Brittney Walker

Sony's latest Android phone is a little awkward, but snaps some beautiful shots. Our full WIRED review.

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Softbank Pours $2.25 Billion Into GM's Self-Driving Car Biz

It’s the biggest deal yet in a nascent but booming industry, and confirms the automaker’s status as one of the leading players.

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The Expanse’s Epstein Drive Has Some Awesome Physics Baked In

You should never show a physicist a spaceship's control panel.

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Silicon Valley Takes on the Future of Fertility

New start-ups use wearable technology and mail-order blood tests to help women get pregnant and make sense of their future baby-making options.

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Xbox Is Losing the Console War—But That's a Good Thing

Not being on top makes it a lot easier for Microsoft to take risks with its hardware.

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From Apple HomePod to Google Daydream: All the Things We Loved in May

A look back at everything we tested and liked this month, as well as the most promising updates to the stuff we're already using.

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Airbus' H160 Helicopter Saves Pilots From Their Own Mistakes

If the pilot ever loses their bearings, a double-tap to the yoke automatically returns the helicopter to a stable, controlled attitude.

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Obama's US Digital Service Survives Trump–Quietly

Team created in 2014 to make the government more tech-friendly soldiers on, helping agencies work more efficiently and save money.

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Suzanne Ciani's New LP Wraps You in Quadraphonic Surround Sound

A new recording by synthesizer artist Suzanne Ciani is being released on a long-forgotten analog surround-sound format.

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The Messy, Malodorous Mystery of Marin's Dead 60-Foot Whale

It's the third reported stranding in the Bay Area in a week. The average here for an entire year is five to seven. So what’s going on?

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Wednesday 30 May 2018

How to Preorder the Nintendo NES Classic Mini (And Make Sure You Get One)

Nintendo's tiny console is coming back, and here's how to get one on lock early.

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Why Darpa Wants Everyone to Launch Tiny Satellites

A flock of little guys is less vulnerable to attack than one big bird. Also, you could maybe send them up with space balloons.

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The Creepy Rise of Real Companies Spawning Fictional Design

Speculative design tasks creators with building a better world through public thought experiments. But with companies like Google adapting the practice, it can feel like a taunting display of power.

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23andMe Is Suing Ancestry Over Some Pretty Ancient IP

And the outcome of the case could reshape the genetic genealogy testing industry.

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Why the US-China ‘Trade War’ Remains a War of Words

Trump again threatened tariffs on Chinese goods, but if the past weeks are any guide, it would seem that harsh words may not translate into harsh actions.

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Your Next Glass of Wine Might Be a Fake—and You'll Love It

Replica Wine makes cheaper copies of your favorite wine at a discount by analyzing its chemistry. Often, even professional critics can tell the difference. Is this heresy or just good business?

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How to Get a Robot to (One Day) Do Your Chores

If we are going to have home assistants that set our tables and fold our clothes, we’re going to have to train them in simulations first.

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Tuesday 29 May 2018

How to Set Away Messages for Texts and Other Apps

Going on vacation? Set your "out of office" autoreply for your email, then try these hacks to do the same for texts.

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'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Makes the Prequels More Relevant Than Ever

Flying in the face of fans' expectations, Lucasfilm is using its new movies to make the prequels essential to the saga.

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The Best Cheap PS4 and PS4 Pro Deals and Bundles (Summer 2018)

Whether you’re hunting for Monster Hunter or looking to play Star Wars: Battlefront II, these are the PlayStations to buy.

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How the Tech Giants Created What Darpa Couldn’t

Facebook and Google's business models and flaws evoke a Darpa project shuttered in 2003. Americans didn’t want the government vacuuming up their data then—so why are we OK with private companies doing it now?

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The Wild Logistical Ride of the Ebola Vaccine's High-Tech Thermos

The hardest part of deploying a new Ebola vaccine is teaching people what it’s for. The second hardest part is getting it to them.

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Facebook Is Giving Scientists Its Data to Fight Misinformation

For the first time, researchers will be able to access Facebook's data and publish their findings without pre-approval from the company.

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Pentagon Will Expand AI Project Prompting Protests at Google

Project Maven, which uses artificial intelligence to identify objects in drone footage, has sparked protests among Google employees.

