theverge--2020-05-07--Even with people staying in, carbon dioxide is breaking records

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still rising , even though people are driving and flying less during the COVID-19 pandemic .
CO2 reached an all-time daily high on May 3rd , hitting levels that haven ’ t been seen in the more than 60 years since records began .
The annual average is also expected to rise , according to an analysis published today by scientists at the national meteorological service for the UK and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography .
They found that the overall amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is still climbing steadily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic barely slowed it down .
The data shows how much more ambitious efforts need to be in order to stop heating up our planet .
The temporary drop in greenhouse gas emissions as people stay in during the pandemic just isn ’ t enough to undo the decades of damage humans have inflicted by burning fossil fuels .
“ Humanity ’ s waste pile is in the atmosphere and that doesn ’ t go away , ” says Scripps Oceanography geochemist Ralph Keeling .
“ The CO2 is building up in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re emitting right now but what we have emitted over the past century.
” It may feel like the world has come to a virtual stop amid orders to shut down businesses and shelter in place during the pandemic .
The effect that ’ s had on how much planet-heating pollution people pump out is already about six times greater than the 2008 Great Recession had on carbon emissions .
But the total drop in global greenhouse gas emissions this year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis is projected to be just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ International Energy Agency .
“ Humanity ’ s waste pile is in the atmosphere ” “ Eight percent is not an awful lot in the grand scheme of things , ” says Sean Sublette , a meteorologist at the nonprofit Climate Central .
The difference it will make in slowing down climate change is marginal .
An important thing to keep in mind is that carbon dioxide can persist in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years after it escapes our factories and tailpipes .
“ It ’ s like a bathtub @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on full blast for a while , and you turn it back 10 % , but you ’ re still filling the bathtub , ” says Sublette .
“ You haven ’ t really stopped filling the bathtub , you ’ ve just slowed it a tiny bit.
” May is a key time to pay attention to carbon dioxide levels because it ’ s when concentrations in the atmosphere typically peak .
Levels fluctuate slightly throughout the year based on the seasons .
In the summer , plants in the Northern Hemisphere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass — are in full gear drawing down carbon dioxide through photosynthesis .
They ’ re less active in the fall and winter , and when their leaves drop and decompose , they release carbon dioxide .
The cycle ultimately leads to a spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide in May , as spring transforms plants from leafless to bushy again , followed by a drop as summer approaches .
Carbon dioxide concentrations have peaked each year since record-keeping began at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii in 1958 .
From a starting point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dioxide in the atmosphere in May 1958 , the all-time high recorded this month reached 418.12 parts per million .
The upward trend is called the Keeling Curve , after the scientist Charles David Keeling who began making the measurements .
To flatten that curve , emissions need to permanently drop by at least 50 percent , according to Ralph Keeling , who continues the research his father started .
That will likely require a combination of behavior change — like we ’ re seeing now — and sweeping structural changes .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it to happen just because of individual choices , ” he says .
Ultimately , greenhouse gas emissions need to reach virtually zero by 2050 to avoid worst-case scenarios with climate change , according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change .

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still rising, even though people are driving and flying less during the COVID-19 pandemic. CO2 reached an all-time daily high on May 3rd, hitting levels that haven’t been seen in the more than 60 years since records began.
The annual average is also expected to rise, according to an analysis published today by scientists at the national meteorological service for the UK and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They found that the overall amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is still climbing steadily, and that the dramatic changes from the pandemic barely slowed it down.
The data shows how much more ambitious efforts need to be in order to stop heating up our planet. The temporary drop in greenhouse gas emissions as people stay in during the pandemic just isn’t enough to undo the decades of damage humans have inflicted by burning fossil fuels.
“Humanity’s waste pile is in the atmosphere and that doesn’t go away,” says Scripps Oceanography geochemist Ralph Keeling. “The CO2 is building up in response to not just what we’re emitting right now but what we have emitted over the past century.”
It may feel like the world has come to a virtual stop amid orders to shut down businesses and shelter in place during the pandemic. The effect that’s had on how much planet-heating pollution people pump out is already about six times greater than the 2008 Great Recession had on carbon emissions. But the total drop in global greenhouse gas emissions this year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis is projected to be just about 8 percent, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Humanity’s waste pile is in the atmosphere”
“Eight percent is not an awful lot in the grand scheme of things,” says Sean Sublette, a meteorologist at the nonprofit Climate Central. The difference it will make in slowing down climate change is marginal.
An important thing to keep in mind is that carbon dioxide can persist in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years after it escapes our factories and tailpipes. “It’s like a bathtub and you’ve had the spigot on full blast for a while, and you turn it back 10%, but you’re still filling the bathtub,” says Sublette. “You haven’t really stopped filling the bathtub, you’ve just slowed it a tiny bit.”
May is a key time to pay attention to carbon dioxide levels because it’s when concentrations in the atmosphere typically peak. Levels fluctuate slightly throughout the year based on the seasons. In the summer, plants in the Northern Hemisphere — where there’s more land mass — are in full gear drawing down carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. They’re less active in the fall and winter, and when their leaves drop and decompose, they release carbon dioxide. The cycle ultimately leads to a spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide in May, as spring transforms plants from leafless to bushy again, followed by a drop as summer approaches.
Carbon dioxide concentrations have peaked each year
Carbon dioxide concentrations have peaked each year since record-keeping began at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii in 1958. From a starting point of 318 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May 1958, the all-time high recorded this month reached 418.12 parts per million. The upward trend is called the Keeling Curve, after the scientist Charles David Keeling who began making the measurements.
To flatten that curve, emissions need to permanently drop by at least 50 percent, according to Ralph Keeling, who continues the research his father started. That will likely require a combination of behavior change — like we’re seeing now — and sweeping structural changes. “The changes are too big to expect it to happen just because of individual choices,” he says.


theverge--2020-05-07--So that’s how you pronounce X Æ A-12

So that’s how you pronounce X Æ A-12

On May 4th , 2020 , Elon Musk and his partner Claire “ Grimes ” Boucher welcomed their first child together and soon after revealed the baby ’ s name : X Æ A-12 .
If you ’ re like me , you ’ re probably wondering , “ How the hell do I pronounce that ?
” Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience today , and the first thing the pair discussed was Musk ’ s newborn son , with Rogan asking how to pronounce the boy ’ s name .
Musk said his son ’ s name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The X is just “ X ” and the A-12 is just “ A 12.
” X Æ A-12 ’ s name may run into some administrative issues in California Musk went into a bit of backstory on the choice , mentioning Grimes “ mostly came up with the name.
” Grimes also tweeted a breakdown of what each part of their son ’ s name represented .
Both mentioned that the A-12 part of their son ’ s name was partially based on the Archangel-12 , the precursor to their favorite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name is certainly unique , to say the least , it may run into some administrative issues in California .
California ’ s Office of Vital Records only accepts names that contain 26 alphabetical letters , as People reports , which means X Æ A-12 could be returned as invalid .
“ [ Y ] ou can ’ t have numbers , Roman numerals , accents , umlauts or other symbols or emoji , ” California family law attorney David Glass told People .
A few years ago , The Guardian wrote an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s strict and strange rules .

On May 4th, 2020, Elon Musk and his partner Claire “Grimes” Boucher welcomed their first child together and soon after revealed the baby’s name: X Æ A-12.
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering, “How the hell do I pronounce that?” Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience today, and the first thing the pair discussed was Musk’s newborn son, with Rogan asking how to pronounce the boy’s name.
Musk said his son’s name is pronounced “X Ash A 12.” The X is just “X” and the A-12 is just “A 12.”
X Æ A-12’s name may run into some administrative issues in California
Musk went into a bit of backstory on the choice, mentioning Grimes “mostly came up with the name.” Grimes also tweeted a breakdown of what each part of their son’s name represented. Both mentioned that the A-12 part of their son’s name was partially based on the Archangel-12, the precursor to their favorite aircraft, the SR-71.


theverge--2020-05-08--Office for iPad is getting mouse and trackpad support later this year

Microsoft is planning to update Office for iPad with support for Apple ’ s latest iPadOS trackpad and mouse support .
The software maker has always been quick to update its range of iOS apps with Apple ’ s latest software features , and work is already underway to update Word , Excel , PowerPoint , and more .
Apple surprised everyone with cursor support in iPadOS back in March , and developers are now racing to update their iPad apps .
TechCrunch reported earlier this week that Microsoft is working on cursor support for Office for iPad , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office for iPad this fall.
” We understand that Microsoft is planning to include cursor support by the fall , so it could come to some Office apps a lot sooner .
Microsoft is not sharing details on its exact plans just yet .
Microsoft was quick to roll out iPad Split View for Outlook on iOS last year , and the company released a unified Office app for iOS earlier this year .
The new Office app combines Word , Excel , PowerPoint , and other Office mobile features into a single @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning to keep the individual Word , Excel , and PowerPoint apps available on iOS , and it ’ s likely we ’ ll see cursor support emerge in the main Office app and these standalone versions , too .

