Our picksNYC: No Policemen Poisoning | Multilateral Cyber Hotline | Failing U.S. Institutions, and more

New York Police Probe Clears Workers of Criminality in Alleged Police Poisoning (VOA)
A New York City police department investigation has determined that employees at a U.S. fast food restaurant did not any commit criminal acts after three officers drank milkshakes that may have been tainted with bleach or other cleaning materials. New York Police Department Chief Detective Rodney Harrison tweeted the announcement early Tuesday after a “thorough investigation” had been conducted.
Shortly after the three officers fell ill, the city’s Detectives’ Endowment Association was quick to claim, falsely, that that the three officers were deliberately poisoned.The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association said bleach had been mixed into the cops’ milkshakes, but without claiming that it was a deliberate act. 

Why America’s Institutions Are Failing (Derek Thompson, The Atlantic)
The country’s law-enforcement and public-health systems are flunking 2020’s test.

What the World Could Teach America About Policing (Yasmeen Serhan, Defense One)
Examples abound of reforms that are seen as “radical” in the United States.

The Art of War: How Concerns about Chinese Drones Could Propel the Commercial Drone Industry to New Heights (Dawn M.K. Zoldi, Commercial UAV News)
Over the past several years, the heat has been on Chinese drone manufacturing giant Da Jiang Innovations (DJI). Numerous U.S. government agencies have instituted policy bans on DJI and Chinese drone purchases and use including the Departments of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DoJ), Interior (DoI), and presumably Homeland Security (DHS), who has been issuing warnings to others over the past year. Add to this a draft Executive Order that’s purportedly making its rounds in D.C. Meanwhile, Congress continues to mount its own offensive to ban Chinese drones. Some have decried these efforts as unwarranted political maneuvers that will kill public safety drone programs and in turn, the commercial drone industry. How legitimate are these concerns, and do they actually represent an opportunity in disguise for the market?

The Storm Still Comes: Invest Now, While We Still Can (Kathy Baughman McLeod, New Atlanticist)
Without question, COVID-19 has laid bare the myriad vulnerabilities and inequalities of societies in the face of global calamities like pandemics. In the United States alone, it’s resulted in the deaths of over 112,000 Americans so far, put one in four people out of work, and cost the US economy some $350 billion per month in production losses, according to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.

And while we don’t know the nature of the next crisis we’ll face, we know it’s inevitable—much like climate change, a crisis whose own potential devastation is virtually incalculable, and against whose ominous backdrop future public health crises will unquestionably unfold. Among its many lessons, COVID-19 has taught us that in preparation for an uncertain future, we must devise ways to create a healthier, more inclusive and resilient future for all.  

Does the World Need a Multilateral Cyber Hotline? (Stilgherrian, ZDNet)
The pace of a cyber attack could match nuclear war, but attribution is hard. Direct communications links like the Cold War’s US-Soviet hotline could help de-escalate international cyber tensions.

Terrorists Aren’t Staying in Jail as Long as You Might Think (Elena Pokalova, Defense One)
Most convicted of terror offenses stay just a few years, and receive far too little rehabilitation support before and after they leave.

Who Should Lead AI Development: Data Scientists or Domain Experts? (Aaron Boyd, Nextgov)
Leaders in and around government debate whether technologists or subject matter experts are better suited to lead the ethical development of artificial intelligence.

Don’t Believe the China Hype (Michael Schuman, The Atlantic)
When it comes to assessing Chinese power, things aren’t always as they seem.

Fifty-Four Scientists Have Lost Their Jobs as a Result of NIH Probe into Foreign Ties (Jeffrey Mervis, Science)
Some 54 scientists have resigned or been fired as a result of an ongoing investigation by the National Institutes of Health into the failure of NIH grantees to disclose financial ties to foreign governments. In 93% of those cases, the hidden funding came from a Chinese institution.
The new numbers come from Michael Lauer, NIH’s head of extramural research. Lauer had previously provided some information on the scope of NIH’s investigation, which had targeted 189 scientists at 87 institutions. But his presentation today to a senior advisory panel offered by far the most detailed breakout of an effort NIH launched in August 2018 that has roiled the U.S. biomedical community, and resulted in criminal charges against some prominent researchers, including Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard University’s department of chemistry and chemical biology.

A Deadly Mosquito-Borne Illness Is Brewing in the Northeast (Oscar Schwartz, Medium)
EEE (eastern equine encephalitis) kills almost half of its victims, and cases are on the rise