Technology news

No, there isn't a supervolcano brewing beneath New England, despite what some media outlets are saying. 
That said, something weird is going on about 100 miles below the lush New England ground.
Scientists have found a mass of warmer rock that appears to be welling upwards. This research, led by geophysicist Vadim Levin, appeared last year in the scientific journal Geology. 
SEE ALSO: Deep beneath the Pacific, another active Hawaiian volcano waits to emerge
"We never advocated it could

A passenger jet flying at hypersonic speeds could revolutionize air travel by cutting down a transatlantic flight from New York to London from seven hours to two. 
Er, theoretically, that is.
Boeing is still trying to figure out how any of this will all actually happen, but the aircraft manufacturing company does have its eye on a launch date. If the company has its way, it'll get these hypersonic jets in the air in about 20 to 30 years from now — which, coincidentally, is about as lo

AT&T is raising the cost of an “administrative fee” line item tacked onto the bottom of every single one of its 64.5 million wireless customers in the US, as reported first today by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk. Originally $0.76, AT&T has raised the fee to $1.99. When added up and multiplied by 12 months, the increase will result in an additional $800 million or so for AT&T’s annual revenue. According to Piecyk, the fee should only apply to standard, monthly

Everything is not OK, but with Facebook's new Keyword Snooze feature you don't have to know that.
Going online is a real drag these days, what with all the news of children in cages and just the general national disaster that is the Trump administration. But what if I told you that your friendly international advertising and surveillance conglomerate Facebook has a way for you to permanently stick your head in the sand? 
SEE ALSO: Facebook is totally cool with you shilling shitty cryptocurr

There’s a new robot on Kickstarter that’s supposed to help you obtain good posture at your standing desk. It’s an Alexa-enabled gadget named Giiro, which uses the accompanying Giiromat, a mat you place on the floor in front of your desk, to sense if you’re standing up straight and distributing your weight evenly.
Giiro is made by the South Korean IoT company Gaze Lab in collaboration with a startup called Morethings that makes sensor-based products like smart insoles and

The salmon run has yet to begin, but the big bruisers are already vying for dominance in Alaska.
One of the five webcams along Katmai National Park's Brooks River captured an early-season confrontation between two of the rivers largest and most dominant bears on June 26.
SEE ALSO: From puffins to brown bears: The 10 best wildlife livestreams of the summer
Bear 747, spotted earlier this week in the river, was seen waiting for fish beneath the famous Brooks River falls on Tuesday. You can watch th

Labeling improved Vermonters’ opinions of genetically modified food, compared to elsewhere in the nation — even taking into account age and education, according to a study published in Science Advances. People who saw the labels were actually 19 percent less opposed to GMO foods, compared to people who didn’t see the labels at all.
Vermont was compared to the rest of the nation because two years ago, the state passed a law requiring that all GMO food bear a label. Food manufac

Another day, another delay for one of the most complicated space telescope projects ever undertaken. 
NASA announced on Wednesday that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a complicated mission designed to transform American astrophysics and astronomy as we understand it, is now expected to launch on March 30, 2021, about one year later than expected under a timetable announced in March. 
SEE ALSO: Stand on the surface of an alien planet with NASA
Oh, and because of the delays, the t

Many of us started this week thinking it couldn't get any worse.
Oh, how young we were then.
After a week of devastating decisions by the Supreme Court, including a decision in favor of Trump's Muslim ban, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he'd be retiring on Wednesday. This leaves room for Trump to appoint yet another justice — presumably one who is anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ rights.
On Twitter, liberals politely begged 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to do everything she could to

Does the news cycle make you depressed? Are you exhausted from following the cesspit that is current events? Does being on social media fill you with existential dread that only wholesome animals can cure?  
The "What the Fluff?" challenge is the most pure thing on the internet right now — yes, the world is a bleak, terrible place but at least there are adorably puzzled pets out there. For the challenge, pet owners confuse their furry children by holding up a blanket to hide, then dro

This post contains mild spoilers for Handmaid's Tale Season 2, Episode 11
Even in the bleakest fictional dystopias, we can still turn to Oprah Winfrey as humanity's saving grace.
You might've totally missed the benevolent Queen of Broadcast's subtle cameo in Episode 11 of Handmaid's Tale Season 2, 'Holly.' But even a small glimmer of her presence provided a rare, needed moment of comfort in one of the most depressing shows to ever air on television.
SEE ALSO: Everyone is comparing Trump's border

YouTube is expanding picture-in-picture mode to all users on Android today, whether or not they’re paying subscribers to YouTube Premium, as first spotted by XDA Developers and confirmed by Google’s support page.
The feature — which Google started testing for free customers earlier this year in May — letsusers on Android O devices watch YouTube videos with Android O’s picture-in-picture mode, without having to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription.There are a few

