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The Taiwan Scenarios 3: Day Zero
If China decides to dramatically accelerate unification with Taiwan—whether through subversion, quarantine, blockade or full-scale invasion—the first 24 hours will be pivotal. But they will hardly be the end.
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Cuts to Early Warning Systems Are Leaving the U.S. Unprepared for Summer Floods
The extreme costs and death toll of recent floodings across Texas, New Mexico, and the Northeast have put into question the future of the United States’ emergency preparedness amid major budget and staffing cuts to critical risk-reduction agencies and programs.
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The Taiwan Scenarios 2: Warning Signs
At first, it may not be easy to see what’s afoot. The difference between China’s routine coercion of Taiwan and early signs of serious escalation to take control of the island may not be clear.
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Stand-Your-Ground Laws Linked to Higher Homicide Rates, New Report Finds
Stand-your-ground laws, which are in effect in more than half of U.S. states, are associated with higher homicide rates, increased racial disparities in legal outcomes and broader public costs. And homicides with white shooters, Black victims ruled justifiable 4 times more often than when roles were reversed.
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The Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are Deadlier at Night
It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role.
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Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
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The Taiwan Scenarios 1: Subversion, Quarantine, Blockade, Invasion
President Xi Jinping likely favors a path to unification in which Taiwan is gradually worn down by sustained and intensifying Chinese coercion. However, if he sought to accelerate this process, he would likely favor actions that remained below the threshold of war but still compelled Taiwan to cede aspects of its sovereignty.
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Lessons From the Ledger
The United States and Canada recently began designating drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, in part to use counterterrorism tools against these organizations. Jessica Davis writes that some “counterterrorist financing tools might yield some results against cartels. But here, the lessons of decades of counterterrorist financing will need to be applied for maximum disruptive effect.”
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Forensic Crime Labs Are Buckling as New Technology Increases Demand
Across the country, state and local crime labs are drowning in evidence. From rape kits to drug samples to vials of blood, delays in forensic testing are stalling prosecutions, stretching court calendars. A major federal funding cut could make labs’ struggles worse.
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Why Drones and AI Can’t Quickly Find Missing Flood Victims, Yet
For search and rescue, AI is not more accurate than humans, but it is far faster.
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Significance of the Targeted Nuclear Scientists in the 12-Day War
The June 2025 war between Israel and Iran, called the 12-Day War, saw the killing y the Israeli military of many Iranian nuclear scientists who participated in or are linked to Iran’s nuclear weapons program. the elimination of these nuclear scientists deprived Iran’s nuclear weapons program of its most capable and experienced personnel. This act weakened Iran’s base for building nuclear weapons, eliminating needed expertise and hard-to-get management experience.
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Why Flash Flood Warnings Will Continue to Go Unheeded
Experts say local education and community support are key to conveying risk.
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Undersea Cables Are Vulnerable to Sabotage – but This Takes Skill and Specialist Equipment
Countries have come to rely on a network of cables and pipes under the sea for their energy and communications. So it has been worrying to read headlines about communications cables being cut and, in one case, an undersea gas pipeline being blown up.
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Can Sirens Help Save Lives in the Next Flood? Yes, but There’s More to It.
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.
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Will Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Defense Spending Last?
Trump’s signature legislation will push defense spending past $1 trillion, with new funding for innovation and other capabilities. But those investments are at risk of becoming one-off acquisitions without sustained follow-on funding.
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.
The Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are Deadlier at Night
It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role.
Why Flash Flood Warnings Will Continue to Go Unheeded
Experts say local education and community support are key to conveying risk.