OUR PICKSLargest US Reservoirs Moving in Right Direction | The January 6 Deniers Are Going to Lose | Cyber-Physical Resilience Working Group, and more

Scientists: Largest US Reservoirs Moving in Right Direction (Associated Press / VOA News)
Parts of California are under water, the Rocky Mountains are bracing for more snow, flood warnings are in place in Nevada, and water is being released from some Arizona reservoirs to make room for an expected bountiful spring runoff.
All the moisture has helped alleviate dry conditions in many parts of the western U.S. Even major reservoirs on the Colorado River are trending in the right direction.

America’s Military Depends on Minerals That China Controls  (Morgan D. Bazilian, Emily J. Holland, and Joshua Busby, Foreign Policy)
In 1944, when the outcome of World War II hung in the balance, the rapid advance of Allied forces across Europe suddenly stalled due to fuel shortages. In the famous words of then-Gen. George Patton: “My men can eat their belts, but my tanks have gotta have gas.”
Patton’s quote is a testament to the crucial role of supply chains and logistics in military operations. Simply stated, supply chains win wars and save lives. Materials need to be in the right place at the right time.
For the United States today, those materials include many more resources than fuel for tanks. A host of so-called critical minerals are essential to building and maintaining modern weapons systems. In today’s globalized world, the United States and other major world powers are alarmingly dependent on other nations—first and foremost China—for these materials. China’s rapid buildup of a sophisticated military has rendered it America’s most consequential strategic competitor and has set the so-called pacing threat for American defense strategy.

The January 6 Deniers Are Going to Lose  (Adam Serwer, The Atlantic)
Even as the riot of January 6, 2021, was unfolding, and Americans could see a mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Trumpists were telling people not to believe their own eyes.
They said the rioters were harmless tourists, they claimed the riot itself was an inside job by the FBI, they insisted that antifa was responsible, and they declared the violence to be justified or at least understandable. Some made several of these claims at once.
So when the Fox News host Tucker Carlson last week attempted to rewrite the history of January 6, using footage provided by the newly inaugurated Republican House majority, it was hardly surprising. Not only had similarly contradictory claims been in circulation since the day of the riot, but Carlson himself had aired propaganda making parallel claims two years ago.
In the short term, Carlson’s efforts may convince those loyal viewers who are predisposed to believe him, his now-documented dishonesty toward his own audience notwithstanding. But in the long run, January 6 is likely to be recalled as a violent if clownish attempt to end constitutional government, in large part thanks to the work done by the much maligned January 6 committee. 

Congress Moves to Repeal the Iraq War Authorization, 20 Years Later  (Jonathan Guyer, Vox)
It’s a significant symbolic move, but US troops are still there, and other parts of the forever war continue.

White House Tech Council Launches Cyber-Physical Resilience Working Group  (Alexandra Kelley, Nextgov)
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology aims to use the initiative to improve resilience within the nation’s digital networks.