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U.S. Raids in Iraq and Syria: How Retaliatory Airstrikes Affect Network of Iran-Backed Militias
Iran’s “forward defense” strategy – focused on addressing threats externally before they become ones within its borders – would suggest that Iran will continue to support proxies through weaponry, funding and tactical knowledge to reduce the influence and legitimacy of the U.S. and its allies in the region. This underscores the delicate balance required in responding to Iranian-backed aggression – aiming to safeguard U.S. interests while preventing an escalation into a wider regional confrontation.
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Mexico’s Lawsuit Against U.S. Gunmakers Has Cleared a Big Hurdle
A federal law protects American gun manufacturers against most lawsuits, but an appeals court has allowed Mexico’s case to move forward. The Mexican government accusing America’s largest gunmakers of aiding and abetting the trafficking of weapons across the border.
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Police Departments Are Turning to AI to Sift Through Millions of Hours of Unreviewed Body-Cam Footage
Body camera video equivalent to 25 million copies of “Barbie” is collected but rarely reviewed. Some cities are looking to new technology to examine this stockpile of footage to identify problematic officers and patterns of behavior.
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Directed Energy: The Focus on Laser Weapons Intensifies
There a growing interest in directed energy weapons, once considered in the realm of science fiction. How to separate the considerable hype about these futuristic-sounding technologies from their more-nuanced impacts on the real-world battlefields of today and tomorrow?
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New Low-Tech Innovation for Emergency Squad Communication
Researchers developed a web-based automated dialing solution enabling civil defense units to communicate with each other during emergencies without Internet service. This low-tech ability is critical for times when connectivity is down; for squads comprised of ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews, who often do not have smartphones; and for older first responders who may be less technologically savvy.
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Advancing the U.S. Coast Guard's Global Impact
The U.S. Coast Guard is in high demand globally, engaging with over 160 countries on every continent and in every ocean. The service could better meet its strategic goals through enhanced internal coordination and prioritization of its international affairs efforts, as well as increased resources.
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A Non-Proliferation Solution: Using Antineutrinos to Surveil Nuclear Reactors
Antineutrinos generated in nuclear fission can be measured to remotely monitor the operation of nuclear reactors and verify that they are not being used to produce nuclear weapons, scientists report. Thanks to a newly developed method, it is now possible to estimate a reactor’s operation status, fuel burnup, and fuel composition based entirely on its antineutrino emissions. This technique could contribute massively to nuclear non-proliferation efforts and, in turn, safer nuclear energy.
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The Challenge of Cheap Drones: Finding an Even Cheaper Way to Destroy Them
The sudden proliferation of inexpensive drones in Ukraine is a revolution in warfare. While they vary in size and capability, the economics of defense are particularly stressed by the very cheapest ones, those adapted from civilian models or made with commercially available components.
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Hydrogen Power Takes Drones to the Next Level
Most drones run on electric batteries and can stay aloft no more than about 45 minutes when carrying just a few kilograms. HevenDrones has another solution.
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Is Left-Wing Terrorism Making a Comeback in Germany? Analyzing the “Engel – Guntermann Network”
For Germany, the reemergence of more violence orientated left-wing extremist actors has diversified the threat posed by non-state actors even further. Violent left-wing extremism is also of growing concern across Europe. While left-wing violent extremism does not currently represent as acute a threat as currently manifested by jihadist and right-wing terrorist attacks, the recent concerning trend among German left-wing extremists is toward greater violence and transnationalism.
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5 Technologies Keeping Cargo Ships Safe in Turbulent Times
Due to Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, worldwide shipping is in trouble and the global supply chain faltering. These technologies can help.
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Could International Pressure Ultimately Strengthen U.S. Gun Laws?
American gun politics and policy have sway far beyond our borders. U.S. guns fuel cartel violence in Mexico, find their way to crime scenes in Canada, and are contributing to a rising gun violence epidemic in the Caribbean. Despite this global dimension, the influence hasn’t run in the other direction. A new organization that’s representing Mexico in a lawsuit against American gun manufacturers and dealers hopes to accomplish just that.
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How Chicago Became an Unlikely Leader in Body-Camera Transparency
The city has a long history of brutal, violent policing, but its latest approach to body-worn cameras and police oversight could serve as a national model.
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A Drone with Ears
When a region is hit by a natural disaster, searching for survivors is complex work as buildings and roads may be damaged. The use of drones equipped with daylight cameras and thermal imaging cameras is therefore becoming increasingly widespread – except that if victims are trapped under rubble, they cannot be seen by these imaging sensors. Equipping drones with acoustic sensors allows rescue teams to identify and locate cries for help, clapping, or knocking signals.
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Military AI: New Book Anticipates a World of “Killer Robots” — and the Need to Regulate Them
As artificial intelligence advances, the weapons of war grow evermore capable of killing people without meaningful human oversight, raising troubling questions about the manner today’s and tomorrow’s wars will be carried out, and how autonomous weapons systems could weaken accountability when it comes to the potential violations of international law that attend their deployment.
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More headlines
The long view
Modern-Day Outlaws, “Sovereign Citizens” Threaten the Rule of Law
The FBI considers sovereign citizens a domestic terrorism threat. My research into sovereign citizens has found they have long been active in the U.S. and other countries. At the core of their beliefs is the denial of the government’s legitimacy. They commonly do not register their vehicles, acquire driver’s licenses or car insurance, or pay taxes. And they pose a significant threat to the public.
A Uniquely Perilous Moment in U.S. Politics
Assassins believe that they can change the course of history. Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware write that the attempt om Donald Trump’s life is but the latest violent incident targeting an elected official or candidate in the United States in recent years. “The biggest question is whether this is, in fact, the beginning of what could be the most violent presidential race in the history of the country.”
Global Annual Nuclear Weapons Spending in 2023: $91.4 Billion
In 2023, the nine nuclear-armed states spent a combined total of $91,393,404,739 on their arsenals – equivalent to $2,898 a second. A new report shows that $10.7 billion more was spent on nuclear weapons in 2023 than in 2022.
‘Risks of Nuclear Terrorism Are High and Growing.’ New Tools, Alliances, Renewed Focus Needed, experts recommend
For roughly 80 years, the United States has managed the threat of nuclear terrorism through nonproliferation treaties, agency programs, intelligence activities, international monitoring support and more, withstanding the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and 9/11. A National Academies committee wants to ensure the U.S. remains prepared.
Evaluating U.S. Readiness to Prevent, Counter, and Respond to WMD
Two new reports review the adequacy of U.S. strategies to prevent, counter, and respond to the threat of nuclear and chemical terrorism and highlight the strengths and limitations of U.S. efforts to prevent and counter threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly in a changing terrorism threat landscape.
'Hybrid’ Disaster Response Shows How Localization Saves Lives
The earthquake that struck southwest Haiti in August 2021 killed thousands of people and left more than half a million seeking help. New research by a University of Notre Dame expert finds that the assessment of this disaster can serve as a model for evaluating future disasters and making life-saving improvements.