What’s Worse Than Romance Scams? Adoption Scams
This week in WIRED Book Club, we recap the final chapters of The Yahoo Boys.
Kate Knibbs
An Extreme Solar Storm May Be Even More Devastating Than Previously Imagined
Scientists have long assumed that there’s an upper limit to the intensity of the solar winds that reach Earth. New research suggests there’s not—and the implications are alarming.
Javier Carbajal
A Leaked Memo Ties Cyberattacks on Minnesota Water Utilities to Iran
A memo obtained by WIRED, issued by the water utilities information sharing group WaterISAC, links dozens of cyberattacks against Minnesota water utilities to Tehran.
Andy Greenberg
Plex Keeps Getting Worse. Is Jellyfin a Decent Replacement?
If you want to stream local media, this free and open source media server is just as good as Plex. But if you rely on remote access or live TV, prepare to tinker.
Justin Pot
Sotheby’s Big T. Rex Auction Raises Concerns Hype and Wealth Are Upending Science
Private buyers are increasingly outbidding museums for fossils. That’s making it difficult—or even impossible—for researchers to improve our understanding of the past.
Kate Wong
Landmark Deal Would Officially Add Laser Weapons to US Army Arsenal
Facing a growing drone threat, the Pentagon is poised to sign a first-of-its-kind contract for “Enduring High Energy Lasers”—and make directed energy weapons an official part of the Army’s kit.
Noah Shachtman
The New Defcon Badges Pack a Unique Open Source Chip That Doubles as a Security Key
Created by legendary hardware hacker Andrew “bunnie” Huang, the badges for this year’s famed security conference aim to push the boundaries of security and transparency.
Kim Zetter
One of NASA’s Most Important Deep Space Observatories Hit by Spanish Wildfires
Flames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
Brian Kahn
The US Approves Launch of Mirror Satellite That Can Reflect Sunlight and Illuminate the Earth at Night
The FCC authorized Reflect Orbital to launch the mirror satellite Eärendil-1. “For optical astronomy, this poses an existential threat,” the European Southern Observatory said.
Javier Carbajal
Use AWS? Thanks to a Billing Glitch, That’ll Be $3 Billion
An error with the cloud computing giant’s billing operation caused some customers’ monthly bills to rise from a few cents to billions of dollars.
Caroline Haskins
Sam Neill Inspired a Generation of Scientists
The actor, who died at age 78 on Monday, embodied a passionate approach to research and positive masculinity in his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park.
Miles Klee
New York Governor Signs First Statewide Data Center Moratorium
“We have no choice but to address the challenges created by these massive facilities,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. The executive order will pause construction for one year.
Molly Taft
