Policy
Four individuals arrested, charged with trafficking counterfeit FDA-regulated goods
Four individuals were arrested recently and charged with the alleged sale of counterfeit male enhancement pills, weight loss pills, condoms, and cosmetics. Carlos Enrique Velázquez-Gines, Mayra Evelise Gines-Otero, Noriam Ivette Flores-Deleon, and Vanessa Marrero-Hernández were charged with... Read More »
Bipartisan bill would reform DEA’s opioid production quota process
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate on Monday would direct the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to consider opioid diversion, public health, and overdose deaths when setting opioid production quotas to help address the nationwide opioid epidemic. The DEA currently... Read More »
DHS announces formation of Executive Steering Committee to lead department-wide school security initiatives
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the formation of an Executive Steering Committee on Monday that will oversee the department’s school security efforts, ensure that funding and resources are best leveraged, and support state and local efforts. DHS also highlighted year-round... Read More »
OPCW Director-General meets with Belgian officials in Brussels
The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, recently traveled to Brussels, Belgium where he met with Belgian leaders The Director-General briefed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of... Read More »
DHS S&T provided evaluations, technology and analytics for Super Bowl
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently described its role in providing security for 52nd Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this February. DHS S&T efforts enabled liability protections for providers of security technologies, analytics for... Read More »
DIA Director Ashley discusses threats posed by North Korea, China, Russia before Senate panel
In testimony before a Senate panel on March 6, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Robert P. Ashley, Jr. discussed North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, China’s military modernization program and Russia’s goal to exert a “sphere of influence” over the United States. Ashley... Read More »
Joint operation in Arizona result in narcotics, weapons trafficking arrests
A joint operation led by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently resulted in more than 60 pounds of narcotics and five AK-47s being seized in three separate traffic stops on Interstate 10 in Arizona. The arrests were the result of Operation... Read More »
Measure combating vehicular terrorism advances
The House Committee on Homeland Security has approved a bill designed to improve vigilance in the wake of growing terrorist attacks using vehicles. The Vehicular Terrorism Prevention Act, authored by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), received an amendment from Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) that aided committee... Read More »
CBP discovers destructive Khapra beetle in passenger baggage at Dulles, BWI Airports
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Washington Dulles International Airport (Dulles) and Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) recently intercepted Khapra beetles, one of the world’s most destructive insect pests, in passenger... Read More »
Alabama man pleads guilty to attempting to support ISIS
An Alabama man, who allegedly distributed ISIS propaganda, researched how to produce explosive materials, and met with an undercover agent posing as a member of ISIS, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide services and personnel to a terrorist organization on Thursday. Aziz Ihab... Read More »
Senators call on President Trump to advance national cyber deterrence doctrine
Bipartisan members of the Senate Armed Service Committee urged President Donald Trump to advance a national cyber deterrence strategy on Thursday, noting that lack of clearly articulated consequence has served as “an open invitation” for cyber attacks against the United States. The group,... Read More »
Measures seek to extend border from American shores
Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently introduced a pair of bills authorizing two programs that are part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to extend the border far from American shores. McSally said the bills would codify the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM),... Read More »
DHS must take action to comply with Workforce Assessment Act, GAO says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently testified on the extent to which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified, categorized, and assigned employment codes to its cybersecurity positions and identified its cybersecurity workforce areas of critical need. The... Read More »
Rep. Lynch calls on State Department to step-up counter-propaganda efforts
Citing Russian efforts to meddle in U.S. elections, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) called on the State Department on Tuesday to use $120 million allocated by Congress to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation since 2016. The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) hasn’t... Read More »
Senate committee approves DHS reauthorization bill
The first-ever Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reauthorization bill cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday with bipartisan support. The Department of Homeland Security Reauthorization Act, H.R. 2825, would establish a framework for regular DHS... Read More »
Experts analyze Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review
Nuclear experts recently met on Capitol Hill for a panel discussion on the Trump Administration’s recently released Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). The panel compared the NPR to past U.S. nuclear policy and expressed concerns about the future of the nuclear relationship between the United... Read More »
Sen. Rubio highlights steps to curb gun violence on Senate floor, highlights importance of bipartisanship
