Tesla managed to avoid earlier right-to-repair legislation through a loophole. This time, a new law looks like it’ll include Teslas, too. A right-to-repair measure in Massachusetts passed in a landslide victory last Tuesday. “Question 1,” as the measure was called on the ballot, will force car manufacturers to ensure independent repair stores have access to the same diagnostic tools as manufacturer run repair stores. That will change the automobile repair landscape in Massachusetts, especially for Tesla, a notoriously secretive company that has made it hard and expensive to service its...…Tesla managed to avoid earlier right-to-repair legislation through a loophole. This time, a new law looks like it’ll include Teslas, too. A right-to-repair measure in Massachusetts passed in a landslide victory last Tuesday. “Question 1,” as the measure was called on the ballot, will force car manufacturers to ensure independent repair stores have access to the same diagnostic tools as manufacturer run repair stores. That will change the automobile repair landscape in Massachusetts, especially for Tesla, a notoriously secretive company that has made it hard and expensive to service its...WW…

Google’s internet freedom moonshot has gotten glowing attention for its ambitious projects. But current and former employees, leaked documents, and internal messages reveal a grim reality. In early August 2017, an anti-diversity memo written by an engineer named James Damore went viral within Google. The company was quickly thrown into crisis: Multiple employees complained about the memo both internally and on social media, claiming this was not an isolated incident, but, as one Google employee put it, “a manifestation of what ails all of Silicon Valley.” In response, executives and...…Google’s internet freedom moonshot has gotten glowing attention for its ambitious projects. But current and former employees, leaked documents, and internal messages reveal a grim reality. In early August 2017, an anti-diversity memo written by an engineer named James Damore went viral within Google. The company was quickly thrown into crisis: Multiple employees complained about the memo both internally and on social media, claiming this was not an isolated incident, but, as one Google employee put it, “a manifestation of what ails all of Silicon Valley.” In response, executives and...WW…

Scientists are finding that galaxies can move with each other across huge distances, and against the predictions of basic cosmological models. The reason why could change everything we think we know about the universe. The Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies strewn across the universe. Their variety is stunning: spirals, ring galaxies shaped like star-studded loops, and ancient galaxies that outshine virtually everything else in the universe. But despite their differences, and the mind-boggling distances between them, scientists have noticed that...…Scientists are finding that galaxies can move with each other across huge distances, and against the predictions of basic cosmological models. The reason why could change everything we think we know about the universe. The Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies strewn across the universe. Their variety is stunning: spirals, ring galaxies shaped like star-studded loops, and ancient galaxies that outshine virtually everything else in the universe. But despite their differences, and the mind-boggling distances between them, scientists have noticed that...WW…

A few months ago, I opened the Yelp app, typed in the name of my favorite sushi restaurant, and clicked on the phone number. Two options popped up: “Delivery or Takeout” and “General Questions." That’s new, I thought. I dialed the number for “Delivery or Takeout,” which played a perky greeting—“This call may be recorded to ensure awesomeness”—before a woman at the restaurant picked up. I asked why they were recording the call for awesomeness; she had no idea what I was referring to. I asked about the number I had just dialed; she didn’t recognize it. “What number did I just call?” I...…A few months ago, I opened the Yelp app, typed in the name of my favorite sushi restaurant, and clicked on the phone number. Two options popped up: “Delivery or Takeout” and “General Questions." That’s new, I thought. I dialed the number for “Delivery or Takeout,” which played a perky greeting—“This call may be recorded to ensure awesomeness”—before a woman at the restaurant picked up. I asked why they were recording the call for awesomeness; she had no idea what I was referring to. I asked about the number I had just dialed; she didn’t recognize it. “What number did I just call?” I...WW…

At a Twitter all-hands meeting on March 22, an employee asked a blunt question: Twitter has largely eradicated Islamic State propaganda off its platform. Why can’t it do the same for white supremacist content? An executive responded by explaining that Twitter follows the law, and a technical employee who works on machine learning and artificial intelligence issues went up to the mic to add some context. (As Motherboard has previously reported, algorithms are for platforms trying to moderate the posts of their hundreds of millions, or billions, of users.) With every sort of content filter,...…At a Twitter all-hands meeting on March 22, an employee asked a blunt question: Twitter has largely eradicated Islamic State propaganda off its platform. Why can’t it do the same for white supremacist content? An executive responded by explaining that Twitter follows the law, and a technical employee who works on machine learning and artificial intelligence issues went up to the mic to add some context. (As Motherboard has previously reported, algorithms are for platforms trying to moderate the posts of their hundreds of millions, or billions, of users.) With every sort of content filter,...WW…

