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TEXAS FLOODSCan Sirens Help Save Lives in the Next Flood? Yes, but There’s More to It.
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.
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TEXAS FLOODS“Disasters Are a Human Choice”: Texas Counties Have Little Power to Stop Building in Flood-Prone Areas
Experts suggested that more data and education are needed as Texas and the rest of the country build in known flood plains.
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EXTREMISMGrok’s Antisemitic Rant Shows How Generative AI Can Be Weaponized
The AI chatbot Grok went on an antisemitic rant on July 8, 2025, posting memes, tropes and conspiracy theories used to denigrate Jewish people on the X platform. It also invoked Hitler in a favorable context. The episode follows one on May 14, 2025, when the chatbot spread debunked conspiracy theories about “white genocide” in South Africa, echoing views publicly voiced by Elon Musk, the founder of its parent company, xAI.
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EXTREMISMExtremist Groups Uphold Long Tradition of Exploiting National Tragedies for Publicity
While Texas authorities respond to the devastation from the July 4 Hill Country flooding, which has killed at least 119 people and left over 170 still missing, Patriot Front, a Texas-based white supremacist group, is using the disaster to generate positive publicity under the guise of disaster relief.
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DEFENSE BUDGETWill Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Defense Spending Last?
Trump’s signature legislation will push defense spending past $1 trillion, with new funding for innovation and other capabilities. But those investments are at risk of becoming one-off acquisitions without sustained follow-on funding.
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MILITARY TECHNOLOGYHypersonic Weapons and Contemporary Conflicts
The use of hypersonic weapons in contemporary conflicts marks a turning point in modern warfare as they make defenses vulnerable and expand strategic ambiguity. The US, China and Russia have operational hypersonic weapons. India has recently joined the list by successfully testing a hypersonic missile.
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DEEPFKESMarco Rubio Impersonator Contacted Officials Using AI Voice Deepfakes – Computer Security Experts Explain What They Are and How to Avoid Getting Fooled
Ongoing advances in deep-learning algorithms, audio editing and engineering, and synthetic voice generation have meant that it is increasingly possible to convincingly simulate a person’s voice. Even worse, chatbots like ChatGPT are capable of generating realistic scripts with adaptive real-time responses.
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OUR PICKSMusk’s Chatbot Started Spouting Nazi Propaganda. That’s Not the Scariest Part. | FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism | He Seeded Clouds Over Texas. Then Came the Conspiracy Theories, and more
· Musk’s Chatbot Started Spouting Nazi Propaganda. That’s Not the Scariest Part.
· Before Tragedy, Texas Repeatedly Rejected Pleas for Flood Alarm Funding
· Firings Without Explanation Create Culture of Fear at Justice Dept., FBI
· Texts, Emails Bolster Whistleblower Account of DOJ Defying Court Order
· Viral ICE Deportation Claims Debunked
· FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say
· What to Know About the Collapse of the F.D.A.
· He Seeded Clouds Over Texas. Then Came the Conspiracy Theories.
· A Band of Innovators Reimagines the Spy Game for a World with No Cover
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WORLD ROUNDUPIt’s Official: America Can’t Be Trusted | Iran Security Risk to the U.K. Now Equal to that of Russia | China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash, and more
· Iran Security Risk to the U.K. Now Equal to that of Russia
· U.S. Threats to AUKUS Pact Put United Front Against China at Risk
· Trump Claimed the Houthis Were Dead. Now They Are More Powerful Than Ever
· Israel and Syria Should Prioritize Security Cooperation
· It’s Official: America Can’t Be Trusted
· China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash
· Denmark Finalizes U.S. Defense Deal Despite Greenland Gripes
· U.K. and France Sign First Nuclear Pact to Fend Off Threat to Europe
· Plans to Relocate Gazans to a “Humanitarian City” Look Like a Crime Against Humanity –International Law Expert
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TEXAS FLOODSWeather Warnings Gave Officials a 3 Hour, 21 Minute Window to Save Lives in Kerr County. What Happened Then Remains Unclear.
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.
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TEXAS FLOODSThe Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come
Climate change is making disasters more common, more deadly and far more costly, even as the federal government is running away from the policies that might begin to protect the nation.
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QUANTUM COMPUTINGHorses for Courses: Where Quantum Computing Is, and Isn’t, the Answer
Despite the impressive and undeniable strides quantum computing has made in recent years, it’s important to remain cautious about sweeping claims regarding its transformative potential.
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CLIMATE CHANGE & DISASTERS Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains That Caused Hill Country Floods, Experts Say
Warming ocean temperatures and warmer air mean there’s more water vapor in the atmosphere to fuel extreme downpours like those that struck Texas during the July 4 weekend.
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FOOD SECURITYThe Psychosocial Imperative of Food Security Preparedness
The dust has barely settled on the 2025 Australian federal election and the returning government has already reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a national food security strategy. But unless we address the psychological and cultural barriers that shape Australians’ perceptions of food security, even the most technically sound strategies will fail to achieve their intended effect.
