Threats
Sen. Young addresses China’s alleged bill opposition
U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) recently responded to a report alleging the Chinese Communist Party is expressing opposition to his bill he said seeks to invest in technologies aiding in outcompeting China. Young's rebuttal stemmed from a Reuters report alleging that the Chinese Embassy is... Read More »
Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act includes strengthened efforts for domestic PPE production
Contained within the sprawling provisions of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act signed into law this week are production-minded provisions that will require federal agencies to focus long-term personal protective equipment (PPE) production on domestic companies. These... Read More »
Los Angeles CBP details record counterfeit merchandise seizures
Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel recently detailed record seizures of counterfeit and prohibited merchandise. During Fiscal Year 2021, which spans from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, trade enforcement seizures increased by 24 percent and the overall... Read More »
DHS launches new cybersecurity hiring program to recruit, train and retain professionals
With cybersecurity professionals in increased demand across the public and private sphere, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week launched the Cybersecurity Talent Management System (CTMS) to help it attract, develop and keep talent of its own. “The DHS Cybersecurity Talent... Read More »
European Commission authorizes Ronapreve cocktail for treating non-hospitalized adult, adolescent COVID-19 patients
Ronapreve, a Roche and Regeneron-developed drug cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab, gained marketing authorization from the European Commission last week for treatment of COVID-19 cases before hospitalization among adults and adolescents at least 12 years old. Ronapreve can now be used in... Read More »
Newly signed Ensuring Compliance Against Drug Diversion Act addresses registration loopholes surrounding illegal opioid distribution
President Joe Biden signed the Ensuring Compliance Against Drug Diversion Act (H.R.1899) into law last week, codifying current drug regulations to make it harder for bad actors to create shell companies or transfer registration to evade crackdowns and continue distributing illegal... Read More »
Nearly $280M in relief funding allocated to New York following Hurricane Ida
As of Nov. 8, nearly $280 million in assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration has flowed into New York to help those affected by Hurricane Ida. The September hurricane flooded streets and subway stations and left parts of the... Read More »
NSA, National Cryptologic Foundation form partnership
National Security Agency (NSA) recently announced a partnership with the National Cryptologic Foundation to strengthen domestic cybersecurity education and cybersecurity job possibilities. The collaboration is expected to promote a deeper understanding of prior domestic cryptologic successes;... Read More »
More countries agree to address antimicrobial resistance, despite COVID-19 setbacks
Data from the latest global survey on implementation of the Global Action Plan on addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) showed that more countries than ever are determined to fight AMR, but also major setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 163 countries that responded to the survey... Read More »
Biden plans to tap Califf as next FDA commissioner
President Joe Biden on Nov. 12 announced he will nominate cardiologist Dr. Robert Califf to be the next commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a key role as the government continues to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Current Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock’s... Read More »
DHS issues fourth National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin of the year
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has issued the agency's fourth National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin since January 2021. DHS indicated the country continually faces a diverse and challenging threat environment. Several... Read More »
HHS to provide $143.5M for community-based efforts to improve COVID-19 vaccination outreach
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it will provide $143.5 million to expand community-based efforts at vaccination outreach, specifically to build vaccine confidence and break down barriers to COVID-19 vaccination. “Today’s investments are part of... Read More »
Johnson & Johnson to provide COVAX with COVID-19 vaccine doses to fill coverage gaps among most vulnerable
A new effort by the COVAX Facility -- the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer -- received a shot in the arm this week through a new agreement with Johnson & Johnson, which will bring its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to bear to help approximately 167 million displaced people around the world. COVAX -- the... Read More »
DHS funds earmarked for vehicle-borne explosives detection
Block MEMS, LLC has secured a $2,622,082 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) award to develop vehicle-borne explosives detection technology. The funding, provided through S&T’s Long-Range Broad Agency Announcement (LRBAA) process, would result in... Read More »
Smiths Detection secures DHS contract
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) has awarded a contract to Smiths Detection to provide 110 radiation portal monitors (RPM). The RPMs would be deployed across land border crossings throughout the country. The passive checkpoints... Read More »
Bills target wildfire response redesign, bolstering resources
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) spearheaded a bicameral effort detailing the FIRE Act and the Disaster Equity and Fairness Act -- two bills that address federal wildfire response redesign and efforts to bolster resources when such outbreaks occur. The FIRE Act... Read More »
U.S. to purchase 1.4 million additional courses of COVID-19 oral antiviral from Merck, Ridgeback
The United States federal government exercised two options on contracts with Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics this week to purchase an additional 1.4 million courses of the investigational oral antiviral molnupiravir for use against COVID-19. This deal will amount to approximately $1 billion... Read More »
