• Strengthening U.S. Government’s Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogen Framework, Dual Use Research

    Group of scientists, public health experts, policy researchers propose strengthening of U.S. government’s policies regarding enhanced potential pandemic pathogen framework and dual use research of concern.

  • Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories May Not Be Increasing

    A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time. The new findings challenge widespread perceptions by the public, scholars, journalists, and policymakers.

  • Were Participants in the Jan. 6 Attack Extremists? Protesters? Patriots?

    Survey finds most view the rioters negatively, but much depends on how you feel about Black Lives Matter and gun ownership. American views of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack do not vary much by race overall, but Black Lives Matter supporters, regardless of race, age, or sex, tend to view the attackers more negatively, and white gun owners are more likely to see them in a positive light.

  • Pegasus Spyware Maker NSO Is Conducting a Lobbying Campaign to Get Off U.S. Blacklist

    The cybersecurity firm has invested heavily in top lobbyists and law firms in an effort to lift restrictions on doing business in America. NSO is hoping the Israeli prime minister will raise the issue with Joe Biden when the two meet this week.

  • Diametrically Opposed Social Media Users Starting to Agree: Enough is Enough

    Despite major differences of opinion on the motives behind and solutions to mass gun violence, right-leaning respondents who favor gun rights and left-leaning proponents of gun control are starting to converge in their belief that enough is enough and change is needed.

  • American Gun Culture Is Based on Frontier Mythology – but Ignores How Common Gun Restrictions Were in the Old West

    In large measure, America’s gun culture – that is, the willingness of many Americans to accept gun violence as an inevitable side effect of a free and armed, if more violent, society – is rooted in an image of the Wild West in which a lone, armed person could stand up and save the day. Many Americans see the gun as both symbolizing and guaranteeing individual liberty. But this image of America’s frontier past —and the mythology of the Wild West, which romanticizes guns, outlaws, and rugged individualism — ignore the fact the gun control was widespread and common in the Old West.

  • High Incarceration Rates May Not Help U.S. Citizens Feel Safer

    The U.S. is the world leader in incarceration rates, spending $80 billion a year to imprison 2 million people. But despite these practices aiming to help Americans feel safer, a new study suggests they may not result in the intended effect.

  • Another Mass Shooting Leaves U.S. Bracing for More

    This week’s Independence Day massacre in a Chicago suburb is highlighting the challenge now facing U.S. law enforcement and homeland security officials — an environment in which almost any public event could come under attack with few, if any, signals for authorities to detect in advance. DHS has been warning for months of a “dynamic and complex” threat environment, most recently in a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin last month, yet even armed with that knowledge, authorities were not able to see any signs or find any evidence that might have allowed them to stop the mass shooting at the Highland Park, Illinois.

  • DOJ Sues Arizona Over Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Voter Registration

    DOJ on Tuesday said it was suing Arizona over its new proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. DOJ says the Arizona law violates the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. DOJ also says that the Arizona voter registration requirement “flouts” a 2013 Supreme Court decision – in a 7-2 decision — which rejected an earlier attempt by the state to implement a similar mandate.

  • Jan. 6 Hearings Highlight Problems with Certification of Presidential Elections and Potential Ways to Fix Them

    The televised hearings held by the House Jan. 6 Committee highlighted the lack of clarity regarding how Congress counts presidential electoral votes — a lack of clarity which was exploited by former president Donald Trump in his attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election. Members of Congress publicly aired baseless claims that the election results were in doubt, while Vice President Michael Pence was pressured to exercise power he does not have to unilaterally refuse to count electoral votes from some states or indefinitely delay counting. Congress cannot prevent all mischief, but it can reduce the possibility of mischief in the future.

  • Supreme Court: Biden Can Terminate “Remain in Mexico” Program

    Almost a year after the Supreme Court allowed a federal judge in Texas to order the Biden administration to restart the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy, also known as the “Remain in Mexico program, the Supreme Court on Thursday, 30 June, ruled in the Biden administration’s favor, allowing President Biden to end MPP.

  • Announcing the Electric Resilience Toolkit

    A new Electric Resilience Toolkit aims to support policymakers and stakeholders working on issues around electric sector regulation and climate resilience planning. Such planning is essential to ensure electricity infrastructure is designed and operated in a way that accounts for the impacts of climate change—impacts that are already being felt and which will only intensify in coming years.

  • Will Closing the “Boyfriend Loophole” in Gun Legislation Save lives? Here’s What the Research Says

    If you have two domestic abusers who have both committed the same severe physical violence against their partners, but one of them is married to their intimate partner while the other isn’t, then only the domestic abuser who is married could be prohibited from having a gun. Among the provisions of the bipartisan gun safety bill passed by Congress, is one which closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” which allows some people with a record of domestic violence to still buy firearms.

  • Public Safety Experts Warn: NYC’s Crime-Fighting Strategy Could Backfire

    As city leaders double down on policing amid a spike in shootings, a new idea is gaining hold among experts: could less policing actually reduce gun violence?

  • Supreme Court Sweeps Aside New York’s Limits on Carrying a Gun, Raising Second Amendment Rights to New Heights

    The core argument of the 23 June Supreme Court decision in a case involving New York State law is that gun rights are to be treated the same as other hallowed rights like the freedom of speech or freedom of religion recognized in the First Amendment. For most of the history of the court, Second Amendment rights have been seen as distinct, more dangerous, and thus more open to regulation. The majority of justices have now changed that approach to the Second Amendment.