PandemicBeijing Urges WHO Leader Not to Pursue ‘Lab Leak’ Theory By Natalie Liu Published 23 April 2021 China is lashing out at the chief of the World Health Organization for suggesting that more study is needed into the possibility that the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic initially escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. China

Securing soft targets Students Collaborate to Solve Homeland Security Challenges Published 23 April 2021 In the parlance of homeland security, soft targets are places that are easily accessible to the general public and relatively unprotected. Last month, innovative students from Arizona State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas competed in “Hardening Soft Targets”

Cyber skillsHow the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills By James Ryseff Published 23 April 2021 As software has become an ever more integral part of life, national security experts have come to recognize that the U.S. military will need to improve its software fluency if it wants to remain dominant on the battlefields of

WildfiresCalifornia’s Wildfire Season Has Lengthened, and Its Peak Is Now Earlier in the Year Published 23 April 2021 California’s wildfire problem, fueled by a concurrence of climate change and a heightened risk of human-caused ignitions in once uninhabited areas, has been getting worse with each passing year of the 21st century.Researchers have found that the

ViolenceTighter Gun Laws Help Reduce Mass Shooting Violence: Research Published 23 April 2021 President Joe Biden recently called for tougher gun laws to reduce mass shooting violence. Columbia University researchers have conducted research related to measures proposed by Biden, including on the impact of state gun laws and the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994;

ViolenceReducing Inappropriate Use of Force by Police Published 23 April 2021 A new report outlines policy and procedural recommendations for reducing use of inappropriate police force from behavioral and social science experts. “There is a crisis in the United States and beyond right now with respect to relations between police and the communities they serve,”

Nuclear fearsSyrian Missile Explodes Near Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Reactor Published 22 April 2021 A Syrian missile landed and exploded about forty miles from Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona. The IDF described the incident as unintentional: A Russia-made SA-5 was launched by a Syrian air defense unit, aiming at an IDF aircraft attacking Syrian military targets

China watchMathematics Professor and University Researcher Indicted for Grant Fraud Published 22 April 2021 A federal grand jury in Carbondale, Ill. On Wednesday returned an indictment charging a mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIUC) with two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. The prosecution

Supply chain securityNew Dashboard Allows U.S.-Mexico Supply Chain Analytics Published 22 April 2021 A new web-based dashboard is designed to predict COVID-19 threats to supply chains, share data and foster analysis. The research provides real-time risk analysis for COVID-19’s potential impacts on trade. A new web-based dashboard designed to predict COVID-19 threats to supply chains, share

Public healthStanford University Disavows Study Claiming Masks ‘Worthless’ Against COVID-19 Published 22 April 2021 The Stanford University School of Medicine issued a statement disavowing a study being circulated online that claims face masks are “worthless” against COVID-19. The author, Baruch Vainshelboim, a sports doctor with no experience in infectious disease, listed his credentials as working