Arrests Along U.S.-Mexico Border Top 2 Million | Tech-Industry Legislation | Cyber Threats Across the Americas, and more

The China Challenge: Risks to the U.S. Economy if China Invades Taiwan in Seven Charts  (Christine McDaniel and Weifeng Zhong, Discourse)The trade and economic effects of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could easily exceed those of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China’s economy is 10 times larger than Russia’s, and Taiwan’s is four times larger than Ukraine’s. U.S. businesses and consumers rely much more heavily on China and Taiwan for key intermediate inputs and final goods. Given Taiwan’s outsized role in the global advanced semiconductor chip industry—92% of the world’s most advanced chips that power our smart devices are made in Taiwan—any disruption would leave most advanced U.S. tech companies such as Apple, Amazon and Google, and the U.S. economy at large, in the lurch.
Two immediate and direct risks to the U.S. economy in the event of a geopolitical incident in the Taiwan Strait are container shipments for international trade and submarine cables for global digital flows. Ocean routes for the transport of goods in container ships are easy to adjust. But the undersea cable network for digital flows is less conspicuous. Hundreds of thousands of miles of cable line the ocean floor, connecting to land-based stations with power and networking infrastructure to facilitate reliable intercontinental communications. Nearly all digital and internet traffic relies on submarine cables. If a cable is cut or a landing station is damaged—intentionally or not—the flow of that data will be interrupted.

Not Even Soaking Rain Can Ease Fire Risk in a California Hit by Record Heat, Dry Landscape  (Hayley Smith and Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times)
A summer of drought, extreme heat and deadly wildfires will end with much-needed rain this week in parts of California, but it is unlikely to douse the threat of wind-driven fires this fall in a state scarred by record-setting heat waves and bone-dry landscapes.
Although recent rains helped tame some of the state’s most active blazes—including the Mosquito fire in El Dorado and Placer counties and the Fairview fire in Riverside—it’s too soon to declare fire season over, experts say. In California, occasional bouts of heavy precipitation are proving outmatched by rising temperatures and worsening drought, which can leave vegetation nearly as brittle and fire-prone as it was before the rain.
What’s more, fall is often accompanied by gusty Santa Ana winds that help to fan wildfires. With experts now predicting a rare, third consecutive year of dry La Niña conditions, the combination of winds and desiccated fuel could prove perilous.

INTERPOL Working Group highlights cyber threats across the Americas  (INTERPOL)
The evolving digital landscape in the Americas has increased the challenges and vulnerabilities regarding cybersecurity. Countries across the region now face cybercrime attacks ranging from Business Email Compromise and online scams to ransomware and money laundering.

Climate Change Poses Threat to U.S. National Security, GAO Says  (Edward Graham, Nextgov)
The Government Accountability Office said federal agencies need to “increase their resilience” to climate risks that endanger technologies like radar sites and the electric grid.

Proposed Tech-Industry Legislation Would Hurt National Security (James R. Clapper, Defense One)
Provisions could force tech companies to break apart integrated security tools currently embedded in device and platform operating systems to screen for spyware and malware.