Policy
DHS works with Houston-area first responders on integrating new technologies
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate is working with public safety officials in the Houston-area to evaluate first responder technologies. DHS, along with industry partners and 13 local Houston-area public safety agencies on a HAZMAT-related scenario... Read More »
Merck nears approval of experimental Ebola vaccine
Merck has started the submission of a rolling Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an investigational vaccine to combat the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the company recently announced. The V920 vaccine, scientifically known as rVSV-ZEBOV, falls under... Read More »
GAO addresses attack submarine maintenance delays
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Navy conduct a business case analysis as part of an effort to address attack submarine maintenance delays. The GAO said the effort would assist in pinpointing maintenance workload allocation across public and private... Read More »
Future direction of OPCW to be discussed in upcoming conference, review sessions
The next five years of focus for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be decided at the 23rd session of the Conference of the States Parties and fourth Review Conference beginning today. For the next two weeks, member states will discuss budgets, programs,... Read More »End of BioWatch looms near, Blue Ribbon Study Panel members learn
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) outdated BioWatch Program, launched in 2003 as an early warning system for potential bioterrorist attacks in the United States, is being replaced, a federal expert told members of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense on Nov. 14 during a report... Read More »
Griffiths selected for artificial intelligence panel
Dakota State University President José-Marie Griffiths has been selected to serve as a member of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) recently announced Griffiths appointment to... Read More »
Air Force Chief of Staff visits Colombia to strengthen partnership
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein recently returned from a two-day visit to Colombia where he pledged to accelerate joint training activities with the Colombian Air Force. Colombia has worked closely with the United States for decades on security and regional concerns. ... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act signed into law
President Donald Trump on Nov. 16 signed into law a bill that creates the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which establishes a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security to lead the federal government’s civilian response to cyber threats. The CISA will be a... Read More »
Firm lands Arizona border wall contract
Barnard Construction Company has received a $172 million Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Army Corps of Engineers base contract to build 14 miles of Arizona Primary Pedestrian Replacement Wall. The total contract value, which includes up to 32 miles and options, is $324 million, with work... Read More »
Automated screening lanes come to San Francisco airport
The Transportation Security Administration recently unveil new Automated Screening Lanes (ASLs) at San Francisco International Airport’s (SFO) Terminal 3. ASLs moves passengers faster and more efficiently through security checkpoints. The technology does this in several ways. United Airlines... Read More »
Senate bill demands accountability from Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi murder
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to ensure Congressional oversight of U.S. policy on Yemen and demand accountability from Saudi Arabia for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2018 would suspend weapons... Read More »
National Security Council official frames nation’s biodefense plan for Blue Ribbon Panel members
Against the backdrop of a spreading Ebola outbreak in Congo, where a worsening war has stymied U.S. aid amid increasing security concerns, the Trump administration is trying to wrap its arms around what is and isn’t working in biodefense against man-made, accidental, naturally occurring... Read More »
Man pleads guilty in attempting to provide material support to ISIS
Law enforcement officials said a New York man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the... Read More »
Arizona officers seize $512,000 of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl over Veteran’s Day weekend
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized $512,000 worth of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in four separate instances at Arizona’s Port of Nogales over the holiday weekend. On Nov. 9, a Mexican woman was pulled from a tourist bus at the Mariposa Crossing, after which a... Read More »
Bill ensures availability of reliable global positioning systems
The National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2017, which directs the Secretary of Transportation to work with the Secretary of Homeland Security and Commandant of the Coast Guard to establish, sustain and operate of a land-based, alternative timing system to Global Positioning System (GPS)... Read More »
Coast Guard reauthorization bill to combat maritime drug trafficking
The U.S. Senate passed a bill that includes new authorities for the U.S. Coast Guard to combat maritime drug trafficking and smuggling at the border. The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (S.140) includes provisions related to maritime border security. It would further... Read More »
Experts call for increased funding for diagnostics, biosurveillance across government agencies
Rapidly evolving wearables and 3D printed devices are among the inexpensive and portable diagnostic tools on the market today, some of which can detect and diagnose disease in less than an hour for biosurveillance. However, developing these devices on a much greater scale for biosecurity... Read More »
