Policy
Health experts speak on planning for global pandemics
At a recent gathering of students, academics, and government officials at Georgetown University, a group of world health experts spoke on the need for the incoming Trump Administration to plan for an inevitable pandemic. The event was organized by the Center for Global Health Science and... Read More »Collins questions Pompeo on cybersecurity initiatives during confirmation hearing
During a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on the nomination of Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) asked Pompeo a series of questions on cybersecurity and the danger it poses to national... Read More »
Bill to block grant funding to sanctuary cities introduced in House, Senate
Reps. Diane Black (R-TN) and Sam Graves (R-MO) introduced this week the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, which aims to block any grant funding to cities or localities that ignore federal law by withholding information on illegal immigrants from U.S.... Read More »
King, Risch introduce bill to defend energy grid from potential cyber attacks
U.S. Sens. Angus King (I-ME) and Jim Risch (R-ID) this week reintroduced the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which seeks to examine solutions to defend the U.S. energy grid by replacing vulnerable computer-connected operating systems with analog and human-operated systems. The bill received... Read More »
Two cybersecurity innovation bills from Rep. Ratcliffe passed by House
Two bills introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) were passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday to help spur collaborative efforts between the private sector and the federal government in cybersecurity initiatives. The Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017 will aim to... Read More »GAO report: HHS needs better communication on state-level personnel reassignments in a public health emergency
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report regarding communication and coordination of personnel reassignments in public health emergencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and... Read More »U.S. nuclear engineer pleads guilty to violation of Atomic Energy Act
Szuhsiung Ho, a naturalized U.S. citizen and nuclear engineer, recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully engage in the production or development of special nuclear materials outside of the United States, without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which... Read More »
Collins, Tester introduce bill to protect first responders’ pension plans
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation this week that will seek to protect the pensions of first responders who have been injured on the job. “We count on federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other public safety employees when tragedy... Read More »American Journal for Public Health, CDC seeking public health emergency preparedness manuscripts for supplemental publishing
The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will soon be releasing a supplement issue on the Evolution of Public Health Emergency Management from Preparedness to Response and Recovery and is seeking authors to submit their... Read More »
European Commission adopts series of measures to combat financing for terrorist organizations, organized crime
The European Commission recently adopted a series of measures to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) ability to combat the financing of terrorist organizations and organized crime, which were included in the Feb. 2016 Action Plan Against Terrorist Financing. The initiatives presented by the... Read More »
Wyden calls for transparency on intelligence regarding potential Russian interference in U.S election
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) publicly called last week for the immediate declassification and public release of any intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, stating that Americans cannot wait much longer to get the facts. “This is a national crisis... Read More »
Battelle’s Winkel recognized with award for dedication to nuclear, biological and chemical defense
Battelle, Inc.’s David Winkel was recently recognized by the Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) Industry Group with the Dr. Billy Richardson Award, which recognizes young leaders who are committed to NBC-related defense initiatives. Winkel is the third Battelle researcher overall to win... Read More »
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol launches new information-seeking initiative on smugglers in area
The U.S. Border Patrol recently launched a new initiative called Se Busca Información, which will seek to expand on consequences against dangerous smugglers operating in the Del Rio Border Sector. The initiative will focus on obtaining information from the public in order to locate smugglers.... Read More »Northern Border Security Review Act signed into law
President Barack Obama signed last week the Northern Border Security Review Act, which passed Congress with bipartisan support and aims to assess and strengthen security at the U.S. border with Canada. The legislation would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to evaluate... Read More »OPCW to search allegations of chemical weapons use in Hama Governate, Syria
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently began a fact-finding mission in Syria in the wake of allegations that chemical weapons have been used in the area of Uqayribat in the Hama Governate in Syria. The area in question has been linked to the control of the... Read More »New legislation aims to increase travel preclearance facilities, increase border security
The U.S. Senate passed this week the Promoting Travel, Commerce and National Security Act of 2016. The bill will allow travelers to pass through U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspections prior to traveling to reduce overall wait times and aid in identifying individuals who represent a threat... Read More »
Interpol hosts training course on financial crimes and cocaine trafficking in Colombia
