• Russia targeted Sanders supporters, pushing them to vote for Trump

    As part of Russia’s broad 2016 effort to ensure Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, Russian hackers targeted supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), following his primary loss in 2016, trying to push them to vote for Donald Trump instead of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Daren Linvill, the Clemson University researcher who conducted the research of the Russian campaign, said the Russians saw Sanders as “just a tool.” “He is a wedge to drive into the Democratic Party,” resulting in lower turnout for Clinton, he said.

  • Studying Perry Mason to combat “innocence fatigue”

    Forensic science historian Professor Ian Burney is studying the influence of Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of renowned TV attorney Perry Mason, in a bid to reveal the roots of the fascination with stories about wrongful criminal conviction. Burney hopes the study will help better understand some of the challenges facing today’s worldwide “innocence projects.”

  • Israeli air strike destroys Iranian missile production, storage facility in Syria

    Satellite images released Sunday by ImageSat International (ISI) showed the impact of an airstrike, blamed on Israel, on a missile base in Syria on Saturday evening that reportedly killed Iranian personnel. Israeli analysts say that recent Israeli air strikes in Syria probably would not have passed without public Russian comment had Israel and Russia not reached an understanding designed to reduce possible friction and improve early warning between Israeli and Russian armed forces operating in Syria.

  • Weapons of mass distraction

    A sobering new report from the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center details the reach, scope, and effectiveness of Russia’s disinformation campaigns to undermine and weaken Western societies. “The messages conveyed through disinformation range from biased half-truths to conspiracy theories to outright lies. The intent is to manipulate popular opinion to sway policy or inhibit action by creating division and blurring the truth among the target population,” write the authors of the report.

  • U.K. citizens prohibited from traveling to, remaining in designated terrorist areas

    British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that British citizens who travel to overseas terrorism areas will face up to ten years in jail under new laws, which come into effect today. The legislation targets potential foreign fighters, and making it a punishable offense to enter or remain in a “designated area.”

  • German police raids Hamas-linked charities

    The German police have staged raids across Germany, targeting charities which provide support to the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel, and the EU regard Hamas a terrorist organization.

  • Islamic State: the “caliphate” is off the map for now, but will evolve in dangerous ways

    The so-called Islamic State (IS) recently lost its last remnant of territory in Syria, but observers were quick to remind the world that the war against the organization is far from over. IS is now expected to evolve, but with its defeat on the ground in Syria and Iraq, IS and its offshoots will have a more limited capacity for recruitment, indoctrination and growth.

  • China catching up to the U.S. in innovation

    If China is only a copier, not an innovator, then the competitive threat it poses to advanced economies would be limited. But there is no reason to believe China won’t follow the path of “Asian tigers” that rapidly evolved from copiers to innovators, which poses a serious threat.

  • Police foil possible terror truck attack outside Washington, D.C.

    A Maryland man has been arrested for an Islamic State-inspired terror plot to run down pedestrians with a stolen truck. Federal prosecutors will argue in a court appearance Tuesday that 28-year-old Rondell Henry should remain in detention pending trial.

  • Foiled terrorist plot targeted Colombia's president

    The Colombian government said that armed groups were plotting an attack against President Ivan Duque. The attorney general said the alleged scheme involved “a high-precision weapon.” The Colombian authorities are investigating the militant plan to target Duque during a scheduled meeting with indigenous communities on Tuesday.

  • Hate incidents are underreported. Now, there’s an app for that

    Despite the FBI recording an all-time high in hate-motivated incidents in 2017 (the most recent year’s statistics available) the number is likely much higher. Low reporting from victims to police and inconsistent reporting from police to federal authorities have created a massive gap in how we understand hate in America. Researchers from the University of Utah want to fill that gap with an app.

  • U.S. Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns

    U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned after 16 months on the job and immense pressure from the White House and public over the situation along the country’s southern border. Nielsen said later on Twitter her last day on the job will be Wednesday.

  • U.S. designates Iran's Revolutionary Guards as “foreign terrorist organization”

    The United States has designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. currently designates some sixty groups around the world as foreign terrorist organizations, but none of them is a state-run military like the IRGC.

  • Countering violent extremism (CVE): Which programs work, and why

    As countries around the world develop countering violent extremism (CVE) programs to prevent homegrown terrorism, there is a dearth of understanding about what types of such programs exist and which approaches are most effective.

  • U.S. industries turn to feds for help in economic race with China

    In the U.S. economic battle with China, the Chinese government is often portrayed as a kingmaker, making large investments in research and paving the way for Chinese companies to thrive. China, it turns out, is a good foil for U.S. industries as they ask the U.S. government to do more to help them compete globally.