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Arrests in January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack Top 950
Almost two years after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the number of people arrested the sprawling federal investigation into the riot has crossed 950. That number represents less than half of an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 supporters of former President Donald Trump believed to have breached the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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Two Charged with Attacks on Four Washington State Power Substations
Two men were arrested earlier this week following attacks on four power substations in Washington state. DHS and the FBI have repeatedly warned in recent months of a rise in threats to critical infrastructure by anti-government groups and domestic extremists.
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Plum Island One Step Closer to Permanent Preservation
Plum Island is one step closer to permanent preservation. Plum Island is currently owned by the United States government and has been home to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center for nearly 70 years. The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of excessing the island, opening it up for transfer to another entity.
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Scholars at Western Universities Rethink Russian Studies in Wake of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
In Ukraine, Moscow’s unprovoked war has killed tens of thousands of people and laid cities and towns to waste. At universities across the West, it has thrust Russia’s history of imperialism and colonialism to the forefront of Slavic and Eurasian academic discussion — from history and political science to art and literature.
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Far-Left Extremist Groups in the United States
Far-left extremism in the United States was most active during the period between the 1960s and 1980s. In the 1990s, a new type of left-extremism began to emerge – what the FBI calls “special-interest extremism,” as expressed by groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The far left encompasses multiple ideologies, but security experts believe that a large percentage of far-left radicals subscribe to at least one of three main classifications: anarchism, communism/socialism/Marxism, and autonomous radicals.
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Is Ranked Choice Voting Constitutional?
Aside from whether ranked choice voting (RCV) is a good idea as policy or not, the question is sometimes raised whether it’s consistent with the U.S. Constitution.
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U.S. Capitol Police Chief Highlights Improvements Capitol Security
During the last two years, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) has been working around the clock to implement more than 100 significant improvements. “Today we are clearly better off than we were before the January 6 attack,” USCP chief says.
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Northern Ireland Reconciliation Bill Highlights Complicated Role of Catholic Church During the Troubles
It has now been more than two decades since the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998, formally ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland. But the most recent attempt by the British government to “deal with the past” – the legacy and reconciliation bill – is itself provoking conflict.
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Europe Faces a Chilling Couple of Years, but Russia Will Lose the Energy Showdown
In the European Union this winter, fears of rolling blackouts triggered by Russian energy export cuts amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine have subsided thanks to good luck, good weather, and quick action. “In the long run, Russia simply can’t win this energy war,” says an expert.
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‘Beijing’s Plan to Crush Taiwan Under the “Wheels of History”’
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ideological commitment to the unification of Taiwan is presented as the ultimate demonstration of China’s development under the CCP leadership, what party chairman Xi Jinping calls the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’.
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U.S. Gun Violence Soars in 2022
Across America, gun violence surged in many communities in 2022 as overall death rates from firearms rose to the highest level in nearly three decades. The year saw a near-record number of mass casualty shooting incidents, including several motivated by hate.
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Coughing Up Billions of Dollars to Save Florida’s Insurance Market
In the three months since Hurricane Ian struck Florida, the state’s fragile property insurance market has been teetering on the brink of collapse. The historic storm caused over $50 billion in damage, and dealt a body blow to an industry that was already struggling to stay standing: Several insurance companies had already collapsed this year even before the hurricane, and major funders are now poised to abandon those that remain.
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China Launches WTO Dispute Over U.S. Chip Export Controls
Capping a year of increasing tension between Washington and Beijing over advanced chips used in everything from smartphones to weapons of mass destruction, China has initiated a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the United States for imposing wide-ranging semiconductor export controls on China.
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U.S. Military Expert: “Ukraine's Position on the Battlefield Is Very Strong”
John Spencer says Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine anytime soon but he predicts Ukraine will ultimately prevail. He says the recent decision by Washington to deliver a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine may not be a game-changing move, but it could trigger other Western allies to donate similar systems, bolstering Kyiv’s defenses.
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Major Losses Shift Islamic State, Al-Qaida's Balance of Power
Across the United States and many other Western countries, the threat from Islamist terror groups has been increasingly overshadowed by the threats from other extremist groups, but despite a rise in far-right and white-power-driven terrorist threats, counterterrorism officials have been careful not to overlook the still persistent threat from groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida., even though both the Islamic State, known as IS, ISIS or Daesh, and al-Qaida suffered significant setbacks in 2022.
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More headlines
The long view
January 6th Report Summarizes Extremist Threat – But Leaves Key Gaps
The House Jan. 6 committee’s 845-page report is unquestionably valuable, but significant questions remain largely unanswered around two interrelated components of the committee’s investigation: the scope of law enforcement and intelligence failures preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and what concrete steps should be taken to combat both those failures and the rising threat of domestic violent extremism in the aftermath of January 6th.
Protecting Democracy: Jan. 6 Panel’s Recommendations, Proposed Reforms
On Thursday, 22 December, the House committee examining last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol issued its long-awaited final report. The final report also proposes eleven reforms aiming to ensure that Trump’s attempt to subvert the will of the voters and prevent the peaceful transition of power from one president to the next would not be repeated.
Far-Left Extremist Groups in the United States
Far-left extremism in the United States was most active during the period between the 1960s and 1980s. In the 1990s, a new type of left-extremism began to emerge – what the FBI calls “special-interest extremism,” as expressed by groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The far left encompasses multiple ideologies, but security experts believe that a large percentage of far-left radicals subscribe to at least one of three main classifications: anarchism, communism/socialism/Marxism, and autonomous radicals.
Concerns About Extremists Targeting U.S. Power Stations
Attacks on four power stations in Washington State over the weekend added to concerns of a possible nationwide campaign by far-right extremists to stir fears and spark civil conflict. Violent extremists “have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors,” the DHS said in a January.
New Bill Proposes Banning TikTok in the U.S.
Both the administration and Congress have moved to limit, or even ban, TikTok in the United States because of worries about China using the Chinese-owned platform to gather personal data on millions of Americans. Justin Sherman writes that “all told, it is a noteworthy piece of legislation, and it delineates between the risk of data access and the risk of content manipulation better than then-President Trump’s executive order on TikTok.”
Was George Santos Groomed to be a Russian Agent?
Among the multitude of lies and falsehoods newly elected Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has concocted, the most intriguing item – and likely the source of Santos’s most serious potential legal trouble – are his campaign finances. What is especially noticeable, and disturbing, are the generous contributions Santos has received from Viktor Vekselberg, one of Vladimir Putin’s wealthiest and most influential courtiers. “For all we know,” writes one commentator, “some foreign power may have bought itself a congressman. This isn’t outlandish speculation.”