OUR PICKSHow Big of a Threat Is Mythos? | How China Spied on Alysa Liu and Her Dad | Republican Mutiny Sinks Warrantless Surveillance Extension, and more

How Big of a Threat Is Mythos?  (Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy)
Anthropic’s latest AI model has kick-started a new debate.

Fuentes Spreads Hate Online — and Fans Pay Him Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars  (Drew Harwell and Jeremy B. Merrill, Washington Post)
The far-right influencer Nick Fuentes has pocketed roughly $900,000 from “fanatical” donors since the start of 2025. Some superfans see him as part of their families.

In Red States, Anti-immigrant Bills Are Failing as Businesses Push Back  (Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post)
Most of the roughly 200 bills targeting immigrants around the country this year have stalled or died, with help from business and Christian groups.

Anduril, Palantir and SpaceX Are Changing How America Wages War  (Economist)
The Trump administration is cozying up to a clique of “neo-primes.”

Why the Next Generation of Republicans Might Be More Extreme Than MAGA  (Julian E. Zelizer, Foreign Policy)
President Trump could come to represent the restrained, reasonable wing of the GOP.

DOJ’s First ‘Weaponization’ Report Is a Bust  (Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic)
The document purports to show bias under the Biden administration—and fails spectacularly.

The Weird, Twisting Tale of How China Spied on Alysa Liu and Her Dad  (Timothy McLaughlin, Wired)
Years before the figure skater became an Olympic superstar, a Chinese operative tried to stalk her father and monitored other US residents deemed dissidents against China. And that’s just the beginning.

Republican Mutiny Sinks Trump’s Push to Extend Warrantless Surveillance  (Dell Cameron, Wired)
A post-midnight revolt in the House sank the White House’s efforts to extend Section 702—a spy program the FBI has used to look into members of Congress, protesters, and political donors.