News
Training aids chemical, biological weapons preparedness
Marines and Illinois response units recently joined forces to share training techniques designed to enhance chemical and biological emergency preparedness. Marines and sailors with the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBRIF) participated in Exercise Chicago Response in Chicago,... Read More »
S&T tests face, iris recognition systems through checkpoints
At the first Biometric Technology Rally, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) established a series of checkpoints used to identify biometrics, mainly facial and iris identification, quickly and accurately. Attendees at the DHS Maryland Test... Read More »
Congressional Valley Fever Task Force introduces legislative support for research, treatment
U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and David Schweikert (R-AZ), co-chairs of the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force, joined three other task force members this week to introduce legislation seeking to advance research and treatment of the fungal disease. There are currently more cases of Valley... Read More »
Grants earmarked for Massachusetts fire departments
Eighteen Massachusetts fire departments are slated to receive $4.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants. Officials said 17 of the departments received funding through FEMA's Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) program, which provides resources for firefighters and... Read More »
Gen. Brown Jr. assumes command of PACAF
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. was welcomed last week as the 35th commander of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The PACAF includes 46,000 airmen and covers more than 100 million square miles, extending from the nation’s west coast to the east coast of Africa and from the Arctic to the... Read More »
Defense act authorizes Air Force test facilities
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which authorizes the Air Force Test Center’s top military construction priorities. The projects prioritized included a Joint Simulation Environment (JSE)... Read More »
House advances measure to reduce US service members’ reliance on Russian energy
The U.S. House voted this week to advance a legislative provision seeking to reduce reliance on Russian energy for troops serving in Europe, while also authorizing funding for military members and their families. The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019... Read More »
Nebraska, Iowa universities helm national institute addressing antimicrobial resistance
While the inherent danger of antimicrobial resistance is growing, increasing the threat of a global public health crisis, a new national institute to address the threat has been created through a partnership between universities in Nebraska and Iowa. The new Institute for Antimicrobial... Read More »
Bill targets international tourism, national security
Reps. Tom Rice (R-SC) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance international tourism to America while improving national security. The Jobs Originating through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act would also reform outdated visa laws, create jobs, and rename the Visa... Read More »
Rep. Royce seeks compliance with chemical weapons measure
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) forwarded correspondence last week urging the Trump Administration to hold Russia accountable for its likely use of chemical weapons in recent attacks on civilians in the United Kingdom. In his letter, Royce noted the Administration missed... Read More »
Border patrol creates Incident Management Team for Rio Grande Valley
The U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) recently established an Incident Management Team, which will work with the Emergency Operation Center during natural disasters or wide-scale emergencies. The team, comprised of Border Patrol personnel from across the RGV, met last week to... Read More »
Tick-induced infections on the rise
The spread of tickborne infections has risen significantly in the past decade, with the upward trend likely to continue, according to a recent report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Lyme disease represents the majority of tickborne infections in the United... Read More »
GAO issued more than 3,000 recommendations to better US cybersecurity since 2010
The United States remains critically vulnerable to cyber attack, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which also found 10 crucial steps agencies need to take and four major cybersecurity challenges circling the nation’s information security. Security... Read More »
KBR acquires $36.5 million missile systems contract
KBRwyle, a subsidiary of professional services and technology provider KBR, Inc., has been awarded a $36.5 million Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA) missiles system contract. Officials said KBRwyle would provide sustainment engineering support to the 414th Supply Chain Management... Read More »
Report tracks nuclear, radioactive material trafficking
An updated database released this week has identified more than 170 incidents of nuclear and radioactive material trafficking across 14 countries in 2017. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) officials said the Global Incidents and Trafficking Database, produced for NTI by the Center for... Read More »
Puerto Rican airport installs new federal inspection station
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently installed a new Federal Inspection Station at Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport. The $6 million station uses advanced technology and allows passengers to move through a single point of control, speeding up entry to the... Read More »
Study examines risk factors linked to chikungunya, dengue outbreaks
In a massive study that examined data from 76 countries collected from 1959 to 2009, analysts from the University of Illinois have found that outbreaks of chikungunya and dengue fever -- both linked to mosquitoes -- are most affected by population density and proximity to a country already... Read More »ICE’s Eagle’s Shield operation leads to 132 arrests on East Coast
Officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 132 individuals on criminal and civil violations at the conclusion of Operation Eagle’s Shield last week. Eagle’s Shield, which ran from July 9 to July 20, was an... Read More »
BITMAP bill advances House committee
The House Homeland Security Committee has advanced the Biometric Identification Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) Authorization Act of 2018 to help better identify national security threats. The legislation was introduced by Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and was co-sponsored by Rep.... Read More »
Measure targets weapons of mass destruction
A bill introduced by Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) designed to enhance efforts to protect the nation from evolving threats has unanimously advanced the House Homeland Security Committee. Donovan said the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act strengthens national security by ensuring the... Read More »
JFK Airport terminal installs 3-D scanner to improve explosives detection
The American Airlines Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport recently installed a computed tomography (CT) checkpoint scanner that provides 3-D imaging for detecting explosives. The scanner is similar to those used to scan checked baggage. It provides clear, 3-D images that can be... Read More »
Bipartisan effort supports intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in elections
Following President Donald Trump’s assertions of doubt on the accuracy of the American intelligence community’s findings on Russian election interference, a bipartisan effort in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution this week reaffirming support for those findings. At a joint... Read More »
Bipartisan Senate effort seeks greater election safeguards
A Senate effort that has garnered support from both sides of the aisle looks to bolster the security of U.S. elections in the wake of the intelligence community’s conclusions of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. The Secure Elections Act seeks to fund the creation and... Read More »
NTI leadership, staff play key role at nuclear materials management conference
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) officials will be participating in several discussion panels presented at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s (INMM) 59th annual meeting this week in Baltimore, Md. NTI Vice President Corey Hinderstein provided opening remarks at the first plenary... Read More »
House, Senate committees conclude conference on 2019 National Defense Authorization Act
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees released details of the conference report authorizing funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. Lawmakers said the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year... Read More »
Canadian company receives $200,000 contract for cybersecurity platform
Plurilock Security Solutions recently received a $200,000 contract award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). The funds will develop an identity management platform to improve the security of smart devices, sensors and other devices, such as... Read More »
United States to provide $200 mln to Ukrainian forces for training, equipment
As Ukraine continues to battle with Russian-backed rebels in its eastern expanse, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last week that it would provide $200 million for training, equipment, and advisory efforts. The new funds continue a long-standing defense relationship between the... Read More »
African nations develop Ebola readiness plans as risk grows
For nine nations adjoining the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed that the threat of a dangerous Ebola spread is high at the regional level. An outbreak of the disease has stricken the Congo since May, and though the WHO has resisted calling for... Read More »
Lockheed Martin lands $450 million combatant contract
The U.S. government recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $450 million contract to design and plan construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The awarded Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) agreement will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine... Read More »
Program targets artificial intelligence enhancement
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) recently announced its Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) program, which is designed to ensure the nation maintains an advantage within the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). DARPA officials said the initiative serves as a critical... Read More »
Border Patrol operations, TRICAMEX fly over Rio Grande Valley
Air and Marine Operations agents recently flew over the Rio Grande Sector as part of the Border Patrol Missing Migrant Program. The agents, from the McAllen Air Brach, conducted a familiarization flight for Central America’s Northern Triangle and Mexico (TRICAMEX). TRICAMEX, comprised of the... Read More »
Report outlines biological and chemical dangers to United States
It would cost the U.S. government only half a day’s worth of federal spending — anywhere between $5 billion and $6 billion — to create the infrastructure needed to counteract the threat of chemical or biological attacks, according to findings described in “Invisible Scourge: The Danger of... Read More »
Attorney General releases Cyber-Digital Task Force report
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday the publication of a comprehensive assessment of cyber threats to the United States along with the ways in which the U.S. Department of Justice combats those threats. “The Internet has given us amazing new tools that help us work, communicate,... Read More »
START launches training courses focused on community resilience
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) recently launched new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-certified courses focused on educating community members about violent extremism and how to respond to it effectively. The multidisciplinary... Read More »