9 Inventors Who Were Killed by Their Own Inventions

When most of us think of “inventors,” we’re probably thinking about folks like the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, or Thomas Edison—folks who changed the world by creating something new and lived to tell the tale. What gets talked about less frequently are the folks that aren’t so lucky: the people that tried…

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‘High School Musical’ Star Joshua Bassett Reveals Past Sexual Abuse

“I didn’t remember that until last year, which is pretty insane,” the Disney+ actor told GQ. “I buried it so far.”

Ammon Bundy Comically Argues His Gubernatorial Campaign Counts As Community Service

The anti-government extremist was sentenced to 40 hours of community service on a trespassing charge after tying himself to a chair at the Idaho Legislature.

Why It’s So Unusual To See A School Shooter Charged With Terrorism

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald acknowledged that the charge is not “typical.”

Colorado Supermarket Shooting Suspect Deemed Incompetent For Trial

Ahwad Al Aliwi Alissa’s attorney said Friday her client has a “serious” mental illness but did not provide more details.

Xbox Winter Game Fest is about to serve up a ton of indie game demos

With The 2021 Game Awards just around the corner, Microsoft has announced that it will once more host a collection of game demos for Xbox owners to check out. Officially called the ID@Xbox Winter Game Fest Demo Event, this two-week event will give Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One owners the chance to check out some upcoming indie games. Unlike … Continue reading

US will work with allies to limit the export of surveillance tools to authoritarian governments

On the same day Reuters published a report on how NSO spyware may have been used to target State Department officials, the Biden administration announced the US would work with other countries to limit the export of surveillance software and other technologies to authoritarian governments. In a media event involving The Wall Street Journal, White House officials said the administration wants to coordinate with allies on a code of conduct related to export-licensing policies. Those involved in the effort would share information on tools used against political dissidents, journalists and foreign government officials.

The Biden Administration will announce the effort at the upcoming Summit for Democracy. The event, set to run for two days between December 9th and 10th, will see national governments and the private sector meet to discuss some of the challenges facing democracies in 2021 and beyond. Notably, China and Russia weren’t invited to attend the meeting.

Officials told The Journal the effort is in part a response to a global increase in the use of digital surveillance tools. “Technology is being misused by governments to surveil and, in some cases— as in the case of the [People’s Republic of China] — to control their population,” an administration official told the outlet. The effort could include some of the existing members of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a pact that sets voluntary export controls on military and dual-use technologies.

The initiative would build on work the US government is already doing to limit the export and resale of cyber intrusion software to China and Russia. At the end of October, the Commerce Department announced a new set of rules that will require companies that want to sell their hacking tools to countries “of national security concern” to obtain a license from the department before they can do so.

Nvidia Asks Biden Admin to Exempt Graphics Cards from Tariffs, but GPU Problems Run Much Deeper

You may have noticed that along with being perpetually out of stock, PC graphics cards are more expensive than ever. This is no coincidence, and it isn’t solely caused by the ongoing chip shortage.

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Most Dog Breeds Are Super Inbred, Study Finds

New research seems to confirm the idea that many of our cutest purebred pups are also burdened by their genetics. The study determined that most dog breeds have high levels of inbreeding. What’s more, this inbreeding can contribute to various health problems and expensive vet bills over time, particularly for larger…

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Someone Is Running Hundreds of Malicious Servers on the Tor Network and Might Be De-Anonymizing Users

New research shows that someone has been running hundreds of malicious servers on the Tor network, potentially in an attempt to de-anonymize users and unmask their web activity. As first reported by The Record, the activity would appear to be emanating from one particular user who shows signs of persistent,…

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