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General Security and Resilience

Across the U.S., States Bracing for More Disasters

State lawmakers across the country are calling for huge investments to mitigate the effects of wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, droughts and other natural disasters that have become more devastating and frequent. Following extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy, a years-long drought in California, and severe flooding in the Midwest, legislators in many states say it’s long past time to treat such events as the new normal – and invest accordingly. Many of the states are seeking for money from the federal government to help with their projects.

Al Qa’ida Branch Claims Responsibility for Deadly Pensacola Shooting

Al Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed “full responsibility” for the December 6, 2019 shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida that resulted in the killing of three people and the wounding of ten others, including two sheriff’s deputies. On February 2, AQAP released a special video dedicated to the shooting. The production features AQAP’s emir, Qasim al-Raymi, who claims that the shooter, Mohammed Saeed al-Shamrani, was serving AQAP, though he doesn’t provide many details to bolster the claim.

The Flu Has Killed 10,000 in the U.S. this Season

While the new coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”) has attracted much of the attention as far as current public health threats, it deserves reminding that the flu has killed 10,000 people in the U.S. so far this season. At least 19 million people have come down with the flu in the U.S., with 180,000 ending up in the hospital, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The coronavirus outbreak, however, is proving to be more deadly than the flu. Worldwide, it has killed roughly 2 percent of the people who have contracted it so far.

Heatwave and High Winds Threaten to Worsen Australian Bushfires

As of today, there are 64 bushfires burning in New South Wales, 18 in Victoria, and five in South Australia, a situation that may grow worse given the forecast for a heatwave and high winds in the coming days. These conditions are forecast to hit New South Wales and Victoria beginning Friday, threatening to spark new life into some of the current fires or create new blazes. Altogether, the blazes have burned more than 11.7 million hectares (117,000 square km) across Australia’s most populous states, killing at least 33 people, about 1 billion animals, and destroying 2,500 homes.

Flu Activity Has Been High – Five Important Things to Know

Noting that its indicators for tracking flu activity across the nation have been high this season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a list of ways to protect yourself and others from this illness. The first is to get a flu shot, and the CDC emphasizes it’s not too late to take this step. It adds that as long as flu viruses are spreading and causing illnesses, vaccination should continue throughout flu season to protect as many people as possible.

Preliminary FBI Statistics Show Continued Declines in Violent Crime and Property Crime

Both violent crime and property crime fell in the first six months of 2019 when compared to the first six months of 2018, according to preliminary semiannual crime statistics provided earlier this week by the FBI. Violent crime is defined as offenses that involve force or threat of force and is composed of four offenses: robbery, rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, and aggravated assault.

From Bushfires to Terrorism: How Communities Become Resilient

A team of researchers reflect on ways of building community resilience in response to extreme events, informed by their study of real-world incidents and information gathered through workshops with communities, academics, local organizations, emergency services, and local and national governments. Among their findings they identified seven main components essential to developing and sustaining a resilience community.

DHS Acting Secretary Wolf Talks 2020 Homeland Threats and Priorities

In remarks before the Homeland Security Experts Group (HSEG), an independent, nonpartisan of homeland security policy and counter-terrorism experts, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf provided a 360-degree view of the threat landscape and the Department’s priorities for the year. Wolf began his remarks focusing on international threats, in particular those emanating from Iran, China, and Russia.

Terrorism Trends to Watch in 2020

As noted in an article in Homeland Security Today, 2020 is already off to a rocky start on the terror front, such as with fears of retaliatory action by Iran or its proxies. This threat is the first of six terrorism trends the article identifies for the year, noting that significant events like the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani can be exploited by terror leaders and propagandists to incite would-be operatives and motivate them to conduct revenge attacks.

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