The chief of the Russian communications watchdog acknowledged Wednesday that millions of unrelated IP addresses have been frozen in a so-far futile attempt to block a popular messaging app. Telegram, the messaging app that was ordered to be blocked last week, was still available to users in Russia despite authorities’ frantic attempts to hit it… more
After coming together in striking suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria, the U.S. and its European allies, France and Britain, may be far less unified in finding longer-term solutions for the conflict-torn country. The first differences were on display hours after the strikes, as the White House appeared to rebut suggestions by French President Emmanuel… more
The airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump against Syria last week have prompted the U.S. Congress to revisit an often-delayed debate that centers on the most serious of its powers: the decision to authorize U.S. military force abroad. A bipartisan group, led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, and… more
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identify of the man who she said threatened her to keep quiet about her alleged sexual affair with President Donald Trump. Daniels appeared on ABC television’s “The View” Tuesday morning and displayed an artist’s sketch of the man who she… more
Cambridge Analytica’s ex-CEO, Alexander Nix, has refused to testify before the U.K. Parliament’s media committee, citing British authorities’ investigation into his former company’s alleged misuse of data from millions of Facebook accounts in political campaigns. Committee Chairman Damian Collins announced Nix’s decision a day before his scheduled appearance but flatly rejected the notion that he… more
More than 100 parts for U.S. space agency NASA’s deep-space capsule Orion will be made by 3-D printers, using technology that experts say will eventually become key to efforts to send humans to Mars. U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, 3-D printing specialist Stratasys, and engineering firm PADT have developed the parts using new materials that… more
Microsoft, Facebook and more than 30 other global technology companies on Tuesday announced a joint pledge not to assist any government in offensive cyberattacks. The Cybersecurity Tech Accord, which vows to protect all customers from attacks regardless of geopolitical or criminal motive, follows a year that witnessed an unprecedented level of destructive cyberattacks, including the… more
The U.S. Department of Commerce has banned American companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years after breaking an agreement reached after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran, U.S. officials said Monday. The U.S. action, first reported by Reuters, could be devastating to ZTE since American companies… more
The New York Times and The New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday for breaking the Harvey Weinstein scandal with reporting that galvanized the #MeToo movement and set off a worldwide reckoning over sexual misconduct in the workplace. The Times and The Washington Post took the national reporting award for their… more
The state of California has opted not to take part in the Trump administration’s effort to send National Guard troops to the country’s southern border with Mexico, a Defense Department official said on Monday. Robert Salesses, a deputy assistant secretary at the Defense Department, said at a media briefing that California has declined a request… more
A British technology firm has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use biometric facial verification technology to improve border control, the first foreign firm to win such a contract in the United States. London-based iProov will develop technology to improve border controls at unmanned ports of entry with… more
Russia began implementing a ban on popular instant messaging service Telegram after the app refused to provide encrypted messages to Russia’s security services. Russia’s state telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor said Monday that it had sent a notice to telecommunications operators in the country instructing them to block the service following last week’s court ruling that sided… more
Farmers in the American South are upgrading their cattle to the 21st Century. With tech tools like AI (artificial intelligence) and Wi-Fi, they are now able to monitor the herd and keep tabs on the animals that drive their business. Arash Arabasadi reports. …… more
The calendar says spring, but Mother Nature has her own ideas. Heavy snow, ice storms and record low temperatures have turned large parts of the upper Midwest and New England into an unwanted winter wonderland. More than 61 centimeters, or two feet, of snow was on the ground Sunday in Tigerton and Big Falls, Wisconsin.… more
French President Emmanuel Macron says he convinced President Donald Trump not to pull U.S. troops out of Syria and limit the airstrikes. Macron spoke to France’s BFM television Sunday, marking one year in office, and two days after France joined the U.S. and Britain in airstrikes targeting Syria’s chemical weapons sites. “Ten days ago, President… more
New York is a city that boasts of its religious tolerance, but even here, Ahmadiyya Muslims feel the sting of discrimination. Though they represent just 1 percent of Muslims worldwide, members of the minority sect have felt uneasy here for years, and in the past decade, what was once whispered has become overt, according to… more
Technology is being developed in Austin, Texas, to make cancer detection faster and tumor removal more precise. A device called the MasSpec Pen can detect cancer with just one touch, researchers said. “Well, it’s a game changer because I was doing a case the other day with a surgeon, and we had to wait an… more
The United States, Britain and France said Saturday their strike on facilities associated with Syria’s chemical weapons program was legal under international law. Speaking at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting called by Russia, the three powers said the strike was necessary to prevent further use of an illegal and inhumane weapon of war. From… more
Gun rights supporters gathered in Atlanta and dozens of other U.S. state capitals Saturday at a time when many Americans are pressing for tougher restrictions on weapons. According to a early Associated Press count, more than 135 people attended the rally in Atlanta, and more were arriving. Most of them were armed, and some held signs… more
Rural communities in United States and elsewhere often use portable backup electricity generators in case of power outages. But these machines can be costly to run for longer times and require periodic attendance. A team from West Virginia University is developing a small, natural gas-powered generator that will be able to run for years. VOA’s… more
More trouble may be ahead for Facebook as the Philippine government said it is investigating the social media giant over reports information from more than a million users in the Philippines was breached by British data firm Cambridge Analytica. The Phliippines’ National Privacy Commission, or NPC, said it sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark… more
A new U.N. report for the first time puts Myanmar’s armed forces on a U.N. blacklist of government and rebel groups “credibly suspected” of carrying out rapes and other acts of sexual violence in conflict. An advance copy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ report to the Security Council, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, says international… more
U.S. officials are expressing “high confidence” that Syria carried out last week’s chemical weapons attack in Douma, promising the West will respond and that all options remain on the table. Despite tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week suggesting a missile strike might be imminent, the White House, State Department and Pentagon have been… more
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation rose 53.5 percent to $8.9 million in 2017, a regulatory filing showed Friday, largely because of higher costs related to the 33-year old billionaire’s personal security. About 83 percent of the compensation represented security-related expenses, while much of the rest was tied to Zuckerberg’s personal usage of private aircraft. Zuckerberg’s security expenses climbed… more
The U.S. Interior Department will hike fees at the most popular national parks to $35 a vehicle, backing off a plan that would have cost visitors $70 a vehicle to visit Yellowstone and other well-known parks, the agency said Thursday. The new plan boosts fees at 117 parks by $5, up from the current $30… more
A federal jury in Washington on Thursday convicted former Texas Republican Congressman Stephen Stockman of numerous counts of fraud, including stealing charitable contributions for campaign and personal expenses. U.S. attorneys said Stockman used his position as a public servant to defraud donors and break federal law. They say his conviction shows no one is above… more