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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
A Typo Landed an Innocent Gamer in Prison for 18 Months
How much could a single underscore in a username really matter? Just ask Brandon Klayme, who served 18 months in prison before realizing how authorities arrested, charged, and convicted the wrong man.
Nate Anderson, Ars Technica
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
What if the Universe Isn’t as Uniform as Scientists Think?
A study based on 47 million galaxies found that the cosmic web retains patterns on enormous scales, which could force a reevaluation of a pillar of cosmology.
Jorge Garay
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
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
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
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
Satellite Images Reveal How Suspected Scam Compounds Appear Out of Nowhere
Analysis of satellite images of Myanmar shows dozens of alleged scam compounds have appeared in recent months, despite a purported crackdown on the criminal organizations.
Matt Burgess
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
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
The Solution to the Power Grid's Woes Might Just Be Sitting in Your Driveway
More electric vehicles are becoming capable of providing backup power at a time when the US is increasingly in need of more electrons.
Matt Simon