PandemicFEMA’s Initial Response to COVID-19 Published 15 October 2021 During the first months of FEMA’s response to the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, the United States faced a debilitating shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare personnel and ventilators for seriously ill patients in hospitals. DHS IG examined the effectiveness of FEMA’s response. During the first months

SurveillanceCalif. Sheriff Sued for Sharing Drivers’ License Plate Data With ICE, CBP, Other Out-of-State Agencies Published 15 October 2021 License plate scans occur through Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs): high-speed cameras mounted in a fixed location or atop police cars moving through the community that automatically capture all license plates that come into view, recording

Nuclear DetectionQuick Detection of Uranium Isotopes Helps Safeguard Nuclear Materials Published 15 October 2021 Researchers have developed a rapid way to measure isotopic ratios of uranium and plutonium collected on environmental swipes, which could help International Atomic Energy Agency analysts detect the presence of undeclared nuclear activities or material. Analytical chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak

DisastersU.S. Hit with $18 Billion Weather and Climate Disasters So Far This Year Published 14 October 2021 The United States saw an unprecedented eighteen separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the first nine months of the year, September 2021 was the 5th-warmest September on record. The United States saw an unprecedented eighteen separate billion-dollar weather

China WatchWill China Surpass the US in Military Air Superiority? By John Xie Published 14 October 2021 The Pentagon’s multibillion-dollar investment in advanced warplanes, weapons systems, satellites and aircraft carriers has made air power a central part of America’s global projection of military might. However, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is rapidly modernizing, and military

CybersecurityIs There Such a Thing as a Safe Algorithm? Talk of Regulation Gathers Momentum By Tanner Stening Published 14 October 2021 There is now wide agreement among experts and politicians that regulatory changes are needed to protect users, particularly young children and girls, who are vulnerable to mental health problems and body image issues that

Truth DecayEnough with the Quackery, Pinker Says By Colleen Walsh Published 14 October 2021 “Another contributor [to the opposition to vaccines] is the Myside bias, probably the most powerful of all the cognitive biases, namely, if something becomes an article of faith within your own coalition, and if promoting it earns you status, that is

Water SecurityMaking Desalinated Water Safer, Cheaper Published 14 October 2021 Approximately 80 percent of drinking water in Israel is desalinated water, coming from the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli scientists and colleagues develop an effective and low-cost way to remove toxic boron from water in the process of desalination. Approximately 80 percent of drinking water in Israel is

Flash FloodsSeismic Forensics and Its Importance for Early Warning Published 14 October 2021 A February 2021 rockslide and the subsequent flood , in India’s Dhauli Ganga Valley, had killed at least a hundred people and destroyed two hydroelectric power plants. The analysis of this flood disaster in the Himalaya may help establish an early warning

VaccinesVaccination Could Have Prevented at Least 90,000 U.S. Deaths Since June: Kaiser Report Published 13 October 2021 A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that at least 90,000 COVID-19 deaths of unvaccinated adults since June could have been prevented with vaccines. Most of the preventable deaths — about 49,000 — occurred in