Extremism“I Felt Hate More Than Anything”: How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War By Gisela Pérez de Acha, Kathryn Hurd, and Ellie Lightfoot Published 20 April 2021 Steven Carrillo, a 32-year-old Air Force sergeant, wanted to incite a second Civil War in the United States by killing police officers he viewed

China watchLegislation Introduced to Ban TikTok from Government Devices Published 20 April 2021 U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Rick Scott (R-FL) have introduced legislation that would ban all federal employees from using TikTok on government devices. The U.S. State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and TSA

Power gridTexas House Targets Power Grid Flaw that Cut Electricity to Natural Gas Facilities and Worsened February Blackouts By Sami Sparber Published 20 April 2021 The lower chamber gave initial approval Monday to a series of bill responding to this year’s catastrophic power outages during a deadly winter storm. The Texas House on Monday gave initial

Water securityInterstate Water Wars Are Heating Up Along with the Climate By Robert Glennon Published 20 April 2021 Interstate water disputes are as American as apple pie. States often think a neighboring state is using more than its fair share from a river, lake or aquifer that crosses borders. Climate stresses are raising the stakes. Interstate

Chemical weaponsUN Watchdog Confirms Assad Used Chemical Weapons against Civilians Published 16 April 2021 The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Monday released the findings of the second report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT). IIT concludes that units of the Syrian Arab Air Force used chemical weapons in Saraqib

ARGUMENT: Biological destructionThe Importance of “Biological Destruction” in Responsible Coverage of Xinjiang Published 16 April 2021 Recent news coverage of the ongoing situation in Xinjiang has focused on whether or not those events meet the international legal definition of genocide.The majority of nonacademic pieces seem to presume, however, that if genocide is occurring, it must

Iran’s nukesIran Says 60 Percent Enrichment “Under Way” at Natanz Site Published 16 April 2021 Iranian officials say the country has begun enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, higher than it has ever done before, despite ongoing talks between Tehran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Under the 2015 nuclear deal,

Conspiracy theory“Deprogramming” QAnon Followers Ignores Free Will and Why They Adopted the Beliefs in the First Place By Paul Thomas Published 16 April 2021 Recent calls to deprogram QAnon conspiracy followers are steeped in discredited notions about brainwashing. As popularly imagined, brainwashing is a coercive procedure that programs new long-term personality changes. Deprogramming, also coercive,

The Russia connectionU.S. Expels Russian Diplomats, Imposes New Sanctions on Russia in Retaliation for Hacking, “harmful activities” Published 15 April 2021 The U.S. has imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia targeting what it calls the “harmful” foreign activities of Moscow. U.S. intelligence officials have pointed the finger at Russia for a massive hack

AfghanistanAfghanistan Withdrawal Could Pose ‘Significant Risk’ to U.S.: Intelligence Officials By Jeff Seldin Published 15 April 2021 The plan to pull troops from Afghanistan could give terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State a chance to regenerate the capabilities they would need to carry out an attack against the United States, according to top U.S.