• To Fight Disinformation, Treat It as an Insurgency

    Today, state purveyors of disinformation operate in an environment more susceptible to their tactics than at any moment since the end of World War II. Such infiltrations by our adversaries pose significant risks to both strategic competition and the digital health of future generations.

  • FEMA Moves to End One of Its Biggest Disaster Adaptation Programs

    In an internal FEMA memorandum obtained by Grist, the Trump administration announced its plans to dismantle the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

  • A “Goofy” DJ’s Secret Life at the Center of an Online Terrorism Network

    To friends, Matthew Allison was a likeable part of Boise, Idaho’s electronic music scene. But behind his computer screen, authorities say, he helped lead the Terrorgram Collective, an online network that inspired white supremacist violence.

  • White Supremacist Propaganda Focused on Jews and Immigrants in 2024

    The majority of white supremacist propaganda distributed in 2024 included antisemitic or anti-immigrant language and themes. Some leaned into both narratives –blaming Jews for the existence of America’s non-white immigrant and refugee populations.

  • Store, Harvest, Fix: How Texas Can Save Its Water Supply

    State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money.

  • “America Can’t Be Great Without Great Science. That Is Where the Academies Can Help.”

    Recent actions by the federal government affecting agencies that fund science in the United States have sent shock waves through the research community. “My biggest concern is for the pipeline of talent: We might not have the educated students to meet the needs of the greater STEMM workforce…. I’m concerned that with the cuts in science budgets and the federal workforce, we will not see the same number of students being trained,” says the president of the  National Academy of Sciences.

  • “Wholesale Assault on U.S. Science”: Scientists Say Administration’s Policies Pose Serious Threats to U.S. Science

    More than 1,900 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine signed an open letter warning Americans that the administration is engaging in a “wholesale assault on U.S. science” that could set back research by decades and that threatens the health and safety of Americans.

  • Climate Disasters Are on the Rise. These States Want to Make Oil Companies Pay.

    State “climate Superfund” laws have sparked a legal brawl with fossil fuel groups.

  • “Water Is the New Oil: As Texas Cities Square Off Over Aquifer Pipeline Plans

    Fast-growing Georgetown plans to pump 89 million gallons a day from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer but the project is being fought by Bryan, College Station and Texas A&M University, which depend on the same water.

  • Can Europe Defend Itself Against a Nuclear-Armed Russia?

    National security expert details what’s being done, what can be done as U.S. appears to rethink decades-long support. Regarding the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which has covered Europe since the 1950s, Richard Hooker says: “Is it reliable? I wouldn’t think so. If Putin were to threaten or actually use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine or, let’s say in Estonia, would the administration respond with nuclear threats of its own? Personally, I have my doubts.”

  • Negotiating a New Iran Nuclear Deal

    In August 2019, the Institute for Science and International Security produced astudy at the request of the administration for an internal discussion. It is not the current administration’s or the Institute’s position, although the Institute supports the general thrust, especially the need to go beyond JCPOA limits and for Iran to provide the IAEA a verified complete nuclear declaration.

  • Presidents Can’t Overhaul Election Law by Decree

    On March 25, President Donald Trump published an executive order purporting to overhaul the nation’s election system. But under our American system, voting and voter registration are predominantly responsibilities of the states, with Congress constitutionally empowered to add some overlays through legislation of general applicability. A president cannot change those basics by putting out an executive order, nor may he commandeer the states, through funding blackmail or otherwise, into acting as instruments of his pleasure.

  • Forging the Biological Weapon Convention: A Brief History of the Creation of the BWC

    The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) stands as a monument to international ambition: the first multilateral treaty to comprehensively ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The treaty’s origins are deeply rooted in the horrors of 20th-century warfare, advancements in biotechnology, and the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War.

  • If FEMA Didn’t Exist, Could States Handle the Disaster Response on Their Own?

    Coordinating disaster response is complex, the paperwork for federal assistance can be frustrating, and the agency does draw criticism. However, it also fills an important role. As the frequency of natural disasters continues to rise due to climate change, ask yourself: How prepared is your state for a disaster, and could it get by without federal aid?

  • The Siege of the Red Sea

    With the degradation of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis stand out as one of Iran’s proxies that continues to pose a serious threat to U.S. interests in the region. But with Iran on its back foot and Trump’s determination to bring the full capabilities of the U.S. military to bear against the Houthis, the group’s days running roughshod in the Red Sea may be numbered.