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Dozens of Cities Are Paying for Gunshot Detection Tech They May Not Need
A new analysis by The Trace identified cities across the country that are using ShotSpotter despite averaging fewer than one shooting a month in which someone was killed or injured.
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China Now Has More Than 600 Nuclear Warheads, Pentagon Says
The stockpiling reflects a changing attitude toward nuclear weapons among Chinese military planners, report says.
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U.S. Tech-Defense Leaders Want to Upend the Establishment
Elon Musk wants to cancel the F-35, get rid of manned combat aircraft generally and rely more on drones. But it was no surprise, however, even without Musk’s comments along those lines, that the US Air Force punted any decision on the Next Generation Air Dominance air-combat project to the next administration.
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Backgrounder: Drone Operations in the U.S.
More than 1.7 million drones are registered for commercial and recreational use in the United States, and it is safe to assume that there are many additional unregistered drones out there.
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Taleghan 2: Pre- and Post Strike Assessment
On October 25, 2024, Israel launched an attack on Iran that destroyed multiple buildings within the Parchin Military Complex. One target stood out–a building used for nuclear weapons development purposes under Iran’s Amad Plan in the early 2000s.
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Conspiracy Theory Debunked: FBI Was Not in on the Jan. 6 Attack
The FBI had 26 confidential sources at the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, but the FBI was not in on the attack and no undercover FBI agents were on the National Mall that day, contradicting conspiracy theories about the attack.
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On Reducing Public Fears and Threats of Political Violence
The 2024 election is over, with no substantial violence, but that does not mean the risks of political violence and unrest are off the table. A likely key driver: fears of what the other political side will have America become.
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Trump Migrant Deportations Could Threaten States’ Agricultural Economies
Roughly 40% of farmworkers are not legally authorized to work in the United States.
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Police 'Need to Play a Larger Role' in Recovering Cybercrime Money
Police must become more involved in reimbursing money to victims of cybercrime, according to new research. The study also recommends that, as a priority, the police should make clear to communities that it can be relied upon in cases of economic cybercrime.
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FTC Rightfully Acts Against So-Called “AI Weapon Detection” Company Evolv
The Federal Trade Commission has entered a settlement with self-styled “weapon detection” company Evolv, to resolve the FTC’s claim that the company “knowingly” and repeatedly” engaged in “unlawful” acts of misleading claims about their technology.
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Iran Increases Enrichment Activities to Dangerous Levels: IAEA
The most recent IAEA report sounded an alarm about a dangerous increase in Iran’s enrichment activities at the Fordow enrichment plant. No longer constrained by the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew in 2018, Iran can now decide to produce10-15 kg of weapon grade uranium (WGU) per month, an annual rate of 120 to 130 kg WGU per year, enough for about five nuclear weapons. Iran could supplement this at any point by using its existing stock of 60 percent highly enriched uranium (HEU).
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Islamist Terror Incidents Targeting U.S. Increase in 2024
Islamist terror incidents targeting the United States increased in 2024 after several years of reduced activity, with federal and state authorities arresting individuals in seven different incidents on charges related to five unsuccessful plots and two actual attacks.
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The Chilling Crime Spree of The Order – and Its Lasting Effect on Today’s White Supremacists
The new historical crime drama, “The Order,” starring Jude Law and Nicholas Holt, is being described as a riveting “cat-and-mouse thriller.” But for criminologists like us, the white supremacist extremism that takes place in the film is not a nod to a distant past, but a reflection of beliefs and rhetoric that still percolate on social media and inspire acts of terror.
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Tennessee Bureau of Investigations: Venezuelan Gang in Every Major City in State
Tren de Aragua (TdA) members are known for violence, and have been accused of murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and human and drug trafficking, and linked to more than 100 law enforcement investigations nationwide
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Smart Pressure: Conceptualizing Counterterrorism for a New Era
When it comes to counterterrorism, the United States has been living through an inflection point. It wants to focus less on terrorism so it can place more emphasis on strategic competition, but key terrorist adversaries remain committed. The terrorism landscape and the approaches used by key terror adversaries have also been evolving
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The long view
AI-Controlled Fighter Jets May Be Closer Than We Think — and Would Change the Face of Warfare
Could we be on the verge of an era where fighter jets take flight without pilots – and are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI)? US R Adm Michael Donnelly recently said that an upcoming combat jet could be the navy’s last one with a pilot in the cockpit.
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”