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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) chaired a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday to address the federal perspective on the state of U.S. biodefense preparedness.
“Today, we look forward to learning the perspective of federal agencies on the state of our... Read More »
President Barack Obama signed the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Modernization Act of 2015, S.1180, into law on Monday to modernize the nation’s public alert and warning system.
The bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Claire McCaskill... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday to add the Zika virus to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Priority Review Voucher Program.
The legislation, the Adding Zika Virus to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act, S. 2512, would add Zika virus to the... Read More »
Founded in 2001 to train professionals in biosecurity and disaster preparedness, the Institute for Biosecurity at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice recently told Homeland Preparedness News that the United States needs to continuously improve on its... Read More »
The United States Army Cyber Command announced last week that soldiers and operators at the corps level or below will be shifting towards cyber electromagnetic activities (CEMA).
Officials emphasized that CEMA capabilities are both for protection of the homeland as well as assets to be used by... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced this week that its Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) research effort recently conducted its first successful flight tests.
The new system is a shoebox-sized, plug-and-play system designed to enable manned and... Read More »
At an industry day hosted by U.S. Army Cyber Command as part of the Army's Cyber Innovation Challenge last week, officials engaged tech industry vendors and assessed technology solutions and prototypes that could potentially increase the Army’s ability to combat threats to cyber security, as well... Read More »
Speaking at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock emphasized that international law enforcement is the most important line of defense in the struggle against nuclear terrorism.
The 2016 NSS took place from last week in Washington, D.C. It served as the... Read More »
The United States is increasingly turning to biodefense as threats against the homeland continue to grow, but the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey's Dr. Raymond Zilinskas recently warned that the larger problem remains that no one knows the true state of American... Read More »
The RAND Corporation released a new report on Thursday that highlights new counterterrorism tactics and technologies to help prevent potential disasters in various cities throughout Europe.
The new report illustrates the essential role of counterterrorism technologies used by diverse... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), along with Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criticizing the department’s response to the ongoing spread of the Zika... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) released statements on Monday regarding the ongoing privacy battle between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
“The government’s decision to drop its case against Apple, however, does not mean that America is ready to... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday introduced by Rep. Donald Payne, Jr., (D-NJ) to improve coordination between state and local partners on funding priorities for homeland security grants.
“Emergency preparedness takes a whole community, but too often there is a... Read More »
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense’s “National Blueprint for Biodefense” warned that “the United States is underprepared for biological threats,” adding that “biological events may be inevitable, (but) their level of impact on our country is not.”
To combat a biological... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) on Wednesday introduced a bill to help the U.S. keep its competitive edge in the electromagnetic spectrum domain and aid warfighter readiness when needed.
The Electronic Warfare Capabilities Act will aid in getting electronic warfare... Read More »
The House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), recently voted seven bipartisan bills out of committee aimed at strengthening the nation’s counterterrorism defense while keeping Americans safe.
Two bills are specifically aimed at counterterrorism initiatives.... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) chaired a hearing on Wednesday that examined the possibility of cyber insurance as a risk management strategy for future incidents.
“Cyber risks are rapidly evolving, and cyber insurance has the potential to be an important tool for facilitating improvements in... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act of 2016, H.R. 4314, authored by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), on Tuesday.
“Today the House acted decisively to shut down the jihadist superhighway that allows extremists to get to their safe... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved the Anthim injection to treat inhalation anthrax in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs.
Anthim is also approved to prevent inhalation anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or appropriate.
“As... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday that it will publish new regulations that include a change to the current trade regulations regarding flights to and from Cuba.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will immediately remove Subpart O from the current... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Tuesday released a monthly assessment on terror threats that face the United States and its allies.
“This week’s Islamist terror plots in Canada and Europe are a grim reminder of the heightened threat environment America... Read More »
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on Wednesday that a vaccine jointly developed by the NIH and the FDA had yielded positive results in a clinical trial in which volunteers were infected with dengue virus six months after receiving either their vaccine or a placebo... Read More »
Homeland Preparedness News recently interviewed Dr. Asha George, co-director of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a bipartisan organization recommending changes to U.S. policy and law to strengthen national biodefense.
HPN: The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense is strongly... Read More »
In the wake of the House passage of a three month Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization patch - H.R. 4721 - ahead of its March 31 expiration, U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) released a statement calling for even further action.
“As the House acts to clear the way for a... Read More »
The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) announced on Monday that it has built an enhanced threat detection device called CASTLE that increases the range of detection for CBRNE threats.
CASTLE, which stands for CBRNE assessment science and technology lab at ECBC, greatly... Read More »
A new report released on Monday by the Syrian-American Medical Society revealed that more than 600 chemical attacks have killed 1,491 people during the five years of ongoing conflict in Syria.
The report, “The New Normal, Ongoing Chemical Attacks in Syria,” found that 69 chemical weapon... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study on Wednesday detailing the various actions the National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) has taken to help improve emergency communications interoperability in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The NCR is a defined area that... Read More »
After a three-day consultation on the virus, the World Health Organization released the criteria on Wednesday by which Zika virus research and development should advance.
The first way to to combat the virus to is continue to develop novel ultiplex tests for flaviviruses, or viruses related to... Read More »
The Alliance for Biosecurity applauded Wednesday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approval of the Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act, S. 2055.
The legislation would accelerate the development of new vaccines and medicines meant to protect American citizens from... Read More »
According to a study released on Monday by the Governing Institute, AT&T and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), 80 percent of elected and appointed officials say that they don’t know if their home state has a cybersecurity incident plan in place.
The survey included responses from a... Read More »
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General Ahmet Uzumcu announced last week that the European Union has provided a total of $5 million for fact-finding work in Syria and other joint United Nations ventures.
“This important contribution will enable the... Read More »
A coalition of New York congressional representatives last week announced more than $60 million in federal grants to support counterterrorism and emergency preparedness activities in counties across New York State.
The group included New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), along with U.S. Sens. Chuck... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday responded to a letter led by Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) urging the agency to add Zika virus to the FDA tropical disease priority review voucher (PRV) program.
In its response, the FDA opted to not add the virus to its voucher program.
By... Read More »
Immunovaccine, Inc., announced on Wednesday that it will begin a research project toward the development of a vaccine to fight against the emerging Zika virus.
Immunovaccine said the vaccine will be developed using its proprietary DepoVax platform, which has produced some promising results in... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the National Commission on Security and Technology on Monday.
The commission was formed in the wake of the Apple’s public refusal to follow the FBI’s order to program a backdoor into... Read More »
