On Wire

Sohrab Ahmari takes a stroll on the abandoned sidewalks of New York: By the end of my walk, I was tempted to scream, Charlton-Heston-in-Planet-of-the-Apes-style: “We finally did it! You maniacs . . . God damn you!” They—we—turned the greatest city in the world into Podgorica at nighttime, except weird and dystopian to boot. When I … Read more

After decades of not using a huge chunk of the Internet, the Pentagon has given control of millions of computer addresses to a previously unknown company in an effort to identify possible cyber vulnerabilities and threats The entities controlling the largest swaths of the Internet generally are telecommunications giants whose names are familiar: AT&T, China … Read more

A report from The New York Times indicated that the hackers appeared to be affiliated with Babuk, a known spreader of ransomware that is used to lock up private or sensitive information before hackers demand payments in cash, or more frequently Bitcoin, to release it. Babuk emerged earlier this year, according to a threat analysis … Read more

Hunter Biden is a Yale-educated lawyer and has profited from his father’s political connections his entire adult life but he has never worked as a reporter. “Virtually all the jobs listed on Hunter’s resume going back to his first position out of college, which paid a six-figure salary, came courtesy of Joe Biden’s donors, lobbyists … Read more

Growing up, every child wanted to play as a quarterback. But as a football coach, it’s your job to make sure the other positions are filled in a way that maximizes each player’s abilities and, collectively, the team’s. A lot of students may not want to play offensive lineman at first — until they realize that … Read more

Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveils plans worth half a billion US dollars Australian minister warns ‘the drums of war’ are beating in the Pacific region   War between China and Taiwan should not be discounted, says defence chief Australia is to upgrade military bases in its far north and expand joint drills with US forces after … Read more

Alphabet’s overall sales rose 34% in the first quarter of 2021, to $55.3 billion  The figure, announced Tuesday, exceeds analysts’ prediction of $51.7 billion The impressive figure is fueled by surge in advertising revenue and cloud sales  Alphabet also announced a $50 billion share buyback Alphabet’s quarterly profit rose 162% to $17.9 billion, or $26.29 … Read more

Some of Silicon Valley top algorithm experts testified Tuesday in front of bipartisan members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tasked with defending Big Tech from accusations it capitalizes on “short-term rage” and their role in society’s increasing polarization. Democratic Delaware Senator Chris Coons, chairman of the committee, opened Tuesday’s “Algorithms and Amplification” hearing by asking “what happens … Read more

Convicted lawmaker Chaim Deutsch was expelled from the City Council Tuesday by Speaker Corey Johnson, just days after he pleaded guilty to federal charges of cheating on his taxes. “Based on our review of the charging document and Mr. Chaim Deutsch’s plea agreement, the Council has concluded that the office of the 48th Council District … Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will call for free preschool for all three- and four-year-old children, a $200 billion investment to be rolled out as part of his sweeping American Families Plan being unveiled Wednesday in an address to Congress. The administration said the historic investment would benefit 5 million children and save the average family … Read more

Actor Randy Quaid tweeted Tuesday that he is ‘seriously considering’ running for California governor  ‘I promise that if elected I will clean up the District Attorney Offices throughout the state,’ the 70-year-old actor said Quaid, known for his role in National Lampoon films, followed up with a hashtag, ‘#RandyQuaid4CAGOV’ This comes after former athlete and … Read more

The First Amendment protects Americans from being punished by the state for the things they say. The “state” part here is key: You are not being censored, for example, if you’re fired from your job as a newspaper columnist because you got caught hanging out with a neo-Nazi biker gang. Quite a lot of people … Read more