Threats
CBP officers in South Texas Post increased seizures of cocaine, fentanyl in 2021
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at eight South Texas ports of entry seized significantly more cocaine and fentanyl in 2021, officials said Wednesday. According to CBP, officers have seized 1,066 percent more fentanyl and 98 percent more cocaine in fiscal year 2021, than in... Read More »
Log4j vulnerability prompts Senate Homeland Security Committee briefing, warnings for critical infrastructure
In response to hacker-discovered vulnerabilities in the widely used Java-based logging package Log4j, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) convened a committee briefing with top federal cybersecurity officials this week to address the issue’s mitigation. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs... Read More »
Cue Health, BARDA partnering on development of real-time Omicron-Genotyping COVID-19 Test
While Cue Health already has a COVID-19 test on the market capable of detecting the widespread omicron variant, the organization announced that it will work with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to create a point-of-care test specifically focused on rooting out... Read More »
Sens. Portman, Rosen, Wicker request cybersecurity information from DHS, DOT
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation Tuesday asking for information on the departments’ ability to thwart cyberattacks. Portman, the ranking member of the Senate... Read More »
Rep. Meijer human trafficking legislation signed into law
U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) applauded this week the passage of his legislation, the DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act (H.R. 2795), which increases human trafficking indicators awareness. Additionally, the legislation, included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year... Read More »
Moniz, Nunn release statement on preventing nuclear war, arms race
Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Former Secretary of Energy under the Obama administration Ernest J. Moniz, co-founders of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said they applaud the position of world leaders that a nuclear war “cannot be won,” in a statement Monday. The statement comes in... Read More »
Sens. Burr, Blunt request information from HHS concerning COVID-19 testing shortage
In a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) requested explanations for the nation’s COVID-19 testing shortages amid rising omicron variant infection cases. Specifically, they blasted the Biden... Read More »
Bipartisan amendment pushes analysis of federal government’s vaccine logistics, increased global supply
Through an amendment (H.R. 4350) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed last week, U.S. Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) guaranteed a new federal study for the logistics of distributing COVID-19 doses abroad and ensuring vaccine... Read More »
Newly enacted measure seeks to bolster AI capabilities
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) are touting the recently signed Advancing American AI Innovation Act, which they said would bolster the nation's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The legislation signed into law in accordance with the FY 2022 National Defense... Read More »
J&J COVID-19 vaccine boosts protection against hospitalization 85 percent, even around omicron
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) released news from the South African Phase 3b Sisonke study of its COVID-19 booster vaccine, which demonstrated 85 percent effectiveness against COVID-19 induced hospitalization, even in a region dominated by the omicron variant. The results were preliminary, conducted by... Read More »
New York National Guard, NYS Department of Health partner to bolster EMT numbers
In an effort to boost the number of EMTs available to New York during any winter surges of COVID-19, a new training partnership began last week between the New York State Department of Health and the New York National Guard. While Gov. Kathy Hochul had already deployed 60 National Guard medical... Read More »
Bill advocates supply chain vulnerability research
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently praised the benefits of their advanced Domains Critical to Homeland Security Act, which advocates Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supply chain vulnerability research. The legislation was signed into law with the FY 2022 National... Read More »
Sen. Graham pushes for Senate hearing on rising crime rates
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the rise in violent crime across the country. In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), Graham and all of the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee linked the rise in... Read More »
FDA authorizes new Roche, Siemens at-home COVID-19 tests following accelerated review
Following an accelerated review process, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved two new over-the-counter COVID-19 tests in a two-month turnaround time, opening the market to millions of new Roche and Siemens tests. "Increasing Americans' access to easy-to-use, reliable... Read More »
National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 passes with provisions for addressing PFAS spills
The $770 billion Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; S. 1605) was signed into law last week, and among its many provisions were funding for addressing both Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination throughout the United States. This will take the form of new... Read More »
Bipartisan senators commend the signing of legislation authorizing National Cyber Director detailees
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently applauded the passage of legislation authorizing non-reimbursable Office of the National Cyber Director (NCD) detailees. U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angus King (I-ME), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) said the measure... Read More »
MilliporeSigma secures DoD, HHS agreement
