News
Joint Cybersecurity Advisory provides information on Maui ransomware
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) providing information on Maui ransomware. The Maui ransomware has been used by North... Read More »
Measure seeks to address delays in defense equipment deliveries to Taiwan, Indo Pacific allies
U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Young Kim (R-CA) have introduced a bill that seeks to ensure efficient delivery of domestic defense equipment sold to Taiwan and Indo Pacific allies. The Arms Exports Delivery Solutions Act (H.R. 8259) would track transfers while reaffirming congressional... Read More »
Reps. Norton, Maloney, Brown detail NDAA National Guard amendment
U.S. Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), and Anthony G. Brown (D-MD) recently filed a fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment providing the District of Columbia mayor D.C. National Guard control. The legislators introduced the filing at the... Read More »
Senators introduce bipartisan resolution of commitment to rebuilding Ukraine
As the war between Ukraine and Russia continues unabated, despite hundreds of deaths and months of economic sanctions, some lawmakers in the United States have begun looking to the future, with a resolution committing the United States to rebuild the ravaged Ukraine. Essentially, the bill would... Read More »
DHS awards $195,000 to winners of extreme heat challenge
As part of a competitive search for climate-friendly cooling solutions in the face of extreme heat conditions, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded $195,000 to winners of the Cooling Solutions Challenge this week. Participants worked on innovative solutions to heat, inventing... Read More »
Army orders Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, trailers from Oshkosh Defense
Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal has placed a $216 million order with Oshkosh Defense for 513 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and 1,152 (JLTV-T) trailers. The vehicles and trailers would supply the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the Armed Forces of... Read More »
HHS orders 2.5 million additional doses of Bavarian Nordic’s monkeypox vaccine
Responding to the more than 450 cases of monkeypox reported in the United States as of July 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered another 2.5 million doses of Bavarian Nordic’s JYNNEOS vaccine for smallpox and monkeypox. The case count held at 459 at the end of... Read More »
FEMA launches update to mobile app, touts increase personalization options
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently unveiled an updated version of its mobile app, which now provides users with increased personalization options while aiding disaster safety efforts. “FEMA is committed to providing families with the tools and information they need to keep... Read More »
California Aerospace Caucus co-chairs make bid to house Space Force headquarters
U.S. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA), co-chairs of the California Aerospace Caucus, sent a letter to U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III last week, urging for the permanent relocation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) upcoming Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM)... Read More »
BARDA, French partner Crossject to develop needle-free ZENEO midazolam autoinjectors
In an effort to stock up for emergencies involving nerve agents, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced last week it will work with French developer Crossject to gain ZENEO needle-free autoinjectors for the anticonvulsant midazolam. Midazolam works to treat... Read More »
Sens. Warner, Baldwin lead effort advocating domestically made masks purchases
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), advocating support for a CMS proposal encouraging hospitals to buy domestically-produced masks. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined six colleagues in sending... Read More »
DHS S&T, Israel National Cyber Directorate detail cybersecurity collaboration
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) recently formed the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Cyber program-managed joint initiative, which would enhance critical infrastructure cyber... Read More »
Collaborative, NIH-funded research develops fast, cheap genotyping approach to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants
The efforts of an interdisciplinary research team funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program have yielded a quick, cost-effective new means of detecting and identifying known variants and subvariants of SARS-CoV-2. The results of the... Read More »
Raytheon touts Valiant Shield 22 demonstration results
Aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies is touting the accomplishments of its subsidiary, Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S), amid the recent Defense Department Valiant Shield 22 exercise. Authorities noted the demonstration successfully indicated the ability to collect data on a... Read More »
DOJ forms collaborative New England Prescription Opioid Strike Force in focus on illegal opioid prescriptions
Struggling to contain a national opioid epidemic, the United States Justice Department (DOJ) Criminal Division this week gathered various law enforcement operations together under the New England Prescription Opioid (NEPO) Strike Force. The strike force represents a renewed focus on unlawful... Read More »
Experts, public health leaders gathered to discuss need for well-funded public health system in wake of COVID-19
Public health policy organization Trust for America’s Health and the nonprofit collective known as the Coalition for Health Funding assembled expert panelists and public health officials last week to discuss public health funding in the post-COVID landscape. While COVID-19’s effects are... Read More »
HHS details agreement to purchase 105 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently detailed an agreement to purchase 105 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for a fall vaccination campaign. HHS collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense on the $3.2 billion contract that includes a combination of... Read More »
New DARPA-funded blockchain study points out exploits of security