Biden administration to invest $650M in rapid COVID diagnostic testing
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday that it would be investing $650 million from the American Rescue Plan to strengthen the manufacturing capacity for quality diagnostic testing through rapid point-of-care molecular tests and increase Americans’ access to them.... Read More »
INOVIO greenlit for Phase 3 trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate INO-4800
With approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now in hand, INOVIO intends to proceed with a Phase 3 segment of its INNOVATE trial for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate INO-4800 in the United States. Authorization followed a partial clinical hold on the candidate, while the FDA... Read More »
Amendment addresses potential nuclear force reductions
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) joined 16 other legislators to introduce a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment that seeks to prevent the Biden administration from executing unilateral cuts to the nation’s nuclear forces. The amendment was introduced in the wake of reports... Read More »
Regeneron single-dose COVID-19 dug cocktail reduces risk 81.6 percent eight months out
For at least eight months following a single dose, the REGEN-COV COVID-19 drug cocktail developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. could provide affiliated risk reductions of 81.6 percent, according to a new analysis of a Phrase 3 trial. That trial, jointly run by Regeneron and the National... Read More »
Justice Department outlines conviction of Chinese intelligence officer
The U.S. Department of Justice recently outlined a federal jury's conviction of a Chinese national and Deputy Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security. Authorities indicated Yanjun Xu was convicted of conspiring to and attempting to commit economic... Read More »
Wildfire initiatives included in infrastructure bill
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed Friday night by the U.S. House of Representatives contained a number of provisions to help the country’s fire and emergency services, including funding for wildfire response and mitigation. Wildfire provisions in the package... Read More »
HHS awards MSA Safety $4M contract for elastomeric air-purifying respirators
MSA Safety Inc. earned a $4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week to produce elastomeric air-purifying respirators to be added to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The MSA’s Advantage 290 Air-Purifying Respirator (APR) consists of a... Read More »
Bipartisan Senate bill seeks 9/11 style commission to investigate COVID-19 outbreak
Reckoning with the more the 750,000 Americans killed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the failures that stalked response, and the threat of future outbreaks, a bipartisan collection of four senators introduced a new bill last week to build a 9/11-style commission charged with investigating the outbreak... Read More »
Reps. Katko, Meijer express unfilled national security post concerns
U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) expressed concerns regarding what they maintain is the nation's potential vulnerable security posture amid national security positions in the Biden administration being unfilled. Katko and Meijer sent a letter to President Joe Biden stating... Read More »
Infrastructure Act includes $20M for Office of National Cyber Director
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Angus King (I-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Mitt Romney (R-MA) applauded the House’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for its inclusion of $21 million in funding for the Office of the National Cyber Director (NCD). The NCD is a new position... Read More »
Data shows Pfizer antiviral pill 89 percent effective in COVID-19 hospitalization, death prevention
Interim data from Pfizer Inc.’s novel COVID-19 antiviral candidate, PAXLOVID, revealed an oral treatment with the ability to cut the risk of hospitalization and death by as much as 89 percent among adult patients. These results, pulled from the randomized Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR (Evaluation of... Read More »
Legislation seeks to bolster intelligence capabilities
U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced legislation seeking to bolster the nation's intelligence capabilities. The lawmakers indicated the Advancing American AI Innovation Act (S. 3175) would establish a Department of Defense (DoD) pilot program forming artificial... Read More »
DHS selects Northeastern University to lead new Center of Excellence
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced it had selected Northeastern University to lead a consortium of U.S. academic institutions for a new Center of Excellence for Engineering Secure Environments from Targeted Attacks... Read More »
House Comprehensive TB Elimination Act seeks to empower U.S. health officials to tackle tuberculosis
Last week, U.S. Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA), M.D. and Don Young (R-AK) introduced a bill to reauthorize a national tuberculosis strategy, authorize grants for state health departments to focus on TB in high-risk populations, and promote interagency coordination in containing the disease. Despite the... Read More »
Bills seek to reform federal wildfire disaster response
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced last week two bills to address the government's wildfire response and equitable distribution of natural disaster resources. The FIRE Act would revise the Stafford Act governing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),... Read More »
CISA issues guidance on reducing known exploited vulnerabilities
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued guidance to prioritize remediation of vulnerabilities presently actively exploited by adversaries. Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01 - Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities establishes a... Read More »
Rep. Katko, Sen. Wicker address potential TSA workforce shortage due to vaccination requirement
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) asked David Pekoske, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), for an update on the agency’s contingency plan for a potential workforce reduction due to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for... Read More »