CBP expects extended El Paso processing times
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) El Paso Field Office officials are advising travelers of potential border processing delays in the wake of recent personnel adjustments related to the caravan. CBP officials said a large number of officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa, and Tornillo ports of... Read More »
Healthcare professionals gather to explore research against drug-resistant bacteria
A workshop hosted by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America assembled in Baltimore, Md., this week to address the overuse of antimicrobials and to determine the best course for combating drug-resistant bacteria. The Antimicrobial Stewardship Research Workshop was based on the genuine... Read More »
Senators urge Homeland Security subcommittee to strength security at places of worship
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security urging funding to strengthen security at places of worship. The senators asked the committee to maintain the... Read More »
Congress passes bill to create new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation this week to create the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act (H.R. 3359), would reorganize DHS’... Read More »
Survey examines antibiotic resistance concerns
A survey commissioned by the public education and advocacy group Research!America has determined Americans deem antibiotic resistance as a public health problem with a myriad of treatment implications. Research!America officials said 65 percent of survey respondents consider antibiotic... Read More »
FDA approves combination Ebola fingerstick test with battery-operated reader
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first single-use fingerstick tests for Ebola virus detection, complete with a portable reader system more easily used outside of labs. While this is the second fingerstick test made... Read More »NATO scientists develop new bomb-detecting devices
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently announced the development of three new technologies designed to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as part of its Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program. The three technologies -- a semi-autonomous robot for detection of mines... Read More »
Laredo director of field operations wins DHS Secretary’s Award
David P. Higgerson, director of field operations at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Laredo Field Office recently was awarded the Secretary’s Meritorious Service Silver Medal 2018 from the Department of Homeland Security. The award honors exceptional individual service or... Read More »
Massachusetts first responders participate in largest ever security training exercise
Massachusetts State Police, the US Coast Guard, Massachusetts National Guard, local police and fire departments, and federal public safety officials all participated in the largest homeland security training exercise ever conducted in the state last week. The training exercise is designed to... Read More »
Trump proclaims November as Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month
President Donald Trump recently proclaimed November as Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month to keep infrastructure and communities safe and to build awareness and appreciation of critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure is defined as infrastructure that is vital to... Read More »
November threat report reveals ‘Taliban 5’ appointed to terrorist organization’s political office in Qatar
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, released this week the latest Terror Threat Snapshot, which highlights threats the nation, the West and the world face from ISIS and other Islamist terrorists. The report highlighted that five senior members of the... Read More »
HHS officials reaffirm support for Global Health Security Agenda
Officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department attended the Fifth Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia this week to reaffirm U.S. support for the initiative and commit additional funding. GHSA, which launched in 2014, is a worldwide effort to... Read More »
New device aids smuggling vehicle stop
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station recently used a new vehicle immobilization device known as the Grappler to stop a smuggling vehicle. Authorities said the immobilization effort, the first recorded within the United States Border Patrol using the device,... Read More »
CBP expanding its Los Angeles Global Entry Enrollment Center
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced it would be expanding and relocating its Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Global Entry Enrollment Center. The center’s improvements will double the number of applicants processed by allowing CBP officers to conduct up to 10... Read More »
Infectious Disease Society of America urges support for Global Health Security Agenda
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase its support of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The GHSA, launched following the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2013, is focused on pandemic prevention. It helps... Read More »
BMT curriculum changes target readiness, core values
Air Force officials announced recent changes to the Basic Military Training (BMT) curriculum focus on readiness and lethality, Airmanship, fitness, and the warrior ethos. The modifications, which began Sept. 4, will transform trainees into more “combat ready Airmen.” “The future of BMT... Read More »
GAO makes recommendations to DOD on inspections of ammunition storage sites
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations to the Department of Defense on how security inspections of locations that store Security Risk Category (SRC I) ammunition are done in accordance with policy. The DOD maintains stockpiles of SRC I ammunition—which... Read More »