• Iran Can Produce Nuclear Explosive Now, and 2 Bombs within One Month of a Breakout: IAEA

    The IAEA’s new report on Iran’s nuclear status says that Iran’s breakout timeline is now at zero. Iran has enough 60 percent enriched uranium – highly enriched uranium, or HEU — to be able to produce nuclear explosive. If it wanted to enrich the 60 percent HEU to 90 percent HEU —typically called weapon-grade uranium (WGU) — it could do so within weeks. Whether or not Iran enriches its HEU up to 90 percent, it can have enough HEU for two nuclear weapons within one month after starting breakout.

  • Germany's Military Upgrade Hobbled by Bureaucracy

    Germany’s military suddenly has €100 billion to spend on new equipment. Thousands of people in one of Germany’s largest government agencies are tasked with procurement. But that may turn out to be a major problem.

  • Did the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 Bring Down Mass Shootings? Here’s What the Data Tells Us

    A spate of high-profile mass shootings in the U.S. has sparked calls for Congress to look at imposing a ban on assault weapons. Such a prohibition has been in place before – from 1994 to 2004. That ban was limited, but nonetheless, the 10-year life span of that ban – with a clear beginning and end date – gives researchers the opportunity to compare what happened with mass shooting deaths before, during and after the prohibition was in place.

  • Converging Trends Increase Threats of Violence: DHS

    DHS warns the chances for increased violence or terror attacks are likely to increase over the next six months – the result of a volatile convergence of pervasive disinformation, conspiracy theories, and several high-profile events like the anticipated Supreme Court decision on abortion and the country’s mid-term elections.

  • German Police Failed in Far-Right Hanau Killings: Critics

    Police have been accused of failing to keep tabs on a racist killer during one of Germany’s worst-ever far-right shootings. Police say they had to proceed cautiously.

  • Some Light in the Distance for Major Curbs on Gun Violence

    The killing of nineteen children and two teachers in in Texas and subsequent debate about what can be done to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, highlighted the widespread recognition about how difficult it will be to spark change in the polarized debate on the issue. Chan’s School’s David Hemenway is uncertain about effects of Uvalde deaths, but believes growing body of research will turn tide in time.

  • How the U.S. Has Struggled to Stop the Growth of a Shadowy Russian Private Army

    Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on the Wagner Group, a private and unaccountable army with a history of human rights violations, to pursue Russia’s foreign policy objectives across the globe. For nearly a decade, U.S. officials watched with alarm as this shadowy network of Russian mercenaries connected to the Kremlin wreaked havoc in Africa, the Middle East and most recently Ukraine.

  • Israel Sets to Deploy Laser Weapons to Counter Missiles, Rockets, and Drones

    Laser weapons have long been the stuff of science fiction films and video games, but the last few years saw more and more laser system developed and deployed. Israel says it has successfully tested an effective, and cost-effective, solid-state laser weapon that can shoot down missiles, rockets, mortars, and drone – and a cost of about $3.50 per kill.

  • Western Leaders Should Take Escalation over Ukraine Seriously

    The United States and members states of the EU and NATO have taken significant action to assist Ukraine and pressure Russia, but there is increasing pressure to “do more.” Michael Lopate and Bear Braumoeller write that as we provide Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons, and as calls grow for allowing Ukraine to push Russian forces back over the border without requiring any concessions on the part of Ukraine, “we should be clear-eyed about the risks of escalation as we seek that victory.” They write that their research shows that “War escalation is extremely unpredictable, and most people don’t appreciate just how easily and quickly wars can escalate to shocking levels of lethality.”

  • Shifting Policing Responsibilities from City to County Doesn't Affect Crime Levels

    Disbanding city police departments and shifting law enforcement responsibilities to county governments appears to have no affect on overall crime rates and leads to fewer police-related deaths, according to a new study. The study also finds disbanding leads to fewer police-related deaths, but less transparency.

  • Threshold Reached: Iranian Nuclear Breakout Timeline Now at Zero

    Iran has crossed a new, dangerous threshold: Iran’s breakout time is now at zero. It has enough 60 percent enriched uranium, or highly enriched uranium (HEU), to be assured it could fashion a nuclear explosive. If Iran wanted to further enrich its 60 percent HEU up to weapon-grade HEU, or 90 percent, it could do so within a few weeks with only a few of its advanced centrifuge cascades.

  • Iran’s Current Nuclear-Weapons Status: The Facts

    A report published in April by the Institute for Science and International Security, and an interview with David Albright, the report’s co-author, offer startling, and disturbing, insights into the rapid, and likely irreversible, progress Iran has made toward developing a workable nuclear weapon since the Trump administration, in 2018, decided to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal.

  • Iran Now Has Enough Fissile Material for One Nuclear Bomb: IAEA

    Iran has enriched enough uranium for making one Hiroshima-size nuclear bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its quarterly report. The IAEA says that Iran now has around 43 kilograms (95 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent (in March, Iran had 33 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent). The 43 kg of 60 percent enriched uranium would yield about 22-25 kg of uranium enriched to 90 percent, which is weapon-grade.

  • Norway and Finland Have Levels of Gun Ownership Similar to the U.S., but Far Less Gun Crime

    The number of children killed by guns is 36.5 times higher in the U.S. compared to many other high-income countries. But in terms of the level of gun crimes more broadly – measured by examining the relationship between gun-ownership rates and gun violence — the U.S. is ranked 20th in the world, although all the countries ahead of it are much poorer and more conflicted. European societies similar to the U.S. in terms of gun owners per 100,000 people (but with hunting rifles and shotguns rather than handguns), such as Finland and Norway, are among the safest societies in Europe. Gun researchers now focus increasingly upon wider “gun control regimes” which have a big part to play in increasing or reducing levels of gun violence.  

  • After Mass Shootings Like Uvalde, National Gun Control Fails – but States Often Loosen Gun Laws

    Contrary to the view that nothing changes, state legislatures consider 15% more firearm bills the year after a mass shooting. Deadlier shootings – which receive more media attention – have larger effects. As impressive as this 15% increase in gun bills may sound, gun legislation can reduce gun violence only if it becomes law. And when it comes to enacting these bills into law, our research found that mass shootings do not regularly cause lawmakers to tighten gun restrictions. In fact, we found the opposite. Republican state legislatures pass significantly more gun laws that loosen restrictions on firearms after mass shootings.