News
Altimmune, BARDA set for clinical trial of single-dose anthrax vaccine
Altimmune, Inc., and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are set to advance the first clinical trial later this month of an anthrax vaccine that could be administered in a single dose. The trial was initiated from a two-year, $14 million contract between BARDA and... Read More »
Battelle wins two major contracts from U.S. Army
Battelle, Inc.’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Defense Group was awarded two contracts on Monday to provide vital mission support service for the U.S. Army. “These important contract wins demonstrate that Battelle can win competitively bid contracts in our area... Read More »CBP officers discover man concealed within truck’s gas tank compartment
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at the Calexico East port of entry stopped a human smuggling attempt on Friday after discovering a man concealed in a compartment in a Ford F-150 pickup. The incident began when a 41-year-old Mexican citizen entered the East port driving a 1998... Read More »HHS awards $5.1 million to InBios for new Zika virus diagnostic test
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded a $5.1 million, two-year contract to InBios International, Inc., on Monday for a newer, faster Zika virus diagnostic blood test. InBios’ test may have the... Read More »
McCaul releases monthly terror threat snapshot for August
U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Monday released the committee’s terror threat snapshot for the month of August, which serves as a monthly assessment of the growing threat America and its allies face from Islamist terrorist organizations. “The recent... Read More »NIH begins Zika virus vaccine clinical trial in humans
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a clinical trial this week for an experimental vaccine to prevent Zika virus infections, an effort that comes after local transmission of the virus hit a neighborhood in Florida. “Given the Zika situation internationally and in the United... Read More »
DARPA hosts Cyber Grand Challenge for nation’s best computer hacking teams
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will host the world’s first all-machine hacking tournament this week. The Cyber Grand Challenge marks the culmination of an ambitious three-year effort to develop advanced, autonomous systems that can detect, evaluate and patch software... Read More »
OPCW holds international training course for chemical weapons convention implementation
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held a course last week with representatives of 42 national authorities from across the globe focused on enhancing their capacity for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The course focused on the vital tasks nations... Read More »Raytheon opens new cyber facility in Augusta, Georgia
Raytheon Company officially opened its newest cyber campus facility on Monday in Augusta, Georgia to deliver a wide range of cybersecurity capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Cyber Command as it continues its transition to Fort Gordon. "Our DoD customers have come to... Read More »GAO: DOT needs better guidance in handling explosives classification oversight
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on Thursday that found that better guidance and planning could enhance the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) explosives classification oversight. The GAO report found that the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... Read More »
International partnership to combat antimicrobial resistance launches
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Wellcome Trust of London, the AMR Centre of Alderley Park and Boston University released plans on Thursday to create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships centered on the preclinical discovery and development of new... Read More »
Carper, Johnson highlight critical update for key cybersecurity guidance
U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) highlighted a critical update on Thursday from the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of updated revisions to Circular A-130, which sets the official policy for OMB and guides information technology management and cybersecurity for... Read More »INTERPOL rescues more than 2,700 human trafficking victims in coordinated operation
INTERPOL recently released the results of a months-long operation targeting human trafficking in South and Central America that resulted in the rescue of more than 2,700 victims, 134 arrests and the destruction of at least seven organized criminal networks. Operation Intercops - Spartacus III,... Read More »NSA certifies Raytheon’s KG-350 encryption system
The National Security Agency (NSA) certified Raytheon Company’s KG-350 Ethernet encryption system on Tuesday to protect network communications for sensitive information up to top secret/SCI classification. Type 1 certification gives Raytheon the authorization to immediately sell the KG-350... Read More »Rubio urges president’s action on critical Zika funding
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Wednesday urged President Obama to use unspent funds from other programs to combat the emerging threat of Zika virus in the United States. Rubio sent a letter to the president, citing specific examples of unused funds that could be reallocated in an expedited... Read More »
Stolen portable nuclear gauge recovered in Connecticut
HAKS Material Testing Group, a Connecticut-based company, notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday that a portable nuclear gauge reported to be stolen has been recovered. The gauge, typically used for industrial purposes like measuring the density of soil at... Read More »
NIAID researchers discover six Zika-related antibodies
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released a study on Wednesday that found six Zika virus antibodies, including four that neutralize African, Asian and American strains of the virus. Dr. Michael S.... Read More »BARDA, NIAID provide additional funding for Soligenix’s acute radiation syndrome medical countermeasure
