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CEPI extends VBI Vaccines partnership for development of multivalent coronavirus vaccine
A partnership between VBI Vaccines Inc. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) expanded this week with a new development agreement seeking the development of multivalent coronavirus shots for use against multiple coronavirus threats. Based on VBI’s proprietary enveloped... Read More »
New law requires agencies consider disaster resilience for investments in federal property, assets
With President Joe Biden’s signature, the Disaster Resiliency Planning Act became law this week, launching a bipartisan measure that requires federal agencies to factor in disaster resilience for investments in and management of federal property and assets. Extreme weather has picked up pace... Read More »
CBP launches test phase of global business identifier to weigh improvements to government assessments of trade
Moving to increase supply chain visibility and more swiftly identify high-risk shipments, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the beginnings of a pilot program known as the Global Business Identifier (GBI) last week. Undertaken with 13 partner government agencies, the concept behind GBI... Read More »
Sens. Wicker, Cardin seek designation of Russian Wagner Group as Foreign Terrorist Organization through HARM Act
U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced last week the Holding Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act to designate the Russian-based PMC Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill – which also has a companion measure in the House led by U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen... Read More »
CDC awards $3.2B to nationwide public health workforce, infrastructure improvement efforts
In a move that will affect every jurisdiction in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week that $3.2 billion will be issued to state, local, and territorial jurisdictions to strengthen their public health workforce and its infrastructure. The... Read More »
NIAID awards more than $12M for development of antiviral therapeutics
As part of its Antiviral Program for Pandemics (APP), meant to accelerate the discovery, development, and manufacturing of antivirals, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently awarded more than $12 million to three institutions for new therapies. These new... Read More »
SEPTA selects ZeroEyes AI-based gun detection system for pilot program on train platforms
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) announced last week that ZeroEyes, a company with an artificial intelligence (AI)-based gun detection video analytics platform, will run a pilot program designed to reduce violence on train platforms. Currently, ZeroEyes’ automated... Read More »
DHS S&T awards companies more than $730,000 for creative ways to improve workforce safety
In exchange for new solutions to identify and resolve issues, and to promote resilience and wellness among its workforce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded five companies more than $730,000 in total funding last week. Awards stemmed... Read More »
New report shows DHS, FBI failed to track and report threats from domestic terrorists
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, this week released the results of an investigation into the rise of domestic terrorism and federal actions against it – and alleged that it has come up short. Specifically, he pointed to... Read More »
Sandia National Lab publishes review of vulnerabilities in electric vehicle charging infrastructure
A team at Sandia National Laboratories completed four years of work on and published a summary of various vulnerabilities in electric vehicle charging infrastructure this week in the journal Energies, drawing attention to the risks of evolution. While all growth comes with its share of risks,... Read More »
New York Attorney General investigation yields cease and desist letters against 39 ammunition sellers
At least 39 ammunition sellers have been shipping ammunition directly to New York residents and failing to keep records of the transactions in violation of state law, according to the results of an investigation announced this week by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Under the New York... Read More »
Homeland Security S&T awards nearly $200,000 to startup Flux Tensor for motion-identifying algorithms
The startup Flux Tensor captured the interest of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) last week with the potential to apply motion-identifying algorithms to complex security videos and improve safety for soft targets. The department... Read More »
Government Accountability Office report details path for TSA to eliminate potential discrimination in airport screenings
Airport screenings have long been a source of consternation for many and rife with accusations of discrimination in their handling – but a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report laid out a path for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to take to reduce the potential for... Read More »
First look at global vaccine market since COVID-19 shows development still lagging due to profit-over-health mindset
Capitalistic values continue to hinder vaccine development, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first report on the global vaccine market since COVID-19, with prioritizes vaccines not being developed due to limited profit potential and limited access for lower-income countries... Read More »
CBP holds local training on Jones Act specificity in New Orleans
Earlier this month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held a training exercise on enforcement of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, a complex and tricky law that demands specificity from federal agents. When established, the law limited how cargo could be... Read More »
Reps. Garbarino, Gallagher urge President Biden to work on Continuity of the Economy disaster plan
Two Republican legislators are criticizing the Biden administration for not developing or implementing an emergency plan for the U.S. economy in the event of a disaster, despite being required to do so within two years by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. In a letter to President... Read More »
U.S. lawmakers seek to collaborate with Canada to fix NEXUS traveler backlog
In a letter to their Canadian counterparts last week, four U.S. representatives sought to kick off a joint fix for the growing logjam in the NEXUS system, the Trusted Traveler Program for the U.S.-Canadian Border. That system requires travelers to undergo in-person interviews with agents from... Read More »
