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States to DHS: Either fund the Real ID Act, or drop it
Congress gave states a May 2008 deadline to equip their citizens with driver’s licenses with biometric information and RFID techonlogy; U.S. citizens without such licneses will not be able to enter federal buildings, open bank accounts, or purchase airline tickets; states balk at the cost of the project, telling the federal government to fund it or drop it
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STG wins DHS contract for financial and accounting services
A leading IT and homeland security contractor announces it had won a contract to manage financial infrastructure problems related to DHS consolidation.
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Arizona turns to wireless border security
Arizona equips its police units along the U.S.-Mexican border with wireless connection to the Internet
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Texas Emerging Technology Fund awards $2.25 million to local companies
The State of Texas has established a fund to support emerging technologies offered by local companies
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Federal IT spending to reach $6.3 by 2011
The need for interoperability and the threat of hacking will drive the steady growth in government IT spending
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EAGLE contract will save DHS $40 million
The 25 EAGLE contracts DHS has awarded would help the department streamline and standardize its IT operations, but will also save it about $40 million a year it now pays other agencies for various services
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New York City's security grants have been cut, but not those for chickens in Delaware
New York City’s security grants have been cut, but not those for chickens in Delaware
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DHS adds $10 million to antiterror programs of NYC transportation system
DHS received a lot of criticism for cutting more than $80 million from New York City’s antiterrorism grants; the department has now added $10 million to the city’s transportation system’s security plan
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Construction begins on DHS’s NBACC at Ft. Detrick
In several states — Kentucky, Missouri, Massachusetts — there are heated debates about construction of level 3 BioLabs: There is a lot of money and many jobs in these projects, but citizens are worried about lethal pathogens escaping the labs; while these debates go on, the plans for building a large, multi-agency biolab in Fort Detrick, Maryland, are on schedule, and DHS has began construction of its own, $130 million component of the project
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HSIEC awards grants to three innovative Illinois companies
Northwestern University’s center for homeland security entrepreneurship awards three grants to innovative Chicago-area companies
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Globecomm Systems awarded GSA schedule
A specialist in satellite-based communications solutions receives GSA schedule
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UNLV counterterrorism institute spends $9 million with little to show for it
More problems for UNLV — but for a change not with its men’s basketball team: A mysterious counterterrorism institute on campus has spent nearly $9 million with but little to show for it
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Engineering partnership in $750 million FEMA housing inspection contract
FEMA has awarded a new $750 million contract to a joint engineering venture to provide housing inspection services — on short notice — to the U.S. government in areas affected by disasters
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U.S. to buy $165 million worth of anthrax medicine from HGS
After fourteen years, HGS has their first product sale; the company is experimenting in anthrax therapies and the U.S. government is buying; 20,000 doses to be exact
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DHS on SBInet RFP: "Transformational," "audaciously ambitious"
DHS issues its long-awaited SBInet RFP accompanying the release with language some industry insiders consider a bit over-drawn
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As President Donald Trump guts the main federal office dedicated to preventing terrorism, states say they’re left to take the lead in spotlighting threats. Some state efforts are robust, others are fledgling, and yet other states are still formalizing strategies for addressing extremism. With the federal government largely retreating from focusing on extremist dangers, prevention advocates say the threat of violent extremism is likely to increase.
The “Invasion” Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy
The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years.
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.