Technology news

A bill to extend one of the NSA’s most powerful surveillance tools, and further peel back American civil liberties, was approved today by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a strict party line vote (12-8), with Republican members voting in the majority.
The committee and the public had less than 48 hours to read and discuss the bill. Democratic committee members openly criticized the short timeframe, amongst other problems.“This bill was shared with my office les

It seems like when it comes to love, there actually are some fairytale endings after all.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement has sparked all sorts of attention in the media. 
And now, a perfect meme of their young doppelgängers has gone viral, further proving they're so meant to be. 
Since we're safely in the holiday season, it's safe to invoke the name of Love Actually. Because that's where we're going with this. 
SEE ALSO: Australia wants to throw Prince Harry his

The Echo Dot was Amazon’s best-selling item during last weekend’s post-Thanksgiving sales bonanza. Which means if you didn’t buy one yourself you’re probably getting one as a gift. If you’re one of the millions of people who will accept Alexa into their homes this year, you’ll want to get the most out of your device by getting the right skills. This list will provide you with the basics to get started, but there’s over 20,000 skills (and more

There's nothing quite as enjoyable as watching bad TV person Piers Morgan embarrass himself in front of thousands of people on live TV.
Getting into the holiday spirit, Morgan attempted to help turn on the Christmas lights in Stockbridge, United Kingdom, on Friday using one of those cartoon-like dynamite plungers. 
"They’re expecting Beatlemania style scenes so get there early,' Morgan said in a tweet. Yes, he compared his clout to The Bealtes. REMINDER: I’m turning on the

The Trump Administration doesn’t believe in human-made climate change. Over the last year, it has vowed to pull the US out of the Paris climate deal, promised to repeal a key policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and scrapped the word climate change from government websites. But Al Gore is not discouraged. In fact, the former vice president says that there are many reasons to be optimistic.
On December 4th, Gore is hosting a 24-hour event focused on efforts to combat climate change ar

Over 100 games now support Tobii‘s eye-tracking technology, including blockbuster hits like Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins and indie favorites such as Ori and the Blind Forest. That means that these games are also more accessible to players who may have disabilities that traditional controllers and keyboards don’t accommodate.
Bill Donegan is a projects manager at SpecialEffect, a U.K.-based charity that helps people with disabilities play games. It recently raised n

In a powerful open letter to the video game industry, a 19-year-old gambling addict gave a first-hand account of how in-game microtransactions and loot boxes can tempt young players into spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars for content.
Reddit user Kensgold, who asked us not to use his real name, shared his story on Reddit in November. 
The post, aimed at the developers and publishers of Star Wars Battlefront II — and all other companies in the industry — explained how

It's been a pretty crappy week here on Earth, so let's take our bad moods on a little interplanetary excursion.
Jupiter seems to be a nice fit. 
The giant planet's roiling clouds, churning in its northern hemisphere, make it look like a peaceful Van Gogh painting in this newly-released photo taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft. 
SEE ALSO: This is what Jupiter sounds like
"The Juno spacecraft captured this image when the spacecraft was only 11,747 miles (18,906 kilometers) from the tops of

Eating chocolate during your period is one of those tropes I just don't understand. How am I supposed to eat chocolate while I am busy sobbing at a commercial for soup? 
But those who are members of the period chocolate community might be interested in these new treats from Washington bakery Moon Cycle, which the company is launching on Dec. 15 after enjoying some well-deserved success on Kickstarter.
SEE ALSO: Bodyform's latest ad shows a menstruating woman and it's about bloody time
Basic

Gabrielle Union doesn't have time for your body comments. 
The Being Mary Jane actress posted a supportive message to anchor Laura Warren after she was body shamed by a viewer for her outfit choice while being pregnant. 
She applauded her for standing up to body shamers and even sent her a few outfits from her New York & Company line.  
SEE ALSO: News anchor claps back at body shamers who said she was 'too big' for her on-air clothingToday’s #WCW, @LauraWRDW, is another

While you may not be the incomparable living legend, Beyoncé Knowles, you can be a queen with this rather odd beauty trend. 
As if reverse cat eyeliner and glitter tongues weren't enough to satisfy the masses, a new look has surfaced making everyone raise an eyebrow in confusion. 
Introducing, brow crowns! 
SEE ALSO: Are you brave enough for bright brows?
Instagram beauty bloggers @sofiepeterseen and @davisonvideo have mastered the regal look by separating the hairs on thei

Netflix has ordered a new television series based on the Archie Comics graphic novel The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. According to Deadline, the project had originally been in development at The CW as a possible companion show to the Archie series Riverdale, but Netflix was so eager to jump on board it agreed to order two 10-episode seasons right out of the gate.
The new series will be far from the light-hearted Sabrina the Teenage Witch that aired on ABC and The WB starting in the late 1990s

Swedish courts this week handed down a groundbreaking conviction of “online rape” against a man who preyed on children over the internet — which could, hopefully, help any future victims seeking recourse after similar crimes. According to Broadly, the defendant was accused of victimizing 27 children from the US, Canada, and the UK. According to the Canadian National Post, he apparently coerced them into performing acts on camera under threat of murdering their loved ones. Euro

GUEST: Two reports have set the healthcare community abuzz this week. The first uncovered that CVS is considering buying health insurance giant Aetna.
The second revealed that Amazon has obtained pharmacy licenses in multiple states. (A closer look revealed the licenses covered the distribution of healthcare-related equipment, not the distribution of prescription medications, but it’s apparent that Amazon is likely gearing up to acquire such licenses.)
As I see it, these two

Twitter doesn't understand its own policies.
That's the only conclusion to draw from the company's bizarre change of course today in regards to Donald Trump's Twitter account. One day after saying that it didn't remove Trump's retweets of far-right anti-Muslim propaganda because of a "legitimate public interest," CEO Jack Dorsey said that reasoning was a mistake.
But not because those tweets appear to violate Twitter's policies. No, it turns out the company just cited the wrong loophole in its p

Rihanna's new Fenty Beauty line has been heaped with praise about its countless shade range and diverse ads.
But one fan had something to say about it all and took his questions straight to Riri herself. 
On Twitter, @lbertootero asked the singer about the lack of inclusion of trans models in her otherwise inclusive campaign, and surprisingly Rihanna took the time to respond to his comment with thoughtful commentary. 
SEE ALSO: Rihanna's latest 'Vogue' cover belongs in a museum, to be

Would you call a trivia host Quiz Daddy? The Ringer's Claire McNear is thinking about it and probably so are about hundreds of thousands of other people who have played HQ, the mobile trivia game stopping employees from working globally, over the past few months. 
Scott Rogowsky, HQ's first host, has wooed the world (okay, parts of it) with his witty banter during the daily trivia games. His potential firing over his love of Sweetgreen sent fans storming Twitter with #FreeScott and thankful

Facebook revolutionized the world by changing the way people communicate. With over two billion users, it’s now the world’s largest social network. But since 2014, Facebook has been the victim of a troubling pattern: declining reach among its younger audience. The social network has become a place for parents and grandparents to share their pictures, jokes and inspirational quotes. And for me, an adult at 23, it’s where I get my memes — yet teens don’t seem to find

For many, drones are simply a novel gadget, a fun toy to fly around the neighborhood, snapping aerial images or even spying on neighbors. Rapidly growing in popularity, the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) already have been purposed in a variety of scenarios, far beyond their use as robotic toys. In just a few years, drones have enhanced and redefined a variety of industries. They are used to quickly deliver goods, broadly study the environment and scan remote military bases. Drones have been em

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Every wine connoisseur knows that room temperature white wine is just not acceptable. You could wait for it to chill out in the fridge, but no one has time for that. And sure, you could put ice cubes in your glass, but ice melts, and who wants to drink watered down wine?
The ultimate solution comes in the form of self-chilling wine glasses. 
SEE ALSO: Get lit with this stocking-shaped drin

GUEST: What does it mean to be human? The answer to this is, like humanity, in constant flux, evolving with our species and the times. But one essential, defining element for centuries is our mortality. All people get sick, and all people die. But advanced technologies like AI could help change all of that — if the expert minds behind them succeed, that is.
We’ve come a long way in reducing and even eliminating biological diseases in the past century, passing milestones like the emer

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The Twelve Days of Christmas is so 1780. Luckily, Best Buy's got an amazing set of deals to last you through nearly three weeks of gift giving leading up to the holidays. 
Best Buy's 20 Days of Doorbusters is like an advent calendar of deals. Each new day of December leading up to the 20th will feature a different sale on cool electronics and gadgets. You'll have 24 hours to take advantage

Okay, so we know Michael Flynn has entered a guilty plea for lying to the FBI and it spells bad news for Trump. The commander in chief has been very active on Twitter this week –maybe because he knew all of this was coming.
Got it.
SEE ALSO: Is this why Trump has gone off the rails on Twitter this week?
*Deep breath*
But in the wake of Flynn's plea and some of the revelations to come out of it, many are starting to look at at a few tweets from December 2016 – while Barack Obama was s

As hellfire prepares to rain down on the White House, former FBI Director James Comey is chillin', you know, just getting his Instagram on.
After news broke that Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russia, Comey responded by posting his first Instagram and trolling the men with a biblical verse about justice.
SEE ALSO: Yeah, that secret Twitter account actually does belong to James Comey
"'But justice roll down like wat

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Looking for a new job? Surprisingly, now's the time.
Despite companies' lengthy holiday breaks, December is actually a great time of year to find a new job. Searching for a title bump or pay raise might be second nature to you, but if you want to make a career pivot, you're going to need a lot more than a robust résumé and thoughtful cover letter.
That's where "Agile & Sc

GUEST: The latest method of crowdfunding originating in the cryptocurrency world is exploding, with ICOs raising more than 3.5 billion this year. It is also giving a headache to regulators and a growing number of swindled investors. The latest example saw one such cryptocurrency startup, Confido, make off with $375,000 of investor money. However, the list is long and includes even some older ICOs.
Some ICO con artists are already falling into the hands of justice. In late September 2017, the SEC

In a blow to Twitter’s credibility, the company retracted its previous explanation for why it did not remove tweets that included graphic anti-Muslim videos that were retweeted this week by President Donald Trump. “We mistakenly pointed to the wrong reason we didn’t take action on the videos from earlier this week,” CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted on Friday. “We’re still looking critically at all of our current policies, and appreciate all the feedback.”This mar

Kylo Ren is a pretty bad guy, but we cannot deny that he takes his design aesthetics very seriously. He shares an appreciation for all black outfits, a cool helmet, a bizarre lightsaber, but most importantly, he has the sleekest whip in the entire galaxy. 
Sorry, Millennium Falcon. 
Popular Youtuber, Colin Furze was given the task, in collaboration with eBay, to try and create a life-sized Kylo Ren TIE silencer along with a BB-9E droid from the Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie. Furze go

Twitch is turning the The Game Awards into a more interactive experience with a livestream overlay viewers can use to vote on who they think will win. The Community Predictions Extension rolls out at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on December 7, which is when the award show will air.
Muxy, a company that specializes in creating tools for broadcasters, created the overlay with Twitch Extensions. While on a streamer’s channel, viewers can use the extension to vote for which games they think will win in e

When 61-year-old former federal government worker Annie Williams retired in 2013, taking on a proto-fascist president wasn't exactly part of her retirement fantasy. Knitting hats was.
"My plan was to take classes at my local community college, learn how to knit and make hats and scarves for my nieces and nephews," Williams says.
Nov. 9, 2016 changed all of that. Williams, who was working as an election judge the night Hillary Clinton lost, was "devastated" by Donald Trump's victory. She remember

The holidays can be pretty intense. From shopping, to decorating, to attempting to find a moment to watch your favorite holiday movie for the 10,000th time, you're trying to check off a lot of things on your list in a couple short months.
And when it's your turn to host the holiday party, that pressure is magnified, especially because you can't just do the bare minimum. There are going to be a lot of these parties in a short period of time, and you want to make sure people remember yours.
So how

When most people try to whistle their favorite song, you can maybe catch a few notes before the whistle fades out and becomes incoherent breathing sounds. Whistling is an intensive activity after all.  
Jaclyn and Jason Hayes uploaded a video of their whistling styles over the weekend. What was probably meant to be a nice, festive moment turned a LOT more interesting when a small ninja emerged from behind a Christmas tree. The pair manages to stay focused even though danger is now so close

Let's stop one thing right now: A certain incensed line of questioning is starting to take shape in the cultural conversation as, for the first time, some powerful men suffer consequences for repeated sexual misconduct and issue publicist-approved apologies: What more do you want? What else do you expect? What more can he do if he's already apologized?
The underlying, unspoken message embedded in these questions is Get over it. Stop complaining. Let the world go on as it always was.
But the answ

The video conference is one of the least-liked parts of modern office culture.
Despite the plethora of video conferencing services — Google Hangouts, BlueJeans, Highfive, Skype, FaceTime, and dozens more — the first five minutes of every meeting tends to be a series of fruitless attempts to get everyone's audio working correctly. And even when it does, dropped connections, poorly timed muting/unmuting, and quiet talkers often ruin the flow.
SEE ALSO: Google's secret hardware ingredi

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Trying to learn how to speak Japanese by solely watching anime with subtitles is like trying to learn how to play guitar by playing Guitar Hero. You'll pick up minor things, but they won't really take you that far. You deserve to actually learn Japanese with your own lessons on your own time, and this course on udemy can let you do that for less than $40.
SEE ALSO: Use this portable luggage she

GUEST: Unlike Silicon Valley, where the capital, talent, and temperament for change are all there to help a startup go from idea to IPO, startups elsewhere don’t always have access to the resources necessary to grow and scale. At the same time, corporations across the country are facing an onslaught of new threats. New technologies, new business models, and a changing consumer landscape are chipping away at the foundations of long-standing industries.
A largely untapped opportunity ex

Feds want to seize everything around Martin Shkreli.
Prosecutors asked a Brooklyn court on Friday to force the incarcerated "pharma bro" to forfeit some of his most valuable possessions, including the $2 million single-copy Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the unreleased Lil Wayne album Tha Carter V, a Picasso, and an antique World War II Enigma machine.
SEE ALSO: 7 best burns from Martin Shkreli's jury selection process
Shkreli, who gained notoriety when he spiked the price of a

Reddit is today joining the discussion about net neutrality, as most of the front page is plastered with posts and ads about saving the “free and open internet.” You might have noticed something a little different about Reddit this morning. We're running #NetNeutrality ads across our site to raise awareness for the fight to save the free and open internet. Share your story and see what you can do here: https://t.co/6ONXZaQY8a pic.twitter.com/FMZi2dBfl3 — Reddit (@reddit) Decem

Google has just come out with its annual list of the top apps of the year, and some of its picks might surprise you.
This year, Google highlighted both its favorite new apps and the most popular new apps, not simply the most downloaded titles.
SEE ALSO: Google bans Android apps that sneak in ads on your phone's lockscreen
That means the list is full of new entries to the Play Store that many Android users probably don't know about. Making Google's list of the top five most popular new apps were:

I awoke on Friday morning on the West Coast, logged online, and did what I have been doing every single morning for years. I opened my browser and immediately went to Reddit.com to see what top stories, memes, and videos were trending. After all, it is "the front page of the internet."
But what I saw was unlike anything I've ever seen before. Nearly every single post on the main landing page for Reddit, which is viewed by millions of people every day, was dedicated to bashing the many U.S. Senat

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Of course we all love our pets, but the little monsters seem to relish leaving their hair everywhere. On your dress pants, on your fancy couch, on your carpet, on your tablecloths—no surface is safe from their reign of fluffy terror. 
SEE ALSO: Furbo, the bestselling dog camera, is only $169 on Amazon today
With parties and family gatherings coming up, getting your home company-ready