• Why Did the Miami Apartment Building Collapse? And Are Others in Danger?

    It is too early to tell what caused the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Tower, but the following causes are now being examined: a progressive collapse as a result of a failure of a primary structural element, which then causes failure of adjoining members; the building was constructed on reclaimed wetlands, which may have been sinking; there was also construction work ongoing nearby, which could have disturbed the foundations; if there was a reduction in the capacity of the soil to support these loads, such as in the event of a sinkhole, there would be nothing underpinning the building.

  • In Launching of Anti-Crime Campaign, Biden Cites Old Data

    Ninety percent of guns found at crime scenes were sold by just 5% of gun dealers, President Joe Biden said Wednesday while unveiling his anti-crime initiative. But the 2000 ATF report has long been considered out of date, and irrelevant to today’s gun control debate. Supporters of the president’s initiative and gun-safety groups note that Biden had to rely on the 2000 report because there are no more recent ones: In 2003, Congress, under pressure from the gun lobby, passed legislation that prevents ATF from releasing the data.

  • Islamic World “Actively Collaborating” with China's Global Campaign against Uyghurs: Researchers

    A new report documents how governments — predominantly from Muslim-majority countries across the Middle East and Asia — have cooperated with Beijing to surveil, detain, and repatriate Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities from China who have fled Xinjiang.

  • Rethinking Research Security

    How can or should the United States protect the gains of innovation without damaging the very research base it wants to protect? Ainikki Riikonen and Emily Weinstein write that the U.S. government has rightfully identified the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as an adversary intent on stealing technology for its national interests, and the Department of Justice established the China Initiative as a countermeasure. “But the China Initiative misses the mark on an effective approach to research security. It is out of alignment with evolving research security initiatives in the rest of the federal government…. In its current form, research security under the China Initiative may damage America’s ability to innovate and continue defining the cutting edge of technological research in the long term.”

  • “Red Flag” Gun Laws and State Efforts to Block Local Legislation

    “Red flag” gun laws—which allow law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from a person at risk of harming themselves or others—are gaining attention at the state and federal levels, but are under scrutiny by legislators who deem them unconstitutional. Legal scholars outline how such laws can reduce gun violence and still protect constitutional rights.

  • Terrorists Tried to Take Advantage of the Pandemic: EUROPOL’s Report

    Terrorists – Jihadists, right-wing, and left-wing — use any opportunity to erode democratic structures, spread fear, and polarize society. In 2020, terrorist organizations attempted to take advantage of the global pandemic to spread hate propaganda and exacerbate mistrust in public institutions. Terrorist groups made use of simple weaponry, easy-to-make explosive devices – and the internet.

  • Iran Says It Foiled “Sabotage Attack” on Nuclear Building

    State media said the attack occurred near Karaj, some 40 kilometers west of Tehran. Iran has experienced a series of suspected sabotage attacks targeting its nuclear program in recent months.

  • Reflections on Iran’s Production of 60% Enriched Uranium

    As of about June 14, Iran had reportedly produced 6.5 kg 60% enriched uranium (hexafluoride mass) or 4.4 kg uranium mass only. Iran has produced 60% enriched uranium at an average daily rate of 0.126 kg/day since May 22. Iran’s activity must be viewed as practicing breakout to make enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons.

  • New Report Offers Chilling Details of China’s hidden Prisons

    A new illustrated report offers a disturbing look into China’s Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL). The report depicts RSDL with artwork, satellite images, and architectural sketches to bring the reality of this secret prison system to light.

  • Can China Keep Rising?

    “The East is rising,” Chinese leaders took to declaring around the time U.S. President Joe Biden entered office, “and the West is declining.” Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the executive editor of Foreign Affairs, writes that while the second part of that declaration may draw eye rolls or angry objections in Washington and allied capitals, “the first has become a point of near consensus: a self-assured China, bolstered by years of dazzling economic performance and the forceful leadership of Xi Jinping, has claimed its place as a world power and accepted that long-term competition with the United States is all but inevitable as a result.” He notes, though, that “past performance does not guarantee future results.”

  • How America Turned the Tables on Huawei

    The United States started warning allies and partners in 2019 that having the Chinese telecom firm Huawei build their 5G telecom infrastructure risked exposing their citizens’ and their official data to Chinese state surveillance. The Trump administration argued that countries should keep Huawei out, both for their own sake and for the sake of collective security among democratic allies.

  • Texas Must Address Groundwater Future: Study

    Long-term water security is essential for the future of Texas, and the state acutely needs a common law system that can balance world-scale agricultural activity, industrial development and urban growth while also protecting private property rights, according to new research.

  • It’s Time to Talk about Lab Safety

    A new website, GlobalBioLabs.org, is an interactive web-based map of global Biosafety Level 4 facilities and biorisk management policies. Only 17 of the 23 countries that house BSL-4 laboratories have national biosafety associations or are members of international partnerships.

  • White House Launches Broader Scrutiny of Foreign Tech

    An executive order signed by President Joe Biden earlier this month dropped a Trump-era measure that barred Americans from downloading TikTok and several other Chinese smartphone apps. But analysts say the order also broadens the scrutiny of foreign-controlled technology.

  • Puerto Rico is Prone to More Flooding Than the Island is Prepared to Handle

    Puerto Rico is not ready for another hurricane season, let alone the effects of climate change, according to a new study that shows the island’s outstanding capacity to produce record-breaking floods and trigger a large number of landslides.