MilliporeSigma, based in Sheboygan, Wis., has secured a Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pact to establish domestic nitrocellulose membrane production capacity. The $136.7 million contract would enable MilliporeSigma to expand its industrial base to... Read More »
Legislators praise National Mall veterans memorial bill passage
U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) recently commended the passage of their legislation, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act, which enables the placement of a National Mall memorial honoring Global War on Terrorism veterans. “In the wake of 9/11, millions of... Read More »
Justice Department announces more than $125M in STOP School Violence Act Grants
The U.S. Department of Justice announced it would be providing nearly $126 million in funding to advance school safety under the STOP School Violence Act. The grants fund safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, as well as school violence prevention efforts, training for... Read More »
Proposed National Critical Capabilities Defense Act seeks review, screening of U.S. supply chain
U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) introduced new legislation that seeks a new review process for the nation’s supply chain to screen out vulnerabilities and exploits for national adversaries. “The unfolding global... Read More »
IAVG stresses need to prioritize vaccine equity in 70 percent immunization push
The Independent Allocation of Vaccines Group (IAVG), a manager of needs-based allocations for the global COVAX initiative, criticized rich nations last week for hoarding COVID-19 vaccines and issued steps to achieve a new goal of 70 percent immunization coverage by mid-2022. “As the overall... Read More »
Human trafficking provision signed into law as part of National Defense Authorization Act
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) announced Monday that at provision they authored to combat human trafficking had been signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Based on Peters and Portman’s DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act, the provision would... Read More »
CBP outlines expansion of Washington Simplified Arrival
Simplified Arrival, an enhanced international arrival process utilizing facial biometrics to automate manual document checks at border crossings, has been expanded in Washington state, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The expansion applies to border crossings at the... Read More »
CDC releases emergency guidance for healthcare facilities in response to potential Omicron surge
As the number of Omicron variant cases of COVID-19 grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued updated guidance for healthcare workers regarding their isolation and quarantine times after being infected. Additionally, the CDC updated its guidance for contingency and... Read More »
FDA authorizes rapid Roche COVID-19 test for emergency over-the-counter use
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bestowed emergency use authorization (EUA) to Roche’s COVID-19 at-home test last week, expanding over-the-counter options for those concerned about SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. As a result, the test will now be available for self-use by... Read More »
DARPA initiative addresses machine learning attacks
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched an initiative to address potential machine learning (ML) model attacks. The Guaranteeing AI Robustness against Deception (GARD) program seeks to work ahead of safety challenges by developing a new generation of defenses against... Read More »
FDA authorizes Pfizer’s and Merck’s pills for COVID-19, the first oral antivirals
The United States authorized the first two pill-based treatments for COVID-19 last week, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting emergency use authorization to both Pfizer Inc.’s paxlovid and Merck & Co. Inc.’s molnupiravir. Taking the honor of first approval was paxlovid.... Read More »
CEPI broadens partnership with SK bioscience in pursuit of variant-proof vaccine for viruses like SARS-CoV-2
The Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness will award up to $50 million in expanded support to SK bioscience as the company pursues a variant-proof vaccine candidate for sarbecoviruses, a group of viruses from which SARS-CoV-2 emerged. “The rapid spread of the Omicron variant serves as a stark... Read More »
CISA hosts cybersecurity forum for state and local election officials
State and local election officials recently participated in a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)-hosted forum to discuss cyber navigator programs. Cyber navigators are state liaisons responsible for aiding under-resourced local jurisdictions in managing cyber risks, helping... Read More »
HHS launches PandemicX Accelerator to narrow health inequities
In an effort to close health disparities brought to light and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it has banded together with 15 digital health startups in the 2022 PandemicX Accelerator. “PandemicX will... Read More »Moderna’s COVID booster vaccine spurs significant antibodies against Omicron variant
In preliminary showings, a third dose of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine increased antibody levels against the Omicron variant currently sweeping the world, painting the company’s strategy forward even as a years-long pandemic continues to evolve. The report followed news that omicron, which... Read More »
House bill seeks to protect supply chain from adversaries
A group of lawmakers have introduced a measure they said seeks to protect the domestic supply chain from foreign adversaries that include China and Russia. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) introduced the National Critical... Read More »
Congress members urge additional supplemental funding for global vaccinations
Worried by rising COVID-19 variants and the threats of future pandemics, a collection of United States lawmakers last week dispatched a letter to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees asking for further funding in the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bill to support global... Read More »