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Threats
The Boston University global partnership CARB-X has earmarked up to $4.4 million in non-dilutive funding for the development of a new antibiotic that will target infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria.
CARB-X officials said the funds would be allocated to Recida Therapeutics, based in ... Read More »
Preclinical trials shone for a new synthetic DNA vaccine developed by the Wistar Institute this week when results published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases showed complete protection offered against the mosquito-borne Mayaro virus (MAYV).
"Although MAYV was discovered a long time ago and... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have asked the Department of Homeland Security to assess the national security risks stemming from foreign-made Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The senators specifically mention VPN networks affiliated with countries of national security concern,... Read More »
A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S. House would require the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on existing commercial aircraft to prevent terrorist attacks.
The barriers would be lightweight wire-mesh gates installed between the passenger cabin and the cockpit door. The... Read More »
A contract modification will enable Perspecta Labs to continue working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop cyber defenses against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
The new contract agreement is worth up to $2.7 million and is dependent on the... Read More »
Though strides have been made in the antibiotic pipeline in the last few years, a review released in Clinical Infectious Diseases this week found that they are not enough to combat multidrug resistance.
The report is an update on progress made under the Infectious Diseases Society of America's... Read More »
Several legislators recently announced their support of a Joint Resolution preventing the U.S. withdrawal from NATO without congressional approval.
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said the effort serves effort as companion legislation... Read More »
San Diego Sector (SDC) Border Patrol personnel continued to skillfully execute missions during the recent partial government shutdown, which represented the longest such period in the nation’s history.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials said from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 24, 2019, SDC... Read More »
A University of Kansas geologist recently determined that antibiotic-resistant microbes have spread to the remote arctic soil of Norway and could have severe implications for global human health.
The discovery -- published in the journal Environment International -- found that... Read More »
(Corrects 6th paragraph to clarify the Global Travel Assessment System was developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.)
The Department of Homeland Security’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) recently launched the development of three startup technologies to be used by DHS.... Read More »
There’s ample reason to concentrate on the role the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) plays in helping the nation defend against biological attacks, one of the most critical being the protection of America’s military troops, said experts Tuesday during a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense... Read More »
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance border security via funds seized from illegal entities such as drug cartels.
The Securing the Border and Making Drug Cartels Pay for It Act would authorize the issuance of bonds to make billions of dollars available for... Read More »
A group of legislators recently announced their support of the RAIDERS Act, which officials said is designed to prevent presidential use of National Emergencies Act of 1976 funds to build a border wall.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Martin... Read More »
A new study, published in Nature Biotechnology, reveals scientists from the Broad Institute have found a way to examine any human virus more efficiently, cost-effectively and on large scales than previously known.
The CATCH method (Compact Aggregation of Targets for Comprehensive Hybridization),... Read More »
North Carolina resident Erick Jamal Hendricks was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Hendricks was convicted last year of trying to recruit people on social media to train and conduct terrorist... Read More »
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week seeks to create a task force to provide recommendations for a national strategy on threat assessment and management.
The Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety (TAPS) Act of 2019 (S. 265) would provide resources, training, and assistance in... Read More »
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced last week a measure designed to prevent cyberattacks on federal agencies and the private sector while also bolstering homeland protection.
The senators said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response... Read More »
In an effort to raise health care workers’ awareness of and safety around Ebola, the Medical University of South Carolina has launched a new online training program.
The simulation seeks to train health care workers about the potential tolls the disease could take on a population and warns... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente Station in the San Diego Sector seized more than 140 pounds of narcotics, valued at more than $2.25 million hidden inside a car on Jan. 24.
Agents conducted a vehicle stop on a 2016 Nissan Versa, and the driver consented to a search by a Border... Read More »
The United States is backing out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with Russia citing Russia’s failure to comply with the treaty.
The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 in the waning days of the former Soviet Union by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General... Read More »
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) has committed nearly $3 million to an effort addressing key terrorism-related datasets and counterterrorism decision making.
The funds are allocated to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) today introduced a bill requiring employers to use an electronic employment verification to help combat illegal immigration.
The current E-Verify program is an optional program for most employers. The bill, the E-Verify Act, would require all employers to use... Read More »
Personnel representing several government entities delivered a worldwide threats assessment during recent open and closed Congressional committee sessions.
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, joined Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, as well as the... Read More »
Calling the United States nuclear strategy outdated, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced Wednesday bicameral legislation that would keep the nation from ever being the first to use nuclear weapons.
The No First Use Act would undo existing policy, which... Read More »
The U.S. Justice Department launched a campaign to disrupt the Joanap botnet – a global network of infected computers under the control of North Korean hackers that are used to facilitate cyberattacks.
This effort follows charges in which a North Korean citizen, Park Jin Hyok, backed by the... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) recently conducted an exercise on Plum Island, N.Y. to test grid recovery following a staged cyberattack on a U.S. power grid.
The Liberty Eclipse Phase II exercise is the fourth and largest simulated cyberattack that DARPA has conducted... Read More »
A group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday designed to address Chinese technology threats.
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) said Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined their efforts to create an Office of... Read More »
House legislators recently advanced a measure designed to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates its counterterrorism efforts to limit duplication, inefficiency, and waste.
Rep. John Katko (R-NY) authored the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2019, which is the first... Read More »
An international effort has created a new model for the identification and study of hosts critical to the spread of infectious diseases.
Such hosts are known as superspreaders, but their superpower is their role in epidemics. Not every infected person has the same potential to damage. Take the... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reintroduced legislation to prevent the president from launching a nuclear first strike without congressional approval.
Their bill, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019 (H.R.669/S.200), was also introduced in the 115th... Read More »
Scientists may have a new means of detecting and helping tailor therapies to meet the Zika virus’s onslaught.
The technology in question utilizes optofluidic chips -- a combination of small biological samples used for detection purposes (microfluidics) and integrated optics, which use lasers... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, seized $988,550 in unreported currency Friday.
The funds were discovered during a physical examination of a 2010 Nissan Maxima driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen.... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) early-stage clinical trial findings maintain the investigational Ebola treatment mAb114 is safe, well-tolerated, and easy to administer.
Trial results published in The Lancet outlined the manner in which 18 healthy adults received mAb114 as part of a May 2018... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enforce temporary flight restrictions around Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during Super Bowl Sunday.
The restrictions will be in effect from 3 p.m.... Read More »
A federal interagency working group convened by the White House National Security Council last week released new resources to help first responders prepare for and respond to an emergency incident involving fourth generation agents — also known as chemical warfare agents.
“These resources... Read More »
