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Draft Bill Would Ban CDC, NIH from Funding Lab Research in China  (Jocelyn Kaiser, Science)
House of Representatives measure catalyzed in part by suspicion that pandemic virus escaped from Wuhan laboratory

Strengthening the Global Bioeconomy to Sidestep the Next Pandemic  (Wilmot James and Lewis Rubin-Thompson, Business Day)
Now is the time to prepare for a pathogen more deadly and infectious than Covid-19.

Timeline: False Alternate Slate of Electors Scheme, Donald Trump and His Close Associates  (Ryan Goodman, Just Security)
A part of President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the presidential election involved an effort to misuse the Electoral College in seven battleground states. On Dec. 14, 2020, legitimate members of the Electoral College met across the country to sign certificates declaring which presidential candidate won their state. That day, in several states that Biden had won, Republicans met to sign certificates declaring that they were the “duly elected and qualified” members of the Electoral College and falsely declaring Trump the winner of their state. They sent their documents to the National Archives.
In the runup to Jan. 6, 2021, these false certificates were used in an effort to claim that Vice President Mike Pence could decide either not to recognize any electors from these “disputed states” (meaning an outright Trump win) or else delay the certification of the election.

The Disengagement and Deradicalization Debate: Both Are Needed for True Rehabilitation (Anne Speckhard and Molly Ellenberg, HSToday)
It is worthwhile to examine more closely the barriers and aids to disengagement and deradicalization that can inform practitioners and policy makers.

The Blue-State War on Nuclear Power  (Nate Hochman, National Review)
The irrational, ideologically driven effort to decarbonize without nuclear energy is a fool’s errand.

Pentagon Plan for Homeland Cruise Missile Defense Taking Shape  (Jen Judson, Defense News)
The Pentagon’s plan to defend the U.S. homeland from cruise missiles is starting to take shape after a prolonged period of development because until recently, the threat was perceived as a more distant regional one, a senior Air Force official said.
North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command have been working for several years and across two presidential administrations to come up with a design that can effectively defend the continental U.S. from cruise missiles, according to Brig. Gen. Paul Murray, NORAD deputy director of operations.