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As a result, we have seen a push for the release of federal data, such as the FBI’s investigative records, that would help elucidate both the threat posed by white supremacist violence and the federal government’s response to that threat. In spite, or perhaps in light, of this push for data, the Trump administration has reportedly changed its approach to classifying domestic terrorism investigations. For years, the FBI has used a specific alphanumeric code to designate domestic terrorism investigations involving white supremacist violence. But in May 2019, it was reported that the FBI replaced the investigative classification for white supremacist violence with a broader category that encompasses different forms of “Racially Motivated Violent Extremism.”

Israel Wants Free Hand against Iran, Netanyahu Says in Russia (RFE/RL)
Israel must be given free rein to act against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on September 12 as talks concluded in Sochi where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss security coordination in Syria.
Israel has targeted Iranian elements in Syria with hundreds of strikes in a bid to prevent Tehran from establishing a permanent military presence there.

7 Ways That 9/11 Created a Dystopian Security Landscape That Americans Are Still Living in (Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Business Insider)
The American public was angry and frightened after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks that killed 3,000 people, a seismic event which fueled calls for immediate government action to hunt down the group responsible. At home, the federal government under the George W. Bush Administration drastically expanded its surveillance powers to combat terrorism and ramped up efforts to secure its borders — creating new government agencies, federalizing airport security, and combing tens of millions of phone calls.
Almost two decades later, that counterterrorism structure still remains firmly in place.
Its embedded within American life, and Americans have largely grown comfortable having traded off a portion of their civil liberties in return for security.
Here are 7 ways that 9/11 created a dystopian security landscape that Americans are still living in.

Climate Change Is Hurting Philadelphians’ Health, and the Worst Is Yet to Come (Tom Avril, Philadelphia Inquirer)
Philadelphia ramped up its heat-emergency response program that summer, extending hours for air-conditioned public facilities and swimming pools, assigning block captains to check on older, vulnerable residents, even asking utility companies to delay shutoffs for unpaid accounts. The city has prevented an average of 45 heat-related deaths a year since then, Brown University researchers estimated in a 2018 study.
But with the continued rise in temperatures, the challenge becomes more daunting by the year.
Between 1950 and 1999, the city saw an average of three days a year when temperatures exceeded 95 degrees. By the end of this century, temperatures could cross that sweltering threshold on 17 to 52 days a year, according to a 2015 report from the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, using models from the World Climate Research Program. The wide range in that projection depends on how much governments rein in emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

DoD Inspector General to Reevaluate Select Agent Facilities, Biosafety Oversight (Stephanie Lizotte, Global Biodefense)
The Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DoD OIG) is conducting a Follow-Up Evaluation of DoD Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT) Biorisk Program Office implementation of recommendations from the April 2016 “Evaluation of DoD Biological Safety and Security Implementation.”

Pentagon’s Former Top Hacker Wants His Startup to Inject Some Silicon Valley into the Defense Industry (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
“If the nerds don’t show up and work on the mission of national defense…then I’m not sure who will,” says Chris Lynch, of Rebellion Defense.