Short Takes – 5-20-25

Japan enacts new Active Cyberdefense Law allowing for offensive cyber operations. TheRecord.media article. Pull quote: “It explicitly allows law enforcement agencies to infiltrate and neutralize hostile servers before any malicious activity has taken place and to do so below the level of an armed attack against Japan, while the Self-Defence Forces will take responsibility for tackling particularly sophisticated incidents.”

Trump admin lifts hold on offshore wind farm, doesn’t explain why. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “That suggests there was a deal that allowed Empire Wind to resume construction in return for a pipeline for fossil fuels. The New York Times suggests that this is a reference to the proposed Constitution Pipeline, which was planned to move natural gas from Pennsylvania to eastern New York but was cancelled in 2020 due to state opposition.”

Meteorologists make unexpected discovery while observing Atlantic Ocean: 'It's a significant difference'. NewsBreak.com article. Pull quote: “Experts have cautioned that while this year's temperatures are below last year's, they are still above average, per The Weather Channel, and last month was actually the fourth-warmest April on record in the Northern Hemisphere and the second-warmest April on record globally. Colorado State is projecting above-average activity for 2025, with a forecast of 17 storms and nine hurricanes.”

Mysterious white streak spotted over US skies during surprise aurora storm. What was it? Space.com article. Includes a brief video of the streak. Pull quote: “The culprit? A recent rocket launch. Roughly an hour earlier, Chinese company Landscape had launched its Zhuque-2E methane-fueled rocket from Site 96 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC), in China. It carried six satellites into orbit, including a radar spacecraft and space science payload. The streak was likely from a de-orbit or circularization burn, possibly related to satellite deployment, according to Spaceweather.com.”

Noem Incorrectly Defines Habeas Corpus as the President’s Right to Deport People. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “Article I of the Constitution, which focuses on the powers of Congress, says that writs of habeas corpus are a privilege that “shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” Legal experts generally agree that those directions give only Congress the authority to suspend it.”

NASA says long-running budget shortfalls may lead to ISS crew and research reductions. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Those cargo shortfalls [cut back from 5 to 3 ships per year], Weigel said, have led NASA to consider reducing the size of the crew on the station’s U.S. segment — which includes Canada, Europe and Japan — from four astronauts to three. “We’re evaluating the potential for moving to three crew. That’s something that we’re working through and trying to assess today,” she said.”