A Mass Power Outage, Twitter’s Data Misuse, and More News
Massive power outages won’t save California, Twitter misused your two-factor authentication data, and scientists now know where lightning strikes twice (as much as anywhere else). Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less.
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Today’s Headlines
Power shutoffs can’t save California from wildfire hell
On Wednesday night, PG&E started shuting off power for hundreds of thousands of California residents in an effort to prevent wildfires during a high-wind period. Though this may be necessary as a stopgap, shutoffs won’t save California from wildfires entirely. “Even if you prevent 90 percent of wildfire ignitions, the remaining fires could be just as bad or even worse,” notes Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “Even if we see fewer of them, we’ll still have catastrophic fires.”
Never trust a platform to put privacy over profits
Twitter has become the latest tech giant to use data from its two-factor authentication security system for its marketing database. The company says the use of two-factor phone numbers and email addresses for marketing was accidental, but the information was used to help target ads, and the company only came forward three weeks after stopping it. Last year, Facebook admitted to a similar practice, and the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook a record $5 billion in July over numerous instances of user data mishandling.
Fast Fact: 3.3 Million
That’s how many barrels of bunker fuel are used by huge cargo-carrying ships each day. This particular type of fuel has 3,500 times as much sulfur as automotive fuel, and it has one wild side effect: Lightning is twice as likely to strike in shipping lanes than in other places.
WIRED Recommends: Nintendo Switch Accessories
If you have a Switch, you already know how great it is. If you don’t, you should get one. But our reviewers think you shouldn’t stop there: They put together a list of the 26 best accessories to trick out your Switch.
News You Can Use
Here are some tips to supercharge your Instagram stories.
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