Jennings Brown, Author at Gizmodo

New Mexico Observatory Closed Because of Child Porn Investigation, Not Aliens

After weeks of suspicion about the mysterious closure of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, unsealed FBI records have provided an explanation: a child porn investigation. The observatory at Sacramento Peak was suddenly closed and evacuated on September 6 because of a “security threat.” The organization that runs the facility—Association of Universities for…

Crime Jennings Brown Sep 20

Newegg Data Breach Left Customer Credit Cards Exposed For a Month, Security Researchers Say

Many Newegg customers reportedly had their credit card information exposed in a breach that researchers are attributing to the Magecart group. The payment page for the electronic and computer retailer remained breached for more than a month, from August 14 until September 18, according to security researchers. On Wednesday, security firms RiskIQ and Volexity released…

Privacy & Security Jennings Brown Sep 19

This is Not How You Dispose of a Dead Whale

Dead whale removal has long been an issue for humans who don’t want large, rotting carcasses taking up precious beach real estate. Perhaps the most infamous whale-disposal incident took place on November 12, 1970, in Florence, Oregon, when the Oregon Department of Transportation used a half-ton of dynamite to try to obliterate a sperm whale.…

Biology Jennings Brown Sep 19

Apple’s Using Your Call and Text Data to Figure Out Whether to ‘Trust’ Your Devices

Apple has an interesting new method for combatting fraud—administering “trust scores.” VentureBeat noticed a new provision inside the updated iTunes Store terms and privacy disclosure that came with Monday’s release of iOS 12, watchOS 5, and tvOS 12. Apple now says it will take into account certain information about how you use your iOS device…

Tech News Jennings Brown Sep 18

New Mexico Sheriff Demands Answers, Calls FBI ‘Chicken Shit’ Over Handling of Mysterious Observatory Closure

When FBI agents told local law enforcement to “standby” after the closure and evacuation of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, on September 6, Otero County Sheriff Benny House did not hide his confusion. “The FBI is refusing to tell us what’s going on,” House told Alamogordo Daily News at the time. “We’ve…

Space & Spaceflight Jennings Brown Sep 18

MoviePass Rival Sinemia Rolls Out a $30 Unlimited Plan

Sinemia has been encroaching on MoviePass’s territory for months. But now that MoviePass has abandoned its unlimited movie plan, its Turkish rival is adopting a similar model. Granted, Sinemia’s new unlimited plan is $30—three times more expensive than what MoviePass was charging for unlimited. MoviePass’s $10-plan now only allows users to watch three movies each…

Movies Jennings Brown Sep 17

Man Who Uploaded Deadpool to Facebook May Get Six Months in Prison

A California court will soon decide sentencing for a man who posted the entirety of Deadpool on his Facebook page. If the U.S. government gets its way, the man will spend half a year in prison. A week after Deadpool was released in theaters, millions of people watched the film on a viral Facebook post…

Tech News Jennings Brown Sep 17

New Mexico Observatory Finally Gives Explanation for Mysterious Shutdown

Ever since the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, was evacuated and visited by the FBI on September 6, the organization that runs the facility has been mum on the “security threat” that led to the closure. The relative silence on the part of Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) has led…

Space & Spaceflight Jennings Brown Sep 17

‘Telescope Did Not See Aliens,’ Director of Mysteriously Shut Down Observatory Claims

It has been a week since the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, was shut down, evacuated, and visited by FBI agents—and the undisclosed “security issue” behind all this activity remains a mystery to the public. Theories about the true reasoning behind the shutdown range from an accidental interception of military signals to captured…

Space & Spaceflight Jennings Brown Sep 14

Facebook Is Expanding Photo Fact-Checking Across 17 Countries

Facebook is expanding the scope of its fact-checking partnerships to include photo and video posts in 17 countries, ramping up its effort to hinder election meddling as the U.S. midterms approach. The company first opened up in March about fact checking photos and videos as a part of a broader plan to fight election interference…

Social Media Jennings Brown Sep 13

Top European Court Rules UK Mass Surveillance Regime Violates Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled this week that the United Kingdom government’s surveillance regime violated human rights laws. The matter first came to light in 2013 when NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed British surveillance practices—namely that the government intercepts social media, messages, and phone calls regardless of criminal record or suspicions of…

Privacy & Security Jennings Brown Sep 13

This Is How It Starts: FBI Suspiciously Locks Down, Evacuates Solar Observatory in New Mexico

This is how it happens when extraterrestrials make contact with Earth. It starts with a newspaper report about suspicious activity at a space research facility—government agents and military vehicles. The local sheriff gets angry and confused. Then the TV news reports feature interviews with locals saying things like, “Nothing really happens here very much. And…

Tech News Jennings Brown Sep 12

10-Year-Old Boy Survives Wasp Attack That Ended With Meat Skewer in Skull

This weekend, a 10-year-old boy in Harrisonville, Missouri, fell from a tree house after he was attacked by a swarm of yellow jackets that were nesting in the structure—and that was just the beginning of the horror. When Xavier Cunningham fell to the ground on Saturday, he landed face-first on a barbecue skewer that was…

