In 1940, a fresh-faced Ronald Reagan starred as US Secret Service agent Brass Bancroft in Murder in the Air, an action film centered on a fictional superweapon" that could stop enemy aircraft midflight. A mock newspaper in the movie hails it as the greatest peace argument ever invented." The experimental weapon is the exclusive property...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Why Trump's golden dome" missile defense idea is another ripped straight from the movies Within a week of his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order to develop The Iron Dome for America"...