OUR PICKSSecret Service Needs 'Fundamental Reform' | A Homeland Missile Defense Agenda for the Next President | The AI Boom Has an Expiration Date, and more

Panel Looking into Trump Assassination Attempt Says Secret Service Needs ‘Fundamental Reform’  (AP / VOA News)
An independent panel investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally faulted the Secret Service for poor communications that day and failing to secure the building where the gunman took his shots. The review also found more systemic issues at the agency such as a failure to understand the unique risks facing Trump and a culture of doing “more with less.”

Deepfakes Featuring Deceased Terrorists Spread Radical Propaganda  (Rio Tuasikal, VOA News)
In a year with over 60 national elections worldwide, concerns are high that individuals and entities are using deepfake images and recordings to contribute to the flood of election misinformation. VOA’s Rio Tuasikal reports on some potentially dangerous videos made using generative AI.

The AI Boom Has an Expiration Date  (Matteo Wong, The Atlantic)
Tech executives are setting deadlines for the arrival of superintelligence. They might regret it.

After Hurricane Milton, Get Ready for Mold  (Emily Mullin, The Atlantic)
Thousands may now be at risk of mold-related illnesses following this year’s hurricanes in the American South.

Hacker Charged with Seeking to Kill Using Cyberattacks on Hospitals (Andy Greenberg, Wired)
The US has accused two brothers of being part of the hacker group Anonymous Sudan, which allegedly went on a wild cyberattack spree that hit hundreds of targets—and, for one of the two men, even put lives at risk.

A Homeland Missile Defense Agenda for the Next President  (Peppino A. DeBiaso and Robert M. Soofer, National Interest)
North Korea, Russia, and China—and perhaps soon Iran—will continue to grow their long-range missile capabilities with the intent to hold the U.S. homeland at risk. The next president has no time to waste in restoring a credible missile defense.

How the Secret Service Failed to Prevent a Trump Assassination Attempt (Matt Gluck, Olivia Manes, and Katherine Pompilio, Lawfare)
A report from the Senate HSGAC details USSS security and planning failures related to the July 13 attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pa.