U.S. Policy
Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) have re-introduced legislation they said imposes sanctions on foreign persons, agencies, and governments assisting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or affiliates.
The Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act requires the... Read More »
Last week, a collection of 30 United States Representatives wrote to House and committee leadership to demand the creation of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the government’s failure to address domestic terrorism and prevent this month’s assault on the Capitol.
Led by... Read More »
Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., has been selected as the preferred location for the U.S. Space Command Headquarters by the Secretary of the Air Force, on behalf of the Office of Secretary of Defense.
The Department of the Air Force conducted virtual and on-site visits to assess which of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue guidelines that will maximize vaccine distribution.
In a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield, Feinstein pointed out that some vaccine providers have reported leftover doses, doses... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved a document addressing emerging risks in the Arctic region amid expanded geopolitical interest and competition.
On Jan. 11, then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf approved the Department’s inaugural Strategic Approach for... Read More »
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has awarded two projects a total of $1.5 million to address homeland security threat detection and 3D mapping technologies.
The BIRD Homeland Security (HLS) program is a joint initiative funded by the Department of... Read More »
State and federal legislators must accomplish more to help protect Marylanders and other Americans from overdose deaths during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-MD) said Wednesday.
“The devastating increases in overdose deaths throughout my district and the state of... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently demanded that the Trump administration take immediate action to remedy the COVID-19 vaccine distribution failures.
Specifically, the 43 senators are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to develop and implement a national vaccine plan.... Read More »
Three lawmakers have introduced a bill they said would establish a national commission responsible for investigating the domestic terrorist attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), John Katko (R-NY), and James Comer (R-KY) noted the commission would consist... Read More »
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) shored up the national supply of casirivimab and imdevimab this week with the purchase of another 1.25 million doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s combo monoclonal antibody therapeutic for COVID-19.
Regeneron is... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are calling on Congress to fully fund the District of Columbia emergency planning and security fund (EPSF).
The EPSF pays for the unique public safety and security costs the District incurs as the nation’s capital. It is... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is honoring National Human Trafficking Awareness Month as a means of drawing attention to the international crime and the work of law enforcement to deter human trafficking, bring traffickers to justice, and aid... Read More »
U.S. Senate leaders from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration said they would hold investigations to examine the security failures during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders,... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel joined forces with military entities to successfully recover approximately 1.9 tons of cocaine and disrupted a Caribbean smuggling attempt.
The Air and Marine Operations (AMO) National Air Security Operations Center—Jacksonville (NASOC—J) P-3... Read More »
The violent suicide bombing that rocked downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Christmas morning and devastated dozens of businesses in the area also exposed the difficulties with an American reliance on reactive, rather than proactive, emergency planning efforts.
While much focus has been placed on... Read More »
Leaders of five House committees are seeking an immediate briefing with the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on its efforts to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that led to five deaths.
“We write to request an immediate and urgent briefing on the steps the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Tucson Medical Center (TMC) began administering monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatments last week.
The treatments were given at a temporary COVID-19 infusion center in Tucson. It is just the second federally supported infusion center... Read More »
At least 80 percent to 85 percent of Americans should receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins in a Jan. 6 interview with the Washington Post.
“Herd immunity requires the majority of a population to be... Read More »
Before Jan. 19, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release more than $22 billion in funding to support states, localities, and territories grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic through a mix of expanded testing and vaccination distribution efforts.
"This funding is... Read More »
The National Security Council staff has launched a task force to coordinate the investigation and remediation of the recent Solar Winds cyberattack involving federal government networks.
The task force -- called the Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG) -- is composed of representatives from... Read More »
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is encouraging communities to apply for Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act funds in support of fire and emergency medical services (EMS).
“In many small and rural towns in Illinois and across the country, rural fire and EMS agencies are a lifeline in... Read More »
Dr. Barbara Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, called this week for swift action to overcome the hurdles slowing COVID-19 vaccine access and efforts to counter the raging pandemic.
“To address... Read More »
Tests conducted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) showed promising results that facial recognition technologies can accurately identify individuals wearing protective face masks.
The tests were conducted as part of S&T’s 2020 Biometric... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced a bill to enhance the nation’s readiness to prepare for and respond to public safety and national security threats – including pandemics.
Their bill -- the Analyzing Disaster Vulnerabilities and Applicable National... Read More »
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report assessing the 2020 calendar year detailed the implementation of modifications across more than 440 federalized airports nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, the agency screened a total of approximately 324... Read More »
Laura McGill has been named Sandia National Laboratories deputy labs director and will lead its nuclear deterrence programs to support safety, security, and reliability excellence.
“I’m honored to join Sandia Labs and the tradition of serving the national security mission,” McGill said.... Read More »
Legislation designed to reduce military training accidents was signed into law last week.
The bill’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), attached the measure to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It requires the Department of Defense to examine emergency response... Read More »
U.S. Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced a bill requiring the regular disclosure of the presence of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations on social media websites.
Further, the bill, the Online Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R.9043), would impose financial and... Read More »
In a rare New Year’s Day session, the Senate voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), setting aside his concerns in favor of pay and benefits for the armed forces.
“The NDAA provides vital support for our men and women in... Read More »
The American Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism is partnering with the Community Security Initiative (CSI) to focus on the security needs of the Jewish communities of greater New York City.
The initiative responds to a series of violent attacks in the Jewish communities of Jersey... Read More »
The Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) is equipping infantry, reconnaissance, and special operation units with suppressors for use on the M27, M4, and M4A1 rifles.
Small arms suppressors are designed to reduce a weapon’s noise, flash, and recoil – and they only take seconds to attach and... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said the nationwide Operation No Safe Haven Plus resulted in 18 foreign nationals sought for human rights violations or human smuggling and trafficking activity being arrested.
“These arrests are a critical piece of our ongoing mission to... Read More »
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week that the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis will continue into the new year and the 117th Congress, still under the leadership of Chairman and Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC).
The subcommittee has been running since April 23, 2020. In the months... Read More »
A peer-reviewed report chronicling the phase three trial data of mRNA-1273, Moderna, Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, was released in the New England Journal of Medicine last week and confirmed its 94.1 percent efficacy in preventing COVID-19.
Distribution of the vaccine has already begun in the... Read More »
The nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras have all signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement (ACA) with the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced.
In 2019, more than 71 percent of migrants apprehended at the U.S. Southwest border came from El Salvador,... Read More »
