OUR PICKS“Cyber Is the Most Dangerous Weapon in the World” | Long-Lasting Tornadoes | Predicting China’s Behavior, and more

U.S. Builds New Software Tool to Predict Actions That Could Draw China’s Ire  (Reuters)
U.S. military commanders in the Pacific have built a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to U.S. actions in the region like military sales, U.S.-backed military activity and even congressional visits to hotspots like Taiwan.

US Poised to Become First Country to Ban Goods Made by Uyghur Slave Labor  (Katherine Gypson, VOA News)
The U.S. Congress moved one step closer this week to making the United States the first country to ban the import of goods produced by Uyghur slave labor.
After more than a year of negotiations, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act passed the House of Representatives unanimously late Tuesday and is poised to move quickly through the Senate and to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The Paperwork Coup  (David A. Graham, The Atlantic)
A much more dangerous insurrection was under way in the inboxes of Trump’s inner circle in the weeks before January 6.

Beware Prophecies of Civil War  (Fintan O’Toole, The Atlantic)
The idea that such a catastrophe is unavoidable in America is inflammatory and corrosive.

The Collapsed Bridge Loan: Israel’s Shin Bet Location Tracking of Omicron Carriers  (Amir Cahane, Lawfare)
Israel reinstated contact-tracing activities by the Israel Security Agency to track carriers of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Five days later, it halted the ISA’s contact-tracing activities, due to a lack of parliamentary support.

More Hurricane-Force Wind Gusts Were Reported Across the U.S. in a Single Day Than Ever Before  (Travis Caldwell, Jason Hanna and Brandon Miller, CNN)
Heavy winds barreled Wednesday from the Rockies to the Great Lakes, exacerbating fire dangers and setting weather records as gusts shut down a stretch of interstate, tore off roofs and even forced the evacuation of some air traffic controllers.

Unvaccinated Covid Patients Push Hospital Systems Past the Brink  (Drew Armstrong, Bloomberg)
Analysis of vaccine, infection, hospitalization data revealed how low vaccination rates strained entire communities and healthcare systems in Kentucky.

Russian Politician Calls for Kidnapping of U.S. Congressman on Live TV  (Julia Davis, Daily Beast)
“This is how we should be dealing with these bastards,” a Russian lawmaker said after advocating for the abduction of Rep. Ruben Gallego over his recent comments on Ukraine.

“Cyber Is the Most Dangerous Weapon in the World,” JPMorgan Council Warns  (Matt Egan, CNN)
Business leaders and former policymakers are sounding the cyber alarm.
The JPMorgan International Council on Thursday urged the public and private sector to step up their cybersecurity efforts to combat an increasingly dangerous threat to the economy and national security.
“Cyber is the most dangerous weapon in the world — politically, economically and militarily,” former Defense Secretary Bob Gates, the vice chairman of the JPMorgan International Council, said in the report, which was shared exclusively with CNN.

Quad-State Tornado May Be Longest-Lasting Ever  (Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American)
Why some tornadoes are able to travel so far and persist so long.