The IRS Investigation Division Is Requesting Information About Privacy-Centric Cryptocurrencies
The United States tax agency has published a request for information pertaining to privacy-centric cryptocurrencies and technologies that obfuscate crypto transactions. The IRS-CI Cyber Crimes Unit request is also asking for information in relation to “layer two offchain protocol networks,...
How to Sesh Responsibly On ‘Super Saturday’
Lockdown has been a strange time to take drugs. As society grappled with the threat of coronavirus, something felt inherently wrong about spending your furlough money on a bag of cocaine to ingest with three other impossibly sad men on...
Armed Man Who Allegedly Stormed Trudeau’s Residence Appears to Have Posted QAnon Content
Less than an hour before Corey Hurren allegedly drove his pickup truck through the gates of Rideau Hall, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, a social media account for his business posted a meme that blames the global elite for...
The Trial of Jamal Khashoggi’s Alleged Killers Has Begun, But It Won’t Deliver Any Justice
The trial of 20 Saudi officials charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi began in an Istanbul courtroom on Friday — although none of the accused were present to face justice. The men — including two former close aides...
How can we ban facial recognition when it’s already everywhere?
Apple iPhones offer Face ID, which allows you to unlock your phone and some apps by using a facial scan. | AFP via Getty Images A growing number of gadgets are scanning your face. Facial recognition is having a reckoning....
The Senate goes home for July Fourth recess as states wait on coronavirus stimulus
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leaves after a closed-door briefing at the US Capitol on July 2, 2020, in Washington, DC. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Economists see the uncertainty as devastating for state budgets. It’s now been more than six...
The world endured 2 extra heatwave days per decade since 1950 – but the worst is yet to come
Heatwaves have become longer, hotter and more frequent. This trend is accelerating from climate change.
Drones and Elite Police Units Deployed to COVID-19 Hotspots in Suburban Melbourne
This article originally appeared on VICE US.Surveillance drones and more than 1,000 police will be deployed to locked-down suburbs in Melbourne, Australia as the southern state of Victoria struggles to control a fresh wave of COVID-19 outbreaks. Victoria Police Chief...
Australian COVID Outbreak Traced Back to Quarantine Hotel Where Workers Allegedly had Sex with Guests
This article originally appeared on VICE US.Australia’s Victorian state government has announced a judicial inquiry into its hotel quarantine program amid scandalous allegations that, among other things, a contract worker at one of the hotels had sex with an infected...
Galilee Blockade continues to pressure Marsh Insurers
EnvironmentCoral WynterIssue 1271AustraliaGalilee BlockadeAdani#StopAdaniSydneyJuly 3, 2020Fifteen people from the Galilee Blockade organised a theatrical action on July 2 inside the foyer of the Barangaroo building where Marsh Insurance brokers has its head office. The mime involved “Adani” holding a bunch of...
Giant sea scorpions were the underwater titans of prehistoric Australia
Dimitris Siskopoulos/Wiki commonc, CC BY-SALet’s turn back the hands of time. Before extinction knocked dinosaurs off their pillar, before the “Great Dying” extinction wiped out 95% of all organisms – we had the Paleozoic Era. During this age in Earth’s...
Scientists Have Observed the Exposed Core of a Giant Planet
For the first time ever, scientists have glimpsed the exposed core of a giant planet, providing a rare opportunity to peer at the heart of an alien world. The planet, called TOI-849b, is slightly smaller in size than Neptune, but...
How Police Secretly Took Over a Global Phone Network for Organized Crime
Something wasn't right. Starting earlier this year, police kept arresting associates of Mark, a UK-based alleged drug dealer. Mark took the security of his operation seriously, with the gang using code names to discuss business on custom, encrypted phones made...
Inside the Plot to Kill the Open Technology Fund
In Indonesia, speaking openly about LGBT issues online can result in physical attacks, online abuse, and even arrest. That’s why Dhyta Caturani, a human rights activist who specializes in helping people to stay safe online, created a training program for...
After Hong Kong, Could the Philippines Be the Next to See a Law Against Government Critics?
A controversial anti-terror bill in the Philippines has been on President Rodrigo Duterte’s desk since mid-June, awaiting a signature. Duterte certified the bill as urgent, which allowed it to speed through Congress—mostly made up of his allies—but he has yet...
10 Artists Will Each Get £10,000 Grants in Lieu of This Year’s Cancelled Turner Prize. Here’s a Look at Each of Them
The 10 artists who will each be given £10,000 (about $12,500) grants in lieu of the Turner Prize this year (which was officially cancelled in May because it would have been logistically impossible to stage) have been named by Tate Britain. They are Liz...
Beijing Is Furious About UK’s Offer to Welcome Hong Kongers Fleeing Harsh New Security Law
China has reacted furiously to Britain's offer to open its doors to Hong Kongers fleeing a draconian new national security law, declaring the move illegal and vowing retaliation against the city's former colonial power. Chinese officials claimed Thursday that the...
Canary Wharf’s Overnight Energy Waste Could Power 4,500 Homes a Year
Canary Wharf is hard to miss. Even in the middle of the night, long after workers and cleaners have clocked off for the day, the lights in London's financial district are left firmly on. At the time of writing we're...
Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander Tells Us Why America’s Biggest Funder of Culture Is Shifting Its Focus to Social Justice
When future applicants seek funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the largest supporter of the arts and humanities in the US, they will be evaluated based on one principal question: would their proposal help create a more just and...
Climate change: why farmers are among our best guides for making sense of topsy-turvy weather
May 2020 was the driest on record in England and the second driest in Wales. Rainfall was about 17% of the average for May, and it was also the sunniest calendar month on record, with 266 hours of sunshine, surpassing...