Microsoft is planning to update Office for iPad with support for Apple’s latest iPadOS trackpad and mouse support. The software maker has always been quick to update its range of iOS apps with Apple’s latest software features, and work is already underway to update Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.
Apple surprised everyone with cursor support in iPadOS back in March, and developers are now racing to update their iPad apps. TechCrunch reported earlier this week that Microsoft is working on cursor support for Office for iPad, that’s “expected to ship in Office for iPad this fall.” We understand that Microsoft is planning to include cursor support by the fall, so it could come to some Office apps a lot sooner. Microsoft is not sharing details on its exact plans just yet.
Microsoft has a history of supporting Apple’s latest iOS features
Microsoft was quick to roll out iPad Split View for Outlook on iOS last year, and the company released a unified Office app for iOS earlier this year. The new Office app combines Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office mobile features into a single, smaller app.


theverge--2020-05-08--Tesla plans to partially reopen Fremont factory on Friday

Tesla plans to resume “ limited operations ” at its Fremont car plant on Friday , bringing back about 30 percent of its workforce , according to emails sent to employees Thursday night .
Fremont is located in Alameda County , however , which said in a statement that it ’ s still under lockdown .
Bloomberg was first to report on the emails sent from CEO Elon Musk and Tesla HR Boss Valerie Capers Workman .
Although California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that manufacturing industries can start to reopen in the state , his guidance does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That didn ’ t stop Tesla ’ s Musk from jumping on the opportunity : “ In light of Governor Newsom ’ s statement earlier today approving manufacturing in California , we will aim to restart production in Fremont tomorrow afternoon .
I will be on the line personally helping wherever I can .
However , if you feel uncomfortable coming back to work at this time , please do not feel obligated to do so .
These are difficult times , so thanks very much for working hard to make Tesla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plant had been ( mostly ) idle since March 23rd in compliance with a shelter-in-place order , just as it was beginning to deliver its new Model Y car .
Musk has been a vocal critic of California ’ s lockdown orders , arguing they violate constitutional rights .

Tesla plans to resume “limited operations” at its Fremont car plant on Friday, bringing back about 30 percent of its workforce, according to emails sent to employees Thursday night. Fremont is located in Alameda County, however, which said in a statement that it’s still under shelter-in-place. Bloomberg was first to report on the emails sent from CEO Elon Musk and Tesla HR boss Valerie Capers Workman.
Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is located, doesn’t see it quite the same way. “We have not said that it’s appropriate to move forward,” Erica Pan, Alameda County’s health officer, said about Tesla, according to Bloomberg. The county told Tesla it didn’t meet criteria to reopen, Bloomberg reported.
Although California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that manufacturing industries can start to reopen in the state, his guidance does not override county-level restrictions, according to CNBC.
That didn’t stop Tesla’s Musk from jumping on the opportunity:
“In light of Governor Newsom’s statement earlier today approving manufacturing in California, we will aim to restart production in Fremont tomorrow afternoon. I will be on the line personally helping wherever I can. However, if you feel uncomfortable coming back to work at this time, please do not feel obligated to do so. These are difficult times, so thanks very much for working hard to make Tesla successful!”
Tesla’s Fremont plant had been (mostly) idle since March 23rd in compliance with a shelter-in-place order, just as it was beginning to deliver its new Model Y car. Musk has been a vocal critic of California’s lockdown orders, arguing they violate constitutional rights.


theverge--2020-05-08--Why countries keep bowing to Apple and Google’s contact tracing app requirements

