News
GAO issues recommendations regarding Kingpin Act
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report examining how agencies designate individuals and entities under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). The report also examines how the agencies monitor, enforce, and report on sanctions under the Kingpin... Read More »
Reps. Spanberger, Bacon introduce bill to protect veteran firefighters
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced a bill to provide veteran firefighters with improved compensation and benefits. The Michael Lecik Military Firefighters Protection Act would protect veteran firefighters who become disabled by serious diseases—including heart disease, lung... Read More »
SecuLore wins DHS award to improve emergency communications infrastructure
SecuLore Solutions was awarded $750,000 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to improve the resiliency of the nation’s emergency communications infrastructure. SecuLore will work to eliminate cybersecurity attacks against emergency... Read More »
US responds to novel coronavirus outbreak with public health screening at airports
All travelers from Wuhan, China, to the United States will have to undergo public health screening at the three U.S. airports that receive the most travelers from the Chinese city - San Francisco, New York, or Los Angeles - in response to a novel coronavirus outbreak that is continuing to grow.... Read More »
WHO: global drug resistance growth aided by faltering antibiotic pipeline, innovation
A pair of reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows a weak incoming pipeline of antibiotics, and, according to the organization, this lack of innovation is only going to degrade efforts to counter drug-resistant infections. Research and development, according to the twin reports,... Read More »
Public-private cooperation must improve to fill gaps in pandemic preparation, response
Pandemic preparedness collaboration among private businesses with the public sector is critically important at this time, say experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The next severe pandemic will not only... Read More »
Lockheed Martin awarded nearly $32M in hypersonic missile contract
The U.S. Army’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.9 million hypersonic missile contract. The award is for the Operational Fires (OpFires) Phase 3 Weapon System Integration program, a ground-launched hypersonic boost glide missile system designed... Read More »KBR wins Army contract to install video equipment
The U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) awarded KBR a three-year contract to provide video evidence management services for the Mobile Federal Law Enforcement Enterprise Technology Service (M-FLEETS) program. As part of the contract, KBR will install dash cameras, digital video... Read More »
Pennsylvania to provide $5M to nonprofit organizations for safety
Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program will provide $5 million in funding to nonprofit organizations for security enhancement projects. Applicants must be a nonprofit organization that owns or operates a facility that is seeking to protect the safety and security of the... Read More »
DHS spearheads St. Louis smart city technologies
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) personnel recently joined St. Louis, Mo., officials in integrating the final phases of smart city technologies. The effort also included the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the T-REX Innovation Center (T-REX), as... Read More »Researchers synthetically engineer mosquitoes in fight against dengue virus
Biologists from the University of California San Diego, along with a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, recently engineered synthetic mosquitoes capable of neutralizing many types of dengue virus. The study focuses on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue to... Read More »
German researchers create quick diagnostic test for Chinese coronavirus
As the world researchers try to identify the cause of a mysterious, novel coronavirus from China, researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have made headway on at least tracking its existing, with the creation of a new assay protocol that allows quick testing of suspected... Read More »
Flexibility and sustainability in funding key to combating opioid epidemic
Testifying before a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, experts said Tuesday that more flexibility and stability in funding is necessary to battle the next phase in the war against opioid addiction. During the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing entitled, "A Public Health... Read More »
Rep. Walker addresses urgency to combat anti-Semitic attacks at hearing
The House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism of the Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing this week to discuss the rise of anti-Semitic attacks in the country. The hearing -- called Confronting the Rise in Anti-Semitic Domestic Terrorism – featured testimony from U.S.... Read More »
Reps. Pallone, Doyle seek briefing on efforts to protect telecommunication networks
Congressional leaders are asking Trump administration officials for briefings on efforts to secure America’s telecommunications networks in the wake of the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent letters to the heads of the Federal... Read More »
DHS plans to publish strategy on combatting human trafficking
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a report in 180 days that includes timelines, specific deliverables, and metrics for measuring results to fight human trafficking. The report, called Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor,... Read More »
New law exempts incentives for volunteer first responders as taxable income this year only
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is cheering a win in the form of the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA) recently passed into law, for the tax benefits it will provide to volunteer firefighters all year. VRIPA exempts all nominal incentives for volunteer... Read More »
Airport checkpoint gun seizures on rise
