Countermeasures
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agency has formed the Law Enforcement Coordination Council (LECC) to assess varied law enforcement matters -- including its law enforcement policies and training.
“Law enforcement is a noble profession," DHS Secretary Alejandro N.... Read More »
Nerve agent poisoning can result in a quick death, causing the central and peripheral nervous systems to shut down. For those fortunate enough to receive medical care and survive exposure, long-lasting side effects are probable, including seizures, extreme muscle spasms, and diminished mental... Read More »
A group of lawmakers introduced the Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act, which they said would provide state and local law enforcement with drug detection devices.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said the measure would establish a new grant program via the Department of Justice... Read More »
Safe and effective: this was the verdict of Phase 3 trial results for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s REGEN-COV COVID-19 treatment, as published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this week.
That trial reportedly met both its primary and secondary endpoints, inducing... Read More »
An ages-old issue may be on the road to modern solutions, thanks to a new collaboration between the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Clarivate that will use advanced computer methods to find therapeutics for use on chlorine and sulfur mustard-caused... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, convened a hearing Wednesday to examine the country’s preparedness to deal with worsening natural disasters like floods, severe storms and wildfires.
Witnesses, and committee members discussed... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader; Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Health Republican Leader; and Morgan Griffith (R-VA) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Republican Leader, have asked information on breakthrough cases of... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers have introduced a bill they said requires critical infrastructure owners and operators to report cyber attacks to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Officials said the Cyber Incident Reporting Act, presented by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob... Read More »
Reckoning with the dangers of further viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week awarded approximately $36.3 million to three academic institutions to help research into vaccines for coronaviruses and their variants.
The end goal is to... Read More »
With a pair of new bills this week, United States Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) sought to improve the federal government’s capabilities to investigate the origins of diseases and respond accordingly, as well as to guarantee analysis and action from its intelligence community.
“Knowledge is power... Read More »
A Federal Way, Wash.-based firm has secured two Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Screening at Speed Program contracts to develop a passenger self-screening solution.
Micro-X, Inc., would receive $1,311,682 to design a screening solution utilizing the... Read More »
Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman personnel are touting the successful completion of the first flight test of a scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).
The companies are slated to produce a prototype to the Department of Defense for the Defense... Read More »
Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop Grumman personnel are touting the successful completion of the first flight test of a scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).
Authorities indicated the firm's are slated to produce a prototype to the Department of Defense for the... Read More »
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) announced Washington state would receive more than $15 million in U.S. Department of Defense funds for infrastructure projects at Naval Base Kitsap and the Port of Everett.
Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who also serves on... Read More »
In a letter dispatched to Congress this week, 24 stakeholder organizations urged Congressional leaders to back the $16 billion funding level for pandemic preparedness advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this year.
That funding was attached as part of the Build Back Better... Read More »
Earlier this month, the Nuclear Threat Initiative gathered 100 international experts on biosafety for the 2021 Virtual Global Biosecurity Dialogue (GBD), the latest in an annual series of discussions on how best to maintain attention on and advance biosecurity across the world.
COVID-19 loomed... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agency has earmarked grant funding totaling $20 million to address domestic violent extremism and terrorism prevention.
Officials indicated the 37 grant awards would be allocated via the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Targeted Violence and... Read More »
Legislation reclassifying 9-1-1 dispatchers from Office and Administrative Support to Protective Service Occupations was approved last week by the U.S. House of Representatives as an amendment in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to lawmakers.
U.S. Reps.... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 last week with a number of homeland security-related amendments, including measures that would strengthen the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Department of Homeland... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that its Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), had awarded nearly $187 million to support public safety and community justice activities.
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ drug cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab for use on COVID-19 patients last week, but that endorsement came with a caveat: it urged lower prices, patent releases and equitable distribution.
The Regeneron antibody... Read More »
Several Senate Republican leaders recently expressed “growing concern” over the nation’s stalled progress in fighting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and requested details on how the Biden administration plans to move forward during the coming months.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA addresses the nation's defense budget, Afghanistan accountability, additional defense priorities, as well as countering China and Russia.
“For 61 consecutive years, the House... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials said the agencies are collaborating to address illegal hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) importation.
“Using an all-hands-on-deck approach, we must urgently address the climate crisis that is threatening both our... Read More »
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $73 million in cooperative agreements to 10 academic institutions last week through its Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to foster more public health information technology... Read More »
At the United States-hosted Global COVID-19 Summit last week, world leaders recommitted to guaranteeing equitable vaccine access for all countries through COVAX, and pledged a mix of funds, doses and supply chain aid to ensure it.
“Science has made huge progress in the fight to save lives,... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, convened a hearing Thursday to examine the Biden Administration’s actions to beef up the nation’s cybersecurity defenses.
Peters and witnesses discussed what the federal government needs in... Read More »
A cooperative effort was enacted against zoonotic diseases this week, with an agreement reached between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and France’s Preventing Zoonotic Disease Emergence (PREZODE) initiative.
Members of the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC)... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DoD) has detailed the allocation of five grants totaling approximately $25 million via the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program.
Officials said the allotment stems from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation -- leveraging an additional $11.7... Read More »
Curtiss-Wright Corporation officials said the firm has secured Navy contracts totaling $100 million to provide pumps for the military branch's Virginia-class submarine, Columbia-class submarine and Ford-class aircraft carrier programs.
“Curtiss-Wright is proud to have been awarded these... Read More »
The Mexican government approved biotechnology company INOVIO to begin a Phase 3 efficacy trial of its COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate, INO-4800, this week alongside its partner Advaccine Biopharmaceuticals Suzhou Co., Ltd.
This Mexican trial is part of a larger, worldwide Phase 2/3 trial known as... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and its HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) announced that it supports the Biden Administration’s movements in making the COVID-19 vaccines accessible around the world, but said more could be done to achieve vaccine equity.
In a letter to the... Read More »
While falling short of the full authorization Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have clamored for, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended existing emergency use authorization (EUA) for the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine to allow a single booster dose for certain... Read More »
Lawmakers examined the nationwide evolution of post 9/11 threats during a recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.
"This hearing is timely," Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. "A... Read More »
In a letter drafted in advance of the COVID-19 international summit being hosted by President Joe Biden, a group of United States senators and representatives pressed the president this week to commit resources to advancing vaccination efforts worldwide.
The urging from members of Biden’s own... Read More »
