Synthetic opioids require a comprehensive response. It’s time to meet this everything problem where it is: everywhere. — Overview Fatal drug overdoses — primarily from illegally manufactured synthetic opioids — have increased sharply in recent years. And they’re not slowing down. Potent and dangerous synthetic opioids affect a wide range of policy areas and require a comprehensive response. It’s time to meet this everything problem where it is: everywhere.

RAND researchers created a scorecard to help social media users avoid extremist content. — You would not want to see what Alexandra Evans has seen. She’s a policy researcher at RAND. Her recent work has focused on the growing threat of online extremism — work that has required long days immersed in violence, racism, misogyny, and hate. It led her and fellow extremism researcher…

Researchers at RAND developed a survey to see whether incarcerated parents and their children are getting the support they need. — Tausha Monroe could feel the fear pounding in her chest as she waited in a drab prison dining hall for the little boy she called Doodle Bug. It had been seven months since she had seen her son face to face. Would he remember her? …

Iran has faced an uphill battle since its first cases of COVID-19. But it has also had successes and innovations in combating the virus. — by Nazia Wolters, Emily Hoch, Mahshid Abir This February, Iranians had hoped to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the country’s Islamic Revolution by gathering and marching in person, but instead thousands of Iranians rallied using only cars and motorcycles, as they had in 2021 amid COVID-19 restrictions. This is because…

Security cooperation enhances the security of the United States and its allies and partners in an effective and cost-effective way. — by Susan M. Sohler Everingham and Alan G. Stolberg There are several explanations for Ukraine’s ability to successfully resist the overwhelming force of Russian air power, surface-to-air missiles, and nearly 200,000 ground forces: tremendous motivation to defend their families, homes, and nation; extraordinary resilience to the damage and horrors that…

Unprecedented waves of refugees and economic migrants highlight the need for new ways to capture data on international migration. — Unprecedented waves of refugees and economic migrants — displaced by conflicts, political and economic instability, natural disasters, and environmental change — highlight the need for new ways to capture data on international migration. They stood in the crowded ticket hall of a Polish train station eight miles from the Ukraine…

There are simple steps that individuals can take to help counter Truth Decay — the diminishing role of facts in American public life. — Truth Decay, which RAND defines as the diminishing role of facts in American public life, is a complicated, systemic phenomenon. Over the past two decades in the United States, it has contributed to political paralysis and eroded the civil discourse a healthy democracy needs to thrive. …

The Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking final report calls for a whole-of-nation effort to address the crisis. — America’s overdose crisis, driven by powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, has become one of the “most pressing national security, law enforcement, and public health challenges” facing the nation. …

Adopting Kyiv as a Los Angeles sister city could speed the flow of goods and services to the war-torn Ukrainian capital. — by Sohaela Amiri Distant from the conflict in Ukraine, many Americans might welcome a means of supporting the eastern European nation as it defends itself against Russian invaders. One answer could be city diplomacy and one of its best examples: sister city ties. The devastating progression of war in Ukraine…