Foreigners crossing certain Chinese borders into the Xinjiang region, where authorities are conducting a massive campaign of surveillance and oppression against the local Muslim population, are being forced to install a piece of malware on their phones that gives all of their text messages as well as other pieces of data to the authorities, a collaboration by Motherboard, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Guardian, the New York Times, and the German public broadcaster NDR has found. The Android malware, which is installed by a border guard when they physically seize the phone, also scans the...…Foreigners crossing certain Chinese borders into the Xinjiang region, where authorities are conducting a massive campaign of surveillance and oppression against the local Muslim population, are being forced to install a piece of malware on their phones that gives all of their text messages as well as other pieces of data to the authorities, a collaboration by Motherboard, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Guardian, the New York Times, and the German public broadcaster NDR has found. The Android malware, which is installed by a border guard when they physically seize the phone, also scans the...WW…

As the FDA continues to investigate what, exactly, it is in vape juice that’s making people sick (and just what’s in vape juice, at all, in general), NBC News went ahead and commissioned some testing of its own. The outlet had a cannabis testing facility take a look at the contents of 18 different THC cartridges, some purchased from dispensaries and others from “black market” sources. The vast majority of the carts from illicit sources were found to contain pesticides; vitamin E (a suspected culprit of the mystery vaping illnesses); and myclobutanil, which turns to hydrogen cyanide when...…As the FDA continues to investigate what, exactly, it is in vape juice that’s making people sick (and just what’s in vape juice, at all, in general), NBC News went ahead and commissioned some testing of its own. The outlet had a cannabis testing facility take a look at the contents of 18 different THC cartridges, some purchased from dispensaries and others from “black market” sources. The vast majority of the carts from illicit sources were found to contain pesticides; vitamin E (a suspected culprit of the mystery vaping illnesses); and myclobutanil, which turns to hydrogen cyanide when...WW…

On the Fourth of July, we blast fireworks and grill hot dogs in the name of freedom, especially the freedom of a four-day weekend. While you're celebrating the American Revolution at the beach or a backyard BBQ, here are eight fascinating books about uprisings and revolutionaries—both real and imagined—to read over the long weekend. 1776 by David McCullough The American Revolution is the reason for the season, but most Americans know little about how it actually went down beyond some vague notions of tossing tea into a harbor and idealized myths about the founding fathers. Published in...…On the Fourth of July, we blast fireworks and grill hot dogs in the name of freedom, especially the freedom of a four-day weekend. While you're celebrating the American Revolution at the beach or a backyard BBQ, here are eight fascinating books about uprisings and revolutionaries—both real and imagined—to read over the long weekend. 1776 by David McCullough The American Revolution is the reason for the season, but most Americans know little about how it actually went down beyond some vague notions of tossing tea into a harbor and idealized myths about the founding fathers. Published in...WW…

In the four decades that the modern, militant gun rights movement has been around, one of its most significant victories occurred not at the ballot box, on a president's special signing desk, or in the courtroom. Rather, one of the biggest battles pro-gun partisans have ever won took place in the minds of millions of Americans. Since the late 1970's, the National Rifle Association and other firearm advocates have successfully fought to make armed self defense increasingly acceptable in . A of —the most recent of which came via a released last month—shows that Americans have grown more...…In the four decades that the modern, militant gun rights movement has been around, one of its most significant victories occurred not at the ballot box, on a president's special signing desk, or in the courtroom. Rather, one of the biggest battles pro-gun partisans have ever won took place in the minds of millions of Americans. Since the late 1970's, the National Rifle Association and other firearm advocates have successfully fought to make armed self defense increasingly acceptable in . A of —the most recent of which came via a released last month—shows that Americans have grown more...WW…

The drug ranks as one of the most promising treatments available for COVID-19, although it hasn’t yet received extensive testing. President Trump has taken a significant dose of an experimental treatment for COVID-19 that hasn’t yet been approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Trump will be moved to Walter Reed hospital and plans to remain there for a few days, the White House said Friday. Taken together, Friday evening presented the astonishing spectacle of a sitting American president being rushed to the hospital hours after announcing he tested positive for the novel coronavirus,...…The drug ranks as one of the most promising treatments available for COVID-19, although it hasn’t yet received extensive testing. President Trump has taken a significant dose of an experimental treatment for COVID-19 that hasn’t yet been approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Trump will be moved to Walter Reed hospital and plans to remain there for a few days, the White House said Friday. Taken together, Friday evening presented the astonishing spectacle of a sitting American president being rushed to the hospital hours after announcing he tested positive for the novel coronavirus,...WW…