Gizmodo

On Sunday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he’d given the NYPD permission to issue fines of up to $500 to anyone violating social distancing mandates, the city’s latest attempt to slow the spread of covid-19 in an area devastated by the virus. “I want to just let all New Yorkers know that what we’re…Read more...

The Food and Drug Administration is taking a drastic step over a common drug used to treat allergies and acid reflux, following an investigation that confirmed the persistent presence of a likely carcinogen in products containing it. On Wednesday, the agency announced that it’s requesting all manufacturers of…Read more...

Everybody loves a good Groundhog Day episode; The X-Files, Fringe, 12 Monkeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, and more have done them. But there are some television shows that took the beloved but familiar trope and did something to set their version apart. As we’re all social distancing at home, sometimes feeling like we’re…Read more...

Human evolution was messy, with multiple human species living and interbreeding at the same time, in a convoluted process that eventually led to us. Such is the emerging narrative in anthropology, and it’s a theory now bolstered by three fascinating new studies released today.

Security experts are tracking a range of new threats incidentally linked to the coronavirus that’s killed no fewer than 44,216 people worldwide. Where most see despair, some cyber criminals see opportunity.

In what appears to be a devastating traffic accident, an 18-wheeler truck loaded with toilet paper caught fire early this morning in the Dallas area. The driver told CBS 11 News that he hit a bump, and the truck rolled over, igniting “thousands of rolls” of toilet paper in his cargo. Firefighters quickly extinguished…Read more...

The coronavirus crisis may be uncharted waters in many ways, but there’s a time-honored tradition for aggrieved workers whose health and safety are treated as an afterthought: go on strike.Read more...

You’ve probably seen the calls for DIY fabric face masks for hospitals and care facilities in recent weeks, and if you have a sewing machine perhaps you’ve made some yourself. Now there are suggestions that maybe all of us should be wearing masks. If we do, homemade fabric masks could be a responsible choice that…Read more...

Earth Day was supposed to be part of a week of mass mobilizations in late April. Protestors were going to rally in the streets. Students were going to gather on their university campuses to demand they divest from fossil fuels. Those too young to vote were planning to knock on doors and educate voters about the…Read more...

Before the Galaxy S20 even went on sale, I predicted its high price would put a damper on sales, and due to the impact of covid-19, things have only gotten worse. So now to help spur sales, Samsung is instituting a new program that will give new S20 owners a 50 percent buy back guarantee.Read more...

During the Cretaceous period, a balmy forest grew less than 600 miles from the South Pole, according to new research that uncovered ancient spores and roots.

The covid-19 museum closures have made abundantly clear that accession committees and the web’s corporate overlords don’t have much love for net art. While museums spent the past decade and hundreds of millions of dollars colonizing the earth and sky to make space for hoards of painting and sculpture, the web’s…Read more...

Ah, yes, the three states of matter: Solids, liquids, and gases. What a simple way to understand our physical world.

Though Rick and Morty’s been on a bit of a hiatus as of late, the Samurai & Shogun short film made it obvious that the creative team behind the series has been hard at work getting the remaining episodes of the fourth season just right before rolling into production on the dozens more episodes Adult Swim’s already put…Read more...

Chances are, your home internet is under a lot more strain than normal at the moment: With schools and workplaces temporarily closing all across the globe, you might well be fighting with your family or your housemates for any available bandwidth. If you want to limit buffering and maximize speeds, we’ve got a few…Read more...

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It’s been a bad month for hotel chain Marriott International. Last week, it furloughed tens of thousands of workers as travel plummeted in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, and its stock price has plummeted over 50 percent from the start of the year. On Tuesday, it also disclosed that it was hacked, again, with the…Read more...

The FBI has issued a warning about video messaging service Zoom, and New York Attorney General’s office has made an inquiry into its cybersecurity practices, after a string of disturbing incidents involving takeovers of teleconferences.

More and more comic book stores across the United States are having to close their doors because of the ongoing covid-19 outbreak—whether that’s due to state restrictions or an actual lack of new product. One of the biggest questions looming has been what, if any, steps publishers and distributors like Diamond might…Read more...

The Federal Communications Commission has announced it’s approved new rules that will require carriers by June of next year to implement protocols to protect consumers against scammers and spoof callers attempting to mask their unfamiliar numbers.Read more...

Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, io9's column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. It’s now been a couple of weeks since social distancing started, making at-home game nights feel more important than ever. We’ve got some suggestions on things to play at home, as well as some upcoming releases that take …Read more...

A charity group is stepping in to help New York City, facing the worst outbreak of covid-19 in the country, by building an emergency field hospital in the middle of Central Park to handle overflow patients. But the group and its founder’s history of anti-gay sentiment is making people question whether it can truly…Read more...

Despite having no agriculture, the Calusa managed to dominate southwest Florida for centuries. New research suggests this inventive Native American civilization built “watercourts” to capture and store live fish, resulting in a bountiful surplus of food that facilitated sociopolitical complexity and ambitious…Read more...

Amazon’s new series Tales From the Loop was a unique creative challenge. Instead of adapting a book like Game of Thrones or His Dark Materials, showrunner Nathaniel Halpern was making a series out of paintings. Specifically, the Tales From the Loop artbook from Simon Stålenhag. Luckily for Halpern, he was “uniquely…Read more...