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
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Last month , after Apple and Google announced some changes to their forthcoming attempt to track the spread of COVID-19 , I noted the surprising degree to which tech giants are setting the terms of the pandemic response .
They own the hardware , they own the software , and national governments who would use it to find new cases of COVID-19 have to do it on the companies ’ terms .
This week , that process began to accelerate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ background .
The Apple-Google collaboration will ask you to opt in to a system that causes your phone to emit Bluetooth signals to other phones around you .
When you are in close proximity to another person for an extended period of time — more than five minutes , typically — both of your phones record the interaction .
When a person tests positive for COVID-19 , they will have the option of anonymously notifying other phones that they may have been exposed to the virus and encouraging their contacts to self-quarantine or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tech giants and nation states has been who will process the exposure notifications .
Apple and Google want to process the notifications on users ’ phones without storing them on a central server , to preserve the maximum degree of privacy possible .
Some European countries , meanwhile , have sought to process notifications on a central server , in the hopes that having more detailed information will help them identify additional exposures and more rapidly contain the spread of the virus .
( MIT Tech Review has a great tracker that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apps , including whether or not they ’ ve adopted the Apple-Google approach . )
This put France , whose politicians have regularly upbraided Silicon Valley for perceived data privacy lapses , in the very funny position of begging Apple and Google to lower their privacy standards .
Germany , whose scientists had helped devise Europe ’ s ( deep breath ) proposed Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing project , decided to throw in with Apple and Google after it became clear that was not going to happen .
Until now , England has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building its own exposure notification app , even though it will have limited access to the Bluetooth notifications necessary for it to work .
James Vincent explained why this is a problem this week at The Verge : Both Google and Apple restrict how apps can use Bluetooth in iOS and Android .
They don ’ t allow developers to constantly broadcast Bluetooth signals , as that sort of background broadcast has been exploited in the past for targeted advertising .
As The Register reports , iOS apps can only send Bluetooth signals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreground .
If your iPhone is locked or you ’ re not looking at the app , then there ’ s no signal .
The latest versions of Android have similar restrictions , only allowing Bluetooth signals to be sent out for a few minutes after an app has closed .
Such restrictions will block devices from pinging one another in close quarters , drastically reducing the effectiveness of any contact-tracing app .
Google and Apple can rewrite these rules for their own contact-tracing API because they control the operating systems .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like the UK , the restrictions could literally be fatal .
iPhone users with the app installed could interact with someone who is later diagnosed with COVID-19 and never know it , if their phone doesn ’ t keep a log of their interaction .
Now it seems that all of this has dawned on England ’ s National Health Service , which has asked the consulting firm charged with building its app to investigate switching over to the Apple-Google model .
Here are Alex Hern and Kate Proctor today in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s unclear how an app that only works when every citizen in England has the app downloaded , open , and running in the foreground at all times is going to be “ as effective as possible.
” As of today , I ’ d be surprised if England hadn ’ t adopted the Apple-Google approach by the end of this month .
It ’ s a fascinating tension : corporations trying to do right by their users versus countries trying to do right by their citizens .
As Sam Lessin notes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place for a tech giant to be .
“ This isn ’ t an enviable position for tech companies , ” he writes .
“ It puts them in a nearly impossible position in terms of almost always absorbing blame no matter what they do whenever the choices are hard.
” Elsewhere , India is learning that the privacy concerns around exposure notification apps and contact tracing are not merely abstract .
Aarogya Setu , the country ’ s own homegrown exposure notification app , has significant privacy flaws , Andy Greenberg reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand , privacy has never been the prime directive for a contact tracing scheme .
The whole point is to find out people ’ s real names , phone numbers , and locations so you can tell them that they ’ re sick before they infect anyone else .
At the same time , tech giants are understandably wary of building a tool that could be misused by law enforcement , oppressive governments , or the sorts of bad actors that Robert describes in India .
For the moment , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the day — and done so , at least for now , with remarkably little resistance .
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
Trending up : Apple announced it ’ s giving $ 10 million to COPAN Diagnostics , a company that produces COVID-19 testing kits .
The funding will help COPAN vastly scale up its production .
( Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge ) Trending up : Facebook is giving $ 16 million in grants to more than 200 newsrooms through the Facebook Journalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help local newsrooms stay afloat during the pandemic .
( And give Facebook something shiny to point to so that governments like Australia ’ s don ’ t tax them for more . )
⬇ Trending down : Amazon workers in Southern California say the company ’ s policies are forcing sick employees to work .
They also say warehouses are refusing to comply with a state paid sick leave law meant to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks .
( Sam Levin / The Guardian ) Total cases in the US : More than 1,243,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least 74,100 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New York : 1,028,899 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New Jersey : 288,920 Data from The New York Times .
Test data from The COVID Tracking Project .
⭐ Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Amazon questioning whether the retail giant retaliated against whistle-blowers .
Amazon recently fired four employees who raised concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the company ’ s warehouses .
Here ’ s Kate Conger at The New York Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guide from the Centers for Disease Control on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the coronavirus outbreak .
Agency scientists were told the guidance “ would never see the light of day , ” according to a CDC official .
( Jason Dearen and Mike Stobbe / Associated Press ) Here ’ s how Joe Biden could defeat Donald Trump in a mostly digital campaign , according to Pete Buttigieg ’ s former campaign manager .
“ If he can win the battle for our screens , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traditional presidential campaign , ” she says .
( Lis Smith / The New York Times ) Congressional staffers say they do not use TikTok , presumably taking cues from their bosses , who ’ ve been wary of the Chinese app ’ s data security .
( Kathryn Lyons / Roll Call ) Tech billionaires including Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt are mounting a pressure campaign to prevent the next pandemic .
They ’ re pushing overseas governments to more fully fund international institutions like the World Health Organization .
( Theodore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 people trying to file for unemployment , three to four can ’ t get through the system to make a claim .
Applicants say they are dealing with an array of technical failures , including glitchy websites , laborious phone verification processes , and call wait times of six to eight hours .
( Colin Lecher and Mia Sato / The Markup ) The New York Times published a visualization of what types of businesses might be the riskiest to visit if they reopen during the ongoing pandemic .
But the authors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April 2019 , which tells us very little about the current situation , this piece argues .
( Adi Robertson / The Verge ) COVID-19 conspiracy theorists are still getting millions of views on YouTube .
They ’ re using collaborations and interviews to skirt YouTube ’ s attempts to crack down on health misinformation .
( We ’ ll be talking about the viral “ Plandemic ” video next week if you want to do some homework over the weekend . )
( Abby Ohlheiser / MIT Technology Review ) Clearview AI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scraping more than 3 billion photos from platforms like Facebook and Twitter — has ended its relationships with private companies .
The news comes amid intense regulatory scrutiny and several potential class action lawsuits .
( Ryan Mac , Caroline Haskins and Logan McDonald / BuzzFeed ) Lyft is now requiring drivers and riders to wear face masks during rides .
The company also said it will begin giving cleaning supplies and masks to drivers as part of a new health initiative .
( Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch ) A new cyberattack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Chinese military .
It ’ s been used against governments and state-owned companies in Australia and Southeast Asia .
( Ronen Bergman and Steven Lee Myers / The New York Times ) ⭐ Zoom acquired Keybase , an encryption and security service meant to serve as a secure home for your online identities .
The acquisition will quickly add a team of security-focused developers to Zoom , which has been widely criticized in recent weeks over its lapses in security .
Jacob Kastrenakes at The Verge has the story : New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for remote learning after the company agreed to create a customized version of the platform specifically for the city ’ s education department .
The city had previously banned the software due to security concerns .
( Alex Zimmerman and Christina Veiga / Chalkbeat ) Also : Zoom , Xoom , Züm : why does every startup sound so fast now ?
( Erin Griffith / The New York Times ) Facebook is letting most employees work from home through end of 2020 .
Employees who need to come in to do their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting on July 6th .
( Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC ) Related : Facebook is also suspending promotions for corporate employees for the rest of the year .
The news comes a week after the company announced a “ steep decrease ” in ad sales during March .
( Alex Heath / The Information ) Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs pulled out of Toronto ’ s smart city development project due to economic concerns brought on by the current pandemic .
The news comes after two and a half years of controversy over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and privacy and financial implications .
Popular iOS apps from major companies like DoorDash , Spotify , TikTok , and Venmo suddenly starting crashing yesterday due to an issue with the software development kit ( SDK ) from Facebook .
The problem , which Facebook quickly fixed , illustrates the scope of the social network ’ s platform .
Also it broke Spotify on my Sonos system for like 12 hours !
( Nick Statt / The Verge ) A glitch on Instagram ’ s iOS app allowed people to post extra-long images @ @ @ @ @ @ @ portrait photos to roughly the size of your screen .
The company has sadly now fixed the issue .
( Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge ) Google added a new feature to Google Lens , its multipurpose object recognition tool .
You can now copy and paste handwritten notes from your phone to your computer , though it only works if your handwriting is neat enough .
So , not mine , probably .
( James Vincent / The Verge ) Google is unifying all of its messaging and communication apps under a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company hired Javier Soltero to be the VP and GM of G Suite , its set of office apps , as well as Google Meet and Google Chat .
Soltero built a well liked email app called Accompli that was acquired by Microsoft , after which he turned it into the company ’ s Outlook app .
If anyone can fix Google ’ s communications products , it ’ s him .
( Dieter Bohn / The Verge ) Twitch is developing talk shows and dating programs for gamers .
The company plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unscripted series that would be live and interactive , airing two to three times a week .
( Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg ) The pandemic-induced nostalgia for Turntable.fm may hint at what could be a new normal for gathering together online .
Unless it ’ s a passing fad .
( Jack Denton / Vice ) The Tumblr aesthetic of 2014 is all over the internet .
Thank god !
( Rebecca Jennings / Vox ) Tinder is now testing live in-app trivia .
The test will be rolling out to an undisclosed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help Tinder experiment with live video while also matching people up .
It beats the app ’ s current user experience of just trading “ hey ” back and forth with a match until both of you die .
( Ashley Carman / The Verge ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Read “ Sure the Velociraptors Are Still On the Loose , But That ’ s No Reason Not to Reopen Jurassic Park , ” an instant classic by Carlos Greaves at McSweeney ’ s .
Educate yourself about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the name of Elon Musk and Grimes ’ new baby .
Watch the Times ’ latest Diary of a Song , in which Dua Lipa explains the back story behind “ Physical.
” Marvel at these very good dogs delivering quarantine beer .
Send us tips , comments , questions , and fun plans for a weekend indoors : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Last month, after Apple and Google announced some changes to their forthcoming attempt to track the spread of COVID-19, I noted the surprising degree to which tech giants are setting the terms of the pandemic response. They own the hardware, they own the software, and national governments who would use it to find new cases of COVID-19 have to do it on the companies’ terms.
This week, that process began to accelerate. But first, a bit of background.