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) recently held its 17th Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery in Colombia, which focused on combating financial crimes associated with cocaine trafficking in Latin America. The course drew more than 40... Read More »House passes Collins’ Boko Haram response bill, sent to president for approval
The U.S. House passed this week a bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) aimed at strengthening the response to acts of terrorism perpetrated by the militant group Boko Haram. The bill requires a new five-year U.S. government strategy to counter the threats posed by Boko... Read More »Lynch, Johnson host third U.S.-China Dialogue on Cybercrime
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson hosted this week a coalition of Chinese government officials for the third U.S.-China High-level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues to discuss a range of topics related to international cybercrime... Read More »Dept. of Treasury sanctions North Korean entities, individuals for supporting nuclear and weapons proliferation efforts
In response to North Korea’s September 2016 nuclear test and ongoing violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 entities and seven individuals for their ties to the Government of North... Read More »
Warner selected vice chairman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was recently selected to serve as the vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 115th Congress. “With a new administration starting to assemble its national security team, I look forward to fulfilling the Committee’s primary... Read More »
CSIS calls for comprehensive strategy for combatting growing threat of terrorism
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), through its Commission on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), recently called for a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing threat of violent extremism against the United States and abroad. The commission, chaired by former CIA... Read More »
Dept. of Treasury takes aim at key al-Nusrah Front leaders
The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently took proactive steps to disrupt al-Nusrah Front’s military, recruitment and financing operations. OFAC blocked all property and interests in property of four key al-Nusrah Front leaders —... Read More »
House Democrats request hearing on recent DDoS attack
Democratic members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce recently urged Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) to call for a hearing on the recent cyber attack that caused outages on many popular U.S. websites. The... Read More »
DHS Secretary Johnson, AG Lynch participate in meeting of G6 interior ministers in Rome
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch participated in the 2016 G6 Meeting of Interior Ministers in Rome, Italy on Oct. 20-21. They discussed security measures in Europe, migration flows, terrorism, cybersecurity and international border... Read More »
Congressmen urge Obama to examine potential Russian violation of INF treaty
U.S. Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) this week urged President Barack Obama to examine a potential breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by Russia. The congressmen in a letter also asked Obama to implement additional sanctions on Russia, along with... Read More »ASPR holds six medical countermeasure summits across the country
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently hosted a series of six medical countermeasure summits across the nation. Topics of the summits included tribal planning and preparedness, access and functional... Read More »
DoD launches MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator to address disaster relief challenges
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently launched the MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator to create solutions for humanitarian issues and natural disaster relief challenges. The MD5 program was launched by a public-private partnership between the DoD, New York University, Columbia... Read More »House Democrats urge FBI to investigate Trump campaign’s knowledge of email cyber hack
A coalition of House Democrats recently urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to examine the Donald Trump campaign’s claim that they knew about the cyber hack into John Podesta’s emails before they were publicly released. The group included U.S. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD),... Read More »INTERPOL launches Operational Response Project to address bioterrorism response efforts
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) recently conducted its Operational Response Project in Amman, Jordan, to identify best practices related to command and control, hazard risk assessment, and evidence exploitation. The project brought together 45 Jordanian law enforcement... Read More »Üzümcü meets with Finland’s Stenlund to discuss CWC implementation
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General Ahmet Üzümcü met with Finland’s Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H.E. Peter Stenlund at OPCW headquarters in The Hague on Friday to discuss aspects of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The... Read More »Ratcliffe holds first-ever Emergency Management Summit
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) recently hosted the first-ever Emergency Management Summit to help first responders in his district prepare for natural disasters that require federal assistance. The summit featured testimony and potential response plans from local emergency managers, country... Read More »OPCW holds training seminar for Eastern European officials on cross border chemical transfers
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently held a training seminar for customs officials in Eastern Europe to strengthen their ability to uphold the global ban on chemical weapon. The seminar, held in Krakow, Poland on Sept. 27-30, featured 32 participants from such... Read More »