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) took to the U.S. Senate floor on Tuesday to outline steps that he’s taken or supported to curb gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead on Feb. 14. Rubio co-sponsored the... Read More »
Terror Threat Snapshot highlights ongoing efforts to combat ISIS
A Terror Threat Snapshot released by the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday notes that State Department has designated seven ISIS-affiliated groups to its Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and that ISIS fighters returning to their home countries continue to pose security threats.... Read More »
Gun safety bill aims to help states better enforce existing gun laws
A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Monday would require federal authorities to alert state officials when attempted gun purchases are denied because individuals don’t have legal rights to possess a firearm in an effort to better enforce existing gun laws. Currently, federal... Read More »
CBP, ICE report record number of Intellectual Property Rights seizures for fiscal year 2017
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized a record number of shipments of goods that violated Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in fiscal year (FY) 2017, CBP announced Monday. The two agencies seized 34,143 shipments of goods that... Read More »
Science and Technology Directorate seeks feedback on first responder technology integration guide
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) requested feedback on Monday on its Next Generation First Responder Integration Handbook, which it released in February. The handbook serves as a guide for industry and public safety agencies on the development,... Read More »
Bipartisan bill aims to shore up school security through increased federal support for training, school security infrastructure
The Department of Justice (DoJ) would be able to award grants that support training that helps students, teachers and law enforcers recognize early warning signs of violence and intervene under a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Amy... Read More »
Senators raise concerns about Vietnam-era helicopters patrolling nuclear sites
A bipartisan coalition of senators raised questions on Monday about the use of Vietnam-era Huey helicopters to patrol intercontinental ballistic missile sites across the country, noting that replacement helicopters for a handful of Air Force bases were recently delayed. In a letter to Air Force... Read More »
Raytheon, NOAA recognized for developing unmanned aerial vehicle to gather data in hurricanes
Aviation Week magazine named Raytheon Corp. and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the recipients of its Laureate award on Friday for the development of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can gather life-saving data during hurricanes in near real-time. The Raytheon... Read More »
Smallpox re-emergence is real possibility world must prepare for, disease expert warns
Advances in medicine have meant many lives saved over the years, but it also has led to weakened immune systems that would leave people vulnerable to the resurrection of an older, incredibly deadly disease: smallpox. Professor Raina MacIntyre of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is... Read More »U.S. ASPR to headline political group’s seminar at European Parliament on CBRN
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will present the keynote address during a March 7 seminar in Brussels for members of the European Parliament and will discuss “CBRN — An Invisible Risk. Is... Read More »
NNSA, INTERPOL host training session radiological and nuclear investigations
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently hosted a workshop on radiological and nuclear investigations with representatives from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region law enforcement agencies in Tbilisi,... Read More »
Study shows United States unprepared for potential pediatric pandemic
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) recently published a study that found that the United States is unprepared for the surge in pediatric patients that an infectious disease pandemic could cause. The paper, which was published in the American Journal of Disaster Medicine,... Read More »
Nevada lawmakers call on DHS to reconfigure risk assessment, urban security funding formula for Las Vegas
Citing the Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 concert goers dead in October, Nevada lawmakers called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reconfigure the funding formula for its Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program on Friday. In a letter to Homeland Security Kirstjen... Read More »
Sen. King calls for national doctrine of cyber deterrence
Warning that the United States is engaged in or at the brink of cyber war, U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) called for a national doctrine of cyber deterrence during two separate hearings on Thursday. King spoke about the importance of a national cybersecurity policy during a Senate Armed Services... Read More »
WHO advises increased attention to community, hygiene to combat Nigerian Lassa outbreak
Lassa Fever has broken out in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with 1081 suspected cases spread across 18 states. Among these, 72 deaths have been confirmed as linked to the fever, though as many as 90 may have actually died from it. Four of the dead were health care... Read More »Senate bill would expand extreme risk protection orders for guns
A bipartisan bill announced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday would enable law enforcers and family members to petition courts to temporarily restrict access to firearms for those who are deemed an imminent threat to themselves or others. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham... Read More »
DHS seeks submissions for demonstrations of first responder technology
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate plans to hold a Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Operational Experimentation (OpEX) in December to evaluate first responder technology solutions. The DHS S&T Directorate issued a request for information (RFI)... Read More »