Countermeasures
In a recent report and testimony, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the Department of Energy (DOE) take a leading role in a collaborative interagency effort on research into low-dose radiation’s health effects.
GAO identified seven federal agencies that obligated... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this week intercepted $509,700 in counterfeit U.S. $100 bills that a 62-year-old U.S. Citizen arriving from Peru attempted to hide in his luggage.
“This seizure demonstrates how U.S. Customs... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents helped rescue two people on Tuesday who were injured while hiding in El Paso’s storm drain system after reportedly entering the United States illegally.
CBP’s Confined Space Entry Team (CSET) was deployed following a report on Monday that five... Read More »
The first nationwide public safety broadband network, known as FirstNet, secured partnership commitments from about half of the states and two U.S. territories by the end of October, according to testimony before a congressional panel on Wednesday.
Members of the House Energy and Commerce... Read More »
Some of the 276 laboratories across the United States that research hazardous pathogens like Ebola virus and anthrax bacteria experience continued safety lapses, leaving oversight reforms needed, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study.
The Federal Select Agent... Read More »
Thirty private sector and government stakeholders would reimburse U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for providing additional cross-border trade and travel inspection services under tentative partnership agreements announced on Tuesday.
The Reimbursable Services Program (RSP) was launched... Read More »
State-run election systems would be deemed critical infrastructure, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be enlisted to protect registration data, voting systems, and ballots from foreign interference, under bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate on Tuesday.
The Securing... Read More »
A two-day workshop was recently held in Washington, D.C. that addressed methods of building up the U.S. ability to monitor and analyze its medical countermeasures for use in public health emergencies.
Hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the workshop focused... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday the appointment of Felix Chavez as the new Chief Patrol Agent of the Del Rio Sector, effective Oct. 29.
As Chief Patrol Agent, Chavez will manage nine stations and more than 1,500 agents and support staff. He will also oversee 210 miles of border and over... Read More »
New York City first responders conducted this week a critical incident training exercise and tested new technologies provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) at Grand Central Station.
The New York Police Department (NYPD), the Fire... Read More »
Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group published two systematic reviews about the use of mefloquine to prevent malaria in travelers.
The reports drew together more than 50 studies that involved more than 1,000,000 participants, in order... Read More »
While efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB) have made progress, more action is needed to reach global targets and close gaps in TB care and prevention, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found.
The report found that since 2000, global efforts have decreased the TB mortality... Read More »
Members of U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee held a field hearing last week on port security at the Port of Los Angeles.
The hearing, titled Examining Physical Security and Cybersecurity at our Nation’s Ports, included testimony from representatives from the Coast... Read More »
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü recently gave a speech at the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) in Vienna, Austria, to highlight the organization’s cooperation with industry as it works to complete the destruction of... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Brownsville Port of Entry in Texas recently intercepted five shipments of narcotics over separate incidents.
The first seizure occurred on Oct. 20 at the port’s Veterans International Bridge when officers encountered a 2010... Read More »
A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that there is an overlap in the missions and membership within a number of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emergency communications organizations because each of them promotes interoperable emergency... Read More »
A new study by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, along with colleagues from Rio de Janeiro, Uruguay, and the United Kingdom, found that populations of Malaria in the Americas are more diverse than was previously thought.
Because the most prevalent species of malaria... Read More »
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted W. Lieu
(D-CA) recently introduced bicameral legislation that would create a voluntary cybersecurity certification program for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
“The IoT will also stand for the Internet of Threats unless we put in place appropriate... Read More »
Vice President Mike Pence and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson recently joined U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) for a review of the dual-nuclear missions of the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to highlight the central role the nation’s nuclear triad plays as a deterrent for threats to global... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers stationed at the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry in Texas recently seized more than $480,000 worth of alleged cocaine in separate incidents.
On Oct. 24, officers assigned to the port’s Pharr International... Read More »
In observance of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently called upon more people to consider careers in cybersecurity as part of a push to fill more than 209,000 unfulfilled cybersecurity jobs in the United States.
“We are focused on... Read More »
Though the state of Michigan first established a Cyber Civilian Corps back in 2013, a new law signed last week will allow those volunteers to service a broader range of entities in need of crisis assistance.
The bill was appropriately dubbed the Cyber Civilian Corps Act by its introducers, state... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced that the six companies tasked with building prototypes for a southern border wall completed construction in San Diego, California.
CBP will now test and evaluate the eight prototypes over a 30 to 60-day period to determine which... Read More »
The malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasite needs two proteins to infect red blood cells and exit the cells after it multiplies, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The researchers... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently began implementing enhanced screening procedures for carry-on items at the Orlando International Airport (MCO).
TSA personnel will now require travelers passing through standard screening lanes to remove electronics larger than a cell... Read More »
An outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar and Seychelles carries a moderate risk of spread to neighboring Indian Ocean islands, which is mitigated by the naturally short incubation period of the virus and the institution of exit screening measures at ports of entry, according to a recent update... Read More »
A bill that aims to strengthen American security at airports in Cuba and on commercial flights between the two countries was recently introduced to the Senate by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
The Cuban Airport Security Act would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to... Read More »
CARB-X, a partnership between U.K. and U.S. organizations, has awarded $2.48 million to Amicrobe Inc. for development of a bioengineered antimicrobial designed to help infected tissue.
Presently, the World Health Organization estimates drug-resistant infections kill 700,000 per year. In the... Read More »
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) announced Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence will visit the Minot Air Force Base in Ward County, North Dakota, today to review the base’s dual-nuclear missions.
Pence will also meet the base’s leadership and address the airmen during the visit Minot, which is... Read More »
A group of 28 Senators led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) to require private sellers to conduct background checks for the sale or transfer of firearms, with certain exceptions.
The requirements of the Background Check Expansion Act would apply to all unlicensed sellers, whether they sell firearms... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Falfurrias Checkpoint in Texas recently seized more than 80 pounds of cocaine and 60 pounds of marijuana and rescued 52 undocumented immigrants over four separate incidents.
Beginning on Oct. 20, agents assigned to the checkpoint... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) provided an update on Wednesday regarding the recently confirmed outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) emanating from Uganda’s Kween District.
As of Oct. 24, five cases of MVD have been reported. One case has been confirmed through laboratory testing,... Read More »
In an effort to improve international biosafety and security, the Sandia National Laboratories have created a peer mentorship program to pair experts from developed and developing nations.
The program has been dubbed the Biosafety Twinning program. It operates in six-month terms, focusing on... Read More »
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the implementation of updated security measures for refugees entering the United States, including, but not limited to, increased data collection, improved information sharing between agencies, and new training procedures for screeners.
The changes come... Read More »
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) announced this week an agreement to partner on building the National Mutual Aid System (NMAS) with health and safety solutions company Intermedix and spatial analytics company Esri.
The NMAS will replace the IAFC’s Mutual Aid Net tool built... Read More »