The Apple-Google collaboration will ask you to opt in to a system that causes your phone to emit Bluetooth signals to other phones around you. When you are in close proximity to another person for an extended period of time — more than five minutes, typically — both of your phones record the interaction. When a person tests positive for COVID-19, they will have the option of anonymously notifying other phones that they may have been exposed to the virus and encouraging their contacts to self-quarantine or seek treatment.
A sticking point between the tech giants and nation states has been who will process the exposure notifications. Apple and Google want to process the notifications on users’ phones without storing them on a central server, to preserve the maximum degree of privacy possible. Some European countries, meanwhile, have sought to process notifications on a central server, in the hopes that having more detailed information will help them identify additional exposures and more rapidly contain the spread of the virus. (MIT Tech Review has a great tracker that looks at how countries are building these apps, including whether or not they’ve adopted the Apple-Google approach.)
This put France, whose politicians have regularly upbraided Silicon Valley for perceived data privacy lapses, in the very funny position of begging Apple and Google to lower their privacy standards. Germany, whose scientists had helped devise Europe’s (deep breath) proposed Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing project, decided to throw in with Apple and Google after it became clear that was not going to happen.
Until now, the United Kingdom has held holding firm in its commitment to building its own exposure notification app, even though it will have limited access to the Bluetooth notifications necessary for it to work. James Vincent explained why this is a problem this week at The Verge:
Both Google and Apple restrict how apps can use Bluetooth in iOS and Android. They don’t allow developers to constantly broadcast Bluetooth signals, as that sort of background broadcast has been exploited in the past for targeted advertising. As The Register reports, iOS apps can only send Bluetooth signals when the app is running in the foreground. If your iPhone is locked or you’re not looking at the app, then there’s no signal. The latest versions of Android have similar restrictions, only allowing Bluetooth signals to be sent out for a few minutes after an app has closed. Such restrictions will block devices from pinging one another in close quarters, drastically reducing the effectiveness of any contact-tracing app. Google and Apple can rewrite these rules for their own contact-tracing API because they control the operating systems. But for countries trying to go it alone, like the UK, the restrictions could literally be fatal. iPhone users with the app installed could interact with someone who is later diagnosed with COVID-19 and never know it, if their phone doesn’t keep a log of their interaction.
Now it seems that all of this has dawned on the UK’s National Health Service, which has asked the consulting firm charged with building its app to investigate switching over to the Apple-Google model. Here are Alex Hern and Kate Proctor today in the Guardian:
With growing questions over that approach, it emerged that the Swiss-based consultancy Zühlke Engineering has been hired to undertake a two-week “technical spike” to investigate implementing Apple and Google’s system “within the existing proximity mobile application and platform”. [...] The prime minister’s official spokesman left open the possibility that a change could be made, telling reporters: “We’ve set out our plans for a centralised model and that’s what we are taking forwards but we will keep all options under review to make sure the app is as effective as possible.”
Right now, it’s unclear how an app that only works when every citizen in the United Kingdom has the app downloaded, open, and running in the foreground at all times is going to be “as effective as possible.” As of today, I’d be surprised if the UK hadn’t adopted the Apple-Google approach by the end of this month.
It’s a fascinating tension: corporations trying to do right by their users versus countries trying to do right by their citizens. As Sam Lessin notes in The Information, this is an uncomfortable place for a tech giant to be. “This isn’t an enviable position for tech companies,” he writes. “It puts them in a nearly impossible position in terms of almost always absorbing blame no matter what they do whenever the choices are hard.”
Elsewhere, India is learning that the privacy concerns around exposure notification apps and contact tracing are not merely abstract. Aarogya Setu, the country’s own homegrown exposure notification app, has significant privacy flaws, Andy Greenberg reported this week at Wired:
Independent security researcher Baptiste Robert published a blog post today sounding that warning about India’s Health Bridge app, or Aarogya Setu, created by the government’s National Informatics Centre. Robert found that one feature of the app, designed to let users check if there are infected people nearby, instead allows users to spoof their GPS location and learn how many people reported themselves as infected within any 500-meter radius. In areas that have relatively sparse reports of infections, Robert says hackers could even use a so-called triangulation attack to confirm the diagnosis of someone they suspect to be positive. “The developers of this app didn’t think that someone malicious would be able to intercept its requests and modify them to get information on a specific area,” says Robert, a French researcher known in part for finding security vulnerabilities in the Indian national ID system known as Aadhaar. “With triangulation, you can very closely see who is sick and who is not sick. They honestly didn’t consider this use of the app.”
On one hand, privacy has never been the prime directive for a contact tracing scheme. The whole point is to find out people’s real names, phone numbers, and locations so you can tell them that they’re sick before they infect anyone else. At the same time, tech giants are understandably wary of building a tool that could be misused by law enforcement, oppressive governments, or the sorts of bad actors that Robert describes in India. For the moment, it’s the giants’ argument that has carried the day — and done so, at least for now, with remarkably little resistance.
Correction, 2:48 p.m.: This article has been updated to clarify that the NHSX app will be available to the entire United Kingdom, not just England.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
🔼 Trending up: Apple announced it’s giving $10 million to COPAN Diagnostics, a company that produces COVID-19 testing kits. The funding will help COPAN vastly scale up its production. (Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge)
⬇ Trending down: Amazon workers in Southern California say the company’s policies are forcing sick employees to work. They also say warehouses are refusing to comply with a state paid sick leave law meant to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks. (Sam Levin / The Guardian)
Virus tracker
Total cases in the US: More than 1,243,000
Total deaths in the US: At least 74,100
Reported cases in California: 61,111
Total test results (positive and negative) in California: 809,036
Reported cases in New York: 329,405
Total test results (positive and negative) in New York: 1,028,899
Reported cases in New Jersey: 131,890
Total test results (positive and negative) in New Jersey: 288,920
Reported cases in Massachusetts: 72,025
Total test results (positive and negative) in Massachusetts: 339,639
Governing
⭐ Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Amazon questioning whether the retail giant retaliated against whistle-blowers. Amazon recently fired four employees who raised concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the company’s warehouses. Here’s Kate Conger at The New York Times:
“In order to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistle-blowing, we are requesting information about Amazon’s policies regarding grounds for employee discipline and termination,” the letter said. [...] The letter increased pressure on Amazon and its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, who has been called to testify before Congress in an antitrust investigation and has been a frequent target for criticism from President Trump. A number of senators and representatives have already written to Mr. Bezos expressing concern about warehouse safety.
The Trump administration shelved a step-by-step guide from the Centers for Disease Control on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the coronavirus outbreak. Agency scientists were told the guidance “would never see the light of day,” according to a CDC official. (Jason Dearen and Mike Stobbe / Associated Press)
Here’s how Joe Biden could defeat Donald Trump in a mostly digital campaign, according to Pete Buttigieg’s former campaign manager. “If he can win the battle for our screens, he can benefit from the death of the traditional presidential campaign,” she says. (Lis Smith / The New York Times)
Tech billionaires including Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt are mounting a pressure campaign to prevent the next pandemic. They’re pushing overseas governments to more fully fund international institutions like the World Health Organization. (Theodore Schleifer / Recode)
Out of every 10 people trying to file for unemployment, three to four can’t get through the system to make a claim. Applicants say they are dealing with an array of technical failures, including glitchy websites, laborious phone verification processes, and call wait times of six to eight hours. (Colin Lecher and Mia Sato / The Markup)
The New York Times published a visualization of what types of businesses might be the riskiest to visit if they reopen during the ongoing pandemic. But the authors used aggregated anonymized phone location data from April 2019, which tells us very little about the current situation, this piece argues. (Adi Robertson / The Verge)
COVID-19 conspiracy theorists are still getting millions of views on YouTube. They’re using collaborations and interviews to skirt YouTube’s attempts to crack down on health misinformation. (We’ll be talking about the viral “Plandemic” video next week if you want to do some homework over the weekend.) (Abby Ohlheiser / MIT Technology Review)
Clearview AI — the controversial face-tracking company known for scraping more than 3 billion photos from platforms like Facebook and Twitter — has ended its relationships with private companies. The news comes amid intense regulatory scrutiny and several potential class action lawsuits. (Ryan Mac, Caroline Haskins and Logan McDonald / BuzzFeed)
Lyft is now requiring drivers and riders to wear face masks during rides. The company also said it will begin giving cleaning supplies and masks to drivers as part of a new health initiative. (Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch)
A new cyberattack tool called Aria-body has been traced to the Chinese military. It’s been used against governments and state-owned companies in Australia and Southeast Asia. (Ronen Bergman and Steven Lee Myers / The New York Times)
Industry
⭐ Zoom acquired Keybase, an encryption and security service meant to serve as a secure home for your online identities. The acquisition will quickly add a team of security-focused developers to Zoom, which has been widely criticized in recent weeks over its lapses in security. Jacob Kastrenakes at The Verge has the story:
The Keybase team is supposed to help Zoom build end-to-end encryption for its videoconferences “that can reach current Zoom scalability.” Zoom has been working on building true end-to-end encryption for videoconferences since coming under criticism over the last month for making its calls incorrectly appear to be fully encrypted. The company plans to publish encryption designs on May 22nd, but there’s no specific timeline for when the feature will be finished.
New York City is allowing schools to use Zoom for remote learning after the company agreed to create a customized version of the platform specifically for the city’s education department. The city had previously banned the software due to security concerns. (Alex Zimmerman and Christina Veiga / Chalkbeat)
Also: Zoom, Xoom, Züm: why does every startup sound so fast now? (Erin Griffith / The New York Times)
Facebook is letting most employees work from home through end of 2020. Employees who need to come in to do their jobs will be able to do so starting on July 6th. (Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC)
Related: Facebook is also suspending promotions for corporate employees for the rest of the year. The news comes a week after the company announced a “steep decrease” in ad sales during March. (Alex Heath / The Information)
Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs pulled out of Toronto’s smart city development project due to economic concerns brought on by the current pandemic. The news comes after two and a half years of controversy over the project’s origins, overreach, and privacy and financial implications.
Popular iOS apps from major companies like DoorDash, Spotify, TikTok, and Venmo suddenly starting crashing yesterday due to an issue with the software development kit (SDK) from Facebook. The problem, which Facebook quickly fixed, illustrates the scope of the social network’s platform. Also it broke Spotify on my Sonos system for like 12 hours! (Nick Statt / The Verge)
A glitch on Instagram’s iOS app allowed people to post extra-long images to their feeds. Instagram normally limits portrait photos to roughly the size of your screen. The company has sadly now fixed the issue. (Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge)
Google added a new feature to Google Lens, its multipurpose object recognition tool. You can now copy and paste handwritten notes from your phone to your computer, though it only works if your handwriting is neat enough. So, not mine, probably. (James Vincent / The Verge)
Google is unifying all of its messaging and communication apps under a single team. Last year, the company hired Javier Soltero to be the VP and GM of G Suite, its set of office apps, as well as Google Meet and Google Chat. Soltero built a well liked email app called Accompli that was acquired by Microsoft, after which he turned it into the company’s Outlook app. If anyone can fix Google’s communications products, it’s him. (Dieter Bohn / The Verge)
Twitch is developing talk shows and dating programs for gamers. The company plans to fund a slate of original, unscripted series that would be live and interactive, airing two to three times a week. (Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg)
The pandemic-induced nostalgia for Turntable.fm may hint at what could be a new normal for gathering together online. Unless it’s a passing fad. (Jack Denton / Vice)
The Tumblr aesthetic of 2014 is all over the internet. Thank god! (Rebecca Jennings / Vox)
Tinder is now testing live in-app trivia. The test will be rolling out to an undisclosed percentage of users and is designed to help Tinder experiment with live video while also matching people up. It beats the app’s current user experience of just trading “hey” back and forth with a match until both of you die. (Ashley Carman / The Verge)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
And finally...
Talk to us


