North America

  • U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on arming Ukraine, after touring a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, May 3, 2022, photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Escalation Fixation

    Fears of global nuclear annihilation should have produced a concerted effort by all sides to keep the Ukraine conflict limited. But the focus on escalation—rather than ensuring Russia's defeat—has instead made the international security picture more precarious.

    May 6, 2022

  • School cafeteria workers serving healthy lunches to children, photo by SDI Productions/Getty Images

    News Release

    Strengthening School Lunch Nutritional Standards May Help Improve Obesity Outlook for Low-Income Children

    Regulations that strengthened the nutritional requirements for school lunches were associated with a decline in signs of obesity among school children in kindergarten through 5th grade who participated in free or reduced-price lunch programs.

    May 5, 2022

  • Homeless encampments line the bike path on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, April 13, 2021, photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

    Report

    Less Than One-Third of Unhoused People in L.A. Would Accept a Group Shelter

    The number of unsheltered people in Los Angeles is growing. In a new survey in Skid Row, Venice, and Hollywood, most reported being continuously homeless for more than three years. Half had been offered housing, but cited the intake process, desires for privacy, and safety concerns as obstacles.

    May 4, 2022

  • News Release

    News Release

    Study of Unhoused People in Los Angeles Finds Numbers Growing; Only One-Third Willing to Move into Group Shelters

    A unique study conducting counts and surveys of unsheltered people in three parts of Los Angeles found that nearly half had been offered housing in the past, but they cited the housing intake process, desires for privacy, and concerns about safety as obstacles they face in efforts to get off the streets.

    May 4, 2022

  • The Out of Harm's Reach organization distributes free kits containing fentanyl test strips and NARCAN nasal spray to attendees of FEST 19 in Gainesville, Florida, October 29, 2021, photo by Julia Cooper/Reuters

    Commentary

    Fentanyl Makes an Already Dangerous Drug Market Deadlier Than Ever

    Failure to recognize and respond to how rapidly illegal drug markets have changed with the arrival of illegally manufactured synthetic opioids will continue to put many Americans at risk of exposure to fentanyl, endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands more for years to come.

    May 2, 2022

  • Blog

    A Peacekeeping Operation in Ukraine, Synthetic Opioids, Geoengineering: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on why it may be time to consider a peacekeeping operation in northern Ukraine, supporting veterans with traumatic brain injury, a new response to synthetic opioids, and more.

    Apr 29, 2022

  • Boxes of naloxone spray and fentanyl test strips in a container at The Legionnaire bar in Oakland, California, March 3, 2022, photo by Nathan Frandino/Reuters

    Commentary

    A Greater Focus On Harm Reduction Will Save Lives

    For decades, elected officials brushed off harm reduction as a viable option for reducing the harms of drug use over concerns of enabling drug consumption. But now, these strategies are front and center, spoken aloud, from the largest podium in the land, and during prime time. What caused this historic about-face?

    Apr 29, 2022

  • Blue and red cables transmitting data signals, image by Alexey Novikov/Adobe Stock

    Report

    Response Options to Cyberattacks on U.S. Government Networks

    The United States has proved vulnerable to cyber incidents, and a lack of response has emboldened Russia and China to expand their cyber espionage activities. Have U.S. responses changed over time or affected adversary behavior? What lessons do these cases offer for future policymaking?

    Apr 29, 2022

  • 5G network with abstract high speed technology POV motion blur, photo by Tierney/AdobeStock

    Report

    Securing 5G: A Way Forward in the U.S. and China Security Competition

    Across the United States and globally, 5G networks are being deployed and will one day replace many older cellular networks. But there are security concerns about 5G networks built using Chinese equipment and 5G phones made by some Chinese companies.

    Apr 29, 2022

  • Riot police guard main streets to stop feminist groups who protest against Mexico's Government because they ignore gender violence during Mexico's Independence Day celebrations on September 14, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico, photo by the Photo Access/Alamy Live News

    Report

    U.S. Resourcing to National Security Interests in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Context of Adversary Activities in the Region

    The authors assess the sufficiency of resources available to pursue U.S. national security objectives in the Western Hemisphere and describe the activities and investments of China, Russia, and Iran in the region.

