OUR PICKSTreasury Department’s Systems Hacked by China-Backed Actor | Why QAnon Hasn't Gone Away | The Paper Passport Is Dying, and more

Four Years After the Capitol Riot, Why QAnon Hasn’t Gone Away  (Jude Joffe-Block, NPR)
Most of the rioters who stormed the Capitol that day were inspired by then-President Donald Trump’s calls to be there. But many also cited or were adherents of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. Over the past four years, the online extremist community has continued to be subtly courted by Trump and some of his most powerful allies.
The theory, which emerged in 2017, claims that Trump is involved in a secret battle against evil members of the alleged deep state, or in other tellings, a powerful cabal of government and Hollywood elites engaged in satanic child abuse. Some QAnon claims and themes echo longstanding antisemitic tropes. An anonymous source called Q, who supposedly had access to high level intelligence, posted cryptic clues, known as Q drops, on online message boards.
QAnon adherents are now celebrating the incoming Trump administration and his cabinet picks.
A 2018 Q drop previously mentioned [Kash] Patel [who’s now Trump’s pick to lead the FBI] as “a name to remember.” That history, along with Patel’s rhetoric about the deep state and previous overtures to QAnon – which include signing copies of one of his children’s books with a slogan associated with QAnon (he said he learned the slogan in a movie) and promoting an account called “Q” on Truth Social – have made Trump’s pick to lead the FBI popular among QAnon followers.

California to Require Insurers to Boost Home Coverage in Wildfire-Prone Areas  (AP / VOA News)
Insurance companies that stopped providing home coverage to hundreds of thousands of Californians in recent years as wildfires became more destructive will have to again provide policies in fire-prone areas if they want to keep doing business in California under a state regulation announced Monday.

December Border Arrests Remain Down, Ending Biden’s Term at Lowest Level  (AP / VOA News)
Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico in December are little changed from a month earlier, a U.S. official said Monday, hovering near the lowest levels since July 2020 and indicating that an anticipated surge ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president hasn’t happened.

The MAGA Honeymoon Is Over  (Ali Breland, The Atlantic)
Silicon Valley and the nativist right worked together to elect Trump. Now the infighting has begun.

Treasury Department Says Systems Hacked by China-Backed Actor  ((Connor Hart and Dustin Volz, Wall Street Journal)
Several workstations and certain unclassified documents were accessed, the agency said.

Scared of Huawei? Brace Yourself for This Insider’s Account  (Steven Poole, The Telegraph)
Eva Dou draws on interviews with executives in House of Huawei, her damning portrait of the company and its enthusiasm for state oppression.

RFK Junior Is Half Right About American Health Care  (Economist)
What would have to happen for the anti-vaxxer-in-chief to do more good than harm.

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2024  (Wired staff)
From Elon Musk and Donald Trump to state-sponsored hackers and crypto scammers, this was the year the online agents of chaos gained ground.

The Paper Passport Is Dying  (Matt Burgess, Wired)
Smartphones and face recognition are being combined to create new digital travel documents. The paper passport’s days are numbered—despite new privacy risks.

A China-Taiwan War Would Start an Economic Crisis. America Isn’t Ready.  (Eyck Freymann and Hugo Bromley, New York Times)
An invasion of Tiwan isn’t Mr. Xi’s only option. He could use his far larger coast guard and military to impose a “quarantine,” allowing merchant shippers and commercial airlines to travel in and out of Taiwan only on China’s terms. This strategy would mirror Beijing’s moves in the South China Sea, where its coast guard is trying to assert control over waters and atolls that are part of the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally.
If China forces a confrontation over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory, the United States will need to respond decisively: The implications are enormous, potentially including a global economic crisis far worse than the shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Right now, America isn’t ready.