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U.S.-UK Trade Deal Illustrates Trump’s Shifting Trade Policy
The U.S.-UK trade agreement is Trump’s first since his “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It could be a possible template for other nations seeking a deal, but it could also have major implications for global trading norms.
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Real ID Is Useless, Unconstitutional, and Finally Here
At its core, the mentality behind REAL ID is that every American is a potential airline terrorist first and a citizen of the Republic a very distant second. Among other problems, a REAL ID requirement potentially creates an end-run around direct regulation of the right to travel. REAL ID obliterates the idea of freedom of travel, which is why it should be abolished.
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U.S. Poll Finds Shifting Vaccine Trust Amid Health Agency Overhauls
Trust in vaccine information from government health agencies has shifted along partisan lines following health agency leadership changes and major agency restructuring under the Trump administration.
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As U.S. Doubles Down on Fossil Fuels, Communities Will Have to Adapt to the Consequences − Yet Climate Adaptation Funding Is on the Chopping Block
It’s no secret that warming temperatures, wildfires and flash floods are increasingly affecting lives across the United States. With the U.S. government now planning to ramp up fossil fuel use, the risks of these events are likely to become even more pronounced. Yet, the White House is proposing to eliminate funding for climate adaptation science in the next federal budget: With climate extremes likely to increase in the coming years, losing adaptation science will leave the United States even more vulnerable to future climate hazards.
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What if Bin Laden Was Killed in the Era of Generative AI?
By leveraging machine learning to produce AI-generated content, adversaries can weaponize synthetic media, making fact and fiction nearly indistinguishable. The death—or not—of combatant leaders is prime example of the magnitude of the challenge this emerging reality poses.
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Memes and Conflict: Study Shows Surge of Imagery and Fakes Can Precede International and Political Violence
The widespread use of social media during times of political trouble and violence has made it harder to prevent conflict and build peace.
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Trump Administration Issues Restrictive Executive Order to Govern Gain-of-Function Research
Last week President Trump signed an executive order which imposes new restrictions on gain-of-function (GoF) research. Scientists and biosecurity experts say it is not unreasonable to review the security measures governing GoF research, but that the administration has used a definition of GoF which is too broad, vague, and inaccurate, raising the concern that the United States will become less safe, and less prepared for unforeseen biothreats, as essential research and important studies would be hobbled because of the wide net cast by the executive order.
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Gain-of-Function Research Is More Than Just Tweaking Risky Viruses – It’s a Routine and Essential Tool in All Biology Research
Updates to current oversight are not unreasonable, but blanket bans or additional restrictions on gain-of-function research do not make society safer. Gain-of-function experiments are not inherently risky or the purview of mad scientists. In fact, gain-of-function approaches are a fundamental tool in biology. Misunderstanding the term “gain of function” as something nefarious comes at the cost of progress in human health.
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Texas House Advances Bill That Would Prohibit Land Sales to People and Entities from Certain Countries
The legislation had only pertained to countries the government deemed national security threats. A last-minute change would let the governor add more countries to the ban.
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Chicago Economist Argues for Social Intervention on Gun Violence
In his new book, University of Chicago’s Jens Ludwig makes the case for a pragmatic approach. Instead of waiting for the U.S. to solve gun violence by addressing its social problems, incarcerating people, and reducing the number of guns in circulation, he argues for a short-term solution: social intervention in places most affected by interpersonal violence.
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Apprentices Needed: Construction Shortages Threaten American Growth
U.S. plans for new factories, new tech hubs—even new homes—are about to crash into one very inconvenient fact: Not enough people work in construction to turn those plans into actual, hammer-and-nail reality. Not even close.
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Mass Layoffs, Sweeping Funding Cuts Threaten U.S. Public Health
The first 100 days of the Trump administration saw more than 20,000 jobs in the public health field terminated and billions of dollars in funding axed. The proposed 2026 budged calls for additional cuts of $40 billion to HHS budget.
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Trump’s NIH Axed Research Grants Even After a Judge Blocked the Cuts, Internal Records Show
Many of the canceled grants appear to have focused on subjects that the administration claims are unscientific or that the agency should no longer focus on under new priorities, such as gender identity, vaccine hesitancy and diversity, equity and inclusion.
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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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Texas May Put Restraints on New Big Businesses Hoping to Tap into the Energy Grid
Texas will need a lot more energy in the future. According to ERCOT, the state’s energy demand may double in six years.
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
No Nation Is an Island: The Dangers of Modern U.S. Isolationism
The resurgence of isolationist sentiment in American politics is understandable but misguided. While the desire to refocus on domestic renewal is justified, retreating from the world will not bring the security, prosperity, or sovereignty that its proponents promise. On the contrary, it invites instability, diminishes U.S. influence, and erodes the democratic order the U.S. helped forge.
Fragmented by Design: USAID’s Dismantling and the Future of American Foreign Aid
The Trump administration launched an aggressive restructuring of U.S. foreign aid, effectively dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The humanitarian and geopolitical fallout of the demise of USAID includes shuttered clinics, destroyed food aid, and China’s growing influence in the global south. This new era of American soft power will determine how, and whether, the U.S. continues to lead in global development.
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?
In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.