By Jeff Seldin Published 8 October 2021 CIA director William Burns Thursday announced the creation of a new China Mission Center to make sure the agency’s resources and existing efforts are working together to face the growing threat. The United States top spy agency is making changes in response to what it describes as an “an

ExplosivesHow Big Was the 2020 Beirut Explosion? Published 8 October 2021 On 4 August 2020, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history pulverized a Beirut port and damaged more than half the city. The explosion resulted from the detonation of tons of ammonium nitrate, a combustible chemical compound. The explosive yield estimates varied widely,

Energy SecurityHydrogen Can Play Key Role in U.S. Decarbonization Published 8 October 2021 “Hydrogen is not really an energy source. It is rather an energy carrier or what we often call an energy vector,” says Berkeley Lab’s Ahmet Kusoglu. “So, you have to produce hydrogen from another energy source, store it, and then use or

Planetary SecurityDisrupting Asteroids to Protect the Earth Published 8 October 2021 If an asteroid is on an Earth-impacting trajectory, scientists typically want to stage a deflection, where the asteroid is gently nudged by a relatively small change in velocity, while keeping the bulk of the asteroid together. Researchers have examined how different asteroid orbits and

Nuclear WeaponsU.S. Has a Stockpile of 3,750 Nuclear Warheads Published 7 October 2021 The United States has disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal for the first time since former President Donald Trump decided to keep the figures a secret. At the height of the cold war, in 1967, the U.S. nuclear stockpile

Public HealthDEA, DOJ Warn of Lethal Fake Medication Pushed by Mexican Criminal Gangs Published 7 October 2021 Mexican criminal drug networks are mass-producing illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills using chemicals sourced largely from China., and are distributing these pills through U.S. criminal networks. These addictive fake pills are more lethal than ever. DEA laboratory

Transportation SecurityU.S. Unveils New Cybersecurity Requirements for Rail, Air By Jeff Seldin Published 7 October 2021 DHS has unveiled new measures to make sure the U.S. air and surface transportation sectors will not be crippled by ransomware or cyberattacks. The new measures will apply to “higher risk” rail companies, “critical” airport operators, and air passenger

ResilienceProject to Look Below the Surface to Make NYC More Resilient Published 7 October 2021 Hurricanes Ida and Henri caused flooding in New York City, demonstrating the need for comprehensive, quickly accessible data about the spatial relationships between utility conduits, water and waste systems, fuel transit pipelines, transportation tunnels, and other infrastructure beneath our feet. Recent

PandemicInsights into COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Published 5 October 2021 Two recent studies looked at COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in minority groups and opinions around less-preferred vaccines, provide clues for how officials might better encourage immunization. Two JAMA Network Open studies last Thursday that looked at COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in minority groups and opinions around less-preferred vaccines provide clues for

DroughtsRecord-Breaking Texas Drought More Severe Than Previously Thought Published 7 October 2021 In 2011, Texas experienced one of its worst droughts ever, with the dry, parched conditions causing more than $7 billion in crop and livestock losses, sparking wildfires, pushing power grids to the limit, and reducing reservoirs to dangerously low levels. A new study