Our picksChina’s influence agents in the U.S.; Alabama’s poisonous sewage; roadmap for biosecurity and biodefense, and more

Published 18 July 2018

•  After some reluctance, Columbus, Ohio, is rolling out a gunshot detection program

•  Drones will supplement fire, police departments in National City, Calif.

•  Police need more money, tech to meet Florida school protection mandates

•  ‘People are literally being poisoned’: How sewage problems in Alabama got so bad — and why other states should worry

•  Roadmap for biosecurity and biodefense policy in the United States

•  The strange and curious case of the deadly superbug yeast

•  Las Vegas shooting hotel sues survivors to avoid liability

•  China built an army of influence agents in the U.S.

After some reluctance, Columbus, Ohio, is rolling out a gunshot detection program (Rick Rouan, Columbus Dispatch)
The city plans to implement California-based ShotSpotter equipment in three neighborhoods by the end of the year.

Drones will supplement fire, police departments in National City, Calif. (David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune)
From fires in remote locations to searches for missing persons, drones are the latest tool in the city’s public safety arsenal.

Police need more money, tech to meet Florida school protection mandates (Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald)
State requirements, created in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, are forcing police agencies to ask for more funds to pay for staff and specialized units focused on mining social media for threats.

People are literally being poisoned’: How sewage problems in Alabama got so bad — and why other states should worry (Daniel C. Vock, Governing)
The state and county have failed to fix the unsanitary conditions for years, and at times threatened to arrest citizens over them. An outbreak of a once-eradicated disease has prompted the United Nations to get involved.

Roadmap for biosecurity and biodefense policy in the United States (Gryphon Scientific)
Complicating the system for countering biological threats is the rapidly changing biotechnology landscape, which simultaneously presents new opportunities for building technological capabilities for defending against biological threats and for enabling security risks and vulnerabilities.

The strange and curious case of the deadly superbug yeast (Maryn McKenna, Wired)
A pathogen that resists almost all of the drugs developed to treat or kill it is moving rapidly across the world, and public health experts are stymied how to stop it. The name of the yeast is Candida auris. It’s been on the radar of epidemiologists only since 2009, but it’s grown into a potent microbial threat, found in 27 countries thus far.

Las Vegas shooting hotel sues survivors to avoid liability (AP)
Mandalay Bay owners claim ‘no liability of any kind’ to 1,000 survivors or families over October 2017 massacre in which 58 people died

China built an army of influence agents in the U.S. (Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Daily Beast)
The Russians may be getting all the attention for influencing American opinion and policy. But Beijing has been at it for decades.