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The DEA Once Touted Body Cameras for Their “Enhanced Transparency.” Now the Agency Is Abandoning Them.
An internal email obtained by ProPublica said the agency made the change to be “consistent” with a Trump executive order. But at least two other federal law enforcement agencies are still requiring body cameras.
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Iranian Breakout Timelines Under JCPOA-Type Limits
The 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) made it impossible for Iran, if it withdrew from the deal, to produce enough weapon-grade uranium (WGU) for a nuclear weapon in less than 12 months. The U.S unilateral withdrawal from JCPOA in 2018 has changed the situation so fundamentally in favor of Iran and its nuclear weapons program, that new limits are needed, the most important of which is that Iran destroy centrifuges and related equipment, rather than store them. A focus on only limiting enriched uranium stocks will not provide sufficient breakout timelines.
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States Push to Combat Human Trafficking Amid Federal Funding Cuts
States are moving to strengthen protections against human trafficking, but some advocates warn that some programs might not have the resources to help survivors.
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The Battle for Pentagon Acquisition Policy: Tradition Versus New-and-Cheaper
The weapons that get bought in larger or smaller quantities, or are launched or cancelled, will indicate whether US President Donald Trump’s administration will strengthen long-range deterrent forces, order a retreat under his Golden Dome missile-defense system, or spend four years trying to blend incompatible visions of industrial and technological strategy.
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How the U.S. Can Mine Its Own Critical Minerals − without Digging New Holes
Critical materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life, yet the U.S. depends heavily on imports for most critical materials. Could the U.S. mine and process more critical minerals at home?
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Trump Pick to Run DEA Could Challenge America’s Already Tense Relations with Mexico
In 22 years at the agency, Terry Cole never rose to its top ranks, but he is a vocal supporter of the president’s goal of going after Mexican officials who are complicit with drug cartels.
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Flood Risk Increasing in Pacific Northwest
The next great earthquake isn’t the only threat to the Pacific Northwest. A powerful earthquake, combined with rising sea levels, could significantly increase flood risks in the Pacific Northwest, impacting thousands of residents and properties in northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
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From Help to Harm: How the Government Is Quietly Repurposing Everyone’s Data for Surveillance
The data that people provide to U.S. government agencies for public services such as tax filing, health care enrollment, unemployment assistance and education support is increasingly being redirected toward surveillance and law enforcement.
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What We’ve Learnt About Lone-Actor Terrorism Over the Years Could Help Us Prevent Future Attacks
Politically motivated attacks, carried out by lone individuals lacking direct affiliation with any terrorist group, have become more common in Europe during the last few decades. Lone-actor attacks are difficult to prevent precisely because they are not a systemic threat in the way that coordinated, group-based terrorism can be. Its danger lies in isolated bursts of violence rather than in sustained campaigns. But there are patterns worth following that could help prevent future incidents.
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Continued Post-Oct. 7 Spike in Antisemitism: 84% Increase in Incidents on Campus; 21% Increase in Physical Assaults
The massive spike in antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel continued in 2024, with totals again exceeding any other annual tally in the past 46 years. This is the fourth year in a row that antisemitic incidents increased and broke the previous all-time high.
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Operation Opera Redux? Iran’s Nuclear Program and the Preventive War Paradox
The 1981 Israeli destruction of Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor was an operational success, but is regarded by many as a strategic failure. Scholars call this the preventive war paradox: compromising one’s security in the long term through military action that is operationally successful.
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Why Is Trump So Intent on Sending Illegal Immigrant Noncriminals to Prison Camps in El Salvador?
The myth of the illegal immigrant crime wave persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Where are the hordes of terrorists and murderers that Trump promised to deport? Abrego Garcia, who probably isn’t an angel, is reminding everybody that there just aren’t that many illegal immigrant terrorists and criminals. The truth is, the administration is trying to deport illegal immigrant criminals who simply aren’t here.
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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.
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Next-Gen UAVs Enhance Search and Rescue Efficiency
Search and rescue operations often face difficulties due to unpredictable weather, rugged terrain, and limited resources. UAVs offer a promising approach to search and rescue missions, but there is a need for improved Aerial Person Detection (APD) technologies to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of UAV-based rescue efforts.
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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.
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The long view
Why Was Pacific Northwest Home to So Many Serial Killers?
Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, George Russell, Israel Keyes, and Robert Lee Yates were serial killers who grew up in the Pacific Northwest in the shadow of smelters which spewed plumes of lead, arsenic, and cadmium into the air. As a young man, Charles Manson spent ten years at a nearby prison, where lead has seeped into the soil. The idea of a correlation between early exposure to lead and higher crime rates is not new. Fraser doesn’t explicitly support the lead-crime hypothesis, but in a nimble, haunting narrative, she argues that the connections between an unfettered pollution and violent crime warrant scrutiny.
Bookshelf: Smartphones Shape War in Hyperconnected World
The smartphone is helping to shape the conduct and representation of contemporary war. A new book argues that as an operative device, the smartphone is now “being used as a central weapon of war.”