theverge--2020-05-07--Tokyo Game Show 2020 canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

The organizers of Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year ’ s event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
TGS 2020 was due to take place from September 24th to 27th at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo , but there are now plans to hold an online event instead .
This is the first time that TGS has ever been canceled since it started in 1996 , but the news won ’ t come as a surprise to anyone .
Virtually every in-person gaming event this year has been scratched from the calendar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively .
TGS 2020 would likely have gained more attention than in the average year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles , the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X .
Both systems are set to go on sale this holiday season , but the opportunities to see them in person ahead of their release are probably going to be more limited than usual .
Microsoft has already started its cycle of online promotion for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off some of the first games running on the new hardware .
Sony has been quieter , so far only revealing the PS5 ’ s logo and specifications .

The organizers of Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TGS 2020 was due to take place from September 24th to 27th at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo, but there are now plans to hold an online event instead.
This is the first time that TGS has ever been canceled since it started in 1996, but the news won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Virtually every in-person gaming event this year has been scratched from the calendar, including E3 and Gamescom, the biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively.
TGS 2020 would likely have gained more attention than in the average year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Both systems are set to go on sale this holiday season, but the opportunities to see them in person ahead of their release are probably going to be more limited than usual.


theverge--2020-05-08--Microsoft offering free repairs for mysterious Surface Laptop 3 screen cracks

In the months since the Surface Laptop 3 ’ s October 2019 launch , some users have reported cracks appearing on their laptop ’ s screen for no discernible reason .
Microsoft first said it was investigating the issue in February , and today , the company explained a potential cause of the problem and offered free repairs to those affected ( via ZDNet ) .
“ We have investigated claims of screen cracking on Surface Laptop 3 and have determined that , in a very small percentage of cases , a hard foreign particle may cause a hairline fracture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appear unexpectedly or without visible cause , ” Microsoft said in a support document .
You can get reimbursed if you paid for a repair that would be covered now “ If you believe your Surface Laptop 3 is experiencing this issue , you are encouraged to contact our Microsoft Support to initiate a repair free of charge during the warranty period of the device , ” the company added .
Microsoft also says that if you previously paid for a repair that you believe should be covered by this new policy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get a reimbursement .
If you ’ ve been thinking about picking up a Surface Laptop 3 , we ’ ve got reviews of both the 13.5-inch model and the 15-inch model that you can check out .

In the months since the Surface Laptop 3’s October 2019 launch, some users have reported cracks appearing on their laptop’s screen for no discernible reason. Microsoft first said it was investigating the issue in February, and today, the company explained a potential cause of the problem and offered free repairs to those affected (via ZDNet).
“We have investigated claims of screen cracking on Surface Laptop 3 and have determined that, in a very small percentage of cases, a hard foreign particle may cause a hairline fracture in the glass that may seem to appear unexpectedly or without visible cause,” Microsoft said in a support document.
You can get reimbursed if you paid for a repair that would be covered now
“If you believe your Surface Laptop 3 is experiencing this issue, you are encouraged to contact our Microsoft Support to initiate a repair free of charge during the warranty period of the device,” the company added.
Microsoft also says that if you previously paid for a repair that you believe should be covered by this new policy, you can contact Microsoft support to potentially get a reimbursement.


theverge--2020-05-08--Go read this Wall Street Journal story about Elon Musk’s personal finances

In one of a series of wild tweets posted last week , Elon Musk stated he would be “ selling almost all physical possessions ” and that he would “ own no house.
” He appears to be actually following through with that promise , as chronicled in a great story in The Wall Street Journal about Musk ’ s personal finances that you should go read .
According to the WSJ , despite being worth an estimated $ 39 billion on paper : ... he has to borrow , sometimes a lot , to pay for his lifestyle and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him maintain control of the companies he runs .
About half his Tesla stock is pledged as collateral for personal loans , an April 28 financial filing shows .
Maintaining his equity stake—about 20 % , or around $ 29 billion at its current valuation—is important for him to keep control over the Silicon Valley auto maker .
Musk also doesn ’ t take a salary at Tesla , but he apparently became eligible for stock options worth more than $ 1 billion this week .
To get that money , he will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exercise the option , according to the WSJ .
It ’ s not clear if Musk has the money on hand to exercise that option or if the money raised from the house sales will be used to help pay for the sum .
“ Mr .
Musk said he wasn ’ t selling his possessions because he needs the money , ” the WSJ reported .
The article also lists a few times Musk has said he ’ s cash poor .
Here ’ s one example : The whole article has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interesting information about his finances backed up by regulatory filings , and numerous quotes from Musk himself , and I sincerely recommend taking 10 minutes to read it in full .
Oh , and if you were wondering the status of Musk ’ s houses : he has listed three California mansions for sale and plans to sell four other houses in Bel-Air , according to the WSJ .
Once the houses are sold , Musk does not know “ where I will stay yet , but will probably rent a small house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ email to the WSJ .

In one of a series of wild tweets posted last week, Elon Musk stated he would be “selling almost all physical possessions” and that he would “own no house.” He appears to be actually following through with that promise, as chronicled in a great story in The Wall Street Journal about Musk’s personal finances that you should go read.
According to the WSJ, despite being worth an estimated $39 billion on paper:
...he has to borrow, sometimes a lot, to pay for his lifestyle and business investments without liquidating shares that help him maintain control of the companies he runs. About half his Tesla stock is pledged as collateral for personal loans, an April 28 financial filing shows. Maintaining his equity stake—about 20%, or around $29 billion at its current valuation—is important for him to keep control over the Silicon Valley auto maker.
Musk also doesn’t take a salary at Tesla, but he apparently became eligible for stock options worth more than $1 billion this week. To get that money, he will need an eye-watering $592 million to exercise the option, according to the WSJ. It’s not clear if Musk has the money on hand to exercise that option or if the money raised from the house sales will be used to help pay for the sum. “Mr. Musk said he wasn’t selling his possessions because he needs the money,” the WSJ reported.
The article also lists a few times Musk has said he’s cash poor. Here’s one example:
Before Tesla went public, Mr. Musk told a judge during a contentious divorce with his first wife that he had run out of cash and had taken on emergency loans from friends to support his family and pay living expenses.
Here’s another:
Last year, Mr. Musk’s ability to access cash came up again during a defamation lawsuit over comments he made about a man involved in the rescue of a Thai soccer team from a flooded cave in 2018. A lawyer in the case said in a filing that Mr. Musk had described himself as “financially illiquid.”
The whole article has a lot of history about Musk, interesting information about his finances backed up by regulatory filings, and numerous quotes from Musk himself, and I sincerely recommend taking 10 minutes to read it in full.


theverge--2020-05-08--On-demand food delivery apps are letting minors order alcohol, regulators say

Food and beverage delivery services like DoorDash , Postmates , and Uber Eats aided in a surge of alcohol deliveries to underage minors in California last month , the state ’ s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control ( ABC ) found in a new investigation .
And because of relaxed restrictions around alcohol takeout and delivery during COVID-19 , the issue is getting worse , regulators say .
The investigation ’ s findings , posted as an industry advisory to the ABC ’ s website , say “ the Department ’ s recent enforcement actions have revealed that third-party delivery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minors , ” and that “ many licensees , and the delivery services they use , are failing to adhere to a variety of other legal obligations.
” The situation is being exacerbated by the pandemic because of “ a marked increase in deliveries ” once the state began allowing the sale and delivery of to-go cocktails and other forms of liquor in March .
The investigation was spurred by an April article from The Washington Post , which also first reported on the investigation ’ s findings on Friday , that detailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could order alcohol for delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic without needing to show proper age verification .
DoorDash , Postmates , and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment .
The Post , in its testing of alcohol delivery via on-demand apps in California , found that some drivers left drinks outside without interacting with customers and the apps allowed the ordering of alcohol without an accompanying food item , which is against the state rules around alcoholic beverage delivery .
The issue is a pressing one for both on-demand apps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both could be held criminally liable for selling and delivering alcohol to minors , The Post reports .
California regulators say the fault lies mostly with the on-demand delivery services , as those platforms and their drivers are more often failing to properly ID customers and abide by other state rules .
In the case of Uber Eats , which doesn ’ t permit alcohol sales officially and so doesn ’ t have a built-in ID check mechanism in the app , some partnered restaurants were selling alcohol anyway and doing so without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivery .
DoorDash and Postmates have ID checks built into their apps because both officially support alcohol sales , but regulators say those guidelines are often ignored by delivery drivers .
“ The Department has recently conducted enforcement actions throughout the state and found significant violations of the law .
Most concerning is that minors are routinely able to purchase alcohol through delivery from restaurants , ” the advisory reads .
“ There have been instances in which the licensee ’ s own employees have done so , but a far greater rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Licensees are responsible for these unlawful deliveries , and the Department encourages licensees to review the practices of these services and their reliance on them.
” “ Guidelines are largely being ignored by the delivery personnel.
” Regulators say that DoorDash , Uber , and Postmates — which it declines to name directly but which are the dominant food and beverage delivery apps in California — have guidelines in place to protect against delivering alcohol to minors .
“ But those guidelines are largely being ignored by the delivery personnel , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ABC officials ordered about 200 alcoholic beverages over the course of multiple weekends using both on-demand apps and delivery services of individual restaurants and bars , and it used decoys under the age of 21 as recipients in some cases , The Post reports .
The restaurants and bars illegally provided minors with alcohol about one out of every four deliveries in the test , or a 25 percent failure rate , while on-demand apps did so four out of every five , or a staggering 80 percent failure rate .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure rates improve after initially contacting the companies , but half of all deliveries to minors are still slipping through , The Post reports .
The ABC can ’ t sanction the companies themselves , so further action might involve going after drivers or restaurants , and the ABC is warning Uber and other platforms that it may have to do so if the situation continues .

