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U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the December Terror Threat Snapshot earlier this week. The “snapshot” is a monthly assessment, which describes the growing terrorist threats the United States and its allies face from ISIS and other... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the State Department Authorities Act, a bill to strengthen embassy security, enhances congressional oversight and advances multiples reforms within the U.S. State Department.
Much of the bill centers on the use of “best value” criteria when... Read More »
Multiple provisions introduced by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) were included in the recently passed FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). They included full funding for two aircraft at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the A-10 and EC-130H Compass Call, and stronger retention and... Read More »
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) was recently awarded a contract by the Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center to support the Joint Staff J6 Directorate’s command, control, communications and computers (C4), and cyber program.
The contract covers a five-year period... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently said his amendment to elevate the U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) to a Combatant Command has been included in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
U.S. Cyber Command is currently a subordinate unit to U.S. Strategic Command, which was developed... Read More »
The European Commission (EC) recently proposed a European Defense Fund, which would support more efficient spending by Member States in joint defense capabilities and strengthen European citizens’ security.
“To guarantee our collective security, we must invest in the common development of... Read More »
Leidos recently received a $66 million delivery order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to supply mobile scanning systems for vehicles and cargo to help officers identify illegal materials when facilitating international trade.
The order... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was recently informed that a resident of Brownsville, Texas, was diagnosed with the Zika virus without any other known risk factors, which suggests the virus may have been locally transmitted.
The recent diagnosis represents the first... Read More »
Legislation to protect first responders from anthrax exposure in the event of a biological attack passed the House on Tuesday and will now go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
The First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act would authorize a pilot program for the Department of... Read More »
According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) recently called upon the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) to address security issues related to major developments in gene drive systems at its upcoming review conference.
Gene drive systems... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S recently completed its enrollment of a Phase 3 clinical study designed to demonstrate non-inferiority between the company’s investigational, non-replicating smallpox vaccine called Imvamune and ACAM2000, the current U.S.-licensed and replicating smallpox vaccine.
The U.S.... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) recently decried actions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that resulted in the mishandling of thousands of green cards over the past three years.
According to a DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG)... Read More »
United Nations (UN) member states recently adopted a resolution by consensus to further strengthen collaboration between the UN and Interpol against transnational crime and terrorism.
Member states discussed issues related to counterterrorism during the 71st session of the UN General Assembly,... Read More »
A coalition of local and national agencies recently took part in a four-day, full-scale exercise in Omaha, Nebraska to evaluate and test the ability to provide international medical transport for multiple patients with a highly infectious disease.
The drill was developed by the National... Read More »
According to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, approximately 25 percent of individuals in a Sierra Leone village were infected with Ebola virus disease but showed no symptoms, which suggests a broader transmission of the virus than originally thought.
The... Read More »
The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Coons (D-DE) that makes anthrax vaccines available to first responders.
The First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) expressed their concerns regarding recent changes to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) station in northeast lower Michigan.
The agent at the Alpena County CBP station is retiring and CBP does not plan to hire a new agent for the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a November terror threat snapshot that the growing threat of ISIS’ messaging continues to resonate in America, while the terror group targets the West at an alarming rate.
So far this year, 34 people... Read More »
The MITRE Corporation recently elected former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Cathy E. Minehan to its board of trustees.
Rogers previously served as a U.S. House member from Michigan’s eighth congressional district for a total of seven terms. In the House, he worked as a member of the Energy... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) on Friday announced the selection of Rick Bright for the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
“BARDA succeeds through... Read More »
Members of the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee (MEPs) approved plans to update EU civil aviation safety standards on Thursday, implementing revisions that aim to address emerging risks and establish EU-level requirements for drones.
The updated plans would transfer... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade recently scheduled a joint hearing on Nov. 16 to examine the role of connected devices... Read More »
A new study, which could lead to the development of vaccines to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, has found that administering a human antibody to both pregnant female and male mice neutralizes the virus.
Researchers isolated immune B cells from the blood of three people who contracted Zika... Read More »
Law enforcement officials and first responders recently gathered at the University of Maine to participate in an emergency preparedness training exercise hosted by the U.S. Border Patrol.
The “tabletop” exercise was part of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program’s Multi-Year... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) recently urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action regarding consumer protections and Internet of Things (IoT) devices following a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack last month that caused outages of many... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX) recently hosted a tour and briefings at the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) facility at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Participants in the tour included city and county officials, police and fire department chiefs, and emergency... Read More »
Kansas State University co-hosted a discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. last month that focused on potential bioterrorist threats against agriculture and ways to ensure biosecurity.
Included in the panel discussion was Interim President of Kansas State University Gen.... Read More »
The United Nations Security Council on Monday voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations-Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) joint investigative mechanism, the entity mandated to determine responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, until Nov. 18.... Read More »
The state of Florida recently entered into a $700 million contract with Harris Corporation to develop a statewide communications network to connect public safety responders, law enforcement, public schools and other government agencies.
The contract lasts seven years with seven one-year options... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan on Wednesday appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carla Provost as the organization’s new deputy chief, the first woman in that position in history.
Provost’s new role will have her responsible for daily operations, planning and directing nationwide... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) recently sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson stressing the importance of information sharing between government agencies and critical infrastructure companies.
Thompson’s letter comes in the wake of a massive... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on Tuesday requested information from three federal agencies on the tools the federal government has available, and the tools that might be necessary, to prevent cybercrime affecting consumer products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Warner, founder of the... Read More »
The Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD) recently deployed a new interoperability response and preparedness system to provide a secure communication channel for officers working in the field during crowded events and emergencies.
The system, called Mutualink, allows law enforcement personnel... Read More »
Unisys Corp. was recently awarded a contract by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to help the agency continue achieving its dual mission of facilitating the free travel of people through U.S. borders quickly while maintaining strong security.
Unisys will modernize the agency's technology... Read More »
The U.S. government is funding the late-stage development of tests that would quickly determine how much radiation a person has absorbed in the event of a catastrophic nuclear explosion.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and... Read More »