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel are reporting a record-setting year for officers stationed at airport security checkpoints, noting more firearm seizures than at any other point in the agency’s history. “The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers... Read More »
Stranger Labs awarded $197,000 to develop digital credential solution
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently awarded Stranger Labs $197,021 in Phase 1 funding. The company will develop a method that makes digital credentials verifiable offline so they offer the same convenience of paper-based... Read More »
Senate introduces bill to foster 5G innovation
Legislation that would invest about $1 billion to invest in 5G technology and innovation was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week. The Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act would encourage competition with Chinese provider Huawei by accelerating the development of an... Read More »
Sen. Portman presses for permanent criminalization of Fentanyl-related substances
As the U.S. opioid epidemic continues, and with a criminalization order against fentanyl-related substances set to expire, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) took to the Senate floor this week urging legislation to permanently schedule the drugs. The existing scheduling order against fentanyl --... Read More »
Sen. Warner seeks answers from Pompeo on cybersecurity in State Department
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) voiced concerns over the U.S. State Departmentʻs plans to address the surge of offensive cyberactivity by Iran. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Warner is seeking answers from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on how the State Department plans to defend... Read More »
Sen. Durbin, Rep. Schneider seek support for Domestic Terrorism legislation
Citing a deadly year and the threat of domestic terrorism, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) have reintroduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2020--legislation to enhance federal abilities to crack down on domestic terror. The bill would give the federal... Read More »
Chinese pneumonia outbreak highlights potential for global pathogen spread
Seventeen years after the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) global epidemic, its shadow lingers in an ongoing outbreak of mysterious pneumonia cases in China, which an international group of researchers says showcase the potential for pathogens to appear suddenly and wreak deadly global... Read More »
Lockheed Martin awarded nearly $14M to continue supporting warfare program
The U.S. Navy recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $13.9 million engineering services contract to continue supporting engineering and fielding efforts for the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP). The contract is part of a five-year agreement that will total $75 million if all... Read More »
US-Israel partnerships awards $2.3M for homeland security projects
U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation awarded $2.3 million to three groups to develop advanced technologies for homeland security. The BIRD Foundation is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate... Read More »
CARB-X awards $3.2M to Trellis Bioscience for superbug disrupter
CARB-X has awarded $3.2 million to Trellis Bioscience and dangled the possibility of $3.8 million more for the creation of a monoclonal antibody that can disrupt superbugs’ protective coating. The bacteria that become superbugs have a biofilm coating that protects them from antibiotics. By... Read More »
PREVAC-UP to evaluate safety of three Ebola vaccines five years post-vaccination
The Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccination (PREVAC) recently launched a new project called PREVAC-UP, which will evaluate three Ebola vaccine regimens for five years after vaccination. The study will assess several factors within these treatments: their long-term safety, the durability... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions gets approval to pursue chikungunya virus vaccine
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. got the go-ahead from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to pursue its proposed development plan for its chikungunya virus vaccine candidate. The company has proposed conducting a Phase 3 trial using Serum Neutralizing Antibodies (SNA) to predict clinical benefit of... Read More »
Sen. Rubio applauds Trump Administration’s sanctions on Iran
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) commended the Trump Administration for imposing sanctions on eight senior Iranian officials and key sectors of Iran’s economy, including steel and iron manufacturers. “Today’s announcement of sanctions against senior Iranian officials and Iran’s... Read More »
Senators seek details on measures to protect service members in Middle East
A group of Democratic Senators urged the Trump Administration last week to detail the security measures to protect diplomats, service members, personnel, and families serving in the Middle East following the killing of Iran’s Qassem Soleimani. The Democratic Senators also want to evidence of... Read More »
TSA screened record number of passengers during winter holidays
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers screened more than 43.8 million passengers and crew members during the holiday travel period, a record and 4 percent higher than during 2018. The holiday period ran from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5. The busiest day was Dec. 27, when officers screened... Read More »
Officials tout border wall construction progress
Federal officials recently joined Yuma, Ariz., city and county leaders in touting border wall construction progress, noting completion of the first 100 miles of the system along the southwest border. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf recently joined by Senator Martha McSally... Read More »
Sen. Duckworth demands Secretary Esper disclose legal rationale for Soleimani assassination
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) recently sent correspondence to U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, pressing for information regarding the legal basis used for the military operation that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. “During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services... Read More »