Food and beverage delivery services like DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats aided in a surge of alcohol deliveries to underage minors in California last month, the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) found in a new investigation. And because of relaxed restrictions around alcohol takeout and delivery during COVID-19, the issue is getting worse, regulators say.
The investigation’s findings, posted as an industry advisory to the ABC’s website, say “the Department’s recent enforcement actions have revealed that third-party delivery services are routinely delivering alcoholic beverages to minors,” and that “many licensees, and the delivery services they use, are failing to adhere to a variety of other legal obligations.” The situation is being exacerbated by the pandemic because of “a marked increase in deliveries” once the state began allowing the sale and delivery of to-go cocktails and other forms of liquor in March.
“Third-party delivery services are routinely delivering alcoholic beverages to minors.”
The investigation was spurred by an April article from The Washington Post, which also first reported on the investigation’s findings on Friday, that detailed the ease with which Uber Eats customers could order alcohol for delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic without needing to show proper age verification. DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Post, in its testing of alcohol delivery via on-demand apps in California, found that some drivers left drinks outside without interacting with customers and the apps allowed the ordering of alcohol without an accompanying food item, which is against the state rules around alcoholic beverage delivery. The issue is a pressing one for both on-demand apps and the restaurants they service, as both could be held criminally liable for selling and delivering alcohol to minors, The Post reports.
California regulators say the fault lies mostly with the on-demand delivery services, as those platforms and their drivers are more often failing to properly ID customers and abide by other state rules. In the case of Uber Eats, which doesn’t permit alcohol sales officially and so doesn’t have a built-in ID check mechanism in the app, some partnered restaurants were selling alcohol anyway and doing so without checking the age of the customer upon delivery. DoorDash and Postmates have ID checks built into their apps because both officially support alcohol sales, but regulators say those guidelines are often ignored by delivery drivers.
“The Department has recently conducted enforcement actions throughout the state and found significant violations of the law. Most concerning is that minors are routinely able to purchase alcohol through delivery from restaurants,” the advisory reads. “There have been instances in which the licensee’s own employees have done so, but a far greater rate has been evident among third-party delivery services. Licensees are responsible for these unlawful deliveries, and the Department encourages licensees to review the practices of these services and their reliance on them.”
“Guidelines are largely being ignored by the delivery personnel.”
Regulators say that DoorDash, Uber, and Postmates — which it declines to name directly but which are the dominant food and beverage delivery apps in California — have guidelines in place to protect against delivering alcohol to minors. “But those guidelines are largely being ignored by the delivery personnel,” the advisory reads.
In its investigation, ABC officials ordered about 200 alcoholic beverages over the course of multiple weekends using both on-demand apps and delivery services of individual restaurants and bars, and it used decoys under the age of 21 as recipients in some cases, The Post reports. The restaurants and bars illegally provided minors with alcohol about one out of every four deliveries in the test, or a 25 percent failure rate, while on-demand apps did so four out of every five, or a staggering 80 percent failure rate.


theverge--2020-05-08--Tenet is now Hollywood’s litmus test for what happens next

Warner Bros. was always betting that Christopher Nolan ’ s Tenet , his espionage-meets-time-travel film that marked his first since Dunkirk in 2017 , would be one of the summer ’ s biggest movies .
Now , Warner Bros. — alongside every other major studio — is looking at Tenet to see if summer movies can even exist right now .
Tenet is scheduled to open on July 17th .
Other blockbusters originally slated to open before Nolan ’ s movie have already found new release dates as studios wait to see if people will , or even can , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Woman 1984 , another big Warner Bros. summer movie , moved from June to August 14th ; Disney ’ s Mulan and Black Widow moved from March 27th and May 1st to July 24th and November 6th respectively ; Paramount ’ s The Spongebob Movie : Sponge on the Run moved one week from July 31st to August 7th .
Theaters are reopening in states that have allowed certain businesses to operate again , but there are restrictions on the number of people admitted for screenings to ensure social distancing practices .
Cinemark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he believes this is the trajectory movie theaters will take : more theaters will open slowly over the next couple of months , then become closer to normalcy in time for a wave of big tentpole movies like Tenet .
“ We ’ re not completely certain , but we ’ re planning on anywhere from one to three months to light up that engine again , ” Zoradi said .
“ At that point , we ’ re hoping that there ’ s some return to a semblance of normal ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ViacomCBS ( Bob Chapek and Bob Bakish ) addressed concerns from analysts on earnings calls that even those dates were premature .
Incoming AT & T CEO and former WarnerMedia CEO , John Stankey , was met with similar concerns during in his company ’ s recent earnings call .
Even if everyone suddenly wanted to go and watch a movie , Warner Bros. , Disney , and Paramount face losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars if the audience can ’ t show up .
If that happens , each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revenue executives predicted those films would generate .
Is it worth clinging to summer release dates ?
“ We ’ re going to get a pretty good idea of that , because there ’ s a competitive movie that opens one week before our film , ” Chapek told analysts on the call , referring to Tenet while talking about Mulan .
“ At that point , we ’ re hoping that there ’ s some return to a semblance of normal.
” Chapek is optimistic , but Bakish is a little more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s earnings call that their teams will “ obviously look at the market ” following Tenet to see if there is “ sufficient critical mass at theaters to warrant an August 7th SpongeBob release.
” Bakish added that it ’ s too early to decide if the film “ is definitely going to be released or it is definitely not going to be released.
” The equation being pored over in Hollywood is whether pent-up demand from people stuck at home means they ’ ll be willing to pack into theaters Perhaps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision matters most , is Stankey .
The executive told analysts not to expect that it ’ s “ going to be a snap back recovery ” when theaters do open , adding that WarnerMedia is exploring all options .
Scoob , the studio ’ s animated Scooby Doo movie , was pulled from being a theatrical release entirely .
It will now be released on May 15th via premium video on demand ( like Trolls World Tour ) , and then move to HBO Max — a trend many studios are exploring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think that ’ s going to be something that we ’ re going to have to watch , ” Stankey said , “ the formation of consumer confidence , not just about going to movies , just in general about being back out in public.
” The equation being pored over in Hollywood is whether pent-up demand from people stuck at home means they ’ ll be willing to pack into theaters , even with heavy restrictions , by the summer .
When three theaters opened in San Antonio opened last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total , according to The Hollywood Reporter .
It ’ s enough to make some executives feel confident , the Reporter noted .
Those numbers may not be enough for a studio like Warner Bros. and a movie like Tenet , which cost more than $ 200 million in production alone , according to Variety .
If major chains like AMC and Regal don ’ t open in cities like Los Angeles and New York City , where a good chunk of domestic box office revenue comes from , it might make more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeper in 2020 or into 2021 — even if Nolan desperately wants the movie to be released on July 17th .
“ I don ’ t know anyone in America who is pushing harder to get the theaters re-opened and to get his movie released than Chris Nolan , ” IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told analysts on a recent earnings call .
The looming issue underneath all of these questions from analysts and calculated responses from executives is whether consumer behavior has changed enough that trying to release films that normally generate $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world this summer — or even this year — is miscalculated .
As Disney executives warned shareholders in an 8-K filed to the SEC in mid-March , the company can ’ t predict how consumer behavior changes will impact its businesses , including theatrical releases .
It ’ s in that bubbling uncertainty that studios , shareholders , and the industry at large seem to be hedging Hollywood ’ s future on Christopher Nolan ’ s next film .