Health Jennings Brown Sep 12

Weird Tooth Phone Wins Millions in Pentagon Funding

A new communication device that is supposed to go inside military service members’ heads gives us a hint at the sort of technology a new Defense Department accelerator program is funding. Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter created the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) in 2015 with the mission of helping the military industrial complex…

Gadgets Jennings Brown Sep 12

How Hackers Compromised 380,000 British Airway Customer Payments

A British Airways data breach that exposed as least 380,000 card payments was caused by a card-skimming malware that customers were inadvertently exposed to through the airline’s website and mobile app, according to research from security firm RiskIQ. British Airways announced last week that hackers had breached the company’s system, compromising hundreds of thousands of…

Privacy & Security Jennings Brown Sep 11

Watchdog Busts Facebook Groups Selling More Than 100 Protected Animal Species in Thailand

A wildlife trade watchdog found 1,521 listings for animals on Facebook in Thailand. The posts included live animals, dead animals, and body parts. The report from Traffic, an anti-trafficking organization based in the UK, details the activities of 12 animal trade Facebook groups. From 2016 to 2018, their combined membership reportedly doubled from 106,111 to…

Biology Jennings Brown Sep 10

To Kill or to Capture Bigfoot: The Great Cryptozoological Debate

How do you kill Bigfoot? “You would need a heavy-duty rifle,” according Jim Lansdale, co-founder of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization (GCBRO). “I would suggest a 30-aught-six or better; .458 or something like that. Maybe a seven-mag’. But it’s all shot placement and you’d have to shoot him in the head. You can’t body-shoot…

Tech News Jennings Brown Aug 29

In Big Win for Good Boys, England Is Banning Shock Collars

The United Kingdom is banning pet collars that deliver shocks or spray chemicals. The UK’s Environmental secretary Michael Gove announced on Monday that the country would bar “punitive” collars that “cause harm and suffering to our pets.” Scotland is also working to ban shock collars, and Wales outlawed shock collars in 2010. The devices, which…

Biology Jennings Brown Aug 28

Y Combinator Plans to Start Doling Out $60 Million Next Year to Study Universal Basic Income

The research arm of Y Combinator plans to begin a study on universal basic income next year in which it will give unconditional cash payments to 3,000 participants. The test is partially intended to see if receiving routine payments will quell anxieties around losing jobs to automation. As Wired reports, the study will be called…

Tech News Jennings Brown Aug 27

Bison-Taunting Hooligan Sentenced to Jail

Remember this guy? In late July, news outlets picked up a video of Raymond Reinke harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park. As Gizmodo has stated before: Playing with bison at Yellowstone is idiotic. These majestic beasts are a lot faster than they look, and their hump is a mound of muscle that enables them…

Biology Jennings Brown Aug 24

Jennings Brown

New Mexico Observatory Closed Because of Child Porn Investigation, Not Aliens

Newegg Data Breach Left Customer Credit Cards Exposed For a Month, Security Researchers Say

This is Not How You Dispose of a Dead Whale

Apple’s Using Your Call and Text Data to Figure Out Whether to ‘Trust’ Your Devices

New Mexico Sheriff Demands Answers, Calls FBI ‘Chicken Shit’ Over Handling of Mysterious Observatory Closure

MoviePass Rival Sinemia Rolls Out a $30 Unlimited Plan

Man Who Uploaded Deadpool to Facebook May Get Six Months in Prison

New Mexico Observatory Finally Gives Explanation for Mysterious Shutdown

‘Telescope Did Not See Aliens,’ Director of Mysteriously Shut Down Observatory Claims

Facebook Is Expanding Photo Fact-Checking Across 17 Countries

Top European Court Rules UK Mass Surveillance Regime Violates Human Rights

This Is How It Starts: FBI Suspiciously Locks Down, Evacuates Solar Observatory in New Mexico

10-Year-Old Boy Survives Wasp Attack That Ended With Meat Skewer in Skull

Weird Tooth Phone Wins Millions in Pentagon Funding

How Hackers Compromised 380,000 British Airway Customer Payments

Watchdog Busts Facebook Groups Selling More Than 100 Protected Animal Species in Thailand

To Kill or to Capture Bigfoot: The Great Cryptozoological Debate

In Big Win for Good Boys, England Is Banning Shock Collars

Y Combinator Plans to Start Doling Out $60 Million Next Year to Study Universal Basic Income

Bison-Taunting Hooligan Sentenced to Jail

FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign-Made Router Ban for Some Reason

Jamie Dornan Is Your New Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’

Trump’s Fed Pick Is Knee Deep in Tech and Crypto Investments

The First Trailer for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Takes Terror Stateside

The Trump Phone Still Looks Like Total Trash

‘Masters of the Universe’ Really, Really Wants to Be the Next ‘Barbie’

Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs Provide So Much Color It May Be Too Much

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

This Is What a Music Industry ‘Plant’ Looks Like in 2026

As Starship V3 Lags Behind, Blue Origin Prepares Third Launch of New Glenn

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?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice