- io9
A New Solo Clip Indicates Han’s Expanded Universe Story Is Now Star Wars Canon
Given how Disney hurled the Star Wars Expanded Universe into the trash compacter, there have been questions as to how Solo: A Star Wars Story would handle Han Solo’s origin. A new clip seems to confirm that part of his EU background has made it into Disney’s new canon. Plus, Thandie Newton’s Val finally gets … Continued
- Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Why Abortion Access Organizations Are Suing Anti-Choice Internet Trolls
For grassroots pro-choice organizations, visibility is a double-edged sword. This was especially clear during the National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon cyberattack two years ago. For the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), which led the event, more visibility meant the potential to raise more money to help those in need of abortion access. It also made … Continued
- Tech NewsApple
Apple Is Reportedly Cracking Down on Apps That Covertly Share Your Location Data
At a time when every tech company is desperate to avoid news that third-parties got their hands on user data without their knowledge, Apple is reportedly cracking down on app developers who’ve been transmitting users’ locations without their consent. The practice has long been part of Apple’s guidelines, but apparently wasn’t being properly enforced. According … Continued
By Rhett Jones - Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Signal’s Disappearing Messages Have a Huge Flaw on Macs
A bevy of secure messaging options exist to serve the needs of whistleblowers, journalists, and those wanting greater privacy in general, and among them Signal has become one of the most trusted. It even comes baked in with “disappearing” messages that users can set to self-destruct anywhere from five seconds to one week after they’re … Continued
By Avery Ellis - ScienceHealth
A Woman’s Years-Long Struggle With a Runny Nose Turned Out to Be Something Way Freakier
A Nebraska woman’s constantly runny nose turned out to be lot less innocuous than a typical case of the sniffles. In actuality, her skull had sprung a potentially fatal leak, one that took doctors years to finally spot and thankfully fix. In 2013, Kendra Jackson had gotten into a car accident, knocking her head hard … Continued
By Ed Cara - How To
Find and Remove the Most Troublesome Apps on Any Device
Bad apps are draining your battery life, sucking up your local storage, and causing your devices to crash more often than they should—and the worst part is, you might not realize who the worst offenders are. Here’s how to track down badly behaving apps on the major desktop and mobile platforms, and kick them to … Continued
By David Nield - EartherEnvironmental Justice
Judge Withdraws Key Permit for Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Win to Black Community
In St. James, Louisiana, folks are celebrating. A district judge ruled, in a judgment made public Monday, that the state Department of Natural Resources broke the law when it issued a key permit to Energy Transfer Partners for its Bayou Bridge Pipeline. Now, the state is requiring that the company come up with environmental protection … Continued
- io9
Legion Tells a Poignant Story of Grief Right When I Needed It Most
How does one of the most powerful psychics in the world mourn? In a sense, like everyone else. Grieving may be a deeply personal process, one I’m going through myself at the moment, but it’s also universal. There’s a reason we’ve established a concrete list of the Stages of Grief—starting with Denial. The instinctual need … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Report Alleges Tidal Faked Streaming Numbers for Beyoncé and Kanye West Albums
Tidal, the Jay-Z-backed streaming service that is supposed to put artists first, might’ve gone a bit overboard with that mantra. The Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reports that in 2016 the streaming service falsified and inflated streaming numbers for Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo and Beyoncé’s Lemonade albums. The disputed numbers in question were that … Continued
By David Turner - EartherConservation
The Secret Science of Shell Seeking
SANIBEL, FLORIDA—At the lowest tide of the month, the Gulf of Mexico peels back from the shores of Sanibel Island to reveal its treasures. Bruce Schulz is out there on a late February morning to find his piece of the booty. The early morning sun stretches the shadow of his lanky frame from the shore … Continued
By Brian Kahn - io9
Disney Teases Marvel’s Expansive Post-Avengers 4 Plans
The Six Million Dollar Man reboot has lost its director. Margot Robbie hypes Birds of Prey. Go behind the scenes of Deadpool 2’s amazing Celine Dion collab. John Krasinksi hints at where a sequel to A Quiet Place could go. Plus, what’s to come on The Flash, Arrow, and iZombie, and more. Spoilers, assemble! The … Continued
- Tech NewsNews
Boeing Loses $20 Billion in Contracts After President Trump Violates Iran Deal
President Trump announced yesterday that he was unilaterally pulling the U.S. out of the so-called Iran Deal, an international agreement that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for the cessation of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But now that the sanctions are being reinstated, some American companies stand to lose a lot of money. Boeing alone … Continued
By Matt Novak - Tech NewsApple
Apple’s iOS Will Reportedly Soon Have a Feature That Locks Down USB Data Access After a Week [Updated]
Apple’s latest move in its ongoing war of words with the FBI, National Security Agency, and other intelligence and law enforcement agencies over encryption is a feature that turns off USB data access on locked iOS devices. According to TechCrunch and MacRumors, Elcomsoft researchers recently discovered a feature called “USB Restricted Mode” hidden in the … Continued
By Tom McKay - ScienceAnimals
South Georgia Island Has Finally Been Certified Free of Swarms of Rats That Feasted on Rare Birds
Exterminators have successfully cleansed the remote British overseas territory of South Georgia island in the South Atlantic of invasive rats that, since the year 1775, had been feasting on the eggs and chicks of two species of birds found nowhere else on the planet and many others. The successful, $13.5 million (10 million pounds) rodent … Continued
By Tom McKay - io9Movies
That Thing We All Kind of Knew Would Happen to MoviePass Might Be Happening
MoviePass, the monthly subscription-based service that offers seemingly impossible deals on movie tickets, appears to be heading towards that place where most impossible deals enabled by fistfuls of investors’ money go: the drain. According to Bloomberg, MoviePass’ parent company Helios & Matheson reported in a Tuesday filing that it’s down to just $15.5 million in … Continued
By Tom McKay - Tech NewsGoogle
An Empowered Assistant Is How Wear OS Could Get Back on Track
When Google changed the name of its smartwatch OS from Android Wear to Wear OS, I was pissed. Not because the name sucked, as Wear OS does do a better job of reflecting the platform’s support for both Android and iOS devices. The problem was that the rebranding didn’t come with any new features or … Continued
- io9
Jordan Peele’s Follow-Up to Get Out Is Called Us and the Rumored Cast Sounds Amazing
We don’t know what it’s about—but Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning debut, Get Out, now has a title and a rumored cast. The film is called Us, which Peele just announced on his Twitter. Variety then reports that Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, and Winston Duke are all in talks for lead roles. I mean, … Continued
- io9
Black Panther‘s Costume Designer Breaks Down the Real World Inspiration Behind Key Looks
Black Panther’s costumes weren’t just the garb of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and the people of Wakanda. They were also a loving tribute to the art, history, and culture of several African nations. Now, the film’s costume designer Ruth Carter is giving an inside look at how she mixed tradition and technology to bring the … Continued
- io9
Watch Rick Moranis’ Spaceballs Cameo on The Goldbergs and Witness the Power of Sequels
Yesterday, the world learned that (mostly) retired actor Rick Moranis would be reprising his role as Dark Helmet from Spaceballs on an episode of ABC’s The Goldbergs. And now, you don’t even have to set your DVR. You can see the whole thing. Yahoo got the clip from the 1980s-set sitcom; as promised, it features … Continued