Countermeasures
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona recently apprehended two Mexican nationals and a U.S. citizen in connection to three separate narcotics smuggling incidents.
The first incident began as officers stationed at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing... Read More »
The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently announced an immediate investment of $24 million and up to $24 million in additional, milestone-based payments over three years to accelerate the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics to treat... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently came out in favor of the bipartisan Reinvigorating Antibiotics and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) Act, which provides a new tax credit for new antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections and addresses unmet medical needs... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an organization under the direction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently began its Phase 2/2b VRC 705 clinical trial, testing an experimental DNA vaccine designed to protect against Zika virus infection.
Zika... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington recently arrested 84 foreign nationals during a three-day operation that targeted at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives.
Among those detained by ICE was a... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently reintroduced the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act, which seeks to address concerns regarding the safety of the nation’s rail, transit, highway, and maritime passenger and freight transportation infrastructure.
The group includes... Read More »
CryptoMove, a company specializing in active defense data protection, was recently awarded a $200,000 contract from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to strengthen Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS)... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Friday it signed a $53 million modified contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in order to allow for future filling and deliveries of its botulism antitoxin to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
The contract covers a... Read More »
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators recently introduced the Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust and Resilience and Enhance Enterprise Technology (MAIN STREET) Cybersecurity Act, which aims to help small businesses protect their digital assets from cybersecurity threats.
The... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) intercepted a go fast-type vessel this week, carrying approximately 3,500 pounds of alleged cocaine.
The incident began as a CBP DHC-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft detected a suspicious vessel traveling southbound without... Read More »
Throughout the month of March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed in Cincinnati seized 83 shipments of illegal synthetic narcotics, totaling more than 290 pounds.
Included in the seizures were more than 36 pounds of furanyl fentanyl, 233 pounds of the designer date rape... Read More »
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently outlined the organization's efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most serious infectious diseases.
In a joint statement, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and other NIAID officials said the... Read More »
A bipartisan group of House members recently introduced legislation to increase federal penalties for making bomb threats and provide $20 million in additional funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help safeguard faith-based community centers across the country.
The members... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report surveying the overseas inventory of Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation, along with various State Department assistance efforts in order to determine if any redundancies exist.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001... Read More »
Smiths Detection was recently awarded a contract to supply Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with new baggage screening equipment, including 24 HI-SCAN 10080 XCT systems.
The contract includes an option for six additional scanners to be deployed at Lelystad, Rotterdam - The Hague, and Eindhoven... Read More »
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new strategic plan last week to improve the prevention, surveillance, and emergency response to infectious diseases on the continent.
Prior to its approval, the plan was reviewed by Africa CDC experts, the advisory and... Read More »
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price told members of Congress on Wednesday that the nation’s emergency preparedness and response ranks high on the federal funding list at his agency.
The goal of the Trump Administration is not to deconstruct HHS, Price... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross plans to make an announcement on Thursday regarding the signing of a 25-year contract for a public-private partnership to create the first nationwide public safety broadband network.
AT&T is the only publicly known entity that is being considered for the... Read More »
A team of researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine recently published their initial findings of an early-stage vaccine to protect against Zika virus infection.
With new funding, the team is preparing to move forward with non-human primate testing and, eventually,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently introduced a bill that would enhance penalties for “spotters” who convey information related to the position and surveillance efforts of Border Patrol agents in order to disrupt their duties.
The bill, titled the Transnational Criminal Organization... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced last week U.S.
Rep. David Young’s (R-IA) Securing our Agriculture and Food Act (H.R. 1238), which aims to prevent acts of agro-terrorism from affecting the nation’s food supply.
The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to enhance the... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously last week to advance U.S. Rep. John Rutherford’s (R-FL) Reducing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acquisition Cost Growth Act (H.R. 1294), which aims to prevent wasteful spending by various agencies within DHS.
The act is one of nine... Read More »
Sustainable federal funding to develop and stockpile medical countermeasures is critical to the security and public health emergency preparedness of the United States, panelists said during a Bipartisan Policy Center event on Tuesday.
And medical countermeasures are needed now as the United... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced nine bills last week sponsored by the Homeland Security Committee, including unanimously voting on U.S. Rep. Martha McSally’s (R-AZ) Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017.
“It is critical that we continue to re-examine our... Read More »
According to a recent study led by the University of Florida and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, most cases of dengue fever occur very close to an individual’s home and are transmitted from the same family of mosquitoes.
Findings from the study were published in the March... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) recently held a three-day training course in Thailand, which discussed various ways law enforcement entities can identify individuals who use forged travel documents.
Participants included law enforcement officials, immigration agents,... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü recently paid an official visit to Singapore, where he gave the keynote address at the Singapore International Symposium on Protection Against Toxic Substances.
In his address, Üzümcü touched on... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently introduced the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, which aims to reduce the flow of illicit fentanyl coming into the United States.
Cosponsors of the bill include... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) recently intercepted two vessels carrying more than 2,900 pounds of cocaine traveling in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
“This latest seizure provides a glimpse of the vigilance our experienced aircrews exhibit when... Read More »
During a Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing this week, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) received support from U.S. Border Patrol for enhancing security along the northern U.S. border with Canada.
The hearing comes in the wake of President Trump’s request for 5,000 additional border agents... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently reintroduced two bills aimed at improving cybersecurity standards for both cars and aircraft.
The first bill, the Security and Privacy in Your Car (SPY Car) Act, would direct both the National Highway Traffic Safety... Read More »
The United States must prepare for surprise attacks at home and abroad from traditional weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and from the new, emerging and largely unknown consequences posed by synthetic biological threats, a senior defense official told House congressional members on Thursday.
... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed this week the TSA Administrator Modernization Act of 2017, which seeks to address various leadership issues within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The bill was authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and is currently... Read More »
Michigan State Sen. Judy Emmons (R-Sheridan)introduced a bill this week to continue the state’s OK2SAY hotline, a 24-hour confidential tip line aimed at preventing school tragedies.
Emmons current bill would extend the program by repealing its designated expiration date of Oct. 1, 2017.... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) recently hosted a Digital Security Challenge at its Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, which saw digital forensic experts and cybercrime investigators from 20 countries compete to gather evidence, identify a suspect, and... Read More »