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Self-Driving Cars and the Agony of Knowing What Matters

New details from Uber's self-driving crash highlight the difficulty—and importance—of ignoring what doesn't matter, while recognizing what does.

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Welcome to Ghetto Gastro’s ‘Black Power Kitchen’ of Tomorrow

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are redefining the underground culinary world, and young chefs are eliminating gatekeepers while they cater to poor communities and celebs alike. Exhibit A: Ghetto Gastro.

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Climate Change Made Zombie Ants Even More Cunning

The parasitic fungus that drives ants to sabotage their own colonies has adapted to zombify their quarry better in different climates.

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Monday 28 May 2018

We Really Need to Talk About That 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Twist

Did anyone see that coming?

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Maybe DNA Can’t Answer All Our Questions About Heredity

Carl Zimmer's new book _She Has Her Mother’s Laugh_ is a book about the question genetics was invented to answer—and perhaps can't.

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Facebook, Snapchat and the Dawn of the Post-Truth Era

Social media is destroying our notion of an agreed-upon Truth, taking us back to the oral tradition of pre-literate days.

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For the Best and Smartest Audio, Stick With Apple or Google

Alexa’s fine, but if you want superior audio with your AI, try one of these chatty speakers.

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Forget Robo-Cars and Hit the Water on an Autonomous Boat

Rather than worrying about robo-taxis, researchers at places like MIT are making ships self-piloting to save fuel and prevent accidents.

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These Spinning Disks of Gas and Dust Reveal How Planets Get Made

Detailed images of disks swirling around young stars show the details of how solar systems come to be.

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How WIRED Lost $100,000 in Bitcoin

We mined roughly 13 Bitcoins and then ripped up our private key. We were stupid—but not alone.

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Sunday 27 May 2018

Automakers Are Making Car Ownership Optional

Monthly car subscriptions through startups like Carma Car, Fair, and Flexdrive offer all the utility of ownership with none of the hassle.

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Scuttled Peace Summits and Arrested Development Trouble Top This Week's Internet News

North Korea, mansplaining, and all the other online brouhahas you may have missed this week.

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Boost Your Nintendo Switch Experience With These Accessories

A rich ecosystem of Switch add-ons makes Nintendo’s compact console even more fun.

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There's Nothing Noble about Science’s Nobel Prize Gender Gap

Opinion: Given the dearth of women receiving the top science prizes, it's time for the Nobel Committee to revamp how it awards great work.

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Big Tech's Fight for Net Neutrality Moves Behind the Scenes

Google, Facebook, and others didn't join a "Red Alert" day earlier this month, but they are backing a lawsuit to restore net neutrality rules.

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Puppy Brain Scans Could Help Pick the Best Dog Bomb Sniffers

Researchers are working to identify behavioral and neurological indicators that determine which lil puppers will grow into good bomb-sniffing doggos.

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Saturday 26 May 2018

Space Photos of the Week: Meet TESS, the Exoplanet Hunter

NASA's satellite takes on the exploratory work of the Kepler mission, which so far has discovered more than 2,000 planets orbiting other stars.

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VR Headsets That Will Transport You, Wherever the Destination

Whether you’re beaming up to the *Enterprise* or crashing your friend’s destination wedding from your sofa, these headsets take you there.

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What Would Mind-Reading Really Be Like?

Telepathy has been a common trope in sci-fi for decades, but how would it work if it was real?

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T-Mobile Web Portal Exposed 74 Million Accounts, and and More Security News This Week

Hacking back, Trump's poor security hygiene and more of the week's top security news.

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A Classical Math Problem Gets Pulled Into Self-Driving Cars

A century ago, the great mathematician David Hilbert posed a probing question in pure mathematics. A recent advance in optimization theory is bringing Hilbert’s work into the modern world.

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How Social Media Became a Pink Collar Job

When companies ask for sociable, flexible, compassionate workers, they’re silently signaling women to sign-on to an undervalued job that powers the digital economy.

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Israel's Self-Flying 'Cormorant' Whisks Soldiers to Safety

Tactical Robotics' autonomous aircraft may not look too cool, but it might make battlefields safer, and eventually help civilians fly around town.

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Friday 25 May 2018

Weekly Legislative Roundup 5/25

Click here to e-mail your Representative and urge them to support this important legislation

Legalize marijuana Welcome to the latest edition of NORML’s Weekly Legislative Roundup!

