Congress votes to pull funding for free Wi-Fi hotspots at schools and libraries
The Senate has voted to end a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule that used federal funding to cover Wi-Fi hotspots that could be used outside of school and libraries. The program, first implemented by former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, applied funds from the $2.6 billion federal E-Rate program to a program that enabled schools and libraries to provide free Wi-Fi hotspots to children and others with poor or no internet access at home. As Policyband notes prior to a succes...
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Matter’s latest update brings tap-to-pair setup
Two new features coming to Matter are designed to make setting up smart gadgets easier. Multi-device QR codes and a tap-to-pair onboarding via NFC are new options for adding devices like smart lights, plugs, locks, and more to a Matter home network. The updates are part of the new 1.4.1 specification for Matter announced today by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, the organization that runs the smart home interoperability standard developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others in t...
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Pinterest users left confused by mass account suspensions
Pinterest is having some weird moderation issues. Reports of sweeping pin removals and account suspensions have appeared across social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X, with many users saying they received no warning or explanation about the ban before being locked out of their accounts. The r/Pinterest subreddit is also currently dominated by posts from confused users who claim their accounts have been suspended without evidence explaining how they violated the platform’...
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Yale’s new smart lock can disarm your ADT security system with your fingerprint
ADT and Yale have partnered on a new smart lock that adds biometric access to the security system. One of the best features of the now-discontinued Nest Secure security system was that if you also had the Nest X Yale Lock, you could unlock your door and disarm your security system just by entering a single code. With both those products now discontinued, Yale and ADT have a solution you might find interesting. The new Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch with Z-Wave ($279.99) integrates directly with ...
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France accuses Russia of a decade’s worth of high-profile cyberattacks
France’s President Emmanuel Macron attends a meeting with representatives of the sectors affected by US tariffs, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on April 3, 2025. | Image: MOHAMMED BADRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images In an unprecedented display of diplomatic aggression, French authorities publicly accused Russia of sponsoring several high-profile cyber attacks on French entities for over a decade to gather intelligence and destabilize the country. The incidents include everything from a faked...
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Bluesky is having an up and down Tuesday morning
On Tuesday morning, the social media platform Bluesky experienced back-to-back outages that prevented feeds from loading for many users around the world. An initial outage started at about 6AM ET, as tracked by Downdetector, lasting about 40 minutes, and then things crashed again at about 8AM. Bluesky experienced another major outage on April 24th that lasted for around an hour, which the company attributed to PDS networking problems. Many of us here The Verge were unable to refresh our Blue...
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New Starlink subscription drops hardware price to $0
SpaceX is now offering 12-month residential service plans that bring the price of the dish and router — normally $349 in the US — down to $0 in select markets, without increasing the monthly fee. You have 30 days to test or return the kit for a full refund, but after that there’s some fine print to be aware of. If you change the service address or cancel service, for example, you’ll be hit with a change fee equal to the cost of the hardware but prorated over time. Some subs...
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Widespread power outage hits Spain and neighboring countries France and Portugal
Yellow line shows actual power, red line is projected. | Image: <a href=”https://demanda.ree.es/visiona/peninsula/nacionalau/total”>Red Eléctrica</a> Power went down Monday afternoon in vast areas of Spain, crossing over into Portugal and France causing widespread outages in homes and businesses and bringing transportation infrastructure to a halt. The cause of the outage is currently unknown. Lisbon, Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and Valencia are reportedly affected. Th...
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