YouTube is expanding picture-in-picture mode to all users on Android today, whether or not they’re paying subscribers to YouTube Premium, as first spotted by XDA Developers and confirmed by Google’s support page.
The feature — which Google started testing for free customers earlier this year in May — letsusers on Android O devices watch YouTube videos with Android O’s picture-in-picture mode, without having to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription.There are a few

Twitter dropped a blog post yesterday explaining how it’s currently handling malicious spam and bots. The company says that in May, its system found and questioned over 9.9 million accounts for spamming or being automated.
Twitter says it’s also monitoring its APIs more strictly. During Q1 this year, it suspended more than 142,000 apps that violated rules and tweeted out over 130 million spam tweets, and kept up the momentum in the following months, removing an average of 49,000 app

In a new blog post on Tuesday, Twitter committed to continue dealing with problems that have long plagued the website: spam and harassment.We do not value fake engagement. Taking bigger steps to improvehttps://t.co/A4b8IREWTc
— jack (@jack) June 26, 2018Since the 2016 election, malicious bot and troll accounts have hounded users across Twitter with fake news and abusive comments. In an effort to combat this issue, the company announced that new users will be required to confirm either an e

Apple and Samsung have finally put an end to their long-running patent battle whose central question was whether Samsung copied the iPhone. In a court filing today, the Judge Lucy Koh said the two companies had informed her that they had reached a settlement. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The patent battle started in 2011 and initially resulted in a $1 billion ruling in Apple’s favor. But it didn’t end there. A series of appeals pushed the dispute to the Supreme Court

In a stunning development, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his impending retirement from the nation's highest court on Wednesday. His retirement will be effective at the end of July, throwing a large portion of the country into despair at the the thought of Donald Trump getting a second SCOTUS nomination.
SEE ALSO: Trevor Noah also slams Trump's 'solution' to border crisisLetter from Justice Kennedy announcing the news: pic.twitter.com/3JzlqI8amZ
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper)

Google announced a new option on Google Calendar that will let users create events marked as “out of office” and customize them with a decline message and visibility parameters.
To use the new feature, create an event within Google Calendar on the web and select the “out of office” option. You’ll then be able to tailor things like the decline message and choose who is able to see the title of your out of office event. Once created, it will look different than a typ

Does the word "foodie" appear in your Instagram bio? Are you a devout lunch-bringer? Are you ready to go beyond Tupperware? If so, these stackable bento boxes are your new kitchen heroes. The best part? These colorful sets are a steal at less than $25. Here's to eBay being your new lunchtime hero.
Simply click the shopping tags in the shoppable images below to purchase these practical kits, all from top-rated sellers. With the eBay Money Back Guarantee, you've got nothing to lose. And when it co

The Instagram influencer of fruits, the avocado has captured millennial hearts — while keeping those hearts healthy, thanks to monounsaturated oleic acid. Avocados can level-up your toast, infuse your smoothies with protein and satisfying texture, and serve as the central component of the most perfect appetizer on the planet, guacamole. 
But sometimes the prep work of your favorite fruit can seem like the pits. Fear not: We’ve curated the best kitchen tools to fuel your avocado

Lyft has raised $600 million in additional funding, valuing the ride-hailing company at $15.1 billion. The money will fund the company’s heated competition with the much more valuable — and better funded — Uber.
The funding round was led by Fidelity Management and Research Company, and was raised primarily from existing investors. It comes over six months after raising $1.5 billion led by CapitalG, Google’s venture arm. At the time, the company was valued at $11.5 billio

Even if your vacation destination is amazing, getting there can be, well, another story. Between the Tetris game of packing your suitcase, the bustle of a full flight, and the dreaded middle seat, you might be exhausted even before you reach your destination.
But have no fear, we’ve rounded up great travel accessories that will make your time in-flight as pleasant as possible. eBay is a traveler's paradise with the perfect brand new, Buy It Now travel accessories from top-rated sellers, al

This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.
For those of us that don't find comfort in watching hot knives delicately destroy their surroundings, I am here to offer up a solution. 
Among the time suck that is Instagram, there's a beacon of hope that comes in the form of every video of wheel throwing uploaded by a potter. Look, I could start this off by explaining in detail about each

It's turning out to be a great day for service outages.
Google Home speakers and Chromecasts have been down across the world for several hours as the result of an unspecified "glitch."
SEE ALSO: I talked to Google's human-sounding AI on the phone: Here's what I learned
It's not clear what's causing the issue, but Google Home speakers are responding to commands by saying "there was a glitch, try again in a few seconds." That "glitch," whatever it is, has been happening for at least 5 hours.Likewi

Wonder Woman is getting a new nemesis in Wonder Woman 1984, and now we have our first look at Barbara Minerva a.k.a. Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) in the film. 
Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins first shared the image on Twitter.
SEE ALSO: Steve Trevor is coming back for 'Wonder Woman 2' and we're not screaming, you're screaming. (We're screaming.)
In the comics, Minerva is a British archaeologist whose research leads her to Africa, to a tribe that worships a female cheetah warrior. She tak

