It’s one thing for the Ministry of Commerce to say they can find $213 billion that left the Chinese mainland in 2025. But no one should think China was a genuinely global investor at anything like that scale, writes AEI’s @DerekScissors1 aei.org/foreign-and-defense-…

Trust in official government data is one of the pillars of American prosperity. Millions of businesses rely on government data for myriad decisions, as do financial markets, writes AEI’s @MichaelRStrain project-syndicate.org/commen…

What Mr. Xi can’t replicate is American freedom. Relinquish party control, and the communist project unravels. My latest @WSJFreeEx wsj.com/opinion/free-express…

Long-time listener, first-time caller on @MTSlive! Here’s my short breakdown of today’s Trump-Xi summit — and what the United States should be asking for on AI.

Ahead of the publication of his new book on October 13th, @dcoxpolls says on dating, “There’s a growing discomfort with the normal friction, that if you say or do the wrong thing, it’s cringe, it’s disqualifiable; there’s no appetite for any kind of misstep.”vox.com/life/503630/modern-d…

We should absolutely want our legislature to be the place we take up the most pressing and most challenging issues, so that we can find a path forward that is broadly acceptable to all Americans, writes AEI’s @PhilipWallach on AI. thedispatch.com/article/arti…

This semester, think critically — but also appreciatively. Doing so might make thinking itself all the more worthwhile, write AEI’s Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey. bostonglobe.com/2026/09/23/o…

🧵 President Trump’s attacks on the integrity of official statistics have continued. Last month, the US Census Bureau published an official brief that claims to have “readily determined with high confidence” that 24,000 non-US citizens illegally voted in the 2020 presidential election. The report flags: “Over 32 million voter records remain to be analyzed.” The Census brief is of shockingly low quality across several dimensions. Like every professional economist, statistician, or demographer with whom I've spoken, I was astonished and deeply troubled to see analysis this shoddy be published by a gold-standard statistical agency. The president himself posted about the report on social media, highlighting the 24,000 illegal vote figure and claiming that “The Census Bureau is going to analyze the next 32,000,000 Voters, and this number will explode. I WON THE ELECTION!” Sadly, more shenanigans are coming. The Census brief described itself as “a beginning analysis,” and President Trump has already foreshadowed a follow-up report. Before that happens, the authors of the first one should step out of the shadows and subject their analysis to interrogation by professional statisticians, economists, and demographers. That sort of scrutiny is how US statistical agencies built the sterling reputations Mr. Trump is wantonly trashing — reputations that are a foundation of American prosperity. My @ProSyn column.

NEW | CTP-ISW is considering five possible Houthi military courses of action (COAs) the group could take against the United States or other Saudi partners if these parties increase their military support for Saudi Arabia against the Houthis: 1) In a most likely course of action (MLCOA): The Houthis expand their naval blockade against Saudi vessels to include vessels affiliated with the United States or other Saudi partners. 2) The Houthis attempt to halt international shipping through the Bab al Mandeb and "close" the strait in order to drive concessions from the United States and Saudi partners. 3) The Houthis launch attacks against US and Saudi partner naval vessels operating in the Red Sea. 4) The Houthis conduct attacks targeting US and Saudi partner forces operating from Saudi territory. 5) The Houthis or other Axis of Resistance groups launch attacks on US military bases in Gulf states from positions in Iraq. The Houthis are attempting to deter the United States and other Saudi partners from any external response that would support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.

AEI's Michael Beckley presented at the Nordic Business Forum, discussing how to design a resilient, “shock-proof” supply chain in a world of fragmented geopolitical blocs. Watch the full keynote speech: piped.video/watch?v=vjjSylcA…

AEI’s @BrettDSchaefer: The Trump administration has a lot of things that they would like to do and these may not sound radical, but they would have enormous impacts in terms of the financial situation of the United Nations.

As part of the 2026 @ReaganInstitute Summit on Education, AEI’s Jenna Silber Storey joined a panel conversation on the purpose of higher education. piped.video/watch?v=dtzX7Y8e…

NEW: Japan may be considering transitioning from diesel-electric submarines to nuclear submarines, which would significantly enhance their operating range, speed, and stealth. Japanese nuclear submarines could enhance Japan's ability to counter the People's Liberation Army Navy in future Western Pacific conflicts, but their development may face Japanese domestic political opposition due to significant costs and general opposition to the introduction of nuclear weapons. (1/2) Other Key Takeaway: Politico reported on September 18 that a shipment of F-35 components containing advanced stealth technology was unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong while in transit from Australia to the United States. The F-35 component's diversion to Hong Kong may have allowed the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to examine the components for reverse-engineering. The PRC has conducted multiple espionage and hacking operations to gain access to advanced US fighter aircraft technology to advance its own military modernization efforts and potentially expose vulnerabilities in US and allied systems.

Ideas shape policy. Policy shapes the world. If you want to go deeper than headlines, our scholars have done the work — rigorous research, sharp analysis, real solutions. Browse our full catalog and bring the ideas home. indiepubs.com/pages/publishe…

A new @AEI report released this morning shows the strong correlation between standardized test scores and college completion rates. Great read by @PrestonCooper93. washingtonexaminer.com/resto…

A new report from AEI’s @PrestonCooper93 finds that the relationship between standardized test scores and college completion rates remains strong even after controlling for other factors. aei.org/research-products/re…

There are many good reasons for smart and pragmatic climate policies—including aggressive mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the prospect of modulating future weather events is not on that list, writes AEI’s @RogerPielkeJr thefp.com/p/how-to-fake-clim…

It’s time for the president to remind the world that absent a genuine overhaul, the world body risks bankruptcy and irrelevance, writes AEI’s @BrettDSchaefer nationalinterest.org/feature…