Research Library

With the election of ruling-party presidential candidate William Lai last January, Taiwan is set to continue its shift away from nuclear power. Experts discuss what this means for energy security, cross-strait relations, and the push for sovereignty.

In the United States, drug overdose deaths are on the rise. In 2022, CDC researchers reported that 110,236 people died from an overdose in a single 12-month period, setting a new record. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths, primarily due to fentanyl, increased nearly 7.5-fold from 2015 to 2021. In Texas, the number of fentanyl-related deaths rose dramatically — from 883 deaths in 2020 to 1,672 deaths in 2021. While Republican lawmakers in Texas have previously opposed harm reduction policies, many have signaled a desire to take policy action to combat the crisis in the 2023 legislative session.

On January 7, a six-year-old in Newport News, Virginia shot and wounded his teacher. As of 2020, firearm injury is the leading cause of death among children in America. We discuss the public health implications of rising gun violence, the medical community’s response, and which policy interventions can promote community safety.