• U.S. States Shape Foreign Policy Amid National China Unease: Research

    State-level officials such as governors, state legislators and attorneys general are shaping U.S.-China relations as the two countries navigate a strained geopolitical relationship. While the U.S. Constitution clearly states that foreign policy is the responsibility of the federal government, it also leaves space for cities and states to have international relationships and even to enter into certain kinds of agreements.

  • Reports: DHS’ Parole Programs Allowed Inadmissible Violent Criminals to Enter, Stay in U.S.

    A wave of violent crime has befallen Americans nationwide connected to parole programs created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to several reports. A pattern has emerged of single men illegally entering the U.S. who are considered inadmissible under federal law. Instead of being processed for removal, Border Patrol agents released them with a “notice to appear” before an immigration judge several years into the future.

  • Can the Military Disobey Orders in the SEAL Team 6 Hypothetical?

    On 1 July, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited presidential immunity decision in the sure-to-be-landmark Trump v. United States case. The majority opinion raised significant and troubling implications, but the question of just how far this new explicit immunity can go was first raised in oral argument: Can a president order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a domestic political rival? Dan Maurer writes that ‘assuming the Court is correct in its vague demarcation between official and unofficial acts, and even if such orders were probable, there are two reasons for cautious optimism—or at least cautious suspension of outright horror.”

  • How Big Is the Risk of Voter Fraud in U.S. Elections?

    Voter fraud claims are already making the rounds ahead of the November 5 elections. Are noncitizens voting illegally, and how safe are mail-in ballots and electronic voting machines?

  • More Than 100 Texas Counties Lack Plans to Curb Damage from Natural Disasters

    The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.

  • Police Are Using Drones More and Spending More for Them

    Police in Minnesota are buying and flying more drones than ever before, according to an annual report recently released by the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Minnesotan law enforcement flew their drones without a warrant 4,326 times in 2023, racking up a state-wide expense of over $1 million.

  • At Half a Mile a Week, Gov. Greg Abbott’s Border Wall Will Take Around 30 Years and $20 Billion to Build

    Three years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas would take the extraordinary step of building a state-funded wall along the Mexico border, he has 34 miles of steel bollards to show for it. Texas’ border with Mexico is 1,254-mile long.

  • A Nuclear Sword of Damocles in Orbit

    Russia is developing a nuclear-weapons-based anti-satellite (ASAT) capability, and the Western democracies must work together to prevent Moscow from deploying such a weapon. That will demand new and innovative thinking on space domain awareness and space control by the US and its allies. A continued drift forward through a strategy of hope that Russia will honor its obligations under space law even as the West is under direct threat from Moscow is a strategy for failure.

  • Breaching Snake River Dams Could Drop Reservoirs, Groundwater Levels by 100 Feet

    As the Biden administration attempts to gain support for breaching hydroelectric dams in Washington, state and federal agencies are preparing for a study on the potential implications. 

  • Denial and Distortion of the Hamas-led October 7 Attack: An Overview of False Narratives

    Since October 7, extremists and conspiracy theorists have promoted mis- and disinformation narratives about the reality of Hamas’s unprecedented, multi-pronged attack on Israel, attempting to deny or minimize the tragedy and shift the blame towards victims, a majority of whom were innocent civilians.

  • U.S.’s Terrorist Listing of European Far-Right Group Signals Fears of Rising Threat − Both Abroad and at Home

    The rise of the radical far right in Europe poses a threat not only to the continent but also to Americans at home and abroad. But while the U.S. government tends to be quick to use sanctions against perceived bad actors across the globe, when it comes to the transnational threat that far-right violence poses, successive U.S. administrations have been more coy about using another critical and effective tool: terrorist designations.

  • UN’s Global Digital Compact Is Looking Like an Authoritarian Dream

    This week, global representatives to the United Nations in New York will review the latest draft of the UN Global Digital Compact (GDC). The latest draft of the GDC is concerning. It would consolidate power within the UN, expand the reach of both the UN and national governments over digital matters and ultimately threaten the openness of the global internet.

  • Supreme Court Rules Platforms Have First Amendment Right to Decide What Speech to Carry, Free of State Mandates

    The Supreme Court last week correctly found that social media platforms, like newspapers, bookstores, and art galleries before them, have First Amendment rights to curate and edit the speech of others they deliver to their users, and the government has a very limited role in dictating what social media platforms must and must not publish.

  • New Migration Patterns Could Fuel IS Plans for U.S.: Officials

    Recent changes in global migration patterns and smuggling routes have created an opening for terror groups like the Islamic State to set their sights on the U.S. southern border.

  • Despite What Some Politicians Say, Crime Rates Are Decreasing

    Violent crime in the United States dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, but some politicians continue to assert the opposite. Criminologists caution that while the overall decline in violent crime is an indisputable fact, the story may be different in individual cities and neighborhoods.