Warner Bros. was always betting that Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, his espionage-meets-time-travel film that marked his first since Dunkirk in 2017, would be one of the summer’s biggest movies. Now, Warner Bros. — alongside every other major studio — is looking at Tenet to see if summer movies can even exist right now.
Tenet is scheduled to open on July 17th. Other blockbusters originally slated to open before Nolan’s movie have already found new release dates as studios wait to see if people will, or even can, venture out to movie theaters. Wonder Woman 1984, another big Warner Bros. summer movie, moved from June to August 14th; Disney’s Mulan and Black Widow moved from March 27th and May 1st to July 24th and November 6th respectively; Paramount’s The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run moved one week from July 31st to August 7th.
Theaters are reopening in states that have allowed certain businesses to operate again, but there are restrictions on the number of people admitted for screenings to ensure social distancing practices. Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi told analysts in mid-April that he believes this is the trajectory movie theaters will take: more theaters will open slowly over the next couple of months, then become closer to normalcy in time for a wave of big tentpole movies like Tenet.
“We’re not completely certain, but we’re planning on anywhere from one to three months to light up that engine again,” Zoradi said.
“At that point, we’re hoping that there’s some return to a semblance of normal”
Earlier this week, CEOs for Disney and ViacomCBS (Bob Chapek and Bob Bakish) addressed concerns from analysts on earnings calls that even those dates were premature. Incoming AT&T CEO and former WarnerMedia CEO, John Stankey, was met with similar concerns during in his company’s recent earnings call. Even if everyone suddenly wanted to go and watch a movie, Warner Bros., Disney, and Paramount face losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars if the audience can’t show up. If that happens, each studio could take a hit on the revenue executives predicted those films would generate. Is it worth clinging to summer release dates?
“We’re going to get a pretty good idea of that, because there’s a competitive movie that opens one week before our film,” Chapek told analysts on the call, referring to Tenet while talking about Mulan. “At that point, we’re hoping that there’s some return to a semblance of normal.”
Chapek is optimistic, but Bakish is a little more cautious. He told analysts on ViacomCBS’s earnings call that their teams will “obviously look at the market” following Tenet to see if there is “sufficient critical mass at theaters to warrant an August 7th SpongeBob release.” Bakish added that it’s too early to decide if the film “is definitely going to be released or it is definitely not going to be released.”
The equation being pored over in Hollywood is whether pent-up demand from people stuck at home means they’ll be willing to pack into theaters
Perhaps the most cautious, and arguably whose decision matters most, is Stankey. The executive told analysts not to expect that it’s “going to be a snap back recovery” when theaters do open, adding that WarnerMedia is exploring all options. Scoob, the studio’s animated Scooby Doo movie, was pulled from being a theatrical release entirely. It will now be released on May 15th via premium video on demand (like Trolls World Tour), and then move to HBO Max — a trend many studios are exploring and theaters are worried about.
“I think that’s going to be something that we’re going to have to watch,” Stankey said, “the formation of consumer confidence, not just about going to movies, just in general about being back out in public.”
The equation being pored over in Hollywood is whether pent-up demand from people stuck at home means they’ll be willing to pack into theaters, even with heavy restrictions, by the summer. When three theaters opened in San Antonio opened last week, around 3,000 people showed up in total, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s enough to make some executives feel confident, the Reporter noted.
Those numbers may not be enough for a studio like Warner Bros. and a movie like Tenet, which cost more than $200 million in production alone, according to Variety. If major chains like AMC and Regal don’t open in cities like Los Angeles and New York City, where a good chunk of domestic box office revenue comes from, it might make more sense for Warner Bros. to delay Tenet deeper in 2020 or into 2021 — even if Nolan desperately wants the movie to be released on July 17th.
“I don’t know anyone in America who is pushing harder to get the theaters re-opened and to get his movie released than Chris Nolan,” IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told analysts on a recent earnings call.


theverge--2020-05-08--Apple will reopen a handful of US stores next week

Apple ’ s US retail stores have been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic , but the company is going to start opening some of them back up next week .
“ We ’ re excited to begin reopening stores in the US next week , starting with some stores in Idaho , South Carolina , Alabama , and Alaska , ” an Apple representative told CNBC .
“ Our new social distance protocol allows for a limited number of visitors in the store at one time so there may be a delay for walk-in customers .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ online for contactless delivery or in-store pickup.
” There are just six Apple stores between all of those states , as CNBC notes , so this is a small-scale return that will allow the company to monitor things closely and apply what it learns as more locations welcome customers back in .
Apple operates 271 stores in the United States and over 500 globally .
More than 70 stores in Asia , Europe , and Australia are now open after being closed to help combat the novel coronavirus outbreak .
Apple was quickest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after signs that the virus was under control there .
It will likely be some time before Apple ’ s stores in major cities will return .
CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg that “ just a few ” US openings are planned for the first half of May .
As has been the case with Apple store reopenings in other countries , US retail employees will have access to temperature checks and will have to wear face masks .
Face coverings will also be provided to customers .
The company says that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on product repairs .
A fair number of people likely had their devices stranded at the Genius Bar after the abrupt nationwide closure , even with Apple giving select customers a chance to retrieve finished repairs before stores locked their doors .
Here ’ s Apple ’ s full statement as it works to begin getting its US retail presence back up and running : We ’ re excited to begin reopening stores in the US next week , starting with some stores in Idaho , South Carolina , Alabama , and Alaska @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heath data and government guidance , and as soon as we can safely open our stores , we will .
We ’ ve missed our customers and look forward to offering our support .
With many working and learning from home , our primary focus will be providing service and support at the Genius Bar .
We ’ ll open initially with additional safety procedures including temperature checks , social distancing , and face coverings to ensure customers and employees continue to stay healthy .
Our new social distance protocol allows for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at one time so there may be a delay for walk-in customers .
We recommend , where possible , customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pick up .
As local guidance varies around the US there may be slight modifications to our procedures .
As always , our thoughts are with everyone affected by COVID-19 and those working around the clock to treat , study and contain its spread .

We’re excited to begin reopening stores in the US next week, starting with some stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, and Alaska. Our team is constantly monitoring local heath data and government guidance, and as soon as we can safely open our stores, we will.
We’ve missed our customers and look forward to offering our support. With many working and learning from home, our primary focus will be providing service and support at the Genius Bar. We’ll open initially with additional safety procedures including temperature checks, social distancing, and face coverings to ensure customers and employees continue to stay healthy. Our new social distance protocol allows for a limited number of visitors in the store at one time so there may be a delay for walk-in customers. We recommend, where possible, customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pick up.
As local guidance varies around the US there may be slight modifications to our procedures. As always, our thoughts are with everyone affected by COVID-19 and those working around the clock to treat, study and contain its spread.


theverge--2020-05-08--Facebook’s redesigned desktop site with dark mode is now available everywhere

Facebook ’ s redesigned desktop site is now available globally , the company announced on Friday .
Prior to this change , the new version of Facebook was available only if you opted into it starting in March and only in some markets , although the company said at the time that a majority of people would get access that month .
In a blog post published today , Facebook says the new site will “ now be the web experience for Facebook globally , ” adding that “ it ’ s faster , easier to use and gives your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dark mode is indeed the standout of the new version , but the update also delivers another pretty dramatic overhaul .
The home layout features a new skinnier News Feed , ample empty space on the left and right rails , and larger icons and a menu bar that lets you easily jump to various parts of the app .
For those who want to turn on the new design and enable dark mode immediately , here ’ s how : • Click on the down arrow at the end of the upper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s settings menu .
• Click the same down arrow and toggle dark mode from off to on .
The goal when Facebook first unveiled the desktop redesign at its F8 developer conference in 2019 was to refocus the core web experience around the areas most people still enjoy using : events , groups , and messaging .
It wasn ’ t quite the end of the News Feed per se , but more Facebook leadership admitted that it ’ s now an antiquated concept to have an algorithmic feed filled mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
People are retreating more and more into private groups and messaging , and Facebook ’ s only core utility right now is that it ’ s still the best way to organize a large event with friends or reach out to someone you know whose contact info you don ’ t have .
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said as much when , a few months prior to the redesign reveal , he announced a shift for his entire company toward privacy-focused products and features .
And unless you ’ re in Facebook ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly into the site ’ s unique brand of hyper-partisan political content , most people have moved on to spending more of their time on Instagram , TikTok , Twitch , YouTube , and other platforms .
The new Facebook reflects the company ’ s priorities , with a focus on videos for the News Feed ( because video ads still earn the company a lot of money ) and easy access to events and groups alongside a redesigned Messenger panel .
It can be a jarring visual change , but it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once you know your way around the new interface .

Facebook’s redesigned desktop site is now available globally, the company announced on Friday. Prior to this change, the new version of Facebook was available only if you opted into it starting in March and only in some markets, although the company said at the time that a majority of people would get access that month.
In a blog post published today, Facebook says the new site will “now be the web experience for Facebook globally,” adding that “it’s faster, easier to use and gives your eyes a break with dark mode.”
Dark mode is indeed the standout of the new version, but the update also delivers another pretty dramatic overhaul. The home layout features a new skinnier News Feed, ample empty space on the left and right rails, and larger icons and a menu bar that lets you easily jump to various parts of the app.
For those who want to turn on the new design and enable dark mode immediately, here’s how:
Click on the down arrow at the end of the upper menu bar to pull up old Facebook’s settings menu. Click “Switch to new Facebook.” Click the same down arrow and toggle dark mode from off to on.
The goal when Facebook first unveiled the desktop redesign at its F8 developer conference in 2019 was to refocus the core web experience around the areas most people still enjoy using: events, groups, and messaging. It wasn’t quite the end of the News Feed per se, but more Facebook leadership admitted that it’s now an antiquated concept to have an algorithmic feed filled mostly with junk from pages and public posts.
People are retreating more and more into private groups and messaging, and Facebook’s only core utility right now is that it’s still the best way to organize a large event with friends or reach out to someone you know whose contact info you don’t have.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said as much when, a few months prior to the redesign reveal, he announced a shift for his entire company toward privacy-focused products and features. And unless you’re in Facebook’s older demographic or you’re particularly into the site’s unique brand of hyper-partisan political content, most people have moved on to spending more of their time on Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and other platforms.


theverge--2020-05-08--Google Duo will soon let you make group calls in Chrome

Google ’ s Duo video chat app will soon let you make group video calls on the web , the search company announced today .
That could be a handy way to catch up with your friends and family while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic , though group call participants will need a Google account to join , Google says .
The feature is rolling out as a preview in Chrome in the coming weeks .
There ’ s also a new “ family mode ” in Duo , which lets you draw on the screen in real time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yourself .
Duo will hide the buttons to mute and hang up while you ’ re in family mode so that you can doodle and play around without needing to worry about accidentally dropping the call , Google says .
Family mode is available if you ’ re using Duo while signed in with your Google account .
Here ’ s an image of what it looks like : The Snapchat-like masks and effects will also be available in one-on-one calls you make on Android and iOS , Google says .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this terrifying mask that turns you into a flower in celebration of Mother ’ s Day : Last month , Google said it would be rolling out the AV1 video codec to Duo calls to improve video call quality , introducing a side-by-side photo mode , and upping the Duo group call size from eight to 12 .
You can see a lot of Google Duo ’ s features in action in this promotional video : Duo now falls under the purview of Javier Soltero , who is the VP and general manager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That means he now oversees Duo and Google Meet , Google ’ s other video calling service , but Soltero doesn ’ t have any immediate plans to change or integrate any of Google ’ s messaging and communications apps , he told my colleague Dieter Bohn yesterday .
Meet has historically been a business-focused app , but Google made it free for everyone last week .

