government

The issue of law enforcement and their need to unlock someone's smartphone is a complicated one, both technically and ethically. It turns out Apple's Face ID devices, like the iPhone X and iPhone XS, are only making this more difficult. A new leak has revealed that a forensics company is teaching police to not look at the screens of suspects' iPhones with Face ID, in turn ensuring they get as many chances as possible to unlock the device.

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The Department of Defense has revealed three companies that have been awarded contracts to develop rockets for national security launches: United Launch Services, Orbital Sciences, and Blue Origin. All three will develop a Launch System Prototype, according to the Defense Department, designed for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.

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People living and otherwise located in central California this weekend may be in for brief moments of noisiness, but the United States Air Force says not to panic. Sonic booms may be heard in the region resulting from a planned space test that'll involve launching the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The event is set to take place on Saturday, October 6.

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California has banned bots that pretend to be human, a move that will help users avoid falling victim to automated messages hawking products or ideologies. Under the newly signed bill, these bots will need to disclose their nature, making it clear to the user that they're conversing with a machine rather than a human. Such as a message could be as simple as stating, "I am a bot."

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The Federal Drug Administration has seized more than one thousands documents from e-cigarette company Juul, according to a new report. The documents are said to be related to Juul's marketing practices, the focus being underage vaping and the FDA's ongoing work to address marketing that some companies may be targeting at teens.

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The US government recently failed to get wiretap access to Facebook Messenger, according to a new report. The legal spat allegedly took place in the US District Court in Fresno, California, and was sealed from the public. Sources claim the case involved suspected gang members and law enforcement's desire to monitor their communications.

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California police announced the arrest and charges of a ring of Apple product thieves from across the state. The announcement came from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who noted that they'd arrested 17 individuals who were then charged for their roles in a robbery scheme that seemed to target Apple retail stores over the period of several months.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be removing its Office of the Science Advisor and "demoting" it via a merger with a different Office of Research and Development unit, according to new reports. Critics worry the effort will be the latest of several made by the Trump administration that appear to challenge the role of science in policymaking.

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Over the past several years, streaming platform Twitch has grown to become one of the most popular websites in the world, but it just suffered a pretty major setback. The website has been banned in China, making the it latest in a string of restrictions focused on cracking down on gaming. As China is one of the largest gaming markets in the world, being shut out from operating there is a big blow indeed.

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Yesterday, SpaceX announced its first private customer for a future flight near the Moon. On the same day, the company confirmed that it would at least consider launching weapons into space if asked to do so. The statement was given as an answer to a question, with the company indicating that the potential service would be provided for the US government if necessary for defense purposes.

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Internet users will soon see a variety of digital advertisements targeting teenagers who may be thinking about or currently using e-cigarette devices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new educational campaign today that hopes to curb teen use of liquid nicotine devices, the effort spurred by statistics showing increased vaping activities among adolescents.

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Earlier this month, the State Department issued an alert revealing that its unclassified email system had been compromised. As a result of the breach, a small number of employees may have had their personal data exposed to the hackers. Impacted individuals have been informed about the breach, which fortunately did not involve the Department's classified email system.

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