• Violent Extremism in America

    People who radicalize to extremist ideologies often are triggered by negative life events or exposure to propaganda, and those who escape from extreme groups frequently are aided by an individual or group that intervenes to help them reject the philosophy, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation.

  • The International Far-Right Terrorist Threat Requires a Multilateral Response

    Right-wing violence is a global phenomenon. The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) illuminated this global challenge in 2020 when it issued an alert that cited “a 320 percent increase in terrorist attacks by groups or individuals affiliated” with right-wing extremism. Jason M. Blazakis and Naureen Chowdhury Fink write that a U.S.-only focus to countering far-right terrorism will not curb this growing threat to international peace and stability. “The frameworks established to address the terrorist threat posed by al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and their affiliates can be adapted to manage far-right violence.”

  • Biohazard: A Look at China’s Biological Capabilities and the Recent Coronavirus Outbreak

    When people think about weapons of mass destruction (WMD), they tend to think of things that go “boom.” The bigger the weapon, the bigger the boom, and the worse the impact. However, not all weapons need a big boom to be effective. Every day, millions of people are affected by a weapon that has the potential to do far more damage than a nuclear bomb, a weapon we cannot see, a weapon we call germs.

  • Combatting Terrorism with Environmental DNA

    Forensic science experts are refining an innovative counter-terrorism technique that checks for environmental DNA in the dust on clothing, baggage, shoes or even a passport. The technique traces the source of dust on suspect articles to match a soil profile of a specific area or overseas country.

  • Intentional Youth Firearm Injuries Linked to Sociodemographic Factors

    Firearm injuries are a leading and preventable cause of injury and death among youth - responsible for an estimated 5,000 deaths and 22,000 non-fatal injury hospital visits each year in American kids. The researchers  identified distinct risk profiles for individuals aged 21 and younger, who arrived at emergency departments with firearm injuries over an 8-year period.

  • One in Five Colorado High School Students Has Access to Firearms

    Twenty percent of high school students in Colorado have easy access to a handgun, according to a new study. “Our findings highlight that it is relatively easy to access a handgun in Colorado for high school students. This finding, combined with the high prevalence of feeling sad or depressed and suicide attempts, is concerning for the safety of adolescents,” said the lead author of the study.

  • Colombia: First Extraditions of ELN Rebels to U.S.

    Colombia announced on Tuesday that José Gabriel Alvarez, one of the leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, will be extradited to the United States for drug trafficking. He will be tried in a Texas court. Ten more ELN members will be extradited to the United states within the next few months.

  • Capitol Riot Exposed QAnon’s Violent Potential

    Many followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory see themselves as digital warriors battling an imaginary cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who rule the world from the convenience of their keyboards. But the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot by supporters of former President Donald Trump exposed the potential for violence in a movement that reared its head on the fringes of the internet in 2018 and now boasts millions of adherents around the world.

  • Understanding Mass Shootings in America

    A mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, left 10 people dead less than a week after a spate of shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area claimed eight lives. There is no official definition of “mass shooting,” though it is often understood as an incident in a public place that claims four or more lives, and attracts widespread media coverage. In the last five decades, these events have become far more common. Mass shootings are both tragedy and spectacle. As a result, they attract a huge amount of attention, which tends to distort views about the prevalence of incidents, the most common victims, and how the weapons that are used are obtained.

  • Stanford’s John Donohue on Mass Shootings and the Uniquely American Gun Problem

    As Americans emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality of the other U.S. epidemic—gun violence—has been made very clear after two mass shootings within a week. On 16 March, a gunman killed eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses, and on 22 March ten people were gunned down in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. Stanford Law School’s John J Donohue III, a gun law expert, discusses mass shootings in the U.S., the challenges facing police when confronting powerful automatic weapons, and the prospect of gun control laws.

  • Homeland Security for Radiological and Nuclear Threats

    Radiation exposure events are complicated: there is a variety of radiation sources, and since radiation is invisible, and its effect may not always be immediately apparent, first responders and emergency services must prepare for a “worried well” of people requiring attention: individuals who do not have other physical injuries but are concerned about whether they have received a radiation exposure.

  • Prosecutors Shift Focus to Possible Seditious Conspiracy in Capitol Insurrection Probe

    Since launching a wide-ranging investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot nearly three months ago, federal prosecutors have charged nearly 400 participants in the bloody insurrection with a variety of charges. That represents about half of the estimated 800 supporters of former President Donald Trump who breached the complex on January 6 to try to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the November election. By far the most serious charges have been brought against three dozen or so members of three far-right groups: the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys. Prosecutors are increasingly focused on building the conspiracy cases and considering upping the ante by bringing the little used but far more serious charge of seditious conspiracy.

  • Adding AI to Autonomous Weapons Increases Risks to Civilians in Armed Conflict

    Earlier this month, a high-level, congressionally mandated commission released its long-awaited recommendations for how the United States should approach artificial intelligence (AI) for national security. The recommendations were part of a nearly 800-page report from the National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI) that advocated for the use of AI but also highlighted important conclusions on key risks posed by AI-enabled and autonomous weapons, particularly the dangers of unintended escalation of conflict. Neil Davison and Jonathan Horowitz write that “The NSCAI recommends that the United States excludes the use of autonomous nuclear weapons.”

  • Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents, from Nazi Germany to Putin’s Russia

    Nerve agents are very much in the news these days. Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria repeatedly used Sarin against its own people during that country’s civil war. The Putin regime employed Novichoks in both Russia and the United Kingdom against citizens it deemed insufficiently loyal to Moscow. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un utilized VX in the assassination of his brother at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Across the globe, the use of nerve agents is challenging the international nonproliferation regime in numerous ways.

  • Anti-Asian Hate Crime Crosses Racial and Ethnic Lines

    For many Americans, a 21-year-old white man has become the face of anti-Asian violence that has swept the country over the past year. That impression may be misleading. Robert Aaron Long, the son of a southern Baptist lay leader from Canton, Georgia, is accused of murdering eight people, including six Asian American women, at three spas in the Atlanta metropolitan area last week. Long has told police he launched his killing spree to eliminate sexual “temptation,” not to target the Asian community. While investigators have yet to determine a motive in the case, many of those who carry out attacks on Asian Americans do not fit Long’s racial profile.