Our picksNYC’s Heatwave Plans | ISIS Appeal Fades in Europe | Renewed Nuclear Testing?, and more

A Conspiracy Made in America May Have Been Spread by Russia (Nicole Perlroth, New York Times)
The Americans who pushed a conspiracy theory the night of the Iowa caucuses have migrated to coronavirus conspiracies on Twitter, with help from a very Russia-friendly account.

The Saudis’ Preaching Inspired Terror, and Then It Turned on Them (Krithika Varagur, Daily Beast)
For decades Saudis exported their austere religious vision as a tool of soft power. But 9/11 exposed the grim effects, and the Saudis cannot control them now even when they try.

The Pandemic Hunger Crisis Is Only Just Getting Started (Maya L. Kapoor and High Country News, The Atlantic)
In California, food banks are struggling to keep up with surging demand.

How 5G Conspiracy Theories Used COVID-19 to Go Viral (Economist)
Paranoid Britons are burning down mobile towers

Trump Is Quietly Gutting the Asylum System amid the Pandemic (Nicole Narea, Vox)
President Trump’s election-year push to foreground immigration is officially in full swing.

Debating U.S. Nuclear Spending in the Age of the Coronavirus (Kingston Reif, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to exact a terrible human and economic toll on the United States, Americans are adjusting how they view national security. There also appears to be agreement, even within the senior leadership of the Defense Department, that the military budget, which has seen significant growth during the Trump administration, is likely to be pared back in the coming years as federal deficits soar.
So it should be no surprise that the havoc wrought by the virus has also fanned the flames of an ongoing debate about the Trump administration’s aggressive and costly plans to sustain and upgrade the US nuclear arsenal.

Nuclear Testing Not Needed Now (William Courtney and Frank G. Klotz, RAND)
Trump administration officials are reported to have recently discussed conducting a nuclear test, breaking a moratorium the United States has observed since 1992. Such a move is not necessary to ensure the continued reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It could also increase threats to U.S. and allied security by giving a green light to other countries, including dangerous proliferators, to conduct nuclear tests of their own.

Once a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Ready, Getting People to Take It May Be a Bigger Challenge (Alina I. Palimaru, Marcus Dillistone, and Charles P. Ries, RAND)
With international vaccine development well underway, implementation of a possible nationwide vaccination program warrants attention. While a vaccine would be a cause for celebration, some are concerned about the feasibility of an effective rollout. The behavioral and political challenges ahead may mean that the process of getting sufficient doses ready for delivery to Americans may prove to be the easy bit.
Beyond the Beltway, vaccination resistance may be a significant challenge. Overcoming this resistance may require addressing vaccine safety concerns, hostility to big pharma, religious beliefs, fear, unsubstantiated anecdotes or political dogma. Thus, any vaccination campaign could find itself fighting on multiple fronts simultaneously. This may be undesirable in military campaigns, but in this case it may be unavoidable.

This Is New York City’s Coronavirus Heatwave Plan (Jim Madrigano, National Interest)
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan calls for supplementing traditional public cooling centers with additional facilities. It will also provide vulnerable residents with home air conditioners and the possibility for additional funds to help pay utility bills to run those units.

The Appeal of ISIS Fades among Europeans Who Returned Home from Syria (Souad Mekhennet and Joby Warrick, Washington Post)
As recently as two years ago, European officials were bracing for new waves of terrorist attacks as young men and women left the group’s self-declared caliphate to return home, often ending up in prisons crowded with other Islamists.
Now, scholarly studies are beginning to confirm what some law enforcement officials had observed privately: Despite initial fears, an overwhelming majority of the returnees appear to be shunning extremist causes so far, and many avowedly reject the Islamic State and its violent tactics.