U.S. Policy
Seventy-five years after the first controlled nuclear chain reaction, Ernest Moniz, co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), recently warned that the United States faces “a different nuclear age” with miscalculation, diplomatic tensions, terrorism, technological advancements and... Read More »
The House of Representatives recently advanced 12 legislative proposals derived from recommendations from the Homeland Security Committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry to the United States final report.
The legislation included various initiating designed to prevent terrorists from... Read More »
U.S. Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) recently introduced the Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act of 2017, which seeks to modernize fire departments by requiring the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to provide GPS locators for crews fighting... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently announced that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to verify some licenses for radiological shipments through U.S. airports.
Warning that such material as contained within these shipments could be used by terrorists to make... Read More »
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday would authorize construction of a border wall, invest in new technology and expand ports of entry, and add 5,000 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents.
The Securing America's Future Act would also require the use of a biometric... Read More »
The number of wireless network outages increased from 189 in 2009 to 1,079 in 2016, making safety-related communications like calling 911 and receiving weather alerts increasingly unavailable to the public, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) review found.
The increase in wireless... Read More »
A working group consisting of government officials, private-sector representatives, academics, and veterinarians would be formed to develop standards for breeding and training dogs to detect explosives under a bill that the House of Representatives approved on Tuesday.
The Domestic Explosives... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security would be directed to draft best practices for using biographic traveler information and information about reservations and itineraries for counterterrorism screening under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The Screening and Vetting... Read More »
The FCC’s forthcoming proposal to improve wireless emergency alerts will focus on making geographical targeting more precise so alerts can be used more effectively in local emergencies and disasters, the commission announced on Monday.
The FCC’s full proposal to revamp the wireless... Read More »
A request for innovators (RFI) has been released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), officially beginning the search for partners on emergency response technology development by 2020.
There are three projects on which the department is... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released an update to its directive regarding border searches of electronic devices, which was designed to enhance the transparency, accountability, and oversight of the searches.
CBP currently searches the electronic devices of fewer than... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened a record number of passengers during the 2017 holiday travel period, Dec. 15, 2017, through Jan. 2, 2018.
TSA officers screened 42 million passengers and more than 30.6 million checked bags screened nationwide. Dec. 22 was the busiest day... Read More »
Four U.S. citizens were arrested and charged with providing material support to ISIS in December, marking an uptick in the number of cases of homegrown terrorism, according to an assessment released by the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday.
The Terror Threat Snapshot indicates that... Read More »
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) made the case last Thursday that North Dakota should serve a hub for federal efforts to integrate more unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into northern border security.
In a meeting with officials from the Department and Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border... Read More »
Five businesses tied to Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG), which plays a key role in Iran’s ballistic missile program, were sanctioned last week by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The five businesses — Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Sanikhani... Read More »
North Korea denies claims made in the Trump administration’s recently released National Security Strategy that it “has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons” nor that it has researched “chemical and biological weapons which could be delivered by... Read More »
More than 4,735 pounds of cocaine was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea over a three-day period in December as part of Operation Full Court Press, which is being led by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO).
Operation Full Court Press is an interagency effort to... Read More »
In light of allegations that a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) initiative targeting Hezbollah drug trafficking was improperly handled, Attorney General Jeff Sessions renewed his support of a full review.
The initiative, known as Project Cassandra, as launched in 2008 in response to evidence that... Read More »
A Tuscon, Arizona man was recently charged in U.S. District Court with the transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury, high-speed flight from a Border Patrol checkpoint, assault on a federal officer and use of a firearm
Court documents allege that Roberto Ramirez, 21,... Read More »
The Consortium for Verification Technology highlighted how students from partner universities contribute to nuclear nonproliferation research conducted at national laboratories during a recent annual meeting held at the University of Michigan.
Through the Consortium for Verification, the... Read More »
New best practices recently released by the wireless industry group CTIA outline steps for local governments to help maintain and restore wireless services during natural disasters and emergencies.
The guidelines call for better coordination and communication between wireless service providers... Read More »
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories accepted a Radio Access Network (RAN) buildout plan for the FirstNet wireless broadband network for first responders by the time a 90-decision period came to a close on Dec. 28.
Congress approved a bill establishing FirstNet in... Read More »
An alleged MS-13 gang member who was recently removed from the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) will face eight murder charges in El Salvador.
Leandro Cruz, 24, was previously convicted of assault and battery in Massachusetts. After... Read More »
The Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs will be reauthorized through fiscal year 2023 under a bill that the U.S. Senate recently approved.
The Fire Grants Reauthorization Act would ensure that the nation’s fire and... Read More »
Members of Michigan’s congressional delegation recently advocated for the Missile Defense Agency to name the Michigan National Guard Fort Custer Training Center in Augusta as a ground-based midcourse missile defense site.
The lawmakers made the plea in a letter to U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen.... Read More »
San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Defense (DoD) for its failure to report dishonorable discharges and criminal conviction information to the national criminal background check system for gun sales.
The military is required to... Read More »
A former leader of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia drug-trafficking ring was deported to Columbia on Tuesday after spending eight years in federal custody for conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine in the United States.
Hebert Veloza Garcia, 50, was deported to his native Columbia to... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made two firearms purchases on the dark web without disclosing required background information during a recent review of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ability to regulate online firearm sales.
The GAO review was... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would have more access to portable chemical screening devices to stem the flow of fentanyl across the nation’s borders under a bill that recently gained Senate approval.
The International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators recently introduced a bill to improve election security and protect against foreign interference in U.S. elections.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), James Lankford (R-OK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Lindsey Graham... Read More »
The House of Representatives approved legislation last week that would reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to place a greater emphasis on pre-disaster planning and mitigation.
The bill, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), was approved as part of a larger emergency... Read More »
As part of their required by executive order, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have released a quarterly Alien Incarceration Report, in which they found 94 percent of confirmed aliens in custody are unlawfully present.
Additionally, they determined that... Read More »
Authorities of the Counterterrorism Advisory Board (CTAB), which coordinates the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) various intelligence, operational and policy-making functions, would be extended for four years under bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate last week.
Established... Read More »
Waning U.S. federal and state funding for public health over the last 15 years has left many states ill-prepared to respond to acts of bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters, according to a recent report by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).
The annual report,... Read More »
The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Office of Field Operations at the Laredo Port of Entry announced measures being taken to accommodate an expected influx of travelers during the holiday season on Wednesday.
Travelers are encouraged to apply for I-94 tourist permits online ahead of time. The... Read More »
