News
Thanksgiving 2018 marks busiest travel holiday for TSA history
Thanksgiving 2018 was the busiest travel period in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA)17-year history. More than 25.6 million passengers and crew members were screened, a 6 percent increase from 2017, and more than 15 million bags were checked. The busiest travel day in... Read More »
Council on Foreign Relations encourages global initiative to combat botnets
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 »
New device bolsters trauma treatment efforts
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have developed a device that enhances the efforts of first responders while treating patients in trauma-induced environments. The patent-pending VitalTag is a stick-on sensor designed to measure and track a patient's vital signs to help... Read More »
USC researchers create polio vaccine that no longer needs refrigeration
In a leap forward for vaccination efforts, researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) have created a polio vaccine that maintains its usefulness without refrigeration. Though initially believed to be entirely eradicated, there were 22 reported cases worldwide in 2017 due to its... Read More »
New York woman pleads guilty to providing material support to ISIS
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 »
Biosecurity firm Battelle wins R&D 100 award
Battelle was awarded earlier this month a 2018 R&D 100 Award for its creation of a web-based DNA screening platform for the detection and characterization of sequences of concern in genomic data. The award-winning technology – called ThreatSEQ – is a commercial DNA screening solution that... Read More »
Fewer companies support antibiotic drug research, development
Declining stock prices caused by low returns on antibiotic research and development have caused companies to abandon antibiotic R&D, putting additional pressure on the few remaining companies focused on drug discovery. This is according to a statement recently issued by the Infectious... Read More »
Conference targets Mediterranean intelligence dialogue
During the recent NATO-hosted Mediterranean Dialogue Conference, representatives from six nations shared intelligence insights as a means of broadening the scope of challenges the region faces. The NATO Joint Intelligence and Security Division welcomed to the NATO Headquarters Intelligence... Read More »
Independent paper stresses training as key to HazMat first responder safety
Though a crucial and effective means of keeping Hazardous Materials (HazMat) first responders safe, training programs are often not fully implemented due to time constraints and budget cuts. According to a paper written by independent CRBN consultant Debra Robinson, many personnel do not... Read More »
ICE deports five fugitives from El Salvador
Five illegal aliens from El Salvador, currently wanted in their home country for various serious offenses, were deported last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations officers. The fugitives were flown on a charter flight from the George Bush... Read More »
Interpol names new president at General Assembly
Kim Jong Yang of the Republic of Korea has been elected the new president of Interpol, a network of police forces from 194 countries around the world. Kim has served as Interpol’s Vice President for Asia since 2015 and was the head of Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Seoul from 2011 to... Read More »
Texas lawmakers land fire department grant
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 »
Vanderbilt researchers may have discovered means of neutralizing West Nile virus
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and associates recently isolated a human antibody that could potentially neutralize the threat of West Nile virus, according to a report published last week in Nature Microbiology. If so, it could lead to the first effective treatment of the... Read More »First Responder Network committee appoints chairman
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 »
DHS works with Houston-area first responders on integrating new technologies
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 »
Merck nears approval of experimental Ebola vaccine
Merck has started the submission of a rolling Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an investigational vaccine to combat the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, the company recently announced. The V920 vaccine, scientifically known as rVSV-ZEBOV, falls under... Read More »
GAO addresses attack submarine maintenance delays
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 »
Rockwell Collins to showcase training initiatives
Avionics and IT firm Rockwell Collins will demonstrate how its integrated training solutions are enhancing digital battlespace during next week's Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). Officials said the firm is expected to introduce the next-generation of... Read More »
Future direction of OPCW to be discussed in upcoming conference, review sessions
The next five years of focus for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be decided at the 23rd session of the Conference of the States Parties and fourth Review Conference beginning today. For the next two weeks, member states will discuss budgets, programs,... Read More »Five U.S.-Dutch groups to collaborate on cybersecurity research, development
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently announced a partnership with its Dutch counterparts Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the National Cyber Security Center, part of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, to focus on... Read More »
Phase 1 testing for Zika virus vaccine shows promise
Phase 1 testing of a vaccine for the Zika virus showed a favorable safety profile in all doses and schedules tested, Emergent BioSolutions announced. The vaccine, VLA1601, is being developed by Emergent BioSolutions and Valneva SE. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that has been detected in... Read More »
End of BioWatch looms near, Blue Ribbon Study Panel members learn
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 »
Nuclear Threat Initiative rethinks how to reduce global bioweapons threat
In an international effort to reduce global catastrophic risks associated with technological advancements, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has established a multi-year project that will develop and promote actions that limit the potential misuse of biotechnology. Launched last month, the NTI... Read More »
Griffiths selected for artificial intelligence panel
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 »
Air Force Chief of Staff visits Colombia to strengthen partnership
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein recently returned from a two-day visit to Colombia where he pledged to accelerate joint training activities with the Colombian Air Force. Colombia has worked closely with the United States for decades on security and regional concerns. ... Read More »
Lamm officially named CBP Preclearance Director
There was a changing of the guard at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week, under which Boston’s Area Port Director, Clint Lamm, was officially made the organization’s Preclearance Director. That new role puts Lamm in command of 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act signed into law
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 »
Firm lands Arizona border wall contract
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 »
New study reveals a genotype responsible for most dangerous norovirus outbreaks
A study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that the most serious outbreaks of norovirus could be tracked to a particular genotype of the virus. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, tracked nearly 3,800 outbreaks in the United States... Read More »
Automated screening lanes come to San Francisco airport
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 »
Senate bill demands accountability from Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi murder
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 »
National Security Council official frames nation’s biodefense plan for Blue Ribbon Panel members
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 »
Man pleads guilty in attempting to provide material support to ISIS
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 »
Arizona officers seize $512,000 of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl over Veteran’s Day weekend
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 »