• WargamesBenefits of next-generation wargames

    Technological advances for game engines and cloud architectures are fueling the development of next-generation wargames that can increase insights for policymakers. Researchers say that the new technologies are making wargame tools more accessible and providing strategists with more insights.

  • Iran’s nukesWeapons experts: Archives show that Iran was likely developing nuclear warheads

    Documents in the Iranian nuclear archive captured by Israel last year show that Iran built an underground facility, which was likely used for the development of nuclear warheads, a paper published Friday by the Institute for Science and International Security charged.

  • ExtremismGerman police raid suspected KKK members' homes

    German police on Wednesday conducted raids on several properties throughout Germany connected to an extremist group which associates itself with the American Ku Klux Klan. Germany’s domestic intellig agency said around forty people are either under surveillance or investigation for connections with the extreme-right group.

  • Missile defenseAdministration unveils its Missile Defense Review

    Thirty-five years after Ronald Reagan vowed to make nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete,” the administration has today unveiled its Missile Defense Review – the latest iteration of U.S. efforts to build an effective ballistic missile defense. The Pentagon says that its search for more effective missile defense technologies is the result of its focus on near-peer adversaries such as China and Russia, but the administration’s Missile Defense Review appears more suitable for defending the United States against more limited attacks, such as those likely to come from North Korea or, perhaps, Iran.

  • Get MS-13 out of our schools

    By The Leader newspapers

    This past week saw a horrific MS-13 gang knife attack against a 16-year-old Huntington High School student at the Burger King on New York Avenue in Huntington.  The student was eating after class with several classmates when they noticed three gang members glaring at them.  When they tried to leave, the gang attacked, stabbing the 16 year old in the back. The police and the high school need to protect our children. We need a “zero tolerance” policy and to expel and - if illegal deport - anyone involved with MS-13.  The high school and the police have a lot of explaining to do.

  • Radicalization in prisonReducing prison radicalization by placing terrorists in general prison populations

    New research shows people imprisoned on terrorism offenses stand a better chance of being rehabilitated when placed in general prison populations, than when kept in isolation or in a separate location with other terrorists. The study challenges the traditional view that violent extremist offenders will spread their radical ideology amongst other prisoners.

  • ForensicsCold-case investigation is helped by forensic artist

    remains on an unidentified person. “Without knowing who the victim is, it is nearly impossible to find a suspect,” said Lance Krout, lead investigator in the case. “I’ve spent several years working on this and it’s kept me up some nights because we’re not able to move into the next phase of the investigation if we don’t identify this victim.” Penn State 3D experts say they can help the police.

  • Airport securityDrone jamming system to protect European airports, public spaces

    Airports could be equipped with technology capable of detecting and bringing down drones that stray into their air space, according to Dan Hermansen, chief technology officer of Danish anti-drone firm MyDefence. The company has developed a drone alarm and protection system that is being installed at a number of prominent sites around Europe, including an airport. It has the potential to prevent the kind of costly disruption that hit London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports recently.

  • GunsWhat we know about the effectiveness of universal gun background checks

    By Alex Yablon

    This Tuesday, newly dominant House Democrats revealed legislation that would require all gun buyers go through a background check, regardless of whether they buy a weapon from a licensed dealer, collector at a gun show, or stranger in a parking lot. Universal background checks are popular and enjoy political momentum. Poll after poll shows they win near universal approval. But it’s worth asking how effective universal background checks are at reducing gun violence. And the real-world evidence that they reduce crime is more complicated than the political momentum might suggest.

  • GunsNational Collaborative on Gun Violence Research releases first request for research proposals

    The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research, a philanthropic fund created to support scientific research on gun policy, earlier this week released its first request for proposals to support up to $10 million in projects during its first grantmaking cycle.

  • Sonic weaponsCuban lovelorn crickets, not a sonic weapon, made U.S. diplomats ill: Study

    In late 2016, U.S. diplomats in Havana began to report ear pain, dizziness, confusion – and some showed symptoms of mysteriois brain injury. The diplomats said that their symptoms occurred after they repeatedly heard a high-frequency noise. The State Department withdrew half its embassy staff, and several studies concluded that the high-frequency noise was generated by a sonic weapon. A new study argues that the high-frequency noise was created by local crickets.

  • ViolenceNo link found between violent video games and behavior

    Researchers at the University of York have found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent. In a series of experiments, with more than 3,000 participants, the team demonstrated that video game concepts do not ‘prime’ players to behave in certain ways and that increasing the realism of violent video games does not necessarily increase aggression in game players.

  • Hate crimesMany hate crimes never make it into the FBI’s database

    By Sophie Bjork-James

    The FBI’s latest numbers showed a 17 percent increase in reported hate crimes in 2017. But what does this actually say about the actual number of hate crimes occurring in the U.S.? Not much. The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 mandates that the FBI publish statistics specifically for crimes motivated by bias, and a broad network of state laws require that hate crimes are both tracked and prosecuted. Despite this, a variety of problems plague the implementation of these laws.

  • PoliceCarrying Tasers increases police use of force

    Cambridge University experiment with City of London police found that, while rarely deployed, just the presence of electroshock devices led to greater overall hostility in police-public interactions – an example of what researchers call the “weapons effect.”

  • ExtremismEuropean far-right groups eschew violence to broaden appeal

    More than seventy years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements in Europe continue to thrive. They include far-right political parties, neo-Nazi movements, and apolitical protest groups. These groups’ outward rejection of violence expands the reach of their message, and  can increase the potential for radicalization.