Federally, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today became the fourth Senator to cosponsor the Marijuana Justice Act, joining the bill’s author, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and cosponsors Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Kamala Harris (D-CA).

At the state level, NORML PAC announced the endorsement of Jared Polis for Governor of Colorado. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a state law banning medical cannabis on college campuses violates the state Constitution. And Nevada retailers sold more than $41 million worth of recreational marijuana in March, a new monthly record.

At a more local level, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is directing the NYPD to stop arresting people smoking marijuana in public, and is moving to draft a plan to prepare the city for eventual legalization. The Los Angeles County, California Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution supporting state legislation to expunge marijuana convictions, the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania City Council’s Public Safety Committee gave unanimous initial approval to a proposed marijuana decriminalization ordinance, and The Milwaukee County, Wisconsin County Board voted to place an advisory marijuana legalization question on the November ballot.

Following are the bills from around the country that we’ve tracked this week and as always, check http://norml.org/act for legislation pending in your state.

Don’t forget to sign up for our email list and we will keep you posted as these bills and more move through your home state legislature and at the federal level.

Your Highness,
Carly

Priority Alerts

Federal

End Prohibition: Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) have introduced bipartisan legislation, HR 1227, to exclude marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus leaving states the authority to regulate the plant how best they see fit.

The “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017” eliminates federal criminal penalties for possessing and growing the plant. This legislation gives states the power and flexibility to establish their own marijuana policies free from federal interference.

Minnesota

HF 927 and SF 1320 are pending to regulate adult use marijuana possession and provide for retail sales. HF 927 has been awaiting action from the House Health and Human Services Committee since February and so has SF 1320 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Update: A third measure, HF 4541, was introduced on 5/20 to also regulate adult use marijuana possession and provide for retail sales.

MN resident? Click here to email you elected officials in support of regulating adult use marijuana sales

Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands

SB 20-62 seeks to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis in the US territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill already passed the full Senate earlier this month.

Update: The House Committee on Judiciary & Government Operations will hold a hearing on marijuana legalization on 5/29.

CMNI resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of legalization

Pennsylvania

House Bill 928, which was carried over from last year, seeks to reduce minor marijuana possession penalties. The bill amends state law so that first and second marijuana possession offenses (up to 30 grams) are reduced from misdemeanor offenses to a summary offense, punishable by a fine only.

Update: Representative Ron Marsico has offered a June vote before the House Judiciary Committee, with hopes of a full House, and then Senate vote by the end of the summer.

PA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of decriminalization

California

Expungement
AB 1793 would “allow automatic expungement or reduction of a prior cannabis conviction for an act that is not a crime as of January 1, 2017, or for a crime that as of that date subject to a lesser sentence.

Update: The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee is holding a hearing on AB 1793 on 5/25 at 9am.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of expunging past records

Employment Protections
AB 2069 would explicitly bar employers from discriminating against workers solely because of their status as a medical cannabis patient, or due to testing positive for medical marijuana use on a workplace drug test.

Update: AB 2069 is scheduled for a vote in Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday, May 25. The bill must pass the full Assembly floor by June 1.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of employment protections for patients

New York

Record Sealing
A. 2142 and S. 3809 would seal the records of those who have previously been convicted of certain marijuana misdemeanors.

New York has historically had one of the highest marijuana arrest rates in the nation largely because of arrests made under the public view and public smoking exceptions to New York’s decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of sealing past records

Medical
S 8191 has been introduced in the State Senate to explicitly permit children and developmentally disabled individuals with serious conditions for which medical marijuana has been recommended to have their medicine administered at schools and other facilities, and require school districts and facilities to create policies for medical marijuana administration.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of allowing medical marijuana in schools

Opioids
A. 9016 and S. 7564 would permit physicians to recommend cannabis therapy to those struggling with opioid abuse or dependence. Both bills have been stagnant in their respective chambers since January.

Update: A third measure, S. 8820, was introduced on 5/22, to include opioid use as a condition that permits the use of medical cannabis.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of adding opioid use to the qualifying conditions list

Illinois

SB 336 would permit physicians to recommend cannabis therapy as an alternative to opioid treatment. It was already approved by the Senate last month.

