• In an Era of Dam Removal, California Is Building More

    Earlier this year, the federal government finalized $216 million dollars in funding for a controversial dam project south of the Klamath River, adding to the $1 billion in direct grants already pledged to the project known as Sites Reservoir. This would be California’s first major new reservoir in half a century. Proponents say a new reservoir off the Sacramento River is environmentally friendly.

  • Germany Foils Russian Plot to Assassinate German Arms Company Chief

    German politicians have voiced horror over a report that Russia planned to murder a German arms company boss. US intelligence is said to have uncovered the plot against Rheinmetall chief Armin Papperger.

  • Pulp Fiction: People, Not Paper, Are Leaking States Secrets

    The intelligence community must embrace emerging information technology and abandon paper-based products. Getting rid of paper, however, would not fix the underlying problem. Instead of restricting paper, the U.S. counterintelligence community must risk a forward posture of machine learning and AI adaptation to detect disclosures and espionage before it happens.

  • Hundreds of Tech Companies Want to Cash In on Homeland Security Funding. Here's Who They Are and What They're Selling.

    Whenever concerns grow about the security along the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration, the U.S. government generate dollars — hundreds of millions of dollars — for tech conglomerates and start-ups. Who are the vendors who supply or market the technology for the U.S. government’s increasingly AI-powered homeland security efforts, including the so-called “virtual wall” of surveillance along the southern border with Mexico?

  • Will China's Economy Ever Overtake the U.S.'s?

    China’s ambition to be the world’s largest economy has been dented by COVID-19, the real estate crisis and an aging population. Boosting growth will be the prime focus at a Communist Party meeting.

  • Russian Election Meddlers Hurting Biden, Helping Trump, U.S. Intelligence Warns

    Russia is turning to a familiar playbook in its attempt to sway the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, looking for ways to boost the candidacy of former President Donald Trump by disparaging the campaign of incumbent President Joe Biden, according to American intelligence officials.

  • Anti-Israel Sentiments Emerge as the Strongest Predictor of Belief in Anti-Jewish Tropes Among Students

    Belief in classic antisemitic tropes increased on four University of California (UC) campuses after Oct. 7, 2023, as did negative sentiments toward Israel. This change in attitude is happening in a broader context of dramatically increasing antisemitism across the country.

  • Businesses Are Harvesting Our Biometric Data. The Public Needs Assurances on Security

    Visual data capturing and analysis are particularly critical compared to non-visual data. That’s why its growing use by businesses raises so many concerns about privacy and consent. While the public remains unaware of the extent to which their visual data is being captured and utilized, their information will be vulnerable to misuse or exploitation.

  • Some Firms Resisting Pressure to Take Sides in 'Chip War'

    New research has revealed why German firms are refusing to join the United States’ tech trade war with China over semiconductor chips, a key component in modern electrical devices.

  • More States Consider Voter ID Laws Amid Conflicting Research on Their Impact

    36 states require some form of identification to cast a ballot. Voting rights advocates cite research showing that such rules block many legitimate voters — especially young, Black and Latino voters — from the polls. But backers of voter ID laws point to other studies which suggest that the rules have had a minimal effect on voter turnout, partly because Democrats often respond to them by amping up their voter mobilization efforts.

  • Nonproliferation Researcher Is Retracing Reactor Steps

    Nuclear materials can produce vast amounts of energy. This unique attribute can be harnessed through reactors to provide a reliable, low-carbon electricity source. It can also be used to make weapons.

  • Silicon Valley Steps Up Screening of Chinese Employees to Counter Espionage

    Leading U.S. technology companies reportedly have increased security screening of employees and job applicants, which experts say is necessary to counter the cyber espionage threat from China. Applicantswith family or other ties to China are thought to be particularly vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.

  • 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.”