Countermeasures
The upcoming fiscal year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) overcame one of its major hurdles last week, advancing out of the Senate Armed Services Committee after consideration of 433 amendments and the adoption of 223.
Committee markup and approval is the first big step to set... Read More »
The U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) recently led an investigation that led to the indictment of 20 Mexican nationals among 39 defendants for narcotics trafficking.
The individuals had roles in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and 22... Read More »
Department of Justice and European Union officials are espousing the benefits of a recent two-day workshop in The Hague to share best practices and enhance collaboration in confronting ransomware attacks.
“Only by working together with key law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in the EU... Read More »
A positive vote of 84-14 in the Senate passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 through its final legislative hurdle last week, advancing it to President Joe Biden to sign.
The legislation introduced by U.S. Sens.... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (IL) and Jimmy Panetta (CA) led 18 colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden, encouraging him to improve supply chains, national preparedness, and vaccine delivery efficiency.
They hope this will help the nation recover economically from the COVID-19... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Don Bacon (R-NE), Val Demings (D-FL), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) recently introduced legislation that seeks to ensure federal police and first responders are paid full compensation earned.
The Law Enforcement Officer Fair Retirement Act enables officers to... Read More »
Roche broke new ground with its cobas SARS-CoV-2 Duo, which this week received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) to become the first PCR test capable of simultaneously detecting COVID-19 and quantitatively measuring viral load levels.
“The test’s... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected three research teams to develop solutions for hybrid reef-mimicking structures research.
DARPA launched the Reefense program to target coastal flooding, erosion, and storm damage threatening civilian and Department of Defense... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is funding the development of a cloud-based capability aiding digital indoor mapping capability.
Collaboration with Waterloo, Ontario-based Mappedin Inc. yielded Mappedin Response, which enables first... Read More »
Taking up a law enforcement-focused bill first introduced by U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a companion to the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Act this week.
Backed by both police groups... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) recently joined 34 colleagues in forwarding correspondence to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeking a review of the department's southern border policy.
The lawmakers noted that the follow-up letter to DHS Inspector General... Read More »
As part of a new contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Lockheed Martin will head to Fort Carson, Colo., to set up the department’s first megawatt-scale, long-duration energy storage system.
Known as GridStar Flow, this system will be under the management of the U.S. Army... Read More »
In two trials of a new Sanofi-GSK COVID-19 booster vaccine, strong immune responses were offered to previously vaccinated adults, and solid protection was offered against variants of concern, according to the company’s latest data.
This booster is modeled on the Beta variant antigen,... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) personnel are espousing the benefits of the agency publishing the Resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Reference Architecture document.
The document incorporates modern cybersecurity principles to... Read More »
Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) recently announced their latest partnership agreement, focusing on future T-50 opportunities.
The T-50 is a proven aircraft program designed to reduce the new pilots learning curve while aiding the process of pilots flying faster operational... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced the People Over Pentagon Act this week, which seeks a $100 billion cut from the defense budget.
“The United States spends more on defense than the next nine countries combined, and cutting it by $100 billion will still keep the... Read More »
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) has joined a group of colleagues in introducing a measure that addresses an illegal alien policy loophole.
Kennedy recently detailed the Keep Our Communities Safe Act, indicating the measure addresses a catch-and-release loophole, requiring the government to... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) has introduced a resolution designating June as National Cybersecurity Education Month.
“In today's hyper-connected world, cybersecurity is national security,” Garbarino,
ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security's Cybersecurity,... Read More »
Responding to an increase in global cases of monkeypox, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) purchased an additional 500,000 doses of the liquid-frozen JYNNEOS vaccine, a Bavarian Nordic A/S product.
JYNNEOS holds the unique position of being the only U.S. Food... Read More »
A bipartisan group of senators revealed a limited agreement for gun safety legislation on June 12, in an effort to reform American gun laws in the wake of a series of mass shootings across the country,
While numerous Democrats supported the bill, 10 Republicans backed it as well, promising the... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and John Garamendi (D-CA) have called on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for more scrutiny of industry mergers following a recent U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) report that labeled consolidation of the defense industry a threat.
In February, the DoD noted that... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have introduced a bill to strengthen acquisition laws by preventing military contractor price gouging.
“As Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I know how much we pay for parts to keep military equipment... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer (R-MI), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) recently introduced legislation that seeks to create comprehensive federal restrictions to prohibit the most dangerous drone uses.
The Drone Act would, among other provisions, prohibit attaching... Read More »
As Congress contemplates the best approach to tackling the problem of overdose deaths, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced last week the Fighting Emerging Narcotics Through Additional Nations to Yield Lasting (FENTANYL) Results Act (S.B. 1160).
The FENTANYL Results Act, the... Read More »
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first five Sentinel A4 air and missile defense radars to the Army.
The Sentinel A4 has been on an accelerated schedule since the project was awarded in September 2019. Production of the next five radar systems is presently underway, with... Read More »
After an Inspector General report found that more than two-thirds of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant recipients failed to disclose foreign ties, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) urged legislative action this week to punish those who fail to reveal foreign financing.
“The HHS OIG (Health... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. revealed clinical data on its Omicron-containing bivalent COVID booster candidate, mRNA-1273.214, this week, showing that one-month post-administration, a 50 µg dose of the booster provided a superior neutralizing antibody response compared to its predecessor... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) has introduced legislation that seeks to clarify state flexibility to apply unused state and local COVID-19 Fiscal Recovery Funds school security measures.
The Securing Our Schools Act (H.R. 7979) would provide schools with additional needed... Read More »
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently conducted a hearing addressing the uptick in ransomware attacks and the use of cryptocurrencies as ransom payments in these attacks.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) convened the... Read More »
After considering data from a Phase 3 clinical trial of approximately 30,000 participants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) unanimously voted to recommend the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine gain Emergency Use Authorization... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced plans to launch a competition seeking to advance incident command dashboard technologies aiding emergency response.
The Command Dashboard Integrating Next-Gen or CommanDING, Tech Challenge would unite... Read More »
On Monday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Homeland Security for Children Act (H.R. 4426), which requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to more thoroughly factor children’s needs into its strategies.
“I am extremely proud that President Biden signed my bill into law,”... Read More »
Stating fears of misuse, 14 Republican senators wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week to request detailed information on how $350 billion sent to state, local, territorial and Tribal governments for COVID-19 relief has been used.
The funds in question all came from the... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has detailed a summary of terrorism threats, as well as responses to threats and resources to aid in bolstering safety.
Per DHS, individuals in online forums routinely promoting domestic violent extremist and conspiracy theory-related content have... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently launched a social media campaign the agency indicated seeks to bolster increased adoption of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent cyber intrusions.
The More Than a Password campaign kicked off at the 2022 RSA... Read More »
