Countermeasures
To improve outcomes for service members who suffer traumatic brain injuries, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a program that aims to slow down biochemical reactions inside cells to extend the length of time that life-saving treatment can be rendered.
DARPA’s... Read More »
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) recently published a study that found that the United States is unprepared for the surge in pediatric patients that an infectious disease pandemic could cause.
The paper, which was published in the American Journal of Disaster Medicine,... Read More »
Citing the Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 concert goers dead in October, Nevada lawmakers called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reconfigure the funding formula for its Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program on Friday.
In a letter to Homeland Security Kirstjen... Read More »
Warning that the United States is engaged in or at the brink of cyber war, U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) called for a national doctrine of cyber deterrence during two separate hearings on Thursday.
King spoke about the importance of a national cybersecurity policy during a Senate Armed Services... Read More »
Lassa Fever has broken out in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with 1081 suspected cases spread across 18 states.
Among these, 72 deaths have been confirmed as linked to the fever, though as many as 90 may have actually died from it. Four of the dead were health care... Read More »
A bipartisan bill announced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday would enable law enforcers and family members to petition courts to temporarily restrict access to firearms for those who are deemed an imminent threat to themselves or others.
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at the Del Rio Port of Entry recently seized methamphetamine valued at approximately $247,000.
“This seizure is a great example of teamwork exhibited by our CBP officers,” Mucia C. Dovalina, port director for... Read More »
A study from scientists at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin found that almost two-thirds of all molecular diagnostic tests for the Zika virus in Brazil showed false-positive or false-negative results.
Almost all cases of Zika-associated malformations in newborns have been reported from... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate plans to hold a Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Operational Experimentation (OpEX) in December to evaluate first responder technology solutions.
The DHS S&T Directorate issued a request for information (RFI)... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) this week maintained her laser focus on improving the preparedness of the United States to respond to a pandemic or chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats via formation of the new bipartisan Congressional Biodefense Caucus.
Rep. Brooks and... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) laid out a point by point note of the necessities for a universal flu vaccine this week, publishing their strategy in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
For such a vaccine to be successful, the organization saw four main goals... Read More »
A new bill being considered by the Senate seeks to formulate a concrete strategy against antibiotic resistance and lower the inappropriate use of antibiotics which is fueling the condition’s rise.
The legislation comes from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and has been dubbed the Strategies to... Read More »
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on Wednesday found that the Department of Defense (DoD) has implemented some — but not all — of statutory requirements outlined in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to address organizational challenges.
The DoD drafted an... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detailed its progress regarding the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) in a recent press release marking the two-year anniversary of the Act.
TFTEA aims to reshape, strengthen and modernize how CBP accomplishes its trade mission... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Emory University recently hosted a workshop on radiological security in Atlanta, Georgia.
Workshop participants included representatives from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Federal Bureau of... Read More »
A bipartisan resolution introduced in the Senate on Wednesday calls for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from conflict in Yemen between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis movement that emerged there in the 1990s.
The Obama Administration deployed U.S. military forces to Yemen in 2015 without... Read More »
The 2018 Joint Civil & DoD CBRN Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 5-6 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The event will provide a forum for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia,... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded a 12-month, $26 million contract to Emergent BioSolutions on Wednesday for the continued supply of Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV) to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
Emergent BioSolutions developed VIGIV,... Read More »
An effort to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines alike has been introduced to the U.S. Senate, and Democrats appear to be aligning behind the effort.
Introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.),... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Amtrak are currently testing new technology that detects suicide vests and other improvised explosive devices (IED) concealed beneath travelers’ clothing at New York’s Pennsylvania Station.
The standoff explosive detection unit sounds an... Read More »
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Kenya reported 453 cases, including 32 laboratory-confirmed cases and 421 suspected cases, of chikungunya from Mombasa County from mid-December 2017 through Feb. 3.
Based on reports from peripheral health facilities, the outbreak spread to the six sub-counties... Read More »
Senior justice and law enforcement officials and their diplomatic counterparts from approximately 90 countries and organizations met in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss the evolving threats posed by ISIS.
The U.S. Department of State, the International Criminal Police Organization... Read More »
Individuals who are on the “no fly list” maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center would be barred from purchasing firearms under a bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday.
The Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act would enable the attorney general to deny firearms sales... Read More »
Twelve A-10s that were delivered to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in January have primarily been used to target Taliban revenue streams like narcotics trafficking, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Gen. Joseph Votel testified before a House panel on Tuesday.
January marked the first time in... Read More »
With biological threats to America and its interests overseas increasing, waiting any longer to commit federal funds to national biodefense would not be in the best interests of the health and well-being of United States’ citizens, nor the country’s security, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on... Read More »
The DoD Information Warfare Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 28-29 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Designed for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia, and other stakeholders,... Read More »
Local school districts would have access to federal grant funding to install metal detectors under a bill announced by U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) on Monday to help secure schools.
The bill would require school districts that receive grant funding to limit the number of school entrances to... Read More »
Deportation officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 145 individuals in South and Central Texas during a seven-day enforcement action, which ended Feb. 16.
Of the 145 arrested, 86 had criminal convictions. Thirty-nine were... Read More »
Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health recently developed an improved system for predicting the geographic spread of seasonal influenza in the United States.
According to a paper published in the journal PNAS, the forecasting system can accurately predict local... Read More »
The State Department and Department of Defense (DoD) signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday that will operationalize the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which will be tasked with coordinating the U.S. government’s counter-propaganda efforts.
GEC was established under a provision of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) lauded new sanctions announced against shipping companies and vessels tied to North Korea on Friday as a necessary move to compel North Korea to engage in “a credible diplomatic process” with denuclearization as the ultimate goal.
The Treasury Department’s... Read More »
Counterfeit goods entering the United States pose challenges for consumers and businesses that need to be addressed by federal agencies that enforce intellectual property rights (IPR), according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Counterfeit goods are hard to spot and, with the... Read More »
A union of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. and Valneva SE has led to the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for a Zika virus vaccine candidate in the United States.
The purified inactivated vaccine candidate, VLA1601, has been developed using the same manufacturing platform as Valneva’s... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in New England, Boston Field Office arrested three subjects in a 24-hour period in two separate instances for narcotics possession and an active warrant.
At the Port of Houlton in Maine, CBP officers encountered two 42-year old male U.S. citizens... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed the implementation of Next Generation 911 (NG911), which provides improved capabilities over the legacy 911 system.
The GAO report examines state and local progress, challenges in implementing NG911 and federal actions to address... Read More »
