Required reading from around the web of the best, most interesting, or most though provoking things we’ve read:
Gertz: Russians Arrest NATO Spy Suspects in Probe of Hypersonic Missile Secrets
“Russian FSB security and intelligence service agents have arrested two people in the defense industry charged with passing secrets on Moscow’s hypersonic missiles to western intelligence. U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the mole hunt first disclosed July 20 in news reports in Russia. One suspect in the case is Viktor Kudryavtsev, a 74-year-old researcher at a Russian rocket and spacecraft design plant who was arrested July 19 by FSB agents. A second person was reported arrested for treason as part of the investigation, Russian state-run news outlets reported Monday. […] Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the Strategic Command, testified to the Senate in March that both Russia and China are making progress in developing ultra-high speed missiles for which the United States has no defenses. Hypersonic weapons are launched atop ballistic missiles and travel at speeds of Mach 5 or greater, or more than 3,836 miles per hour. They are capable of maneuvering on the edge of the atmosphere where they can strike targets globally in minutes. The spy investigation began July 20 when FSB agents raided . . .”
Rambaran: Kemp Clinches Gubernatorial Nomination In Georgia Runoffs
“Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump on July 18, defeated his opponent Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on Tuesday, securing his candidacy for governor in a primary runoff election. . . . Kemp won the nomination with 69.4 percent of the vote, beating Cagle, who got 30.6 percent of the vote, . . .”
Rothman: The New Left Is Coming for You
“The new normal. As New York Times columnist David Leonhardt noted, the leftward drift of the Democratic Party’s activist wing has coincided with a spike in Democratic turnout in off-year and special elections, a new crop of talented candidates seeking elected office, and a dramatic increase in fundraising for both Democratic candidates and committees. Some will even challenge the validity of the public’s perceptions. The Huffington Post’s Kaitlin Byrd argued that the Democratic Party needs to embrace ‘radicalism’ insofar as radicalism amounts to supporting the kind of regulatory and welfare-state policies common to Western Europe. But Byrd’s argument didn’t end there.”