• Trump Says He’s Sending Water to LA. It’s Actually Going to Megafarms.

    The president’s executive orders on California water will help irrigate Central Valley farms. They won’t do anything to fight wildfires.

  • Trump Administration Shouldn’t Designate Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

    Congress has given the president too much authority to prosecute a war on terrorism without sufficient oversight by the legislature and the courts. By designating drug cartels as FTOs, the Trump administration unlocks new powers for itself, creates a new media narrative that could fool many, and reinforces the rest of its anti-immigration and border enforcement agenda.

  • Deporting Millions of Immigrants Would Shock the U.S. Economy, Increasing Housing, Food and Other Prices

    An economy supported by immigrants living illegally in the U.S. protects Americans. The U.S. would be unable to dodge the economic shocks and high costs that mass deportations would bring about.

  • Democracies Should Learn the TikTok Lesson and Restrict Risky Apps from Day One

    With its recent halt on implementing a legally mandated ban on TikTok, the United States is learning the hard way that when it comes to Chinese technology, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

  • How Progress Happens

    On Feb. 7, the National Institutes of Health issued a notice, effective Feb. 10, to cap reimbursements for indirect costs (IDC) associated with its grants. The world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, the NIH supports investigations into, among other things, efforts to fight cancer, control infectious disease, understand neurodegenerative disorders, and improve mental health. Harvard’s vice provost for research details crucial role of NIH support in science and medicine.

  • Can Israel Destroy Iran's Nuclear Program?

    U.S. intelligence has concluded that the odds of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program in the next few months are high, but the jury is out on whether Israel can destroy its archfoe’s nuclear facilities on its own.

  • Evidence-Based Solutions to Protect Against Mass Attacks

    Mass attacks like the New Year’s Day incident in New Orleans stir public emotion and have tragic consequences. While the investigations into this case will take time, we know from our work that there are things law enforcement and the public can do to mitigate and perhaps stop mass casualty events.

  • The August 2024 Taylor Swift Vienna Concert Plot

    The Vienna Taylor Swift concert plot highlights an alarming trend of Islamic State-inspired teenage jihadis targeting events to inflict maximum casualties and attract widespread media attention. The plot also underlined that Islamic State Khorasan (ISK), which appears to have inspired the lead plotter, remains an enduring threat, evolving its tactics and strategy while focusing on radicalizing followers and supporters through relentless online propaganda.

  • Trump’s National Security Tariffs

    Without exemptions, the tariffs President Trump imposed on steel and aluminum imports are likely to negatively impact the U.S. defense sector, critical infrastructure, and U.S. allies. How these trade-offs are weighed hinges on how national security is defined.

  • Calls Grow for U.S. to Counter Chinese Control, Influence in Western Ports

    Experts say Washington should consider buying back some ports, offer incentives to allies to decouple from China.

  • Trump’s Pardons and Purges Revive Old Question: Who Counts as a Terrorist?

    The president’s sweeping clemency for Capitol rioters and his administration’s ongoing removal of career national security specialists foretell a permissive new climate for extremist movements, say current and former officials and researchers.

  • McConnell’s Comments on Gabbard Nomination

    “The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said. “Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust.”

  • The Costs of Tariffs

    The tariffs announced by President Donld Trump should come as no surprise: Trump was acting on a deeply held belief and fulfilling a key campaign promise. But what’s less clear is what Trump was hoping to get out of this tariff play. The president seems to have multiple goals in mind. Whether he will succeed depends on which he prioritizes.

  • From Oligarchs to Cartels: The U.S. Reshapes Global Law Enforcement

    DOJ shuts down a special unit focusing on seizing Russian oligarchs’ assets reflects unit. Attorney General Bondi also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in Trump’s first administration to police disinformation campaigns by Russia and other state, aiming to sow discord and undermining democracy.

  • Spyware Is Spreading Far Beyond Its National-Security Role

    Spyware is increasingly exploited by criminals or used to suppress civil liberties, and this proliferation is in part due to weak regulation.