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Environment
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Senate Commerce Committee homes in on consumer protection and enforcement in an era of rampant COVID-19-related scams

Consumer protection and data privacy have come into focus on Capitol Hill over the past few weeks. One week after the leaders of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on this topic. The FTC aims to protect consumers and […]

08.13.20 | 4 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 75 Years After

Seventy-five years later, we commemorate the nuclear attacks and the unspeakable human suffering they inflicted, which remind us of the uniquely destructive capability of nuclear weapons and the importance of ensuring that they are never used in anger again.

08.05.20 | 3 min read
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Environment
Blog
Hopes are high for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to be available in the fall, but the specter of political pressure looms

Come Tuesday, November 3rd – Election Day – Americans will exist in one of two realities: One reality in which COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe and effective are available to the electorate, or a different reality in which vaccines are still unavailable. Biopharma companies are optimistic their COVID-19 vaccines could be available as early as the […]

07.22.20 | 5 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
75 Years Ago: The Trinity Nuclear Test

The first ever nuclear detonation––known as the Trinity test––took place in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. In the decades that followed, nuclear testing contaminated lands, oceans, and people, and triggered a nuclear arms race that continues to this day.

07.16.20 | 4 min read
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FAS
Blog
Navy Lab’s Future Is At Risk, Report Warns

Updated below The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) boasts an amazing record of achievement but its future is in jeopardy, according to a newly disclosed report of the Naval Research Advisory Committee that was suppressed by the Navy. NRL is widely recognized as a world class research institution that has made transformational discoveries in many scientific fields from space science […]

07.13.20 | 4 min read
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FAS
Blog
Hollywood and the Bomb

Among the lesser known consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago was that it triggered a race between Hollywood movie studios MGM and Paramount to bring the story of the atomic bomb — or at least some commercialized version of it — to the American public as a major motion picture. […]

07.12.20 | 3 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Weekly COVID-19 Disinformation Report for July 20: Masks, microchips, Michigan, and misinformation

Key Highlights Key Trends Ongoing conspiracy theories regarding mask use A video on Twitter claiming that the metal wire in store-bought face masks are 5G antennas received 1.3 million views and 14.7K Retweets and Comments. Another video followed the same pattern of conspiracy theories denouncing mask use as harmful or a systematic and “deep state” effort to control the public. Other […]

07.07.20 | 5 min read
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FAS
Blog
With Care, Research Labs Can Reopen, JASONs Say

University research laboratories that have been shuttered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic can safely reopen if they adopt measures needed to reduce vulnerability to the disease, according to a new report from the JASON science advisory panel. “A ramp up will take months and requires careful adherence to rules and processes,” the report said. “Researchers […]

07.02.20 | 2 min read
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FAS
Blog
Trends in US Military Deaths, and More from CRS

Of the 17,645 deaths of U.S. military personnel in all countries since 2006, a full 24% of them were “self-inflicted,” according to updated data from the Department of Defense as reported by the Congressional Research Service. “Self-inflicted” here means suicide as well as death due to alcohol or substance abuse. See Trends in Active-Duty Military Deaths […]

07.02.20 | 1 min read
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Environment
Blog
US vaccine manufacturing capacity assessed at Senate HELP Committee hearing

At the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday, Members of Congress and witnesses evaluated whether the U.S. will be able to manufacture enough COVID-19 vaccines to protect the population, as well as be able to distribute them equitably. Vaccine manufacturers are racing to increase their capacity to produce what will likely be billions […]

06.26.20 | 4 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
The State Department’s Compliance Report Plays the Blame Game, Despite Offering Little Evidence

The Trump administration clearly sees the Compliance Report as a tool to provide justification for shedding treaties.

06.24.20 | 11 min read
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FAS
Blog
Crisis of Credibility in Secrecy Policy

Obsolete secrecy procedures and growing political abuse have left the national security classification system in a state of disarray and dysfunction. Most government agencies “still rely on antiquated information security management practices,” according to a new annual report from the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). “These practices have not kept pace with the volume of […]

06.22.20 | 4 min read
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