WAR IN UKRAINERussian Casualties in Ukraine Invasion Top 75,000, U.S. Says Published 28 July 2022 More than 75,000 Russian soldiers — about half the force sent by Moscow to invade Ukraine in February — are believed to have been killed or wounded, a U.S. lawmaker said after attending a classified briefing with administration officials. The

CRYPTOGRAPHYSecure Cryptography with Real-World Devices Is Now Possible Published 28 July 2022 New research published in Nature explains how an international team of researchers have, for the first time, experimentally implemented a type of quantum cryptography considered to be the ‘ultimate’, ‘bug-proof’ means of communication. In an experiment built upon three decades of fundamental research, experimental work at

ARGUMENT: TIGHTENING ELECTION RULESCorrecting Misconceptions About the Electoral Count Reform Act Published 28 July 2022 It has been apparent for a long time that the Electoral Count Act (ECA)—the 1887 law designed to ensure that presidential elections operate with integrity—is flawed. These flaws were on full display during the counting of electoral votes in 2020-2021,

GRID RESILIENCETool Estimates Costs of Power Interruptions Published 28 July 2022 Berkeley Lab-led initiative helps electric companies improve grid reliability and resilience. The initiative aims to update and upgrade the Interruption Cost Estimate (ICE) Calculator – a publicly available, online tool – which estimates the economic consequences of power interruptions. Berkeley Lab has initiated a national

ENERGY SECURITYEurope’s Energy Choice By Bo Lidegaard Published 28 July 2022 Russia’s war in Ukraine and the disruption of Russian gas exports to Europe has triggered an energy crunch, with price spikes unlike anything seen since 1973. And the situation will get worse before it gets better. Responding to the immediate energy crisis in the

WATER SECURITYA Water Strategy for the Parched West: Have Cities Pay Farmers to Install More Efficient Irrigation Systems By Robert Glennon Published 28 July 2022 Unsustainable water practices, drought and climate change are causing this crisis across the U.S. Southwest. To achieve a meaningful reduction in water use, states need to focus on the region’s

OUR PICKSThe CHIPS Act | Most Important Hacking Targets |The Burning of the American West, and more Published 28 July 2022 ·  Officials Are Racing to Protect the Absolutely Most Important Hacking Targets ·  Lawmakers Question DOJ’s National Security Division on Cybersecurity, Surveillance ·  MS-13 Member Sentenced for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Murder Following Multi-Agency Probe ·  NATO Is

COVID-19 ORIGINSCOVID-19 Origins Linked to Wildlife Sales at Chinese Market; Other Scenarios Extremely Unlikely: Studies Published 27 July 2022 Analyses based on locations and viral sequencing of early cases indicate the COVID-19 pandemic started in Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, with two separate jumps from animals to humans. One of the most intriguing, and politically fraught,

FLOODSNew Flood Maps Clarify the Risk Homeowners Face Published 27 July 2022 Flooding in urban areas cost Americans more than $106 billion between 1960 and 2016, damaging property, disrupting businesses and claiming lives in the process. Determining which areas are most likely to flood amid ever-changing land use and shifting rainfall and climate patterns can

CHINA WATCHChina Tried to Infiltrate Federal Reserve: Senate Report By Rob Garver Published 27 July 2022 Fed Chair Jerome Powell and a senior member of Congress are at odds over a report issued Tuesday by Senate Republicans alleging that China is trying to infiltrate the Federal Reserve and that the central bank has done too