Countermeasures
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the creation of a Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC) in Brooklyn that will provide data sharing and cyber coordination for local, state, and federal cybersecurity efforts.
It is the first such cyber command center in the nation, and the partners involved... Read More »
The Marine Corps has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation to provide the Next Generation Handheld Targeting System (NGHTS), noting the targeting device provides unequaled precision and GPS-denied environment operational capabilities.
“NGHTS will significantly enhance the ability of Marines to... Read More »
Seeking to close a gap separating state, county, and municipal firefighters from federal firefighters, the Federal Firefighter Fairness Act of 2021 (HR 2499) is a bipartisan push to grant access to federal, job-related disability and retirement benefits for injuries and diseases contracted in the... Read More »
The U.S. Secret Service said it has initiated a cryptocurrency public awareness hub to protect the national financial infrastructure.
“Blockchain technology has brought massive development to many sectors, especially within finance," Secret Service Office of Investigations Assistant Director... Read More »
Memphis, Tennessee, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel said the division has seized 2,509 pounds of drugs since the beginning of this fiscal year.
China, Mexico, and Brazil are among the countries of origin for the contraband, which includes fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, ketamine, DMT,... Read More »
A virtual event organized by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research last week pulled in government officials and technical experts to address the best means of accelerating... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials recently detailed a Port of Lukeville, Ariz., operation resulting in the seizure of 880 pounds of methamphetamine and over 110 pounds of suspected fentanyl.
Port of Lukeville officers referred a 47-year-old Phoenix man for additional inspection of... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said the agency does not tolerate behavior placing the safety of airport and airline personnel as well as the traveling public at risk.
“We will continue to use our authorities to hold accountable those passengers that... Read More »
Seven senators last week urged the Biden administration to outline plans to develop more durable COVID-19 vaccines following a year of emerging variants that have tested the efficacy of current treatments.
Led by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and... Read More »
More than 160 House Republicans sent a letter to the Biden administration last week, denouncing the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran and demanding that any future agreement make a greater role for Congressional insight and approval.
"The Iranian regime brutally represses, persecutes,... Read More »
With worries of a Russian incursion into Ukraine ongoing, U.S. Reps. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Mike Turner (R-OH) today introduce the Supplying Ukraine with Provisions to Protect against Ongoing Russian Threats (SUPPORT) Act to guarantee support to the latter.
For the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) has introduced legislation that seeks to bolster funding resulting in law enforcement agencies hiring more school resource officers.
The School Resource Officer Act, which Newhouse co-authored with U.S. Reps. Chris Jacobs (R-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Don Bacon... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a Prototype Project Agreement (PPA) to create a 5G communications network infrastructure testbed for expeditionary operations experimentation slated to aid two military entities.
The $19.3 million Lockheed Martin pact with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense... Read More »
The ReVector program – an anti-mosquito Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) creation undertaken at Stanford University – entered its next research phase this month, advancing to animal testing.
“Phase 1 of the program focused on identifying microbial or metabolic targets... Read More »
U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) have joined 14 colleagues to introduce legislation that bolsters the nation’s ability to combat human trafficking.
The Countering Human Trafficking Act would provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center for Countering Human... Read More »
A group of 10 senators – nine Democrats and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – wrote a letter to President Joe Biden this week, urging him to use executive action to demilitarize the nation’s police forces and reform Department of Defense programs that transfer or sell military equipment to... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced legislation that sanctions Russia for present and potential future aggression against Ukraine.
U.S. Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Jim Risch (R-ID) recently joined over 30 other Republican colleagues in presenting the Never Yielding Europe’s Territory... Read More »
Lessons from one disaster can provide insights into the next and maybe even help prevent them – an idea carried forward in a new paper on COVID-19 commissioned by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and written by retired Major Gen. Julie Bentz.
In the paper, Bentz – a former major general... Read More »
Engineering firm KBR has secured a Department of Defense (DoD) Information Analysis Center contract to support the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target (PATRIOT) missile defense system.
The scope of the $207 million contract involves analyzing PATRIOT's overall performance while... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, requesting a hearing regarding the nation's southern border.
U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford... Read More »
A second-generation Advanced Combat Helmet is coming soon to supplies of the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), following its award of a $204 million, five-year contract to designer Avon Protection plc.
"This is another significant, multi-year helmet contract for Avon Protection,... Read More »
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough therapy designation to a Bavarian Nordic A/S vaccine candidate known as MVA-BN RSV this week, setting the preventative for RSV up for a hastened review and development cycle.
The vaccine’s focus, known as respiratory... Read More »
The COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment known as bebtelovimab was granted emergency use authorization (EUA) last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), thanks to its displayed capabilities against the dominant Omicron variant.
Omicron has changed the field of the ongoing... Read More »
While monoclonal antibodies have made headway in some countries more than others, the World Health Organization (WHO), for the first time last week, offered prequalification to Roche’s tocilizumab treatment, smoothing the path to more widespread approval.
Prequalification guarantees that the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) has introduced a measure designed to bolster the gun background check system.
Officials said the Preventing Pretrial Gun Purchases Act amends federal gun laws as a means of ensuring the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) denies gun sales... Read More »
A group of Republican legislators recently forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden, seeking clarity on re-imposing limits on ground-based missiles in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Michael Turner (R-OH), Elise... Read More »
Lawmakers and law enforcement personnel recently gathered in Washington, DC, to address the national rise in violent crime and the need to keep communities safe.
U.S. Reps. Robin L. Kelly (D-IL) and Val Demings (D-FL) previously introduced the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological... Read More »
In a letter to President Joe Biden, 116 Republican members of Congress, led by U.S. Rep. Bran Steil (WI), pressed the administration to immediately crack down on fentanyl distribution and list the drug as a permanent Schedule 1 substance.
Drug overdoses have been on the rise for years, though... Read More »
With the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 now dominating the pandemic’s reach, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has sought ways to halt its effects, and as part of this effort, last week purchased 600,000 courses of a new monoclonal antibody.
This antibody, known as... Read More »
Military aircraft companies Sikorsky and Boeing have chosen Honeywell to provide the DEFIANT X advanced helicopter engine for the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.
“DEFIANT X is a transformational aircraft and Honeywell is giving us a transformational engine to... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently detailed the inaugural crewless flight of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter utilizing the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS).
“With reduced workloads, pilots can focus on mission management instead of the mechanics,”... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week announced the allocation of $4.5 million across three grant awards to create collaborative research centers in the United States, focusing specifically on investigating treatments and vaccines specifically related to Valley Fever.
These centers... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has worked with state and local law enforcement personnel to ensure employee, player, and fan safety during Super Bowl LVI.
“The Department of Homeland Security is fundamentally a department of partnerships, and those... Read More »
Years into a global pandemic, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and affiliated world leaders have called for fair, shared-based financing of approximately $23 billion in 2022 to overcome inequalities in medical access, scale-up countermeasure efforts, and end the COVID-19... Read More »
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has forwarded correspondence to 22 domestic universities, noting he is encouraging termination of
partnerships in support of Beijing’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy.
The issue stands with universities located in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) backing the... Read More »
