Our picksEnding Asylum at Southern Border | Living on the Edge in California | Craziest Conspiracy Theories, and more

Trump Moves to End Asylum at Southern Border (AP)
The Trump administration said Monday it will end asylum protections for most migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border in a major escalation of the president’s battle to tamp down immigration.
According to a new rule published in the Federal Register, asylum seekers who pass through another country first will be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border. The rule, expected to go into effect Tuesday, also applies to children who have crossed the border alone.
The rule applies to anyone arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Sometimes asylum seekers from Africa , Cuba or Haiti and other continents arrive there, but the vast majority of migrants arriving recently come from Central America.

Officials Request Investigation of New York City Outage (Lauren Stanforth, Times Union)
Preliminary information shows that there was a transmission line between two power stations that failed, which caused four other power stations to go offline. The Manhattan blackout Saturday impacted up to 72,000 people.

How the Epstein Case Explains the Rise of Conspiracy Theorists (McKay Coppins, The Atlantic)
Nightmarish allegations against the well-connected financier show why so many Americans let their imagination run wild when it comes to elite corruption.

QAnon, UFOs, and America’s Craziest Conspiracy Theories (Nick Bilton, Vanity Fair)

The loony right believes Donald Trump is the victim of a Deep State plot to protect a cabal of cannibals. The loony left thinks he’s a KGB agent. Was American politics always this weird? Investigative journalist Anna Merlan joins Nick Bilton to discuss her new book, Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power, which details everything from Pizzagate and the Pee Pee Tape to secret CIA programs, UFOs, and the ubiquitous “Q.”

How Dangerous Is the Identitarian Movement? (Peter Hille, DW)
Germany’s domestic intelligence service has classified the Identitarian Movement as a far-right threat. What’s behind the group’s ideology?

Ridgecrest Earthquake Packed the Power of 45 Nuclear Bombs, but Its Impact Was Muted (Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times)
When the magnitude 7.1 earthquake ruptured the earth in the Mojave Desert, it packed the energy of 45 nuclear bombs of the type that fell on Hiroshima. But a variety of factors lessened the potency and impact of what was the most powerful Southern California earthquake in nearly two decades.

Foreign Actors Could Use Artificial Intelligence to Undermine Democracy, Canadian Officials Warn in Internal Reports (Marie-Danielle Smith, National Post)
Canadian officials are concerned that foreign countries such as Russia or Saudi Arabia could try to sow discord by Ramping up separatist sentiments in Quebec

Living in California Is Living on the Edge (Todd S. Purdum, The Atlantic)
For residents, the recent earthquakes are a reminder that the state is always poised on the brink of disaster.

Illegal Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. Rise, Quebec Tightens Immigration (Mallory Moench, Times Union)
What our northern neighbor’s immigration policy means for New York