 million to the collaborative effort, called the National Collaborative... Read More »
