Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Second Plane of the Day Explodes in Florida

Earlier today, an American Airlines plane with 170 people aboard caught fire at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Everyone was evacuated alive, though there are some minor injuries. But now a second plane, this one operated by FedEx, has exploded at the Ft. Lauderdale airport in Florida. It’s unclear what exactly caused the explosion of the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 28

Plane Catches Fire at O’Hare on Fire Drill Day

A Twitter user at Chicago’s O’Hare airport just tweeted out the photo below, showing a plane on fire. Popular conservative columnist Michele Malkin also tweeted out her own photo from a plane where she just landed. Ironically, this is the same day that O’Hare was conducting fire drills and telling people on social media not…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 28

FBI Kinda Sorta Almost Reopening Investigation Into Clinton Emails [Update: It’s Anthony Weiner’s Fault]

The FBI just sent a letter to members of the House Judiciary Committee who were looking into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. And how you feel about Clinton will likely determine your response. Republicans claim that the investigation has been “reopened.” Democrats say it’s just a fart in the wind. Today’s letter, signed by FBI…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 28

EpiPen Price Hike Costs the Pentagon Millions

The stock price of Mylan is soaring, but the pharmaceutical company might not be out of the woods yet. After a summer of bad headlines, Congressional testimony, and agreements to pay back millions to the government, the Pentagon is looking at how much Mylan has been overcharging since 2008. Mylan recently came under fire for…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 28

CIA Refuses to Release Reports on Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, I’ve received CIA biographic reports on both the former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and the man who controversially ousted him in 1975, John Kerr. But there’s one guy involved in “The Dismissal” that the CIA won’t release files on: former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, the man who…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 27

Time Capsule Found, But It’s Missing a Check Made Out to ‘Generations Yet Unborn’

After months of searching, a history museum in Ohio has finally found a time capsule that was sealed by a local church in 1866. But it’s missing a few items, including a check that was supposedly made out to “generations yet unborn.” The check, of course, wouldn’t be something that anyone could cash today. But…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 27

CIA Declassifies Report on the Man Who Ousted the Australian Government in 1975

There are a lot of different conspiracy theories about what happened to the Australian government in November of 1975. In a surprise move, the ultra liberal Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was fired by a lone man using parliamentary procedures that no one had expected. That man was John Kerr. And Gizmodo has now obtained the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 26

These Stories of People Who Got Scammed on Tinder Are Heartbreaking

If someone asks you to send them money on a dating app like Tinder, don’t do it. This might sound like common sense, but in a world where more people are meeting potential partners online, it can become all too easy for otherwise intelligent people to get scammed. And these Tinder horror stories are a…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 26

Smithsonian Launches New Podcast About Technology, History, and Museums

Smithsonian has launched a new podcast called Sidedoor that takes listeners behind the scenes at the museums. The first episode, called Tech Yourself, looks at technology. And to be honest, the episode takes a while to get interesting. But it’s definitely worth a listen. The first quarter of the first episode is comprised mostly of…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 26

Trump Cosplay Just Keeps Getting Weirder

Back in March, we looked at Donald Trump cosplay—people who love to dress up as the Republican nominee for president, usually to celebrate the man rather than protest him. And ever since it’s only gotten weirder. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of the most recent Trump cosplay that’s been spotted across the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 25

Trump: Renewable Energy Is Murdering Eagles

It’s really hard to argue against policies that promote renewable energy. But people like Donald Trump will bend over backward to do it—like he did today on (failed presidential hopeful) Herman Cain’s radio show. Trump claims that wind turbines are a major threat to bird populations. But he’s just talking shit without any context. From…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 25

This Diary Entry From Dwight Eisenhower Is Hilariously Depressing When You Remember That Donald Trump Is Running For President

I’ve been reading President Dwight Eisenhower’s diaries this election season, and I recently started laughing out loud at the entry from May 1, 1953. It wasn’t so much what Ike wrote, but how it contrasted so dramatically with our current election cycle and the noxious way that Donald Trump has run his campaign. There are…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 25

Rent-A-Center Customer Horror Stories Allege Harassment at Home and Work

If you walk into any of Rent-A-Center’s 2,600 locations across the country, you can walk out with a laptop, a smartphone, or a couch under a high-interest payment plan. The Rent-A-Center business model allows people with low or no credit some access to the basic necessities of modern life, even if they wind up paying…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 24

James Woods Says He Hopes Twitter User He Sued For Defamation Died Screaming His Name

Back in the summer of 2015, actor James Woods sued a semi-anonymous Twitter user for $10 million after the user called him a “cocaine addict.” The lawyers representing the Twitter user appealed to have the lawsuit thrown out, but the appeal was recently dropped because the defendant died. The response from Woods? He hopes the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 22

