Our picksCall me a Traitor | Next Heat Dome | Mysterious Colorado Drone

Next Heat Dome to Build Across Lower 48, Aggravating Drought, Fires  (Andrew Freedman, Axious)
A significant and far-reaching heat wave is poised to build across much of the continental U.S. during the next few weeks, and it could be the most expansive in the country so far during this unusually hot summer, aggravating drought and wildfires.
Forests across the West are already burning at a scope and intensity that’s unusual for this time of year. Drought data released Thursday showed that what is already the worst Western drought so far this century is only intensifying. Any additional heat will aggravate an already dire situation.

Wildfire Smoke Blowing Across the U.S. Is More Toxic Than We Thought  (Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic)
Wildfires are threatening homes on the West Coast and in Canada, but their smoke is polluting air as far away as New York.

Does Congress Know What It Would Take to Stop the Next Pandemic?  (Kelsey Pipe, Vox)
Why America can’t allow pandemic preparedness funding to fall prey to short-term thinking.

North Miami Beach’s Crestview Evacuees Struggle with Weeks of Displacement  (Daniela Hernandez and Deborah Acosta, Wall Street Journal)
City could see more evacuations as officials more closely scrutinize older buildings.

Call Me a Traitor: Why Were the Leaked Secrets of America’s Drone War Ignored?  (Kerry Howley, New York Magazine)
Daniel Hale exposed the machinery of America’s clandestine warfare. Why did no one seem to care?

Murders Are Up. Crime Is Not. What’s Going On?  (German Lopez, Vox)
The US is in its most violent period in the 21st century. There are some things we know — and others we don’t.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: The Lost Two Hours  (David Collins, The Times)
As victims lay dying vital help was kept away. Now police face serious questions over failures in their response.

India Plans More Power Islands to Counter Cyber, Terror Threat  (Rajesh Kumar Singh, Bloomberg)
India is discussing a plan to create so-called power islanding systems in several cities to protect critical infrastructure from potential attacks on the electricity grid, power minister Raj Kumar Singh said. Cities including Bengaluru, known as India’s Silicon Valley, and Jamnagar, which has two of India’s largest oil refineries, are among cities being assessed for an islanding system, Singh told lawmakers in parliament Thursday. (Cont.)