National Security

A Border Patrol agent walks along a border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego earlier this week. Travel between the U.S. and Mexico will halt as of Saturday to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump Administration Says U.S. Border With Mexico To Close To Nonessential Travel

2:56pm March 20, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

The agreement is similar to one announced earlier this week to partially close the U.S. border with Canada. Both will go into effect on Saturday, Trump administration officials said.

A FBI agent stands outside of a home while it was being searched in connection with a a cold case Feb. 5, 2020, in Los Angeles. The bureau's practices must change with the pandemic.

National

FBI Adjusts To Persevere Through Pandemic As Much Of America Shuts Down

8:38am March 20, 2020

by Ryan Lucas

The bureau can't stop work in the way many Americans have in response to the coronavirus. Special agents are interviewing remotely, staggering work hours and wearing protective gear.

Johnson, Directed Homeland's Ebola Response, Discusses COVID-19 Strategy

5:15am March 20, 2020

NPR's David Greene talks to former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the steps the Trump administration is taking to try to mitigate the damage of the coronavirus.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told NPR the department was prepared to help back up the nation's health care system, if needed.

VA Secretary Wilkie: 'We Are The Surge Force'

5:40pm March 19, 2020

by Quil Lawrence

In an interview with NPR, Secretary for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said the department was ready to deploy if called on to help with the coronavirus pandemic response.

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National Guard personnel march in formation Thursday at a state-managed coronavirus drive-through testing site that just opened on Staten Island in New York.

Head Of National Guard Says Tens Of Thousands Could Be Called Up

5:09pm March 19, 2020

Right now just over 2,000 members of the National Guard are assisting governors in 27 states, but the head of the National Guard Bureau said that number could double by this weekend.

Veterans Affairs Secretary On His Agency's Readiness For The Coronavirus

4:51pm March 19, 2020

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the nation's largest health care system. Critics say the coronavirus will overwhelm it, but VA secretary Robert Wilkie says his department is ready.

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USNS Comfort, seen in 2017, is one of two U.S. Navy hospital ships — along with the USNS Mercy — that are preparing to deploy to assist medical workers expecting to grapple with an influx of patients in the weeks to come.

U.S. Navy Hospital Ships To Deploy To New York, West Coast

10:12pm March 18, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The pair of ships, the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy, will help local medical workers grapple with an influx of patients. But it remains unclear precisely when they will be ready to go.

A demonstration of a ventilator for future patients with coronavirus at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital in Ashdod, Israel.

Trump Invokes A Cold War Relic, The Defense Production Act, For Coronavirus Shortages

9:48pm March 18, 2020

by David Welna

A law that allows the executive branch to direct industrial production is being used to spur firms to step up their output of scarce items, such as face masks and ventilators.

Prosecutors have dropped the case associated with Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was a key figure in the campaign of interference that targeted the U.S. election in 2016.

Citing Security, Feds Drop Case Against Russians Linked To Election Interference

2:12pm March 17, 2020

by Ryan Lucas

The Justice Department said the Russian companies in a case from the Mueller investigation were exploiting the U.S. legal system without being bound by it.

The Pentagon funded research into the social sciences as part of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now as those wars wind down, it's bringing one program to an end.

As The War On Terror Winds Down, The Pentagon Cuts Social Science

8:03am March 16, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

The Pentagon is ending a controversial program to fund social science research. It's part of a shift from asking for academic advice toward building new weapons systems.

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