GOP senators introduce bill to protect vaccine manufacturers’ intellectual property rights
Accusing the Biden administration of opening the fruits of American vaccine development to abuse by foreign nations, United States Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and several Republican colleagues have introduced a bill to block the federal government from waiving intellectual property rights. Through... Read More »
Measure targets defense budget transparency
Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Kaialiʻi Kahele (D-HI) have introduced a bill they said seeks to bolster public understanding of the manner in which defense budget tax dollars are allocated. Their bill -- the Defense Budget Transparency Act of 2022 (H.R. 7574) -- directs the Secretary of Defense to... Read More »Bill would bar Russian and Belarussian nationals from DOE labs
Seeking to expand the domestic response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United States Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced a bill this week that would prohibit both Russian and Belarussian nationals from working in Department of Energy (DOE) research... Read More »
U.S. Air Force taps Boeing for E-7 Wedgetail
The U.S. Air Force is enlisting the services of aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company to replace a portion of the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System fleet with the E-7 Wedgetail. The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail represents the only platform capable of meeting Defense Department tactical... Read More »
Positive data reported for Valneva, Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine candidate for children
A Lyme disease vaccine candidate for adults and children at least 5 years old produced strong immunogenicity, safety and overall positive results this week in a Phase 2 trial conducted by its developers, Valneva SE and Pfizer Inc. This marked the first clinical study where VLA15, as the... Read More »
Bill seeks to block Biden from deploying veteran resources on southern border
A group of Republican lawmakers have introduced a measure that would prohibit the Biden administration from deploying veterans' resources as a means of managing the southern border. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) joined Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jim Inhofe... Read More »
U.S. Secret Service hosts Cyber Incident Response Simulation
Ransomware was the focus of a Cyber Incident Response Simulation hosted by the United States Secret Service this week, which gathered together fellow government agencies, executive business leaders and law enforcement to address cyberattacks and how to respond. “Our cyber incident response... Read More »
NTI hosts more than 40 nuclear experts at fifth Cyber-Nuclear Forum
The nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) drew together dozens of nuclear experts from 15 countries and international organizations earlier this month for its fifth Cyber-Nuclear Forum, dedicated to addressing ransomware, supply chain issues, workforce maintenance, and effective security.... Read More »
Biden administration releases first national action plan to counter malicious drone activity
The rapid introduction and expansion of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, into daily life has created a host of additional safety and privacy concerns as well, and this week those concerns prompted the Biden administration to introduce the first Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems... Read More »
Raytheon secures Navy engineering agreement for Zumalt-class destroyers
Navy officials said the service branch has awarded a $483 million contract with options to Raytheon Missiles & Defense to complete Zumwalt-class destroyers activation and fleet introduction. If exercised, the agreement will total $1.68 billion across five years while continuing to develop... Read More »
Lawmakers advocate DoD civilian harm accountability
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Lloyd J. Austin, III, encouraging the agency to bolster efforts to address civilian harm. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) joined colleagues U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy... Read More »
WHO recommends Paxlovid as treatment for high risk COVID-19 patients, but warns of roadblocks
While adding Paxlovid – nirmatrelvir and ritonavir – to its list of recommended treatments for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients at risk of hospital admission, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that lack of price transparency at Pfizer Inc. and testing demands before administration... Read More »
Congress members call for Russia to be designated state sponsor of terrorism
U.S. Reps. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) led members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in urging the U.S. State Department to determine whether or not Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the... Read More »
Hackers, cybersecurity researchers identify vulnerabilities at DHS as part of Hack DHS program
Encouraged by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), more than 450 vetted security researchers and ethical hackers rooted through select external DHS systems and turned up 122 vulnerabilities, earning a cash prize for their efforts. The first phase of the Hack DHS buck hunting program... Read More »