• CHINA WATCHSuozzi, Smith Relaunch the Congressional Uyghur Caucus

    In July 2021, Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) launched the bipartisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus to raise awareness of China’s systemic human rights violations against the Uyghur people and to support legislation aimed at addressing this coordinated human rights abuse. Suozzi decided not to run in 2022 for another term – but won the seat (NY-3) again in a special election in February this year. One of his first acts in Congress: Relaunching, with Smith, the Uyghur Caucus.

  • IMMIGRANTS & CRIMECrime Rates, Not the Number of Crimes, Are a Better Way to Judge Immigrant Criminality

    By Alex Nowrasteh

    Focusing on crime rates rather than the number of crimes is essential to compare criminality between populations such as immigrants and native‐born Americans. Otherwise, there is no basis for arguing that one or the other is more criminally inclined, which really matters when discussing public safety.

  • EXTREMISMFar-Right Extremism in Europe: From Margins to Mainstream

    By Julia Jose

    The influx of migrants over the decades has festered resentment within the local European population, who fear the undermining of ethno-national identities and access to adequate social and economic opportunities.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSA More Efficient Way to Extract Lithium from Mining Sites, Oil Fields, Used Batteries

    Lithium is a lightweight metal commonly used in energy-dense and rechargeable batteries. Electric vehicles, which are needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, rely on lithium-ion batteries. Chemists have invented a more efficient way to extract lithium from waste liquids leached from mining sites, oil fields and used batteries.

  • FLOODS & BATTERIESFrom Florida Floods to Idaho Desert: Understanding Impacts of Flood Damage on Vehicle Batteries

    By Michelle Goff

    Electric vehicles offer some clear advantages over gasoline-power cars including zero emissions and lower operation and maintenance costs. But they also present some new challenges. Recent storms have revealed that seawater-flooded EVs can pose safety concerns for passengers, emergency responders and recovery personnel.

  • ENERGY SECURITYSubterranean Storage of Hydrogen

    By Mollie Rappe

    Hydrogen is an important clean fuel: It can be made by splitting water using solar or wind power, it can be used to generate electricity and to power heavy industry, and it could be used to energize fuel-cell-based vehicles. Sandia scientists are using computer simulations and laboratory experiments to see if depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs can be used for storing this carbon-free fuel.

  • WATER SECURITYAccelerating Research and Development for a Secure Water Future

    By Lauren Core

    Water and energy are interdependent – water is used to produce nearly every major energy source, and energy is critical to transporting and treating water. A research consortium will continue to lead a DOE desalination hub to drive innovation for sustainable water security.

  • OUR PICKSRussian Influence Operations Targeting U.S. Election Have Begun | The Jews Aren’t Taking Away TikTok | Why Biden Should Not Debate Trump, and more

    ·  Why Biden Should Not Debate Trump
    The networks want their show, but to give the challenger equal status on a TV stage would be a dire normalization of his attempted coup

    ·  The Jews Aren’t Taking Away TikTok
    But conspiracy theories that say otherwise are coming for democracy itself

    ·  Microsoft Finds Russian Influence Operations Targeting U.S. Election Have Begun
    Russia-linked accounts are disseminating divisive content aimed at U.S. audiences, including criticizing American support of Ukraine in its war with Russia

    ·  Hackers Linked to Russia’s Military Claim Credit for Sabotaging US Water Utilities
    Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, a group with ties to the Kremlin’s Sandworm unit, is crossing lines even that notorious cyberwarfare unit wouldn’t dare to

    ·  Big Tech Says Spy Bill Turns Its Workers into Informants
    One of Silicon Valley’s most influential lobbying arms joins privacy reformers in a fight against the Biden administration–backed expansion of a major US surveillance program

  • WORLD ROUNDUPHistory Has Been Made as Arabs Fought Alongside Israel | The Rape Denialists | Israel’s Retaliation Dilemma, and more

    ·  History Has Been Made as Arabs Fought Alongside Israel
    Contrary to narratives that Israel has isolated itself, several Arab states have lent their support to defend the country