More than 40 alleged dark-web drug dealers have been arrested as part of a sweeping federal effort described by the Department of Justice as “the first nationwide undercover operation targeting dark net vendors.” The core of the operation was an online money-laundering business seized by agents from Homeland Security Investigations and operated as a sting for over a year. By offering cash for bitcoin, HSI agents were able to identify specific drug dealers, ultimately tracing more th

Ant-Man and the Wasp, starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp, has received a whole lot of praise for its refreshingly light plot and comedy but fell short for some for being a little too low-stakes. 
Mashable's own Angie Han called the movie the perfect chaser after the intense emotional journey that was Infinity War.
SEE ALSO: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' is the chaser we needed after 'Infinity War'
Here's what critics thought of Ant-Man and the Wasp:
It's a comedic power

Microsoft isn’t planning to ship its tabbed app feature, dubbed Sets, with the next major Windows 10 update later this year. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the company is aiming to tweak and improve the tabs integration in apps like Edge and Microsoft Office before they’re broadly available in Windows 10. Windows Insiders have been able to test the Sets feature over the past six months, providing feedback on the changes.
That feedback has led Micro

Summer is here and the Fourth of July is only a week away so backyard parties and family gatherings are in full swing. And if you're the one who got stuck hosting, you're probably having a mini panic attack over getting your humble abode ready for guests.
Don't worry, we got you.
SEE ALSO: Get deals on patio furniture for your deck and backyard during this huge sale at Walmart
Actually, Target does: Their Fourth of July sale is happening now through July 4 at 11:59 p.m, with prices dropped by up

Last Saturday, Ticketmaster UK found malicious software on a customer support product that had accessed a small percentage of customers’ data. Ticketmaster says it contacted the customers who were affected, which were “less than 5 percent of our global customer base.”The software was found on a customer service product supplied by an external company called Inbenta Technologies. Ticketmaster found that the software caused an unknown third party to receive customer data, includ

Why spend so much money on expensive juices at the grocery store, when you can make your own juice for a fraction of the price? 
SEE ALSO: Snoop Dogg just helped make the world's largest gin and juice cocktail
The KitchenAid Easy Clean Juicer can handle all of your juicing needs and it's now on sale for only $99, which is more than $200 off its retail price. (!!!) The juicer features a 3-in-1 adjustable pulp screen and its unique feed chute requires less prep work because it's big enough to

Friends, hello. I'd like to alert you to the story of Bonnie the cow, a bad bitch who lived with deer for almost a year! Wow.
Bonnie, a hero, escaped slaughter when she was only four-months-old, then took up residence in the forest outside Holland, New York. Once there, she was welcomed by a herd of deer, who let her eat with them, hang out with them, and run with them.
SEE ALSO: Lobsters are terrifying immortal beings, sort of
Before long, Bonnie started to attract attention from the humans in

It can be hard figuring out the best time to upgrade appliances. Wait too long and you risk your refrigerator or washing machine crapping out in the middle of a hectic week, sending you to the store scrambling for a new one that's full price. 
The trick is to shop big holiday sales, like this one from Best Buy for July Fourth, where you can save up to 40% on select home appliances. As an added bonus, certain purchases will qualify for free $50 or $100 gift cards, too. 
SEE ALSO: Get de

A mysterious space rock, first spotted in 2017, bewildered astronomers — was it an icy comet, a rocky asteroid, or something entirely new? As the object, called ‘Oumuamua, hurtles away from us, the mystery may be solved: it’s accelerating like a comet.Researchers tracked the space rock’s trajectory on its way out of this solar system, using telescopes on the ground and the powerful Hubble Space Telescope to keep watch even as the interstellar visitor faded out of site. T

Scientists spotted a strange object flying through the solar system last year. It looked skinny, like a cigar, and may have been a quarter-mile in length.
They named it `Oumuamua, Hawaiian for "messenger from afar," and after analyzing its trajectory, were sure it arrived from a distant solar system.
At first, scientists suspected it was a comet. But after the European Southern Observatory found no wake of dust and gas trailing behind it — the telltale signs of traveling comets — the

With the Bring It On franchise out the door on July 1st, Netflix is being a bit of a cheertator. Luckily, there's plenty else to get your spirit fingers sparkling this month. 
SEE ALSO: Here are all 47 artists featured in Netflix's ad highlighting black representation
Kevin Hart, Bo Burnham, Jim Jefferies, Joel McHale, and tons of other funny folks have new material coming out. In honor of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the original three installments of the Jurassic Park franchise are als

Some users are reporting that their Google Homes and Chromecasts aren’t working properly, possibly following a software update. Google has responded to a bunch of users on Twitter to say that it’s working on a fix and will let users know once it has one.Hey there, sorry for the trouble. We don't have a time frame, but rest assured that our team is working hard to have this fixed — we'll let you know once we have an update. Thanks for bearing with us.— Made by Google (@ma