On January 13, 2018 at 8:07 a.m. local time, the state of Hawaii was sent into a panic, as residents received an alert of an imminent ballistic missile threat. The alert was sent out through the Emergency Alert System and was broadcast via television, radio, and cellphones throughout the state.
In recent years, the United States has been experiencing a major public health crisis in the form of an epidemic of opioid abuse. In 2015 alone, there were 33,091 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in the United States. These numbers represent a rate of overdose deaths more than 2.5 times higher than the rate in 1999.
This past year, more people died from opioid overdoses than died in the entirety of the Vietnam War. States and local agencies have reacted in various ways in their development of emergency response tactics to combat the epidemic.
A fundamental responsibility of State and Local governments is to protect critical infrastructure that preserve public safety, normalcy, and quality of life.
A terrorist killed 8 and injured at least 12 in New York City on Tuesday when he purposely drove a small truck into unsuspecting civilians on a bike path. After driving 20 blocks, the driver crashed into a school bus and exited the vehicle with what appeared to be two firearms before being shot by a police officer.
