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Critical Minerals, Waning Western Influence a Focus of Chinese FM’s African Tour, Analysts Say
Critical minerals and oil, a renewed focus on the Atlantic coast, and the West’s loss of influence in the Sahel are some of the reasons analysts believe Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has chosen the Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad and Namibia as the stops on his visit to Africa this week.
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Mississippi River Towns Pilot New Insurance Model to Help with Disaster Response
The pilot will test parametric insurance, which pays out quickly after agreed-upon “triggers”–such as wind speeds or river heights –reach a certain level.
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Nippon Steel and the “National Security” Hoax
The locking by President Joe Biden Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of US Steel risks damaging the US investment review process; US-Japan relations; the US position as a welcoming place for foreign investment; nations’ general rule against using “national security” as a guise for political favoritism and economic protectionism; and the US economy itself.
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Meta to Move Content Moderators to Texas as Part of Plan to End Fact-Checking Program
The tech giant’s decision to end the program comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeks to mend ties with the incoming Trump administration.
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Trump Has Promised to Build More Ships. He May Deport the Workers Who Help Make Them.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to increase the pace of U.S. military shipbuilding. But his pledge to also clamp down on immigration could make it hard for shipyards already facing workforce shortages.
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Cartels Turn to Social Media to Lure Americans into Human Smuggling as Texas Enforces Stricter Laws
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year.
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Five Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Yourself from Scams and Deepfakes
In an age where misinformation and deepfakes blur the lines between fact and fiction, identifying scams has never been more challenging. Cybersecurity experts share their top tips to help you protect yourself and your loved ones from scams and identity theft.
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Building the Skilled Technical Workforce: “I’s Very Much a Work in Progress”
Skilled technical jobs —jobs that involve some technical knowledge — do not require a B.A. or a B.S., but almost always require some postsecondary training and education. These jobs probably make up about 5 to 10 percent of the labor force, but they are very important.
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More States Require Energy Companies to Pay for Damages Caused by Climate-Related Disasters
In recent years, several U.S. states have enacted laws to hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for damages resulting from climate change. These actions reflect growing concerns about the connection between corporate practices, climate change, and disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods.
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20th Century Lead Exposure Damaged American Mental Health
In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy. However, automotive health came at the great expense of our own well-being. Exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive.
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The Great Ripple - How a Tsunami Can Disrupt Global Trade
Shipping facilitates more than 80% of global trade, meaning disruptions to the global port network can have severe consequences for global commerce. Port disruptions are thus costly, very costly.
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Early Warning Tool Will Help Control Huge Locust Swarms
The migratory locust can reach plague proportions, and a swarm covering one square kilometer can consume enough food in one day to feed 35,000 people. A new tool that predicts the behavior of desert locust populations will help national agencies to manage huge swarms before they devastate food crops.
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How China Tariffs Could Backfire on U.S.
Asia scholar says they could spark higher prices, supply-chain disruptions for Americans —and possibly help Beijing weaken our ties to allies.
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DOE Natural Gas Analysis Released for Public Comment
The future of U.S. liquified natural gas exports remains complicated as the incoming Trump administration will have to contend with a recent Department of Energy analysis now open for public comment.
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U.S. Slow to React to Pervasive Chinese Hacking: Experts
As new potential threats from Chinese hackers were identified this week, the federal government issued one of its strongest warnings to date about the need for Americans —and in particular government officials and other “highly targeted” individuals —to secure their communications against eavesdropping and interception.
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
Bookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
Critical Minerals Don’t Belong in Landfills – Microwave Tech Offers a Cleaner Way to Reclaim Them from E-waste
E-waste recycling focuses on retrieving steel, copper, aluminum, but ignores tiny specks of critical materials. Once technology becomes available to recover these tiny but valuable specks of critical materials quickly and affordably, the U.S. can transform domestic recycling and take a big step toward solving its shortage of critical materials.
Microbes That Extract Rare Earth Elements Also Can Capture Carbon
A small but mighty microbe can safely extract the rare earth and other critical elements for building everything from satellites to solar panels – and it has another superpower: capturing carbon dioxide.