We’re still trying to figure out the best applications for neural networks, machine learning, and all the recent advancements in artificial intelligence. Amongst all the practical research being conducted, there’s also lots of frivolous experimentation being done with results that walk the line between fascinating and…Read more...

Practicing social distancing means doing everything you can to minimize the need to physically leave your house so as to avoid exposure to/transmission of the novel coronavirus. Being cooped up, though, can lead one to feeling the need to wander out into the open world. The problem is, that’s not in the public’s best…Read more...

Scientists across the U.S. are developing new tests meant to detect whether someone is infected by the novel coronavirus in much less time than conventional tests now available—from five hours to as short as five minutes. But these newer tests still present familiar challenges, namely whether they’ll be accurate or…Read more...

Android users have many reasons to hate on Apple, but the company just gave them one more: It’s taking away the popular weather app Dark Sky. Dark Sky announced in a blog today that it was joining Apple, and as a result, it’s ending API access in 2022 and killing off the Android app.Read more...

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, a growing portfolio of dystopian artworks has engulfed the popular photo marketplace Getty Images.Read more...

We haven’t been able to go outside since March 14, when Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced a state of emergency and national lockdown because of the covid-19 pandemic. But every evening at 8 p.m., people all over Spain go to their windows, balconies, or terraces. The noise begins softly, but builds up…Read more...

Photography can be a fantastic creative outlet (and time-killer) for kids if you’ve got the right equipment. A camera they can’t easily break is a must, as is a way to easily print out their prized shots. Most instant cameras rely on pricey film stock, but the myFirst Camera Insta 2 uses cheap rolls of thermal paper…Read more...

The covid-19 museum closures have made abundantly clear that accession committees and the web’s corporate overlords don’t have much love for net art. While museums spent the past decade and hundreds of millions of dollars colonizing the earth and sky to make space for hoards of painting and sculpture, the web’s…Read more...

Many of us suddenly have more time for reading these days, and lucky for sci-fi and fantasy fans, April is chock-full of new releases—with tales of witches, monsters, vengeful forces of nature, space colonists, AI gone wild, and so much more. Crack open a new book and escape into its pages!

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Some stars have the element neon to thank for their ultimate, explosive demise, according to astrophysical research.Read more...

Research shows that when labels on cigarette packages display nasty photos of the harm that smoking causes, it can help encourage smokers to kick the habit. Now, experts are looking to apply the same logic to fossil fuels.Read more...

First, Tesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed the spread of the Coronavirus that causes covid-19. Then he called the general alarm over the pandemic “dumb.” Then he doubted that there was a shortage of ventilators and said that children were “essentially immune.” He said that “false positives” could account for up to 80% of…Read more...

New research offers another potential downside of fracking: an increased risk of impotence and fertility problems in men, at least according to findings from cells in the lab.

Two weeks ago to little fanfare, Apple somewhat abruptly released refreshed versions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini. And now, it seems like Apple is prepping for the imminent release of the iPhone 9 (or whatever Apple ends up calling its upcoming mid-range phone).Read more...

Patents aren’t written in stone, but they’re definitely a glimpse into what a company is mulling for future products. On that front, a newly released Apple patent hints the company is finally recognizing that most people use their iPads in landscape mode by shifting the front-facing camera and FaceID sensors onto the…Read more...

Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the most iconic mecha franchises of all time, but it’s also been going on for so long, and in so many different forms, that getting into it can seem incredibly intimidating. But if you’re looking for shows to binge-watch that are full of rad robot action (and little horror of war, as a…Read more...

The covid-19 pandemic is turning daily pick-ups into an acute public health crisis. There’s a better way.

Nintendo has ported a handful of classic N64 games to its portable systems, such as Ocarina of Time making an appearance on the 3DS. But for gaming on the go, the N64's library is mostly unavailable. Modder GmanModz took on the challenge of building an oversized replica of the clamshell Game Boy Advance that’s large…Read more...

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Rajesh Babu, a police officer in Chennai, India, has started wearing a helmet while enforcing a lockdown of the country’s 1.3 billion people. But it’s not just any helmet. Babu’s headgear is designed to look like the new coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19. And it’s just one more sign that our current…Read more...

Donald Trump’s administration is set to gut Barack Obama-era fuel efficiency standards on Tuesday, the New York Times reported, in a huge middle finger to anyone who cares about the environment and likely the White House’s biggest backtrack in federal climate policy.

Hillsborough County, Florida sheriff’s deputies arrested Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of the River at Tampa Bay Church, for refusing to stop holding church services that attracted huge crowds in violation of a county health order, CNN reported on Monday.

Sorry, but you won’t be vamping out with Jared Leto or busting ghosts with Paul Rudd this year. Sony Pictures just announced a major shake-up to its theatrical release schedule, bumping most of its biggest 2020 releases back to 2021.Read more...

The U.S. covid-19 death toll reached over 3,000 on Monday night, surpassing the number of people who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when 2,977 people were killed. The grim milestone comes from the latest figures updated by Johns Hopkins University, which has maintained an online tracker for the…Read more...

An archaeological survey of a former Nazi concentration camp on the British island of Alderney has revealed the frightful conditions endured by forced laborers and political prisoners during the Second World War.