Scaled-back Pentagon report on China. Nuke stockpile increase slowed, with 2024 inventory remaining in low-600s. 100+ ICBMs loaded in new silos (no “peer” yet), 50 more DF-26 (anti-ship?), hardly anything on Navy/AF nuke programs. media.defense.gov/2025/Dec/23/...

I tried to send a very small (low-value, non-commercial) package to the USA last week, and it got bounced back. The guy at La Poste told me that at the moment they are sending NO packages to the US, because of the chaos caused by the removal of the de minimis rule. aide.laposte.fr/contenu/pour...

Arms race instability and crisis instability are fueling the new nuclear arms race. @mattkorda.bsky.social of @scientistsorg.bsky.social breaks it down. What do these developments mean for all nine nuclear nations? See more 👉 buff.ly/UTTA04L

Ploughshares seeks a Director for Women Transforming Global Security, a partnership with Horizon 2045 & @theelders.bsky.social. Build a transformative global network that advances women's leadership in interconnected global threats ⬇️ https://loom.ly/byX0MiY

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “It is obvious that the United States should not sell China advanced technology that China could use to target American troops and intelligence officers,” write the national security experts Ben Buchanan and Matt Pottinger.

Dr. Kirk Moore faked COVID vaccine cards and gave saline shots to children at their parents’ request to offer patients “choice” amid pandemic-era mandates. Pam Bondi dismissed all charges against him. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pam-bon...

It is international law 101 that a military blockade is not just a violation of the UN Charter, but a crime of aggression. Unless that blockade is in response to an 'armed attack.' None of President's Trump's list of complaints come close to an armed attack. 1/

VP Vance says we should fight antisemitism by… echoing the very same anti-immigrant conspiracy theories that have directly fueled antisemitic violence — like Charlottesville and Pittsburgh, the deadliest attack on Jews in US history. This is so dangerous.

This new working paper by liviuhorovitz.bsky.social & smetanamichal.bsky.social (PRCP) explores Russia's nuclear rhetoric in the war against Ukraine and how the West has responded. The 5th update of the chronology covers over 450 nuclear-relevant signals from autumn 2021 to January 2025. Read more👇

@johndelury.bsky.social on the National Security Strategy: "To mistake this particular document for the actual national security strategy of the United States government would be an analytical mistake of the highest order." johndelury.substack.com/p/my-warm-ta...

A destructive storm in 2020 prematurely shut down Iowa’s only nuclear plant. With Google’s plans to reopen it to power nearby data centers, will extreme weather threaten the reactor’s safety? www.wired.com/story/google...

Emerging technologies—especially AI—are rapidly reshaping nuclear and biological security, outpacing frameworks built for fewer actors and slower change, eroding long‑standing assumptions. We must anticipate long‑term technology trends and update our security models accordingly.

Can AI-generated outputs be subject to export controls? Yes, write Joe Khawam and Tim Schnabel. But the agencies responsible for enforcing these controls have yet to address this challenge: www.justsecurity.org/126643/ai-mo...

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea

Alas, yes.

Congress is set to pass its $901 billion defense bill without including insurance coverage for families to get fertility treatment. Lawmakers and advocates supporting the provision said House Speaker Johnson axed it based on objections to IVF.

The Supreme Court cleared a path for immigration officers to use skin color as a factor in determining whom to stop and ask about their legal status. Numerous Latinos in the Chicago area and beyond have experienced the effects. https://wapo.st/3YlUKu0

“The speed of warfare will soon outpace human ability to control it." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Emerging tech + national security—NTI's Dimitri Kusnezov joined @jeannemeserve.bsky.social to discuss critical risks and opportunities at the intersection of AI, nuclear, and biosecurity. Listen 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Daily reminder that the laws of war don't apply when we're not at war, and all of the killings President Trump has ordered are not war crimes, they are murder:

The top U.S. military officer overseeing operations in Latin America met privately with lawmakers, days before he is due to step down prematurely amid tension with the Trump administration over its deadly counternarcotics campaign there.

62% of Germans say that Germany can no longer rely on the US nuclear umbrella for its security. Source koerber-stiftung.de/site/assets/...

Another best practice for healthy babies is vaccinating them.

The Judges are performing their constitutional duty & following the law. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same thing about the Justice Department in this regard.

