• States Rush to Combat AI Threat to Elections

    This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. Congress has done little to address the issue, but states are moving aggressively to respond — though questions remain about how effective any new measures to combat AI-created disinformation will be.

  • Decline of Golden Age for American Jews

    Franklin Foer recounts receding antisemitism of past 100 years, but recent signs of resurgence of hate and historical pattern of scapegoating tell us that the golden age for Jews in America is coming to an end. “When things [happen] that are difficult to comprehend, like a pandemic, people begin searching for something to blame,” Foer explained. As happened in Europe during the Middle Ages when the Black Plague hit, that “something” was the Jews. “People may not even realize that they have this reservoir of narratives. But when events happen, Jews get depicted as the villains.” He cited Trump’s disparagement of former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and philanthropist George Soros. Once such antisemitism became acceptable, he said, “it started pouring out.”

  • Tweaking U.S. Trade Policy Could Hold the Key to Reducing Migration from Central America

    Small changes to U.S. trade policy could significantly reduce the number of migrants arriving at the southern border. The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR. was aimed at encouraging trade and investment ties. But restrictive provisions, particularly its rules of origin, have hindered the region’s ability to benefit fully from the agreement. Loosening the rules to allow for new fabrics would not only attract investment and create more jobs for Central Americans, it could also reduce immigration from the region by as much as 67%, according to our estimates.

  • Five Arrested for Trafficking Military Grade Firearms to Mexican Drug Cartel

    Five individuals were arrested in Laredo, Hebbronville, and Falls City, Texas, last week for trafficking military grade firearms to a drug cartel in Mexico. The arms traffickers used straw purchasers to procure the firearms from a variety of sources in the Western, Southern, and Northern Districts of Texas.

  • Safeguarding U.S. Agriculture and Food Supply

    DHS S&T conducts research aiming to ensure that U.S. domestic agriculture systems are resilient against disturbances that could cause food shortages, sickness or injuries, and economic crises.

  • Major Bridge Accidents Caused by Ships and Barges

    Experts say there is much to be done in improving bridges which were built for smaller vessels in a different era, even with modern regulations and design codes in place. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in 2021, which includes $110 billion for roads, bridges and major infrastructure projects, was a step in the right direction, but that it is far from the $4.5 trillion that studies have suggested are needed to upgrade American infrastructure to the target level of safety and efficiency.

  • Moscow Attack Shows Troubling, Lethal Reach of ISIS

    The mass casualty theater attack in Moscow was a reminder that affiliates of the Islamic State have reorganized and infiltrated even powerful states. ISIS has staged over half-a-dozen attacks in Russia since 2016. The movement has long deemed Russia as much of an enemy of the Muslim people as the United States.

  • Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians

    An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.

  • Moscow Attack: Why Intelligence Agencies Share Information

    Intelligence agencies are secretive, gathering information to bolster national security or help their governments make political decisions. But at times they share information with the intelligence services of an adversary, and when it comes to fighting terrorism, intelligence agencies are surprisingly generous about sharing information. The U.S. said it warned Russia of a potential attack like the one that took place in Moscow on March 22.

  • Small Nuclear Reactors May Be Coming to Texas, Boosted by Interest from Gov. Abbott

    A nuclear power plant hasn’t been built in Texas in decades because of cost and public fears of a major accident. Now the governor wants to find out if smaller reactors could meet the state’s growing need for on-demand power.

  • US Bolstering Philippines Amid Increasing Assertiveness by China

    The U.S. and Philippines will for the first time venture outside Manila’s territorial waters when they begin joint annual combat drills in April. Beijing claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, all of which border the sea. An international tribunal at The Hague has rejected China’s claim.

  • Lawmakers: Ban TikTok to Stop Election Misinformation! Same Lawmakers: Restrict How Government Addresses Election Misinformation!

    Forty-five Washington lawmakers have argued before the Supreme Court that government communications with social media sites about possible election interference misinformation are illegal. The lawmakers insisted that government agencies can’t even pass on information about websites that state election officials have identified as disinformation, even if the agencies don’t request that any action be taken. Yet just last week the vast majority of those same lawmakers said the government’s interest in removing election interference misinformation from social media justifies banning a site used by 150 million Americans.

  • U.S. Election: Turning Off TikTok Is a Big Risk for the Democrats

    Popular social media platform TikTok stands accused of holding US data in China, fostering censorship, and spreading disinformation. Its popularity poses a dilemma for US politicians, but especially Democrats who have heavily relied on the app to reach its core base of young voters.

  • Enforcing Texas’ New Immigration Law May Be Challenging, Even for Authorities That Support It

    A new law allowing local authorities to deport migrants remains tied up in court. Even if it goes back into effect, logistical challenges could complicate enforcement. S.B. 4 remains temporarily blocked while a federal appeals court weighs a challenge from Texas to a lower court’s ruling that struck the law down. The lower court found that the law “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”

  • Preventing Another 'Jan. 6' Starts by Changing How Elections Are Certified, Experts Say

    The 2024 presidential election may be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but preventing a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021 — when false claims of a stolen election promoted by Donald Trump and his allies led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol —will be top of mind this election year. Research finds broad support among public for nonpartisan certification commissions.