Countermeasures
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) recently introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act, which aims to preserve the effectiveness of medically-important antibiotics used to treat human and animal bacterial infections.
U.S. Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rosa... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) held a hearing last week to examine the effectiveness of emergency preparedness grant programs that allow locales to identify and respond to various disaster scenarios.
Barletta, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP), in conjunction with the Joint Task Force-West, South Texas Corridor (JTF-W STC), recently apprehended a known human smuggler operating in Rio Grande City.
Abigail Del Angel was arrested in a joint operation on Mar. 8 by JTF-W STC and the Starr County... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced legislation last week to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply by addressing various threats posed by acts of agro-terrorism.
The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who serves... Read More »
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee introduced two bills last week in an attempt to prevent identity theft by enhancing protections for social security numbers (SSNs).
The first bill, titled the Social Security MAIL Act (H.R. 1513), would prevent the Social Security Administration from... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) sent a public request last week to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, for a comprehensive oversight hearing on the various domestic threats on religious institutions and a markup to pass the Securing American... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions Inc. on Friday signed a two-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) valued at $100 million for the delivery of the company’s anthrax vaccine, called BioThrax, to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The most recent... Read More »
In response to recent missile launches by the North Korean government, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford held a 30-minute telemeeting with the Chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Sun Jin-Lee to assess the security situation for allies in the area.
On... Read More »
Secretary General of Interpol Jürgen Stock recently addressed the Chiefs of Police Conference of South Asia and Neighboring Countries, stating that regional and global police cooperation has never been more essential in the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
“In today’s world,... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and agriculture specialists stationed along eight different South Texas ports of entry seized a series of shipments containing a large amount of narcotics, currency, false documents, while uncovering numerous agricultural violations over the course of... Read More »
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently discovered that a naturally-produced enzyme called 25-hydroxycholestrol (25HC) protects animals against Zika virus infection and can be manufactured to create compounds against a broad range of viruses.
Research for this... Read More »
Over a series of targeted enforcement raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, a total of 248 foreign nationals were recently arrested in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware.
ICE officials said the raids were specifically targeted at migrants who had... Read More »
According to a recent study at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Zika virus and dengue fever are so closely related to one another that the body’s immune system treats Zika like another version of dengue.
The researchers said the immune response showed that pre-existing... Read More »
Democrats serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security recently appointed its members to the committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States.
Democratic members on the temporary panel include U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), vice ranking member of the... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its epidemiological information to its website regarding Zika virus, which includes implications to the blood and tissue collection community.
The new information includes data about areas with potential increased risk... Read More »
During a recent Stanford University School of Medicine study, a combination of two cancer drugs inhibited both dengue fever and Ebola virus infections in mice subjects, despite the viruses being so different from one another.
Results of the study were published in the Feb. 27 issue of the... Read More »
A group of Democratic members of Congress recently sent a public letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), questioning how actions by the Trump Administration could harm the CDC’s preparedness in the... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued last week a Zika virus travel notice for Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, and the Solomon Islands.
The CDC’s travel notices warn individuals, particularly pregnant women, to practice enhanced precautions when traveling to... Read More »
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was convicted by a federal jury last week on charges of accepting cash bribes and sexual favors in exchange for providing employment authorization documents and concealing the employment of an undocumented migrant at a hair salon he owned.... Read More »
Congressmen of the San Antonio, Texas delegation recently introduced a cybersecurity preparedness bill to both the U.S House of Representatives and the Senate, aiming for better training for local authorities against cyber attacks.
The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act requires... Read More »
Recent presidential administrations confronted infectious disease emergencies that threatened both human lives and the U.S. economy, and with the likelihood high that the Trump administration will be no exception, the U.S. government should strengthen its public health emergency preparedness now,... Read More »
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG), an initiative launched by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently provided an update in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on ARLG progress, outlining its ongoing and future efforts.
The leadership... Read More »
According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, more actions are needed from federal agencies to strengthen transportation security for risk-significant radioactive materials during ground transport.
GAO was originally asked to review federal procedures over risk-significant... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) chaired a cybersecurity hearing last week to examine various opportunities for enhancing partnerships between the private sector and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The hearing, titled The Current State of DHS Private Sector Engagement for... Read More »
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, discussing the unusually large outbreak of yellow fever in rural Brazil and how the situation needs careful attention by world... Read More »
The State of New York recently received more than $5 million in federal Homeland Security grant funding for local governments across the state to enhance counterterrorism initiatives and strengthen public safety-related projects.
The funding was announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, U.S.... Read More »
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Boston Conference on Cybersecurity last week and laid out the bureau’s five-part strategy to address various cyber intrusions.
The conference is part of a partnership between the FBI and... Read More »
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday marked up a bill that requires a stress test of various U.S. government protection and prevention programs against potential terrorist attacks.
The Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017 was introduced by U.S. Rep.... Read More »
More work needs to be done to strengthen the alliance between the private sector and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in combating cyber attacks, private stakeholders testified at a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
“In the cyber domain, we are constantly learning... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed near the Laredo Port of Entry recently seized a shipment of alleged cocaine worth approximately $365,000.
The incident occurred on Mar. 2, as agents stationed at the World Trade International Bridge in Texas referred a 2006 Wentworth... Read More »
Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently captured 3D images of operating high explosive detonators for the first time.
For the study, the research teams utilized state-of-the-art imaging systems with computed... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Toronto and Public Health Ontario, Canadians who reported travel-related illnesses after returning from the Americas were commonly diagnosed with dengue, but actually were infected with cases of Zika virus that were more severe than... Read More »
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit recently arrested a former Colombian National Army battalion commander who was wanted for charges of forced disappearance, homicide of a protected person, and weapons and ammunition... Read More »
Kansas State University (KSU) recently launched a new research fellowship aimed at studying highly-contagious epidemic animal diseases and the threats they pose to national security.
The fellowship is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is administered through... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), in conjunction with the Council of Europe, recently launched a new initiative aimed at building capacity and enhancing cooperation amongst cybersecurity investigators around the world.
The Global action on Cybercrime extended (GLACY+)... Read More »
