U.S. Policy
Last month the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) considered a proposed nationwide law change reflecting the impact of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
A ULC committee considered the Tort Law Relating to Drones Act for adoption by state governments. The effort, which provoked controversy across... Read More »
Though President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2017 to restrict the issuance of visas and instigate changes to nonimmigrant visa (NIV) screening and vetting, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that 90 percent of visas remained unaffected by this change.
Of the... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority’s board of directors, an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce, recently approved an $81 million budget for operations in fiscal year 2019.
The budget will be used for the focus on the deployment of the nationwide public safety... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate has developed new technology that will assist federal agents in investigating human smuggling.
The data analytics software program, called Igloo, is already in use by select units of U.S. Immigration and Customs... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force awarded this week a contract to Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control for the development of a second hypersonic weapon prototype.
The weapon’s review, testing, and production readiness support will all be provided by Lockheed Martin, as part of the Air Force’s... Read More »
Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command (StratCom), recently spoke at the 2018 Department of Defense Intelligence Information System Worldwide Conference on integrated command relationships and the role of information and intelligence to combatant commands.
Without intelligence... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently gathered at a military installation to witness President Trump sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 into law.
The bill supports $716 billion in funding for national defense for fiscal year 2019, per officials, and provides service... Read More »
Federal law enforcement officials said an accused domestic terrorist who spent 12 years on the run is now in custody and slated to face charges in three states.
Officials said Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 50, of Seattle, Washington, was recently apprehended after authorities learned he was traveling... Read More »
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen toured the Grand Sky Technology Park in North Dakota last week and participated in a roundtable discussion with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry leaders.
Grand Sky Technology Park, located at Grand Forks Air Force Base,... Read More »
For the first time since he took office as the United States Secretary of Defense, James Mattis traveled to South America to solidify the Department's strong defense ties with Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
"These relationships are critical to a collaborative, prosperous and secure... Read More »
Researchers are still a decade away from seeing a Valley Fever vaccine realized for humans, who are in recent years being infected at a greater degree with the fungal spores that cause the disease. The illness primarily affects people living in the Southwestern United States.
Federal officials... Read More »
Warning of the potential danger presented by attackers targeting hazardous chemical facilities, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share more information with first responders who may need to respond to security incidents.... Read More »
Warning that the cyber threats to the United States are not going away, and in fact continue to grow, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) has urged the Senate to take action.
To make his case, McCaul pointed to three separate bills the House has already advanced on... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) recently completed a multiday, congressional delegation visit to the California-Mexico border. During the trip, the Congress members visited a U.S. Naval Air Station and tunnel site, a U.S. Border Patrol station, the San Ysidro Port of Entry, and the Otay Mesa Detention... Read More »
Five Military Construction projects in upstate New York have received $199.1 million in federal funding from the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“New York State is home to some of the nation’s top military installations,”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY),... Read More »
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 52,656,022 nonimmigrants visited the country in 2017, and of these, only a small fraction -- 701,900 -- overstayed their original trips.
The report based its findings on lack of identifiable evidence of departures, extensions of... Read More »
The Air Force has crafted a Light Attack Aircraft plan, which they said is the first step toward working with industry to generate the final RFP expected at the end of the year.
A draft request for proposal was shared with Sierra Nevada /Embraer and Textron Aviation following the conclusion of... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently began testing eight barrier design prototypes for the U.S. border wall with Mexico, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns they are doing so without an analysis of cost.
Topography, land ownership, and other factors all play a part... Read More »
Connecticut-based drone manufacturer RADeCO, Inc. was featured this week by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) as “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer,” recognition he bestows on select U.S. manufacturers.
The RADeCO, which stands for RADiation Detection COmpany, manufactures air monitoring... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit recently helped execute a wiretap investigation leading to 32 drug and gambling arrests.
HSI’s New York division worked with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in... Read More »
The Reliance Fire Company No. 1 in Berwick, Pa., recently received a $119,610 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program.
Established in 2001, the AFG program provides firefighters and... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced a measure designed to bolster Russian sanctions, with the goal of applying economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on the Federation.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) joined Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC),
Bob Menendez... Read More »
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is hosting a summit in Washington, D.C. this week to gather together technology innovators for the first responder industry.
The summit will take place on Thursday, Aug. 9, and represents the second... Read More »
The August Terror Threat Snapshot, released by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), found a steady influence of Islamic-driven terrorism in the United States and Europe.
The report showed that there have been 157 cases of terrorism in the United States spurred by the... Read More »
The Rhode Island fire departments recently received $106,668 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program for the purchase of needed equipment and gear.
The Central Falls Fire Department was awarded $59,048. It will use the funds to... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force recently released its Next Generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Dominance Flight Plan, which is a strategy for maintaining and enhancing competitive advantage in the rapidly changing digital era through 2028.
“We need to balance our ISR portfolio... Read More »
Two national organizations that represent biopharmaceutical and business interests have penned a letter to each member of the U.S. House of Representatives urging lawmakers to approve the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, H.R. 6378, before critical public... Read More »
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced Wednesday legislation designed to enhance cyber hunt and cyber incident response teams working to prevent attacks on federal and private sector entities.
Portman and Hassan said the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act works to... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently hosted a Cybersecurity Summit, with the goal of establishing a vision for a defense strategy to protect the nation’s infrastructure.
Officials said the effort in New York City united industry and top federal personnel, resulting in a series of... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced Wednesday the Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act which seeks to reinstate and enhance penalties against repeat offenders.
The initial Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which passed in 1984, required a mandatory minimum 15-year... Read More »
The global spread of a deadly disease outbreak during a biological attack would impact far more than U.S. government financial resources, former federal lawmakers say, and could crash the coffers of local and state budgets just as severely.
“We know unequivocally that terrorists have the... Read More »
A group of legislators introduced Tuesday a bill designed to block the online publication of blueprints used to make fully functioning 3D-printed guns.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) joined 20 of their Senate colleagues in crafting the measure, which would make it illegal for... Read More »
Following recommendations made by the Attorney General’s recent Cyber Digital Task Force report, a group of U.S. senators introduced Tuesday a pair of bills intended to safeguard the U.S. election infrastructure from future cybercrimes.
The bills, the International Cybercrime Prevention Act... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced it will install a computed tomography scanner (CT) at the Philadelphia International Airport.
The technology allows for 360-degree views of baggage contents and can automatically detect explosives, including liquids.
In the... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) sent correspondence this week to Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, expressing their support of transitioning Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base from a stock of A-10 fighters to F-16s.
Fort Wayne hosts the 122nd Fighter Wing. At this... Read More »