President Trump proclaimed that he gave #SouthKorea “approval” to build a nuclear-powered submarine at a Philadelphia shipyard. Except he doesn’t have unilateral authority to grant such approval, explains Lowell H. Schwartz, outlining the legal requirements: www.justsecurity.org/126497/us-so...

That might be the worst possible outcome. What a crock of shit.

Scaling back U.S. instruments of soft power, like USAID, is unilateral disarmament. It reduces our ability to compete for influence globally and creates vacuums for Russia and China to fill.

The Trump administration is pursuing increased nuclear weapons production while reducing independent safety oversight of the organizations involved. And it’s not just weapons, commercial nuclear oversight is being eroded as well. www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-12/... @armscontrolnow.bsky.social

As far as I can see, this nat sec strategy is far harsher on Europe than on Russia. There is no mention of a threat from Russia or of deterrence, only that "re-establishing strategic stability" is a priority. Europe is cast as a major threat to freedom. A radical, dangerous document.

"Getting the Most Out of New START Before It Expires"

And beyond that, if DOJ is struggling this hard to get an indictment, it's hard to believe their evidence is sufficient for a jury to convict at trial, using the "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" standard the prosecution must meet.

Thanks to Leah Walker, Glenn Parham, Jacob Heim, Michael Horowitz, Helen Toner, Isaac Harris, and Hamza Chaudhry for sharing their expertise. And shoutout to our dream team: @yblim.bsky.social, @jonatomic.bsky.social, @technolliegist.bsky.social t.bsky.social & Gil Ruiz for making it all happen. 🙌

I am going to be holding a talk and discussion of my NEW BOOK about Truman and the atomic bomb on December 16, 2025 at 12-2pm ET. The event will be in Paris (free to anyone who is local — 18:00-20:00 CET), but also streamed on Zoom. Here is the event description: www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...

As The Post first reported, the information Hegseth shared on Signal derived from an email classified “SECRET/NOFORN,” meaning unauthorized disclosure could jeopardize national security www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

A forthcoming inspector general report finds that had intel shared by Hegseth been intercepted by an adversary, it would have endangered servicemembers, according to a source who viewed the findings. n.pr/3KGzegt

Steve Bannon, basically right up to the time Jeffrey Epstein died, was apparently working with him on an effort to rehabilitate Epstein’s reputation. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/steve...

Trump’s claim he can order strikes on foreign civilians is unconstitutional Nowhere in the Constitution is he given this power, it's a violation of multiple US laws, and there is no precedent in American history I laid it out on @newsnation.bsky.social w/ @chriscuomo.bsky.social👇

Swings of no less than 7 points, and up to 25 points. #TN07

Rolling back food stamps seems bad but I guess if you realize it’s to give very wealthy people a tax cut

Interested in how we can harness the benefits of AI and biotechnology while preventing misuse? Join us tomorrow for the virtual launch of our new report on safeguarding AIxBio capabilities to prevent global catastrophe!

Part of a pattern with Hegseth. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It's great that reporting on the double tap has spotlighted the abject criminality of this Administration. But don't forget: Venezuela is not waging war on America or Americans, and the men killed were not combatants. The first strike was every bit as illegal as the second.

As the descendant of people who were forcibly brought here in the early 18th century by Dutch and British slavers, please Representative, tell me more about "what American is all about."

Solar radiation modification (SRM) is now a commercial industry, with startups raising millions to artificially cool the planet. But with development outpacing regulation, countries must act now to create governance frameworks to address SRM’s risks, write Scott Moore and Imran Bayoumi:

The Defense Department’s Law of War Manual specifies: “Orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.” These are actions that you would expect from the Islamic State or the Russian army — not from the armed forces of a democracy. wapo.st/49LrEvh

A fired immigration judge says she was dismissed from her job because of her gender, her status as a dual citizen of Lebanon, and the fact that she once ran for municipal office in Ohio as a Democrat. n.pr/4itdOQl

“What part of your body was the MRI on?” Trump: no idea, but it wasn’t the brain! 90% probability MRI was on his brain. Trump also says it’s ok to release it. Journalists, do your thing.

Good on Welker for holding her feet to the fire here. Good on Noem for admitting absolute incompetence.

1/ You must refuse illegal orders.” That’s what 6 Democratic members of Congress said on video. Trump called it seditious. The FBI launched an investigation. Then came reporting in WAPO about an order SecDef Hegseth gave ahead of the 9/2 attack on a boat allegedly trafficking drugs in the Caribbean.