House of Tomorrow From 1933 Declared National Treasure, Will Be Restored

When the House of Tomorrow was completed in 1933 it gave visitors a sneak peek at the shiny, optimistic future that was to come—all twelve sides of it. Today, this relic of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair sits in disrepair. But preservationists are hoping to change that with the announcement of a new campaign to…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 21

Engineers Rushing to Build Flying Car in Time For the 2020 Tokyo Games

Engineers in Tokyo are attempting to build a flying car that will help light the Olympic cauldron in 2020. And even though they still have a few years, it’s a race against time to achieve what so many other flying car designers have failed to do: Build a safe and reliable flying machine that can…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 21

House of Cards Is Airing in Iran, But What About Those Sanctions?

The Iranian people are really enjoying the Netflix show House of Cards right now. Yesterday, the New Yorker reported that the first season of the show has aired on state-run TV, despite bans on virtually all American cultural products. But it got me thinking: Does Netflix have a licensing deal in Iran or is the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 20

Creepy Message From Kids Discovered in 1968 Time Capsule: ‘I Am Dead’

Demolitions crews in Albuquerque, New Mexico just discovered a time capsule from 1968 near a former elementary school. And based on the messages discovered inside, some kids of the late 1960s had a pretty creepy vision for the future. Or, perhaps, a creepy vision of their present. Some of the letters discovered in the 1968…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 19

How to Stream Tonight’s Presidential Debate, No Cable Required

The third and final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is tonight at 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific, 4am Moscow time. And if you want to watch it without a cable subscription, there are plenty of options. The debate is being hosted by Chris Wallace of Fox News in Las Vegas—an appropriate location for…

Social Media Matt Novak Oct 19

CIA Releases Files That Describe Ruthless Chilean Dictator Pinochet As ‘Warm’ and ‘Mild-Mannered’

Augusto Pinochet was a ruthless dictator who, with the CIA’s help, overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile in 1973. But what did the CIA really think of Pinochet? Newly released biographic reports use words like “warm,” “mild-mannered,” and “businesslike.” I recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the CIA’s biographic reports on…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 18

Matt Novak

Second Plane of the Day Explodes in Florida

Plane Catches Fire at O’Hare on Fire Drill Day

FBI Kinda Sorta Almost Reopening Investigation Into Clinton Emails [Update: It’s Anthony Weiner’s Fault]

EpiPen Price Hike Costs the Pentagon Millions

CIA Refuses to Release Reports on Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser

Time Capsule Found, But It’s Missing a Check Made Out to ‘Generations Yet Unborn’

CIA Declassifies Report on the Man Who Ousted the Australian Government in 1975

These Stories of People Who Got Scammed on Tinder Are Heartbreaking

Smithsonian Launches New Podcast About Technology, History, and Museums

Trump Cosplay Just Keeps Getting Weirder

Trump: Renewable Energy Is Murdering Eagles

This Diary Entry From Dwight Eisenhower Is Hilariously Depressing When You Remember That Donald Trump Is Running For President

Rent-A-Center Customer Horror Stories Allege Harassment at Home and Work

James Woods Says He Hopes Twitter User He Sued For Defamation Died Screaming His Name

House of Tomorrow From 1933 Declared National Treasure, Will Be Restored

Engineers Rushing to Build Flying Car in Time For the 2020 Tokyo Games

House of Cards Is Airing in Iran, But What About Those Sanctions?

Creepy Message From Kids Discovered in 1968 Time Capsule: ‘I Am Dead’

How to Stream Tonight’s Presidential Debate, No Cable Required

CIA Releases Files That Describe Ruthless Chilean Dictator Pinochet As ‘Warm’ and ‘Mild-Mannered’

That Movie with AI Val Kilmer as a Priest Has a Trailer Now

‘You Can’t Miss What Our Values Are’: Before Its Pivot to AI, Allbirds Sounded Very Different

The First ‘Clayface’ Footage Was Wonderfully Disgusting

Scientists Found Literal Ink From Ballpoint Pens in Martian Meteorites

The ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ Han Solo Proves You Really Can’t Replace Harrison Ford

BYD Is Rolling Out 5-Minute Charging on Several Popular EVs

Jury Does What Trump’s DOJ Wouldn’t, Deems Ticketmaster a Monopoly

Govee RGBIC TV Smart Light Bars Go on Clearance, Bringing Each Down to Under $25 on Amazon

EU Is Rolling Out an Online Age Verification App That Could Become the Global Blueprint

16 Underrated Anime That Deserve Your Love

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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