Countermeasures
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 »
U.S. Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently published an oversight letter, requesting specific details regarding the Trump Administration’s $999 million request for the planning, design, and construction of the first installment of the proposed border wall between the United... Read More »
A group of Sandia National Laboratory researchers recently developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that can detect Zika virus, dengue fever, and chikungunya in under 30 minutes.
The device costs approximately $100 and weighs under one pound.
Contemporary... Read More »
Broomfield Public Health and Environment in Broomfield, Colorado recently reported plague activity around the Great Western Reservoir Open Space in relation to a mass prairie dog die off.
The organization said this is the first incident of plague activity seen in the area this season. Cautionary... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released two requests for proposals (RFPs) to award multiple contracts, along with initial task orders, for the design and construction of wall prototypes to be used in President Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
The President’s... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced a bill last week aimed at providing state and local law enforcement the tools necessary to combat cybercrime.
The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 would authorize the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), based in... Read More »
The Seattle-based Mobile Performance Management software company, NetMotion Software, recently released the world’s first mobile intelligence and analytics solution that captures network and security data across any wireless network, called Diagnostics 4.0.
NetMotion said the software gives... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a study examining actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have taken to manage the use of medically-important antibiotics in food animals.
For its review, GAO... Read More »
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 »
