OUR PICKSSan Diego’s Tragic Lesson About Terrorism | How to Measure US Energy Security | AI License Plate Cameras, and more

Published 19 May 2026

·  San Diego’s Tragic Lesson About Terrorism

·  Iran War Exposes Shortcomings in U.S. Military Industrial Base

·  San Diego Mosque Attack Follows Surge in Public Anti-Islam Rhetoric

·  $1.8 Billion Fund Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies 

·  ICE Agent Charged in Shooting of a Venezuelan Immigrant in Minnesota

·  AI License Plate Cameras Tore This Town Apart and Led to a State of Emergency 

·  How to Measure US Energy Security

San Diego’s Tragic Lesson About Terrorism  (Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic)
The attack on an Islamic center exemplified a danger that the Trump administration would rather ignore.

Iran War Exposes Shortcomings in U.S. Military Industrial Base  (Julian E. Barnes, New York Times)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking on a problem that the Pentagon and Congress have tried, and mostly failed, to address for years.

San Diego Mosque Attack Follows Surge in Public Anti-Islam Rhetoric  (Michelle Boorstein and N. Kirkpatrick, Washington Post)
Statements against Islam by prominent figures, and multiple attacks on houses of worship of all types, have faith leaders deeply worried.

$1.8 Billion Fund Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies  (New York Times)
The Trump administration announced on Monday the creation of a $1.8 billion fund to compensate those who claim they were targeted by the Biden Justice Department and Democrats, forging a pipeline to funnel taxpayer money to President Trump’s allies.

ICE Agent Charged in Shooting of a Venezuelan Immigrant in Minnesota  (Ernesto Londoño and Mitch Smith, New York Times)
The agent is the second federal officer to face felony charges in Minnesota stemming from Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

AI License Plate Cameras Tore This Town Apart and Led to a State of Emergency  (Annie Gowen, Washington Post)
In Troy, New York, residents and city officials are at odds over police use of Flock cameras, which some call a safety tool and others see as surveillance.

How to Measure US Energy Security  (Stephen D. Eule and Iddo Wernick, National Interest)
America’s energy security is stronger than it has been in decades, but growing dependence on critical minerals is creating new strategic vulnerabilities.