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Lawmakers Call for Probe of How Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Got Piece of $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The demands for an investigation come after a ProPublica story revealed that the Noem-connected Strategy Group was secretly a subcontractor on the ad campaign.
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China: An Emerging Software Power
China’s early success in global AI competition, bolstered by continued massive state investment and other advantages, could help it extend its dominance in international markets for manufactured goods to the software realm.
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The Effects of the 1942 Japanese Exclusion on US Agriculture
The U.S. government’s 1942 Japanese relocation program removed the advantage that high-skilled Japanese farmers had given to local agriculture on the West Coast. Whether the forced evacuation contributed to national security is open to question, but it was certainly costly.
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U.S. Can’t Overcome Manufacturing Gap with China
The United States should not kid itself. It will not recover its manufacturing position from China in any foreseeable future. Assuming zero growth of China’s manufacturing sector for the next 20 years, closing the manufacturing gap would require U.S. manufacturing to grow at a torrid rate of 6 percent per year. That’s just implausible.
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G20 Johannesburg Endorses Critical Minerals Framework
The Trump administration is trying to diversify critical minerals supply chains and reduce dependence on China, but this goal cannot be achieved without broad and deep cooperation with other countries. The U.S. absence from the 2025 G20 discussions on critical minerals weakens collective efforts to counterbalance China’s influence.
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Economic Deterrence in a China Contingency
Deterring China from launching an attack on Taiwan is a central focus of U.S. and allied security planning. A new report explores a scenario involving a Chinese blockade of Taiwan, followed by an invasion of the Island, and discusses what economic measures the United States and its allies might employ to deter such aggression.
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Trump Allows More Foreign Ag Workers, Eases Off ICE Raids on Farms
In a tacit admission that U.S. food production requires foreign labor, the Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from other countries. The shifts come as many Americans are concerned about the rising cost of food.
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Data Centers’ Insatiable Demand for Electricity Will Change the Entire Energy Sector
When the first large language models were unleashed, it triggered a headache for authorities around the world as they tried to figure out how to satisfy data centers’ endless demand for electricity.
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Not Indentured: H‑1B Visa Holders Have Changed Jobs 1.1 Million Times
Critics of the H 1B visa for skilled foreign workers often claim that the status amounts to “indentured” servitude. Indentured servitude is a contract to work for a single employer for a predetermined period without pay. Although H 1B workers face more obstacles to changing jobs than US citizens, H 1B workers are not tied to a single employer and change jobs regularly.
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Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
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U.S. Economic Security: Winning the Race for Tomorrows Technologies
Strategic competition over the world’s next generation of foundational technologies is underway, and U.S. advantages in artificial intelligence, quantum, and biotechnology are increasingly contested. The United States must address vulnerabilities and mobilize the investment needed to prevail.
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Building Trust into Tech: A Framework for Sovereign Resilience
Governments are facing a critical question: who can be trusted to build and manage their countries’ most sensitive systems? Vendor choices, for everything from cloud infrastructure to identity platforms, are no longer just commercial; they are strategic.
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Time to Accept Risk in Defense Acquisitions
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth launched enterprising Pentagon reforms that prioritize speed in acquiring new military capabilities, but this ambitious proposal is at risk of running into the same bureaucratic obstacles that have plagued past efforts.
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Even Out of China’s Hands, Mines Still Rely on Its Equipment
The landmark critical minerals agreement between Australia and the United States is vital to both nations’ security and sovereignty. But the agreement signed carries an inherent vulnerability. The very partnership designed to reduce China’s coercive leverage is increasingly relying on Chinese technology to give effect to its objectives.
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Building Climate Resilience Through Insurance Incentives
Insurance does not have to be just a payout after a tragedy. When designed thoughtfully, it can act as a lever for resilience.
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The long view
Could Deep Sea Mining Break China's Grip on Critical Minerals?
Mining companies have proposed to use remote-controlled robots or seabed crawlers tethered to surface ships to bring up nodules. The International Seabed Authority has wrestled for more than two decades with how to regulate seabed mining. The Trump administration has promised no such delay. It plans to use an existing U.S. regulatory framework.
Expert Believes Norwegian Minerals Could Make Europe Less Dependent on China
At the Fen Complex in southern Norway lies Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth elements, according to a report from Rare Earths Norway. But this is not a ‘quick-fix,’ according experts.
Trump Is Forcing Coal Plants to Stay Open. It Could Cost Customers Billions.
In an unprecedented use of federal authority, President Donald Trump’s administration has invoked emergency powers to force a series of retiring coal plants to stay open. Utilities, states and grid operators have said the aging plants are expensive, in bad repair and no longer needed to meet regional energy needs. But Trump is determined to save the dwindling coal industry — an expensive move resulting in billions of dollars in added costs for customers in dozens of states.