Update: The House Executive committee voted 8-3 to approve SB 336 on 5/24.

IL resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of cannabis as an alternative to opioids

New Jersey

A3971 was recently introduced and would establish reciprocity with other states’ medical marijuana program.The measure would allow for out-of-state medical marijuana cardholders to access medical cannabis while visiting New Jersey, in accordance with state law.

NJ resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of reciprocity

Additional Actions to Take

Illinois

Senate Bill 2298 provides for the ability for individuals to cultivate hemp with a state license even if they are not part of the state’s Agriculture Department pilot program. That program only permits hemp cultivation as part of a state-sponsored research program. The bill was already approved by the full Senate last month.

Update: SB 2298 was approved by the House on 5/23. It will now go back to the Senate for concurrence.

IL resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of hemp law expansion

New York

Legislation to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana for dogs, cats and other pets in New York State is pending in the Senate (S. 8772) and Assembly (A. 10104) Health Committees. The bill would allow veterinarians to recommend medical marijuana for our pets. Most non-human animals have an endocannabinoid system like we do, which means they can also benefit from the therapeutic effects of marijuana.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of medical marijuana for our furry friends

California

AB 3157 would temporarily reduce tax rates imposed on the retail sale and commercial cultivation of cannabis.

Update: AB 3157 was supposed to be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on 5/16, but the hearing was postponed until 5/25 at 9am.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of lowering taxes

That’s all for this week, folks!

Click here to e-mail your Representative and urge them to support this important legislation

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Weekly Legislative Roundup 5/25

Legalize marijuana Welcome to the latest edition of NORML’s Weekly Legislative Roundup!

Following are the bills from around the country that we’ve tracked this week and as always, check http://norml.org/act for legislation pending in your state.

Don’t forget to sign up for our email list and we will keep you posted as these bills and more move through your home state legislature and at the federal level.

Your Highness,
Carly

Priority Alerts

Federal

Minnesota

Update: A third measure, HF 4541, was introduced on 5/20 to also regulate adult use marijuana possession and provide for retail sales.

MN resident? Click here to email you elected officials in support of regulating adult use marijuana sales

Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands

SB 20-62 seeks to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis in the US territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill already passed the full Senate earlier this month.

Update: The House Committee on Judiciary & Government Operations will hold a hearing on marijuana legalization on 5/29.

CMNI resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of legalization

Pennsylvania

Update: Representative Ron Marsico has offered a June vote before the House Judiciary Committee, with hopes of a full House, and then Senate vote by the end of the summer.

PA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of decriminalization

California

Update: The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee is holding a hearing on AB 1793 on 5/25 at 9am.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of expunging past records

Update: AB 2069 is scheduled for a vote in Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday, May 25. The bill must pass the full Assembly floor by June 1.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of employment protections for patients

New York

Record Sealing
A. 2142 and S. 3809 would seal the records of those who have previously been convicted of certain marijuana misdemeanors.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of sealing past records

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of allowing medical marijuana in schools

Update: A third measure, S. 8820, was introduced on 5/22, to include opioid use as a condition that permits the use of medical cannabis.

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of adding opioid use to the qualifying conditions list

Illinois

SB 336 would permit physicians to recommend cannabis therapy as an alternative to opioid treatment. It was already approved by the Senate last month.

Update: The House Executive committee voted 8-3 to approve SB 336 on 5/24.

IL resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of cannabis as an alternative to opioids

New Jersey

NJ resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of reciprocity

Additional Actions to Take

Illinois

Update: SB 2298 was approved by the House on 5/23. It will now go back to the Senate for concurrence.

IL resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of hemp law expansion

New York

NY resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of medical marijuana for our furry friends

California

AB 3157 would temporarily reduce tax rates imposed on the retail sale and commercial cultivation of cannabis.

Update: AB 3157 was supposed to be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on 5/16, but the hearing was postponed until 5/25 at 9am.

CA resident? Click here to email your elected officials in support of lowering taxes

That’s all for this week, folks!

'Meaty,' 'Broad Band' and 10 More Books You Must Read This Summer

Fiction. Nonfiction. Science! Looking for some beach reads? This list is a good place to start.

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The Physics of Accelerating Spacecraft in The Expanse

There are no pew-pew lasers or faster-than-light space travel here—just serious science.