House Fire Grants and Safety Act would reauthorize, upgrade local fire departments
Building on companion legislation in the Senate, a new bill introduced into the House last week seeks to boost federal resources for local fire departments throughout the United States and reauthorize existing funds for staffing, equipment, training, and emergency services. The Fire Grants and... Read More »
DHS awards $500,000 for targeted violence, domestic terrorism prevention efforts in New York
As announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) this week, the United States Department of Homeland Security awarded $500,000 in federal funds for support, threat assessment, and management of efforts to combat targeted violence and domestic terrorism in New York. "New York... Read More »
DoD enlists Xendee to cut energy system costs with optimized microgrid design
The U.S. military, looking for ways to counter the threat of blackouts, announced this week that it tapped microgrid support software provider Xendee to reduce energy system engineering costs with optimized, scalable microgrid designs for its installations. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)... Read More »
Senators urge Justice Department, ATF to clarify, implement ghost guns rule
Responding to attempts by companies to avoid restrictions imposed by the federal Ghost Gun Rule, more than a dozen Democratic senators this week wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to address the matter and crackdown.... Read More »
Biden administration doles out more than $1.56B to Florida for Hurricane Ian recovery
In the month since the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal partners have provided more than $1.56 billion to Florida through a mix of grants, disaster loans, and flood insurance payments. Of those funds, more than $661 million were... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Peters, CISA Director Easterly and Michigan CIO Clark talk cybersecurity collaboration
In a fireside event moderated by the State of Michigan’s Chief Information Officer Laura Clark at the annual Michigan Cyber Summit, guests U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly discussed intergovernmental collaborations... Read More »
BARDA invites Soligenix to submit contract proposal for thermostabilized Sudan Ebola, Marburg virus vaccines
Biopharmaceutical company Soligenix, Inc. recently received an invitation from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to submit a contract proposal for millions of dollars in development support for single vial, thermostabilized subunit vaccines for the Sudan ebolavirus... Read More »
Electric vehicle industry highlights need to accelerate critical infrastructure deployment
At the Cybersecurity Executive Forum on Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure this week, government and industry leaders held high-level discussions on the state of vehicular cybersecurity, how to proceed, and, importantly, stressed desires for a quicker rollout of critical... Read More »
Justice Department charges 13 for allegedly working with China to exert influence in U.S.
Across three cases, the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey charged 13 individuals with conspiracy, obstruction, and attempts to aid the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exerting influence in-country. According to unsealed... Read More »
New York State, New York City announce police and mental health efforts to address transit crime
A series of expanded initiatives for the New York City subways were announced last week as part of a joint effort between the State of New York and New York City to crack down on transit crime through traditional law enforcement means and community psychiatric care. This will equate to a massive... Read More »
More than two dozen House members push for details, and change, surrounding U.S. gun tracing backlog
A collection of 25 House members wrote to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Director Steve Dettelbach asking for details on the agency’s gun tracing backlog and stating that a gun lobby-backed 1986 law needs to change. Led by U.S. Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Bill Pascrell, Jr.... Read More »
Pacific Northwest National Lab warns climate change to bring worse hurricanes
As devastating as hurricanes have ever been to coastal communities, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) sounded the alarm through a new study this week, claiming that climate change will bring faster, wetter, stronger storms to come up and down the Atlantic Coast and beyond. In a... Read More »
Rep. Katko releases CISA fact sheet to pitch forward path for American cybersecurity
Released this week by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) 2025 fact sheet outlined his view of a roadmap for the agency’s growth over the next three years. Since its founding in 2018,... Read More »
Homeland Security Investigations launches Operation Boiling Point to target organized theft
A new effort to crackdown on organized retail crime put domestic and transnational criminal organizations in the crosshairs of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) this week, with the beginning of Operation Boiling Point. Working alongside industry partners, as well as federal, state, and... Read More »
House committee leaders introduce bill to encourage international tribunal in support of Ukraine
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine still raging on, a collection of House chairs, co-chairs and ranking members introduced non-binding legislation last week meant to encourage President Joe Biden to support the creation of an international tribunal to punish crimes undertaken against Ukraine.... Read More »
Congressional scrutiny of social media company moderation grows in wake of U.S. shootings
Although the Internet was, at one time, deemed to be one of the last frontiers, its uses have changed and multiplied exponentially over the years – and now, a collection of 13 members of Congress have written social media companies asking for evidence of response to violent threats and harmful... Read More »
DHS, Mexico lay out new migration enforcement paths for Venezuelan immigrants
Effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter U.S. ports of entry without authorization will be deported to Mexico, according to new enforcement rules laid out by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week. The announcement came alongside declarations of new agreements between DHS and its... Read More »