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) provided additional funding to Soligenix, Inc., this week to advance preclinical development of OrbeShield (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or oral BDP) as... Read More »Langevin commends signing of cyber incident coordination directive
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) applauded President Barack Obama this week for signing Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 41, entitled “United States Cyber Incident Coordination.” The directive complements the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, which was introduced earlier this year to build... Read More »
CBP opening London Global Entry enrollment center
A Global Entry enrollment center will be opened for 60 days in London at the U.S. Embassy by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) beginning on Sept. 26. The CBP Trust Traveler’s Program’s Global Entry Applicants program allows for expedited clearance of preapproved, low-risk travelers.... Read More »
Global Hawk UAS surpasses 200,000 flight hours
The autonomous Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from Northrop Grumman Corp. surpassed 200,000 flight hours this week, with the U.S Air Force’s Global Hawks logging 88 percent of the hours. The remaining hours were flown by NASA Global Hawks, Germany’s Full Scale Demonstrator and... Read More »First evidence that Zika transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito discovered by UTMB researchers
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston researchers, working in collaboration with colleagues from Mexico, recently discovered a direct connection between the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Zika transmission in the Americas during an outbreak in southern Mexico. The findings,... Read More »
OPCW, UN endorse urgent action to destroy Libya’s remaining chemical weapons
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently adopted a decision that calls for the necessary international assistance in response to a request from the Libyan Government of National Accord to destroy its remaining Category 2 chemical weapons on an expedited basis outside... Read More »
FirstNet to hold Southwest border region forum on public safety communications
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will hold its inaugural forum in the Southwest border region in August to engage with federal and regional public safety stakeholders about the communications challenges they face ahead of the deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband... Read More »Senators urge president to restrain and reduce stockpile of nuclear weapons
A coalition 10 of U.S. senators wrote a letter on Wednesday to the Obama administration requesting action on nuclear weapons policy in the time the president has left in office. The letter was co-signed by U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Barbara... Read More »Donovan decries partisan fights as Zika research remains underfunded
U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) on Tuesday decried actions by his congressional colleagues for jeopardizing the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus. Donovan’s statement came in the wake of three different companies threatening to halt their developments due to funding uncertainty.... Read More »
INTERPOL reveals new biosafety curriculum for law enforcement
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) produced its first biosafety curriculum for police colleges to advance law enforcement capability and preparedness in responding to biological incidents on Tuesday. The initiative was developed under Project Rhino and seeks to address... Read More »TSA, United Airlines release plans for new security screening technology
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), along with United Airlines, released plans on Wednesday to install automated security screening lanes at select United Airlines hubs this fall. The automated lanes will incorporate technology that enhances overall effectiveness, while also... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee releases “Terror Gone Viral” report
The House Homeland Security Committee released its “Terror Gone Viral” report that shows that the wave of terror attacks in the past month have helped ISIS reach a record-level of plotting following the attacks in Germany, France and Orlando. “ISIS terrorists have reached an alarming and... Read More »Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee examines protections against energy disruptions
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy, chaired a hearing on the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, S. 3018, and to examine protections designed to guard against energy disruptions last week. “In the United States, we too often we... Read More »
Alliance for Biosecurity applauds passage of public health emergency response bill by committee
The Alliance for Biosecurity applauded the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday for passing the Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act, H.R. 3299, which now heads to the House floor for a vote. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).... Read More »Battelle awarded $170 million contract to build armored vehicles for SOCOM
Battelle was awarded a second contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) on Tuesday worth $170 million to build non-standard commercial vehicles (NSCVs). The contract stipulates that Battelle will build armored and unarmored vehicles for the next five years at its manufacturing... Read More »Johnson: “If you see something, say something” key to preventing acts of terror
Homeland security leaders joined forces on Thursday at the “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland: ISIS and the New Wave of Terror” to discuss how to keep Americans safe from both cyber threats and acts of terror. Many national leaders were in attendance, including U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez... Read More »Ratcliffe, Langevin introduce two bills for U.S.-Israel cybersecurity initiatives
U.S. Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced two bills on Thursday aimed at strengthening collaborative cybersecurity research and development efforts with Israel. The first bill, the United States-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2016, will create a... Read More »