David E. Hoffman

A lot of very talented people at @hrw.org just got laid off.

U.S. funding break leaves Iran internet freedom projects in peril The State Department has not signed off on new funding for programs that help Iranian citizens evade internet censorship, potentially crippling a policy with bipartisan support.

NetFreedom Pioneers reached millions of Iranians with satellite filecasting technology. Now they’ve stopped, because of Trump holdups in funding. Worrisome pullback. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.

Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...

Where is Cuba’s money? Secret records show the military has massive cash hoard In the midst of the misery plaguing the island, the Cuban military has dollar reserves larger than the international reserves of nations like Costa Rica, Uruguay and Panama.

Nora Gamez Tórres has another major scoop on Cuba—while its people suffer, the military has a massive, secret cash hoard. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...

If you are wondering what is this fabled “Dead Hand” that Dmitry Medvedev is threatening with, I’ve got you covered. www.davidehoffman.com/the-dead-han...

Morton Mintz, Post reporter with a muckraker spirit, dies at 103 A pioneer in consumer affairs journalism, he helped expose the deformity-causing hazards posed by thalidomide, a once-popular drug for morning sickness.

Another journalist life and legacy worth our time today wapo.st/4lP9onV

No. NED has a bipartisan base in Congress and continues to fight the good fight.

In an inspiring and moving tribute, the National Endowment for Democracy today awarded the Democracy Service Medal posthumously to the Cuban democracy fighter Oswaldo Payá on the 13th anniversary of his murder by the Castro regime. From L: Reinaldo, Rosa María, Ofelia and Oswaldito accept the award

Martin Cruz Smith, Best-Selling Author of ‘Gorky Park,’ Dies at 82

The author of Gorky Park had only spent two weeks in Russia before writing the huge bestseller. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/b...

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too

Sometimes the most important news is not on the front page: a culprit has been identified in the great (terrible) honeybee die-off. And this is very worrisome: mites that are resistant. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Opinion | How a nuclear attack on the U.S. might unfold, step by step A scenario of America’s response to an incoming nuclear attack.

The Washington Post opinions has published a five-part series, The Next Nuclear Age, which concludes today with a look at how suddenly a nuclear war could begin. wapo.st/4npIWCp

The Illegals: A Conversation With Shaun Walker on the Untold Story of Russia’s Deep-Cover Spies For more than a century, Soviet and Russian spymasters have poured enormous resources into the training and deployment of deep-cover spies known as “illegals.” These agents live behind enemy lines for...

Join us TODAY to talk about Russia’s century of deep cover spies. carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...

Opinion | A heartwarming reunification and a terrifying reality for Belarus Beyond celebrating that 14 people gained their freedom lies the ugly reality that there are still 1,186 political prisoners in Belarus.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Only one American can start a nuclear war: The president The American president has the sole authority to order a nuclear strike, even if every adviser in the room is against it.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

Opinion | How nuclear war could start Nuclear accidents are a fact of life for as long as these weapons exist.

Accidents and mishaps are a fact of life with nuclear weapons. The next nuclear age is coming. To understand how it might all go wrong, look at how it almost did. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

Opinion | Why we should worry about nuclear weapons again Deadlier weapons, more nations, autocrats in charge, disinformation, and collapsing arms control — the risk of nuclear catastrophe is back.

We are entering a new age of nuclear weapons--and the outlook is deeply worrisome. A new opinion series in The Washington Post explains why. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

This melancholy but powerful new book from Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan is out today and tells the heart-wrenching story of hopes born and dashed — their own — in Russia. Two great journalists open their souls.

Opinion | No, Trump can’t force his agenda on U.S. entities. They have rights. The government cannot withhold benefits because it doesn’t like how people exercise their rights.

A good essay — rights can’t be taken away like this. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Thinking today of my Wash Post colleague Jamal Khashoggi — Saudi exponent of democracy, murdered for his views by thugs sent from the Kingdom. His body never found.

Pretty cool opportunity at the International Spy Museum. These don’t come around very often…

Ruth Marcus is a must-read, now in The New Yorker.

Martin Wolf nails it in today’s @FT — “The cult of the strongman is a perennial folly.”

Saddened at the passing of Mario Vargas Llosa, who was unwavering in his support for Oswaldo Payá and his Varela Project — a quest for democracy and freedom in a dictatorship. Condolences to his family. He wrote this for “Give Me Liberty”:

One million Americans died, just a few years ago. Have we learned nothing at all from the calamity?

This is a tragedy of the first order—a self-inflicted wound on an institution that represents the best of our democracy and civil society. Do you think there is anything like it in Moscow or Beijing?

This is profoundly counter-productive.

This is terrific news — Cold War historian Sergei Radchenko has won the prestigious Lionel Gerber prize for his examination of Soviet thinking in the Cold War.

For those who may have missed the keen mind of Ruth Marcus lately, have no fear — she is writing. For the New Yorker.

journalism.columbia.edu/news/cjs-fac...