    ·  The U.S. Navy Has Now Proven It Can Stop Ballistic Missiles
    Exo-atmospheric kill vehicles successfully used to defend Israel

    ·  Israel’s Retaliation Dilemma
    Even if regional conflict is avoided, Israel’s freedom of action against Iran may be effectively curtailed in the future

    ·  Benjamin Netanyahu is Pushing for War with Iran
    The Israeli prime minister has a history of encouraging Washington to get involved in Middle Eastern conflicts

    ·  The Rape Denialists
    Why has it proved so hard for so many on the left to acknowledge what happened on October 7?

  • FLOODSFEMA Is Making an Example of This Florida Boomtown. Locals call it “Revenge Politics.”

    By Jake Bittle

    When U.S. homeowners buy subsidized flood insurance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they make a commitment to build back better after flood disasters, even if it costs them. The Biden administration is trying to punish Lee County for rebuilding flood-prone homes. The state’s Republican politicians are fighting back.

  • IRAN’S THREAT'Nightmare Scenario': The Risks of Escalation as Israel Mulls Iran Response

    By Kian Sharifi

    In the wake of Iran’s attack, Israel has been weighing up its options, which analysts say could range from a diplomatic offensive to isolate Iran to directing military strikes on the Islamic republic. With the risk of escalation higher than ever, the worst-case scenario of an all-out war between Iran and Israel is a distinct possibility, analysts say.

  • CHINA WATCHUnder Biden, U.S. Reimagines Asian Alliances as 'Lattice' Fence

    By William Gallo

    For decades, U.S. policy in Asia has relied on what was informally known as the “hub and spokes” system of bilateral alliances. But lately, U.S. officials have used another analogy to describe their vision for the region: a lattice fence. It may sound like only a metaphorical tweak, but say it could have big implications, as they try to create a durable plan to respond to China’s growing power.

  • EXTREMISMU.S. Antisemitic Incidents Soared 140 Percent in 2023 – Breaking All Previous Records

    Massive spike Post-Oct. 7 recorded; campus incidents tripled; bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions up 10 times.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSSoutheast Asia’s Potential in Critical Minerals

    By Han Phoumin

    Global critical mineral demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming decades, from a 7.1 million tons in 2020 to 42.3 million tons in 2050. All manner of sophisticated industries, including defense manufacturing, will also compete for these materials. Southeast Asia has significant natural reserves of several key critical minerals, including nickel, tin, rare-earth elements (REEs) and bauxite, and the region is still not fully explored for more of them.

  • CLIMATE MIGRATIONThe Flooding Will Come “No Matter What”

    By Abrahm Lustgarten

    Another great American migration is now underway, this time forced by the warming that is altering how and where people can live. For now, it’s just a trickle. But in the corners of the country’s most vulnerable landscapes —on the shores of its sinking bayous and on the eroding bluffs of its coastal defenses —populations are already in disarray. The complex, contradictory, and heartbreaking process of American climate migration is underway.

  • OUR PICKSU.S. Infrastructure Is Broken | Wiretap Bill That Critics Call “Stasi-Like” | The Warship’s Remote Operator: Who Is the Captain Now?, and more

    ·  U.S. Infrastructure Is Broken. Here’s an $830 Million Plan to Fix It
    WIRED spoke with U.S. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg about recent grants to fix ancient roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure before it’s too late

    ·  US Senate to Vote on a Wiretap Bill That Critics Call “Stasi-Like”
    A controversial bill reauthorizing the Section 702 spy program may force whole new categories of businesses to eavesdrop on the US government’s behalf, including on fellow Americans

    ·  Supreme Court Appears Skeptical of Using Obstruction Law to Charge Jan. 6 Rioters
    The justices considered the gravity of the assault and whether prosecutors have been stretching the law to reach members of the mob responsible for the attack

    ·  The Warship’s Remote Operator: Who Is the Captain Now?
    The U.S. Navy has begun employing “ships” that can be operated remotely, raising questions about responsibility and control