    Apr 28, 2022

  • Flight test of a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, California, August 18, 2019, photo by Scott Howe/U.S. Department of Defense

    Report

    Challenges of Deploying Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles on Allied Lands

    The United States has been hoping to develop and deploy ground-based intermediate-range missiles to the Indo-Pacific. But what is the likelihood of its treaty allies in the region—Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand—hosting these systems? Are there alternatives to permanent basing?

    Apr 28, 2022

  • Close-up of gloved hand arranging blood sample with other test tubes for processing, photo by JulieanneBirch/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Promoting Patient-Clinician Conversations to Reduce Cascades of Care

    A cascade of care is a seemingly uncontrollable sequence of medical services that is driven by the desire to avoid even the smallest risk of a bad outcome. What drives cascades? And what interventions might mitigate them?

    Apr 27, 2022

  • Illustration of two hands playing chess, one with a U.S. flag sleeve and the other with a China flag sleeve, photo by siraanamwong/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Book Review: 'Isolating the Enemy' by Tao Wang

    In his book, Isolating the Enemy: Diplomatic Strategy in China and the United States, 1953–1956, Dr. Tao Wang reviews key moments in the diplomatic strategies of China and the United States between 1953 and 1956. Although the book illuminates fascinating aspects of the period's diplomatic history, it unfortunately does not offer much insight into the reasons for the relative success of these contrasting strategies.

    Apr 27, 2022

  • David Luckey, senior international and defense researcher, and Jayme Fuglesten, director of Congressional Relations at RAND, on Capitol Hill, photo by Grace Evans/RAND Corporation

    Q&A

    A New Approach to Fighting Synthetic Opioids: Q&A with David Luckey and Jayme Fuglesten

    The opioid crisis isn't just about drug policy or law. It involves national security, homeland security, intelligence, diplomacy, supply chain issues, and cryptocurrency. Drawing on RAND's expertise across all those areas, the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking delivered a plan, a call to action about what it's going to take to save lives.

    Apr 26, 2022

  • White alarm clock sitting on a white pillow with a light blue background, photo by FotoDuets/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Think We Should Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent? Sleep Scientist Busts 5 Tired Myths

    Permanent daylight saving time is widely favored by the public, and the House of Representatives may or may not follow the Senate in its recent approval of such a change in law. But that delicious extra hour of evening recreation in the spring and summer comes at a major cost to people's sleep, mood, alertness, and productivity for the remainder of the year.

    Apr 25, 2022

  • Representatives from the United States, Canada, Lithuania, NATO, and Ukraine discuss the noncommissioned officer development-training course at the Office of Defensive Cooperation in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2016, photo by Staff Sgt. Adriana M. Diaz-Brown/U.S. Army

    Commentary

    The Value of Institutional Capacity Building Through Professional Military Education

    Security cooperation rarely makes headlines. But it enhances the security of the United States and its allies and partners in an effective and cost-effective way, and may deserve more attention and support.

    Apr 25, 2022

  • Blog

    Responding to Russian Cyberattacks, Rebuilding Ukraine, Climate Change: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on how the U.S. could respond to Russian cyberattacks, what it will take to rebuild Ukraine after the war, why U.S. employers still have the power over workers, and more.

    Apr 22, 2022

  • Multimedia

    Current Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy in the Middle East

    The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP) hosted a roundtable conversation featuring former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Ambassador (ret.) Ryan Crocker, Former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman, Esq., and CMEPP Director Linda Robinson. These panelists explored the challenges and opportunities for U.S. policy in the Middle East 20 years after 9/11.

    Apr 22, 2022

  • Photorealistic 3d illustration of a satellite orbiting the Earth, photo by imaginima/Getty Images

    Commentary

    U.S. Decision on ASAT Testing a Positive Step Towards Space Sustainability

    The United States recently committed not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing. This sets an important example others might follow and takes an important first step towards a binding, international ban.

    Apr 21, 2022

  • Workers stand in line to cast ballots for a union election at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, March 25, 2022, photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters

    Commentary

    A Whole New, Same World

    Workers in the United States have emerged from the pandemic with new preferences and demands, but they still lack the power to get what they want. By any meaningful measure, employers are still in charge.

    Apr 20, 2022

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