A new study conducted by consulting firm Trail of Bits and funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) concluded that despite claims to the contrary, blockchains are not impenetrable but can be subverted to dishonest means. Despite the growing prevalence of blockchains... Read More »
Sen. Tester urges Biden administration to reopen northern border
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is requesting the Biden administration reopen the northern border and recently encouraged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end the trucker and traveler vaccination mandate. Tester recently implored Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro... Read More »
NIH Clinical Center begins phase 1 trial of universal flu vaccine candidate
Inoculations began this week at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for up to 100 participants in a phase 1 trial of novel universal flu vaccine candidate BPL-1357. Testing will be conducted at this site alone and will focus on volunteers between 18 and 55... Read More »
Lockheed Martin building new missile facility
Security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin is building a new missile facility on its campus in Huntsville, Ala., to serve as an investment in innovation while advancing capability. During the recent groundbreaking ceremony, Lockheed Martin officials said the $16.5 million Missile System... Read More »
FDA to review biologics license application for Emergent BioSolutions anthrax vaccine candidate
With the acceptance of a biologics license application (BLA) from Emergent BioSolutions Inc. last week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to review the potential of AV7909, an anthrax vaccine candidate. “Over the last 20 years, Emergent has partnered with the U.S.... Read More »
Sikorsky secures government Black Hawk helicopters contract
U.S. government officials said the Lockheed Martin company Sikorsky has agreed to a five-year contract to provide a baseline of 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The agreement includes options to reach a total of 255 aircraft to be delivered to the U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS)... Read More »
DARPA researchers unveil improvements to robotic system performance
At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Machine Common Sense (MCS) program, researchers last week offered demonstrations of improvements to robotic system performance, showcasing advancements in intuitive physics, intentional actors, and spatial navigation. Comparing the... Read More »
DHS awards nearly $4.5M in research contracts to 30 small businesses
As encouragement for proof-of-concept research into homeland security technology, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) divided up $4.479 million in competitive research contracts to 30 small businesses. This first phase of the DHS Small... Read More »
Rep. Cicilline urges increased legislative action to combat gun violence
Following the advancement of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Rep. David N. Cicilline said the momentum must be used to pass other gun violence combating measures. “This is the first time in nearly 28 years that Congress has sent a comprehensive gun violence prevention bill to the... Read More »
National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 advances to chamber reconciliation
After a final vote last week, the House’s $850 billion version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 advanced toward reconciliation with its Senate counterpart. Notably, the NDAA as written surpassed President Joe Biden’s own proposal for $813 billion and... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection, Grace Farms Foundation host federal law enforcement summit
At a conference jointly hosted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Grace Farms Foundation last week, hundreds of law enforcement officials gathered to discuss transnational threats, as well as the information sharing and best practices needed to tackle them. “U.S. Customs and... Read More »
Soligenix bivalent thermostabilized vaccine demonstrations full protection against filovirus in non-human primates
Late-stage biopharmaceutical company Soligenix, Inc. announced last week that it has created and tested a bivalent filovirus vaccine that offered 100 percent protection to non-human primate test subjects against the lethal Marburg and Ebola viruses. "Filoviruses such as Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan... Read More »
BAE Systems secures $7.8M AFRL contract for machine learning software
BAE Systems recently secured a $7.8 million Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract to develop Multi-Sensor Exploitation for Tactical Autonomy (META) program machine learning software. “With the addition of environmentally adaptive processing, this solution bridges a critical gap in... Read More »
Legislation seeks sensitive data protections from high-risk foreign countries
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) recently introduced the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Surveillance Act, which seeks to create protections against selling or transferring domestic sensitive... Read More »
CDC expands monkeypox testing capacity with shipments to five commercial lab companies
Working through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began shipping monkeypox tests to five commercial lab companies this week. It aims to boost the nation’s monkeypox testing capacity at large, with assistance from Aegis... Read More »
Sens. Peters, Hoeven, Rosen applaud enactment of cybersecurity workforce legislation
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) recently applauded the enactment of their legislation to recruit, develop and retain skilled cybersecurity professionals in the federal workforce. The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act became law in the wake... Read More »
Global Fund partners with SC Johnson to address malaria throughout Africa
A new partnership arranged between SC Johnson and the Global Fund this week will focus on resource development for malaria, one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases. Together, the pair intend to push for social impact in some of the places malaria has proven most stubborn: Burundi, the... Read More »