U.S. Policy
Army Sgt. First Class Ikaika Erik Kang has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Officials said Kang, 35, formerly stationed at Schofield Barracks, was sentenced to 240 months on Counts 2, 3 and 4 to run... Read More »
The Coast Guard Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently launched two 6U CubeSats as a means of evaluating the effectiveness of space-based sensors in support of... Read More »
Several U.S. senators have expressed concern with President Donald Trump expressed intention to pull the United States out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is an arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, then... Read More »
AAR recently secured a five-year, $51 million U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) contract to perform support services for Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Boeing 737 series aircraft.
The agreement covers maintenance and logistical work for the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation... Read More »
House lawmakers recently advanced the Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018, which officials said strengthens national cybersecurity by elevating and reauthorizing the role of the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO).
House IT Subcommittee Chair Will Hurd (R-TX) and Ranking Member Robin Kelly... Read More »
Andrew Scharnweber, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol, was selected in late November as Deputy Chief Patrol Agent for the agency’s Buffalo sector.
That new authority makes him one of the top figures governing the security of New York’s and Pennsylvania’s ports of entry. It also... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently introduced legislation that would stop the United States from entering into a 21st Century nuclear arms race.
The Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2018 is sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Markey... Read More »
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) is urging progression toward the Navy meeting its goal of a 355-ship fleet, which became policy when President Donald Trump signed the Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act into law last year.
Wicker, chairman of the Senate Seapower... Read More »
Federal officials are pushing for the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (PAHPA), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, to be signed into law this year.
In a discussion on Wednesday hosted by the Alliance for Biosecurity... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently praised the House advancement of legislation designed to reduce worldwide violence, enhance engagement, and address instability in other countries.
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Ted Poe (R-TX), Adam Smith (D-WA) and Bill Keating (D-MA) said the... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued three recommendations to improve how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspects air carriers and assesses foreign airports in regards to U.S.-bound air cargo.
The GAO examined the TSA’s screening process to monitor the... Read More »
A global initiative of public and private organizations is needed to eliminate computer-effecting botnets, according to a new paper from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
The report was written by Robert Knake, senior fellow for cyber policy at CFR and senior research scientist at... Read More »
Zoobia Shahnaz, from Brentwood, New York, recently pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Between March and August 2017, Shahnaz defrauded numerous financial institutions, according to prosecutors.... Read More »
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) recently secured a $1.6 million federal grant to increase the La Salle County Fire Rescue Department's staffing level.
The lawmakers said funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for... Read More »
The First Responder Network (FirstNet) Authority’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) recently appointed Todd Early as its new chairman.
Early has more than 25 years of leadership experience in public safety. He is Texas’ contact person for public safety communications and is assistant... Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