    ·  Call in the Coast Guard: How Maritime Law Enforcement Can Combat China’s Gray-Zone Aggression
    Despite renewed emphasis by the Biden, Trump, and Obama administrations, America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific has struggled under Chinese pressure

    ·  Review Finds U.S. Troops Did Not Spot ISIS-K Suicide Bomber Before Abbey Gate Attack
    The U.S. for the first time identified the terrorist as Abdul Rahman al-Logari

    ·The Great Replacement Theory & Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists
    Debating U.S. border policies and expressing grievances with state and federal immigration policiescan often take on an increasingly violent overtone when incorporating rhetoric from the great replacement theory

  • WORLD ROUNDUPImagining Deterrence without Nuclear Weapons | Far Right’s Ties to Russia Sow Rising Alarm in Germany | America Fueled the Fire in the Middle East, and more

    ·  America Fueled the Fire in the Middle East
    Israel is in growing danger—but the responsibility lies more in Washington than in Tehran

    ·Chinese Security Presence in the Pacific Comes into Focus Ahead of Major Political Events
    China’s growing security presence in the Pacific will be scrutinized this week as the Solomon Islands holds its national election

    ·  John Bolton Says Growing U.S. Isolationism Threatens Ukraine’s War Effort
    If Trump, as expected, is the Republican candidate in November and if he wins the election, Bolton warned he thinks Trump “will try to withdraw from NATO.”

    ·  The U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral Was a Success, but Other Southeast Asian States Are Unlikely to Follow
    The success of the U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral summit underscored Biden’s dedication to building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, but Southeast Asian nations are less interested

    ·  Imagining Deterrence without Nuclear Weapons
    AI-driven non-nuclear deterrence could prove to be a compelling alternative to the grim doctrine of nuclear MAD

    ·  Why Israel-Iran War Is a Lifeline for Netanyahu
    An isolated leader who faced widespread criticism a week ago now has the backing of the West and has deflected global attention from Gaza

    ·  Far Right’s Ties to Russia Sow Rising Alarm in Germany
    As cases proliferate, opponents fear the Alternative for Germany party is becoming a tool of Russian influence operations to undermine support for Ukraine

  • CHINA WATCHESChinese Nationalist Trolls Pretend to Be Trump Supporters Ahead of U.S. Elections

    By Lin Yang

    Chinese nationalist trolls have been posing as American supporters of former President Donald Trump on X to try to exploit domestic divisions ahead of the U.S. election. China’s so-called Spamouflage troll network mimics Russia’s playbook during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when Moscow used information warfare to damage the Clinton campaign, boost Trump’s chances and sow distrust in American democracy.

  • PROTECTING SOFT TARGETSImproving the Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places

    Attacks on soft targets and crowded places (ST-CPs) represent a significant challenge. How can prevention, protection, and response and recovery investments reduce the risk of casualties from attacks on ST-CPs?

  • MILITARY STRATEGYA Return to U.S. Casualty Aversion

    By John Mueller

    The 9/11 Wars as aberrations: After the extended, tragically costly, and fundamentally absurd aberrations caused by the overreaction to 9/11, a more limited American military approach appears to be back—and perhaps is even more embraced than in the post‐Vietnam decades.

  • GUNSStudy Quantifies Dramatic Rise in School Shootings and Related Fatalities Since 1970

    Incidence of school shootings increasing dramatically: In the 53 years leading up to May 2022, the number of school shootings annually increased more than 12 times. Children more likely to be victims. The likelihood of children being school shooting victims has increased more than fourfold, and the rate of death from school shootings has risen more than sixfold. A total of 2,056 school shooting incidents were analyzed: The incidents involved 3,083 victims, including 2,033 children ages 5-17 years, and 1,050 adults ages 18-74 years.

  • GUNSStudy of Fatal and Nonfatal Shootings by Police Reveals Racial Disparities, Dispatch Risks

    Analysis, thought to be one of the first published studies that captures both fatal and nonfatal injurious shootings by police nationally, also highlights risks of well-being checks.