OUR PICKS5 Key Questions About Signalgate | The Escalating Attacks on Tesla Facilities | The Quantum Apocalypse Is Coming. Be Very Afraid, and more

5 Key Questions About Signalgate  (John Haltiwanger, Foreign Policy)
The biggest outstanding questions we have about the Signal group chat scandal.

The Escalating Attacks on Tesla Facilities  (Riley McCabe, CSIS)
The recent attacks on Tesla have brought renewed attention to a long-standing debate among policymakers, scholars, and law enforcement over what qualifies as terrorism. Some argue for a broader definition of terrorism, contending that any ideologically motivated violence should be classified as terrorism if it seeks to further political, social, religious, or other ideological goals. The FBI reflects this perspective, defining domestic terrorism as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.” By this definition, several of the Tesla attacks could be considered domestic terrorism.
Others have argued that terrorism should be defined more narrowly to exclude attacks that do not direct violence toward individuals. Under this view, incidents where perpetrators do not target people—such as some acts of economic sabotage or property destruction—may not meet the threshold for terrorism. The recent attacks on Tesla facilities and vehicles in the United States appear to have been carried out in a manner that deliberately minimized the likelihood of human casualties.

The Doublespeak of Energy Secretary Chris Wright  (Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica)
In his confirmation hearing, the Liberty Energy founder pledged broad support for renewable energy. But when speaking to conservatives, he declared, “We don’t have replacements”for coal, oil and gas.

Youth Gun Deaths in the U.S. Have Surged 50% Since 2019  (Amanda Hernández, Stateline)
Firearms killed 2,581 children in 2023. Black children died disproportionately.

As the Trump Administration Loosens AI Rules, States Look to Regulate the Technology  (Madyson Fitzgerald, Stateline)
Measures range from consumer protections to deepfakes to use in health care.

When the Government Becomes a Health Misinformation Superspreader  (Kevin Griffis, Washington Post)
Until I left last week, I led the CDC’s public health messaging. Now we need something to replace it.

Why Government Workers and Military Planners All Love Signal Now (Shira Ovide, Danielle Abril and Hannah Natanson, Washington Post)
The encrypted chat app beloved by Elon Musk and foreign dissidents has been embraced by federal government workers, DOGE and military planners.

1 in 8 Californians Now Face Extreme Fire Danger  (Anna Phillips, John Muyskens, Naema Ahmed and Brady Dennis, Washington Post)
One in 8 Californians now live in places at risk for the kinds of devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles this winter, according to a Washington Post analysis of state fire maps released Monday.
The maps, drawn by Cal Fire, the state’s forestry and fire protection agency, reveal the threat from wildfire is greater than previous state estimates showed. They reflect the effects of soaring temperatures on California, where hotter, drier weather has primed a landscape filled with vast acres of forest and shrubland for explosive fires — even in winter, during what should be the state’s rainy season. When factoring in areas where state and local firefighters are responsible for fighting blazes, the maps show there are now about 5.1 million people living in the two highest fire severity zones in the state, The Post found. That’s around one in 8 Californians.

As Trump’s Policies Worry Scientists, France and Others Put Out a Welcome Mat  (Catherine Porter, New York Times)
European universities have begun recruiting researchers who lost their jobs in the administration’s cost-cutting efforts, or are anxious over perceived threats to academic freedom.

The Quantum Apocalypse Is Coming. Be Very Afraid  (Amit Katwala, Wired)
What happens when quantum computers can finally crack encryption and break into the world’s best-kept secrets? It’s called Q-Day—the worst holiday maybe ever.