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“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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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Islamic State Is Evolving, but Has the World Taken Its Eyes Off the Ball?
US-backed forces declared in 2019 that the Islamic State (IS) group had been destroyed. But as the past few years have shown, that only marked the end of its quasi-state that controlled territory in Iraq and Syria — not the threat it continues to present.
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Killing Grants That Have Saved Lives: Trump’s Cuts Signal End to Government Work on Terrorism Prevention
Tens of millions of dollars slated for violence prevention have been cut or are frozen as DOGE steamrolls the national security sector. “This is the government getting out of the terrorism business,” said one grant recipient.
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American Couple Held in Mexican Maximum-Security Prison Over Timeshare Dispute
A Michigan couple has been detained in a maximum-security Mexican prison over a timeshare agreement dispute. American Express investigated the matter and sided with the couple, reversing the charges, but the Mexican authorities arrested them on charges of defrauding the hotel chain.
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Foreign Influence in Higher Ed Addressed in Expanded Oversight Bill
The DETERRENT Act is billed –and its acronym derived from –as “defending education transparency and ending rogue regimes engaging in nefarious transactions.” It aims to increase transparency and tighten foreign gift reporting requirements for higher education institutions. The top three countries in giving in 2024 were Qatar ($342.8 million), China ($176.6 million) and Saudi Arabia ($175.2 million).
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Noncitizens Cannot Vote in New York City’s Local Elections, State High Court Rules
Though few localities allow noncitizens to vote, Republicans have made it a focus.
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Under Pressure from Trump, ICE Is Pushing Legal Boundaries
Confrontations with judges are grabbing attention, but more quietly a pattern of questionable arrests shows the extent to which the administration is willing to test norms and laws.
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Understanding Russian Hybrid Warfare Elections in Moldova and Georgia
While most Americans would be hard pressed to locate Moldova or Georgia on a map, these elections serve as a lesson in how Russia employs hybrid warfare to undermine U.S. security and advance Russia’s interests globally.
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Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel Bias Found in Leading AI Models, New ADL Report Finds
A comprehensive evaluation found that all four large language models (LLMs) — GPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and Llama (Meta) — exhibited measurable anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias, though the degree and nature of bias varied across models.
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More headlines
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.