Countermeasures
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a bill this week to fund research on the COVID-19 impacts on mental health and brain function.
“The pandemic showed us the need to prioritize mental health and support those suffering,” Cassidy... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently detailed the second successful flight test of the Lockheed Martin Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).
"This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight test successfully demonstrated a second design that will allow our warfighters to... Read More »
Backed by the European Union, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) created and launched a new training initiative this week to raise awareness among universities, academics, and researchers about the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and global disarmament.
“We live... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued new guidance to the Federal Register Frame or Receiver Final Rule modernizing the definition of a firearm.
“One year ago, the Department committed to address the proliferation of ghost guns used in violent crimes,” Attorney General Merrick B.... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently joined two additional agencies in hosting a Regional Smuggling Forum and Roundtable event in Mexico City.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) recently forwarded correspondence to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, encouraging the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide aircraft, air defense systems, and drones to Ukraine.
The letter stemmed from requests... Read More »
Japan’s NEC Corporation gained seed funding of up to $4.8 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week to help its Norway-based subsidiary with the initial development of broadly protective betacoronavirus vaccine candidates.
NEC OncoImmunity AS (NOI)... Read More »
By supporting conservation in other nations, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed – through the Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2022 (S.4074) – that the risk of zoonotic disease transmission could be reduced for humans.
As introduced, the bill would authorize the U.S. government to... Read More »
The Senate advanced the Countering Human Trafficking Act last week, raising the possibility of a permanent Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) to oversee federal counter-human trafficking efforts and a crackdown on goods made with forced labor.
Currently, the CCHT – a part of the... Read More »
Threat detection and security screening technologies firm Smiths Detection said it has launched iCMORE Currency, a new automated detection algorithm currency recognition software.
“We are very pleased to announce iCMORE Currency, the latest round of enhancements for our HI-SCAN series," Smiths... Read More »
In a push back against the spread of fentanyl overdoses throughout the United States, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) wrote to National Drug Control Policy director Rahul Gupta last week, asking for support on legislation to permanently classify the substance.
The... Read More »
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) has joined nine colleagues in introducing a bill they said prohibits President Joe Biden from lifting Title 42 immigration restrictions without a migrant surge contingency plan.
The Public Health and Border Security Act of H.R. 7458) seeks to have a plan in place from... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week awarded four grants totaling approximately $4.3 million of investment over the first year alone to launch new Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers (TRACs) across the country.
These grants will last five years,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) is commending the Judiciary Committee for advancing the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA) after markup, noting the measure secures resources needed to tackle radicalism.
“Domestic extremism has been on the rise across the United States for years, yet the... Read More »
A Phase 3 clinical trial of Vaxxinity, Inc.’s UB-612 heterologous COVID-19 vaccine booster dose candidate gained up to $9.25 million in support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) this week to help evaluate the candidate’s abilities.
“As we strive to stay one... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently introduced the Intragovernmental Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which seeks to ensure cybersecurity information is shared between the Executive Branch, the Senate and House of... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced legislation to enhance training for law enforcement personnel interacting with persons with mental or behavioral health issues.
The Bipartisan Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act was sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn... Read More »
The House of Representatives advanced this week the School and Daycare Protection Act (H.R. 6387), introduced by U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), to prompt action from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management.
Under H.R. 6387, DHS would create a School Security... Read More »
Uniting colleagues from across the political aisle, a letter written to President Joe Biden this week from 17 members of the House called for more missiles and radar capabilities to help Ukraine weather the ongoing Russian invasion.
Despite overwhelming numerical and technical odds, the... Read More »
The House of Representatives advanced two Republican bills to secure the southern border against drug cartels and bolster domestic supply chain resilience.
The DHS Illicit Cross-Border Tunnel Defense Act (H.R. 4209) directs Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop a strategic plan to... Read More »
Lockheed Martin and Intel Corporation recently announced the expansion of an ongoing strategic relationship to provide U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) 5G-enabled hardware and software solutions.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed late last year would enable faster and more decisive... Read More »
The U.S. Department of the Air Force announced this week that it has chosen six locations throughout the United States to house Space Force Training and Readiness Command Headquarters.
The Space Force, the smallest and newest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, has been divided into three field... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Cindy Axne (D-IA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) recently introduced legislation to update the National Weather Service’s (NWS) NWS Chat platform, which circulates time-sensitive information during severe weather... Read More »
A supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Roche’s Actemra/RoActemra intravenous treatment for COVID-19 cases among hospitalized patients was accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week and will benefit from priority review.
If approved, the drug... Read More »
Updates are on the way for the existing perimeter intrusion detection and assessment system (PIDAS) and other security features at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, care of a $100 million endeavor from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Groundbreaking for the... Read More »
A bipartisan push in the Senate yielded the introduction of the Improving Law Enforcement Office Safety and Wellness Through Data Act to the Judiciary Committee last week to improve information gathering on attacks that target law enforcement.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sens. Charles... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) forwarded correspondence to Apple CEO Tim Cook, expressing his concern regarding reports that the company is considering purchasing NAND chips from a Chinese manufacturer.
Rubio maintains Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) serves as a company with links to the... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently touted the completion of its Underminer program, which provides logistics support while delivering potential ongoing resupply as troops navigate a contested area.
“The technologies demonstrated in the Underminer program offered... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) said the agencies are making an additional 35,000 visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2022's second half.
The action stems from the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule. The H-2B temporary... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) recently introduced legislation that addresses the uptick in illicit drug action at the southern border.
The Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act expands Title 42 authority to turn back migrants as a means of combating drug... Read More »
With the introduction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tribal Public Health Security and Preparedness Act, a bipartisan collection of senators has made a bicameral push to increase Tribal public health security and preparedness through greater access to CDC resources.
U.S.... Read More »
The Satellite Cybersecurity Act, authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week, raising the possibility of federal resources for cybersecurity on private commercial satellites.
Peters is... Read More »
The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act (S.3875) advanced through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week, offering potential help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for communities needing to invest in natural disaster mitigation... Read More »
Within 10 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) sees a path to increase the use of and access to genomic surveillance for monitoring and analyzing pathogens through a strategy targeting inequities and leveraging existing capacities.
Genomic surveillance is a process whereby pathogens are... Read More »
The Navy has selected Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to produce and test its REMUS 300 craft as the branch's next-generation small unmanned underwater vehicle (SUUV) program of record.
“HII is proud of our longstanding partnership with the U.S. Navy and now, to lead in this important... Read More »
