• Extremist Couple Charged in Plot to Destroy Baltimore’s Power Grid

    Two extremists have been charged Monday with conspiracy to attack and destroy energy facilities around Baltimore in a plot to “completely destroy” the city. The man, the founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, and his accomplice appear to be part of trend among domestic violent extremists to target the U.S. electrical grid. In recent years, DHS and the FBI have discovered several such conspiracies to take down the power system, with the most recent attacks taking place in North Carolina and Washington State.

  • Chinese Spy Balloon Over the U.S.: An Aerospace Expert Explains How the Balloons Work and What They Can See

    Balloons are much closer to the ground than any satellites, so they can see even more clearly. And balloons are moving relatively slowly, so they also have a degree of persistence. However, spying is not usually done these days with balloons because they are a relatively easy target and are not completely controllable.

  • How Dangerous Is TikTok?

    The rapid ascent of the Chinese video-streaming app TikTok has alarmed lawmakers and privacy watchdogs around the world. What are they worried about? Why is TikTok in the crosshairs of so many authorities and monitoring bodies.

  • EFF Files Amicus Briefs in Two Important Geofence Search Warrant Cases

    Unlike traditional warrants for electronic records, a geofence warrant doesn’t start with a particular suspect or even a device or account; instead police request data on every device in a given geographic area during a designated time period, regardless of whether the device owner has any connection to the crime under investigation. The EFF argues these warrants are unconstitutional “general warrants” because they don’t require police to show probable cause to believe any one device was somehow linked to the crime under investigation.

  • China 'Spy Balloon:' Why Doesn't the Pentagon Shoot It Down?

    Espionage is all about secrets — keeping and revealing them. But here’s what we can say about the alleged spy balloon.

  • The Lessons of the Electoral Count Reform Act: Next Steps in Reform

    The passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA), which President Biden signed into law on 29 December 2022, suggests there are achievable goals of democracy reform even as polarization retains its grip, we now have a divided government, and a presidential election is less than two years away.

  • John Eastman and the Limits of Bar Discipline

    The memos prepared by John Eastman constitute some of the most disturbing documentation of the plot to overturn the 2020 election in favor of Donald Trump. Eastman’s legal analysis sets out a range of supposed options by which swing-state electors from states supporting Joe Biden could be disregarded, thus handing Trump a second term in office. The State Bar of California announced that it will be seeking his disbarment from the practice of law over his role fomenting the Jan. 6 insurrection. Eastman “has now entered the select club of lawyers finally facing bar discipline for their involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election,” Quinta Jurecic writes.

  • U.S. General's Bellicose China Memo Highlights Civilian-Military Divide

    A controversial memo from a U.S. Air Force general predicting war with China in 2025 may reflect a growing disconnect between the way the United States’ civilian and military leadership view the relationship between the world’s two largest economic powers.

  • George Santos: A Democracy Can’t Easily Penalize Lies by Politicians

    Historian Sean Wilentz remarked that while embellishments happen, Santos’ lies are different – “there is no example like it” in American history, Wilentz said. The Supreme Court has concluded that lies enjoy First Amendment protection, and that the government cannot be trusted with the power to regulate lies. Moreover, one local newspaper — the North Shore Leader — did report on Santos’ misrepresentations, but his election is evidence that the loss of news reporting jobs has damaged America’s democracy.

  • 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

    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.

  • This Debt Ceiling Showdown Is Especially Risky

    On Thursday, 19 January 2022, the federal government hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit. That means that it can’t borrow any additional money to meet its obligations, which include everything from issuing Social Security checks to paying interest on Treasury bonds. Past fights over the borrowing limit didn’t spark a financial crisis. This time could be different, according to two experts.

  • U.S. Debt Default Could Trigger Dollar’s Collapse – and Severely Erode America’s Political and Economic Might

    Brinkmanship over the debt ceiling has become a regular ritual. As an economist, I know that defaulting on the national debt would have real-life consequences. Even the threat of pushing the U.S. into default has an economic impact. In August 2021, the mere prospect of a potential default led to an unprecedented downgrade of the nation’s credit rating, hurting America’s financial prestige as well as countless individuals, including retirees. And that was caused by the mere specter of default. An actual default would be far more damaging.

  • Exxon Disputed Climate Findings for Years. Its Scientists Knew Better.

    Projections created internally by ExxonMobil starting in the late 1970s on the impact of fossil fuels on climate change were very accurate, even surpassing those of some academic and governmental scientists. The oil company executives sought to mislead the public about the industry’s role in climate change, contradicting the findings of the company’s own scientists and drawing a growing number of lawsuits by states and cities.

  • 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.