• Showdown in the Middle East

    In 2018, President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, claiming that Obama’s deal wasn’t good enough and that he would get a better one by imposing “maximum pressure.” As was predicted in 2018, the Iranian response to the U.S. campaign of maximum pressure was not to offer the Americans more, but instead to press ahead with enriching Uranium to the point where they are now close to having enough to build some nuclear weapons should they choose to do so. Can a new round of negotiations, or military action, stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon?

  • Where the U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Are Headed

    The Iranian position remains that the talks should focus on the nuclear issue and sanctions relief, with Iran repeatedly stating that its nuclear program is only intended for peaceful purposes. Trump has said that he only wants assurances that Iran does not produce nuclear weapons. Thus, issues such as Iran’s support for regional proxies and its missile program could be off the table.

  • Latest Reasoning Models from OpenAI to Be Used for Energy and National Security Applications on Los Alamos’s Venado Supercomputer

    Los Alamos National Laboratory has entered a partnership with OpenAI to install its latest o-series models — capable of expert reasoning for a broad span of complex scientific problems — on the Lab’s Venado supercomputer.

  • How and Where Is Nuclear waste stored in the U.S.?

    Around the U.S., about 90,000 tons of nuclear waste is stored at over 100 sites in 39 states, in a range of different structures and containers. For decades, the nation has been trying to send it all to one secure location. Perhaps there will be a temporary site whose location passes muster with the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, the waste will stay where it is.

  • Declassified JFK Files Provide “Enhanced Clarity on CIA Actions, Historian Says

    Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer winner writing three-volume Kennedy biography, shares takeaways from declassified docs.

  • The Growing Challenge of Urban Wildfires

    The wildfires that burned in the Los Angeles area in January surged through highly populated areas, causing catastrophic damage. The two largest fires, the Palisades and Eaton fires, together destroyed over 16,000 homes and other buildings, killed 29 people, and displaced thousands.

  • The Trump Administration Says Tren de Aragua Is a Terrorist Group – but It’s Really a Transnational Criminal Organization. Here’s Why the Label Matters.

    The U.S. declared the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, as well as some Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations. But classifying Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization has sparked debate among observers: Tren de Aragua is primarily a profit-driven group, not an ideological one –placing the organization more firmly in the transnational organized crime category rather than a political terrorist group.

  • U.K. Counter Terrorism Officers Call on Parents to Be Aware

    Counter Terrorism officers from the Met Police are urging parents across London to be aware of the signs that might indicate that their child could be vulnerable to radicalization or being drawn into dangerous forms of violent extremism.

  • Former SPFPA’s Official Pleads Guilty to Illegal Labor Payments

    A Florida couple pled guilty earlier this week to conspiracy to provide and receive prohibited labor payments. The husband, Ricky Dallas O’Quinn, served as both an officer and employee of International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), a labor organization which represents protective security officers at federal workplaces.

  • Risk Analysis of Mass Shootings Committed by Immigrants and Native-Born Americans

    Foreign-born people are not disproportionately responsible for deaths or injuries caused by mass shootings. The chance of being murdered in a mass shooting committed by a native-born American was about 1 in 10.5 million per year, about 6.5 times higher than the chance of being killed by a foreign-born mass shooter, which was about 1 in 68.4 million per year.

  • A Flexible Robot Can Help Emergency Responders Search Through Rubble

    SPROUT, developed by Lincoln Laboratory and University of Notre Dame researchers, is a vine robot capable of navigating under collapsed structuresSPROUT, developed by Lincoln Laboratory and University of Notre Dame researchers, is a vine robot capable of navigating under collapsed structures.

  • Can Europe Defend Itself Against a Nuclear-Armed Russia?

    National security expert details what’s being done, what can be done as U.S. appears to rethink decades-long support. Regarding the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which has covered Europe since the 1950s, Richard Hooker says: “Is it reliable? I wouldn’t think so. If Putin were to threaten or actually use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine or, let’s say in Estonia, would the administration respond with nuclear threats of its own? Personally, I have my doubts.”

  • Negotiating a New Iran Nuclear Deal

    In August 2019, the Institute for Science and International Security produced astudy at the request of the administration for an internal discussion. It is not the current administration’s or the Institute’s position, although the Institute supports the general thrust, especially the need to go beyond JCPOA limits and for Iran to provide the IAEA a verified complete nuclear declaration.

  • Devastation from 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake in Myanmar Underscores Regional Lag in Construction Standards, Regulations, Says Resilience Expert

    A lot of factors are converging here,” says Daniel Aldrich, director of the university’s Resilience Studies Program. “But the bottom line is we’re talking about construction standards in developing countries.”

  • If FEMA Didn’t Exist, Could States Handle the Disaster Response on Their Own?

    Coordinating disaster response is complex, the paperwork for federal assistance can be frustrating, and the agency does draw criticism. However, it also fills an important role. As the frequency of natural disasters continues to rise due to climate change, ask yourself: How prepared is your state for a disaster, and could it get by without federal aid?