Rep. Buchanan hosts roundtable on crime, law enforcement threats
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) recently hosted a roundtable discussion with law enforcement personnel, which examined the overall crime uptick nationally and increased threats to first responders. The session with law enforcement personnel from Florida’s 16th District advocated for the... Read More »
Coast Guard vessel offloads over $1B in illegal narcotics
Coast Guard Cutter James recently offloaded over $1.06 billion in illegal narcotics. Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded 54,500 pounds of cocaine and 15,800 pounds of marijuana, at Port Everglades, Fla., on Feb. 17, 2022. During their 90-day patrol, the crew set new marks for the largest single... Read More »
BARDA extends partnerships with GSK, Sanofi and Seqirus to broaden influenza response
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will continue long-standing partnerships with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, and Seqirus to build up medical countermeasures to influenza pandemics and other public health emergencies. For years, these partnerships and other... Read More »
Three men convicted of conspiring to provide material support to plot U.S. power grid attacks
Three men pleaded guilty this week after seeking to provide material support to domestic terrorists in an attempt to destroy energy facilities throughout the United States. These charges were handed out to Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of West... Read More »
Bipartisan legislators address congressional authority regarding Russia-Ukraine conflict
A group of lawmakers is encouraging President Joe Biden to gain authorization from Congress before involving domestic armed forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) joined 43 colleagues in signing off on the letter, which seeks the... Read More »
Sanofi, GSK press forward with regulatory authorization request for COVID-19 vaccine
With test data showing their COVID-19 vaccine’s capabilities to fight COVI-19 in regular or booster form, Sanofi and GSK announced this week that they intend to submit data as the foundation of regulatory authorization requests. The Sanofi-GSK offering is a refrigerator temperature-stable,... Read More »
NTI, MSC initiate biological threat elimination exercise
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Munich Security Conference (MSC) personnel are espousing the benefits of a recently convened tabletop exercise to reduce high-consequence biological threats. The effort involved uniting senior leaders from across government, industry, and civil society to... Read More »
Moderna launches Phase 3 trial for mRNA RSV vaccine candidate
Following an endorsement from the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board this week, Moderna, Inc. officially began the third phase of trials for its mRNA Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSC) vaccine candidate this week. The safety greenlight was based on preliminary Phase 2 safety and... Read More »
Reps. Demings, Fletcher introduce legislation to save First Responder Network Authority
On Tuesday, U.S. Reps. Val Demings (D-FL) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) introduced legislation to save the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The legislation, H.R. 6768, would reauthorize FirstNet set to expire in 2027. Created to fulfill one of the recommendations of the 9/11... Read More »DHS S&T, Israeli partners seek advanced technology proposals
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Israel – U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Homeland Security (HLS) program indicated they are seeking advanced technology project proposals. The 2022 Call for Proposals focuses on mission-critical homeland... Read More »
New York to form, host Joint Security Operations Center for local, state and federal cybersecurity efforts
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 »
Northrop Grumman to provide Marine Corps NGHTS devices
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 »
Federal Firefighter Fairness Act proposes fair benefits for injuries, diseases sustained in the line of duty
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 »
Secret Service initiates cryptocurrency public awareness hub
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 »