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WATER SECURITYA Deadline Looms for a New Colorado River Plan. What Happens If There Isn’t One?
It would likely be complicated, messy and involve big lawsuits, according to experts and former officials.
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OUR PICKSWhat Went Wrong in the Texas Floods? | We Can Adapt and Prepare for Floods. But Will We? | The “Russia Hoax,” Revisited, and more
· Administration Takes Steps to Target 2 Officials Who Investigated Trump
· The “Russia Hoax,” Revisited
· What Went Wrong in the Texas Floods?
· Measles Cases Hit Record High, 25 Years After U.S. Eliminated the Disease
· We Can Adapt and Prepare for Floods. But Will We?
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WORLD ROUNDUPBRICS Is Sliding Towards Irrelevance | Iran’s Collapse Could Cause a Nuclear Security Nightmare | The Real Trouble with Americas Flip-Flop on Ukrainian Weapons, and more
· BRICS Is Sliding Towards Irrelevance –the Rio Summit Made That Clear
· Coups in West Africa Have Five Things in Common: Knowing What They Are Is Key to Defending Democracy
· Iran’s Collapse Could Cause a Nuclear Security Nightmare
· The Philippines May Turn Its Back on the U.S. Again
· The Real Trouble with Americas Flip-Flop on Ukrainian Weapons
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IMMIGRTIONDHS Revokes Temporary Protected Status for Two More Latin American Countries
After decades of extensions, DHS will not renew Temporary Protected Status for Honduran and Nicaraguan citizens residing in the U.S., per new agency announcements.
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TEXAS FLOODSHills, Rivers and Rocky Terrain: Why the Hill Country Keeps Flooding
When storms roll in, water rushes downhill fast, gaining speed and force as it moves — often with deadly results.
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FLOODSIn Texas Region Prone to Catastrophic Floods, Questions Grow About Lack of Warning
Water rose fast along the Guadalupe River, causing dozens of deaths. Local officials said they couldn’t have seen it coming.
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TARRIFS & NATIONAL SECURITYThe National Security Costs of Trump’s Tariffs
Looking at the national security ledger, the costs of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are starting to become clearer than the benefits, especially for the U.S. defense industry, critical infrastructure, and relations with partners and allies.
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PUBLIC HEALTHFDA Layoffs Could Compromise Safety of Medications Made at Foreign Factories, Inspectors Say
Beyond staff cuts, the departures of some longtime investigators in recent months have left less experienced people tasked with rooting out dangerous manufacturing practices.
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More headlines
The long view
ARGUMENT: AI-DESIGNED BIOWEAPONS LOOMAre 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.”
THREATS TO U.S. S&T LEADERSHIPA 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.
THREATS TO U.S. S&T LEADERSHIPBookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
EXTREMISM“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.
IMMIGRATIONThe “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.
ARGUMENT: A KILLER, NOT A TERRORISTLuigi 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.”
ARGUMENT: AUTONOMOUS-WEAPONS MYTHSAutonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
DRONE WARFAREUkraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
GOLDEN DOMEShots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.
ARGUMENT: REINING IN DHS I&A 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.
DEMOCRACY WATCHAutocrats Don’t Act Like Hitler or Stalin Anymore − Instead of Governing with Violence, They Use Manipulation
Modern autocrats don’t always resemble their 20th-century predecessors. Instead, they project a polished image, avoid overt violence and speak the language of democracy. They wear suits, hold elections and talk about the will of the people. Rather than terrorizing citizens, many use media control and messaging to shape public opinion and promote nationalist narratives. Many gain power not through military coups but at the ballot box.
QUANTUM REALITIESOur Online World Relies on Encryption. What Happens If It Fails?
Quantum computers will make traditional data encryption techniques obsolete; BU researchers have turned to physics to come up with better defenses.
NUCLEAR POWERVirtual Models Paving the Way for Advanced Nuclear Reactors
Computer models predict how reactors will behave, helping operators make decisions in real time. The digital twin technology using graph-neural networks may boost nuclear reactor efficiency and reliability.
CRITICAL MINERALSCritical Minerals Don’t Belong in Landfills – Microwave Tech Offers a Cleaner Way to Reclaim Them from E-waste
E-waste recycling focuses on retrieving steel, copper, aluminum, but ignores tiny specks of critical materials. Once technology becomes available to recover these tiny but valuable specks of critical materials quickly and affordably, the U.S. can transform domestic recycling and take a big step toward solving its shortage of critical materials.
ARGUMENT: VACCINE POLICY BY PROCLAMATIONVaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
CRITICAL MINERALSMicrobes That Extract Rare Earth Elements Also Can Capture Carbon
A small but mighty microbe can safely extract the rare earth and other critical elements for building everything from satellites to solar panels – and it has another superpower: capturing carbon dioxide.