• FloodNet Tracking System Set for Expansion Across All Five NYC Boroughs

    FloodNet, the first-ever New York City flood-monitoring network, has received $7.2 million in city funding that will greatly increase the number of monitored flood-prone locations from 31 to 500 over the next five years. The network expansion is slated to begin in February.

  • Israel to Enact New Counterterrorism Measures After Attacks

    In the wake of deadly weekend terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, the Israeli government has said it would seek to speed up the process for citizens to obtain firearms.

  • German and U.S. Tanks Will Be Critical in Ukraine’s Next Phase Against Russia

    By Max Boot

    The main battle tanks that the United States and Germany have agreed to provide Ukraine will help its forces punch through Russian fortifications and retake lost territory.

  • Sandia, AMD Collaborate to Support Nuclear Stockpile Mission

    Sandia National Laboratories, in partnership with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs, has awarded a contract to AMD that funds research and development of advanced memory technologies expected to accelerate high-performance simulation and computing applications in support of the nation’s stockpile stewardship mission.

  • U.S. Dismantles Ransomware Network Responsible for More Than $100 Million in Extortion

    An international ransomware network that extorted more than $100 million from hundreds of victims around the world has been brought down following a monthslong infiltration by the FBI. The group known as Hive targeted more than 1,500 victims, including hospitals, school districts and financial firms in more than 80 countries.

  • U.S. Secret Service Report Examines Five Years of Mass Violence Data

    The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) the other day released a comprehensive report examining 173 incidents of targeted violence and highlighting the observable commonalities among the attackers.

  • What Is Microstamping, and Can It Help Solve Shootings?

    By Chip Brownlee

    Laws to expand the technology’s use have passed in three states and the District of Columbia. But some are questioning its effectiveness.

  • Aces-High Frontier: Space War in 2053

    By Jeffrey Becker

    There are good reasons why the best science and speculative fiction ranks high on the reading lists of many military scholars and leaders. Done well, speculative military fiction projects thoughtfully beyond the here and now, and renders real operational and strategic concepts in terms of plausible future technologies.

  • Doomsday Clock Set at 90 Seconds to Midnight

    The Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, due largely but not exclusively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. The new Clock time was also influenced by continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats.

  • 8 Lessons for Taiwan from Russia’s War in Ukraine

    By Tzu-yun Su

    While the fighting in Ukraine is on land, and thus very different from the maritime battlefield that would surround Taiwan, there are still many things Taiwan can learn from Ukraine’s defensive operations.

  • Gun Control Measures Associated with Reduced Police Use of Force

    As police departments and activists look for strategies to reduce excessive use of force by police, new research shows limited data, lack of transparency and irregular implementation of reforms make it difficult to determine which approaches are effective.

  • Protecting U.S. Overseas Air Bases

    In January 2022, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall warned that the U.S. Air and Space Forces must move quickly to offset actions—mostly by China, but also by Russia—which have eroded the U.S. military advantage: “We cannot go forward with a presumption of superiority that our military dominance demonstrated in the first Gulf War… . A lot of things can change in 30 years and they have.”

  • China Is a Threat Not Because It is Ascendant, but Because It Is on a Downward Trajectory

    By Robert Wihtol

    The prevailing consensus for the past few years has been that an ascendant China is threatening to overtake a slumping America. Because research suggests that a geopolitical power transition is most likely to take place when a surging challenger overtakes an exhausted hegemon, many believe that a turbo-charged China has increased the likelihood of conflict with America. In their book Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China, Hal Brands and Michael Beckley challenge this notion and offer a more nuanced view.

  • ‘Stand Your Ground’ and Shall-Issue Laws Increase Gun Violence, Study Finds

    By Fairriona Magee

    The RAND Corporation’s latest gun policy report examined 18 popular laws for their effects on violence. The sweeping synthesis of gun policy research has found supportive evidence that “stand your ground” and shall-issue concealed carry laws increase levels of violence, and that child access prevention policies reduce firearm injuries and deaths among children.

  • What’s Driving Re-Burns Across California and the West?

    Seasonal temperature, moisture loss from plants, and wind speed are what primarily drive fires that sweep across the same landscape multiple times, a new study reveals. As climate change sparks more new fires in old burn areas, understanding the underlying causes can help shape land management strategies.