Google’s Duo video chat app will soon let you make group video calls on the web, the search company announced today. That could be a handy way to catch up with your friends and family while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, though group call participants will need a Google account to join, Google says. The feature is rolling out as a preview in Chrome in the coming weeks.
There’s also a new “family mode” in Duo, which lets you draw on the screen in real time and apply Snapchat-like masks and effects on yourself. Duo will hide the buttons to mute and hang up while you’re in family mode so that you can doodle and play around without needing to worry about accidentally dropping the call, Google says. Family mode is available if you’re using Duo while signed in with your Google account. Here’s an image of what it looks like:
Image: Google
The Snapchat-like masks and effects will also be available in one-on-one calls you make on Android and iOS, Google says. The first ones are launching this week, including this terrifying mask that turns you into a flower in celebration of Mother’s Day:
Last month, Google said it would be rolling out the AV1 video codec to Duo calls to improve video call quality, introducing a side-by-side photo mode, and upping the Duo group call size from eight to 12. You can see a lot of Google Duo’s features in action in this promotional video:


theverge--2020-05-08--Google says that the majority of its employees will work from home until 2021

Google has extended its work-from-home policy for the remainder of 2020 .
After previously telling employees that they would be working remotely until June 1st , CEO Sundar Pichai has told employees that they ’ ll likely work from home until the end of the year , via The Information .
According to Pichai , employees whose work requires physically being in the office will be allowed back in either June or July , but with increased safety precautions and a “ different ” in-office experience .
But for most of Google ’ s staff , working at home will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rest of the year .
Google began advising employees to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early March .
Google isn ’ t the only major tech company to ask employees to stay home for the rest of the year .
Facebook made a similar announcement yesterday , citing information from groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Johns Hopkins , along with government guidance .
Google and Facebook likely won ’ t be the only ones , either : with two of the largest tech companies both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remainder of the year , odds are that we ’ ll start to see other companies follow .

Google has extended its work-from-home policy for the remainder of 2020. After previously telling employees that they would be working remotely until June 1st, CEO Sundar Pichai has told employees that they’ll likely work from home until the end of the year, via The Information.
According to Pichai, employees whose work requires physically being in the office will be allowed back in either June or July, but with increased safety precautions and a “different” in-office experience.
But for most of Google’s staff, working at home will continue to be the new normal for the rest of the year. Google began advising employees to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early March.


theverge--2020-05-08--A hacker is trying to break Ohio’s tool for reporting workers who quit during the pandemic

Ohio asked employers to report workers who stay home during the novel coronavirus pandemic , but at least one person is trying to clog the system in protest .
As the state begins lifting its shelter-in-place orders , the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services ( ODJFS ) posted a form for reporting coronavirus-related “ employee fraud ” — in other words , people who quit their jobs or refuse to work because they ’ re concerned about contracting COVID-19 .
In response , someone released a script that submits junk data through the form , aiming to drown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ohio ’ s site is supposed to help it sniff out workers who aren ’ t eligible for unemployment because they voluntarily stopped working out of disease fears instead of being laid off .
State officials have defended the approach and argued that employees can quit under unsafe working conditions or with a doctor ’ s approval .
Even so , the form has struck local labor leaders and many people online as callous , including the hacker who created the code .
“ What I ’ m hoping is that , whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they see it ’ s possible for people to take direct action against these sort of snitch programs , ” they told Motherboard in an interview .
Their system lets anyone continuously auto-submit fake entries to the site , pulling company names from a list of Ohio ’ s top employers and randomly generating names and addresses .
It ’ s supposed to effectively mount a denial-of-service attack on the investigators , forcing them to sort through spam entries .
Activists have used the tactic to oppose other government systems like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although it ’ s also been used by trolls to take down assault reporting systems .
It ’ s not clear how many people have used this particular tool .
As Motherboard notes , Ohio officials swapped out some weak verification for a stronger CAPTCHA that broke the script today , although the hacker is apparently updating the code .
But ODJFS didn ’ t immediately respond to questions about whether there was a practical negative impact on the system .

Ohio asked employers to report workers who stay home during the novel coronavirus pandemic, but at least one person is trying to clog the system in protest. As the state begins lifting its shelter-in-place orders, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) posted a form for reporting coronavirus-related “employee fraud” — in other words, people who quit their jobs or refuse to work because they’re concerned about contracting COVID-19. In response, someone released a script that submits junk data through the form, aiming to drown out the real reports from employers.
Ohio’s site is supposed to help it sniff out workers who aren’t eligible for unemployment because they voluntarily stopped working out of disease fears instead of being laid off. State officials have defended the approach and argued that employees can quit under unsafe working conditions or with a doctor’s approval. Even so, the form has struck local labor leaders and many people online as callous, including the hacker who created the code. “What I’m hoping is that, whether people use this exact code or not, they see it’s possible for people to take direct action against these sort of snitch programs,” they told Motherboard in an interview.
Their system lets anyone continuously auto-submit fake entries to the site, pulling company names from a list of Ohio’s top employers and randomly generating names and addresses. It’s supposed to effectively mount a denial-of-service attack on the investigators, forcing them to sort through spam entries. Activists have used the tactic to oppose other government systems like a form for reporting homeless campers in Seattle, although it’s also been used by trolls to take down assault reporting systems.


theverge--2020-05-08--It’s already getting too hot and humid in some places for humans to survive

A combination of heat and humidity so extreme that it ’ s unendurable isn ’ t just a problem for the future — those conditions are already here , a new study finds .
Off-the-chart readings that were previously thought to be nearly nonexistent on the planet today have popped up around the globe , and unyielding temperatures are becoming more common .
Extreme conditions reaching roughly 115 degrees Fahrenheit on the heat-index scale — a measurement of both heat and humidity that ’ s often referred to as what the temperature “ feels like ” — doubled between 1979 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humidity and heat are a particularly deadly combination , since humidity messes with the body ’ s ability to cool itself off by sweating .
The findings imply that harsh conditions that scientists foresaw as an impending result of climate change are becoming reality sooner than expected .
“ We may be closer to a real tipping point on this than we think ” “ We may be closer to a real tipping point on this than we think , ” Radley Horton , co-author of the new study published today in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement .
His previous research had projected that the world wouldn ’ t experience heat and humidity beyond human tolerance for decades .
More intense and frequent heat events are one of the symptoms of climate change , a lot of research has shown .
But most of those studies were based on readings that looked at averages over a wide area over a long period of time .
Instead , Horton and his co-authors looked closely at hourly data from 7,877 weather stations around the world .
They used the “ wet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other factors such as wind speed and solar radiation on top of heat and humidity .
That ’ s how they found more than a thousand readings of severe heat and humidity , reaching wet bulb readings of 31 degrees Celsius , that were previously thought to be very rare .
Along the Persian Gulf , they saw more than a dozen readings above what ’ s thought to be the human tolerance limit of 35 degrees Celsius on the wet bulb scale .
That ’ s the highest wet bulb reading that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2015 , the city of Bandar Mahshahr in Iran experienced a wet bulb reading just under 35 degrees Celsius .
At more than 160 degrees Fahrenheit on the heat-index scale , that ’ s about 30 degrees higher than where the National Weather Service ’ s heat-index range ends — and it ’ s a scenario that climate models hadn ’ t forecast to happen until the middle of the century .
Spells of extreme humid heat were also witnessed across Asia , Africa , Australia , South America , and North America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The US Gulf Coast was particularly hard-hit .
The region saw dozens of instances of conditions reaching levels not expected to take place for decades .
Severe conditions only lasted hours and were often only in small areas , but these bouts are becoming more frequent and more intense , the researchers say .
They make the case that future studies ought to take a similarly localized look to get a better understanding of how climate change is playing out in communities that will feel the crunch ahead of the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by The Washington Post took this sort of approach in a series about places where average temperatures have already risen 2 degrees Celsius , the threshold at which the Paris climate accord aims to keep the globe from surpassing .
“ If you zoom in you see things that you don ’ t see at a larger scale , ” says Colin Raymond , lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory .
“ At the smallest scale , it ’ s more intense.
” One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Raymond , is that there are places across the globe that simply lack weather stations .
So what they were able to document could be happening at an even wider scale , there just aren ’ t tools in place yet to make those measurements everywhere .
Extreme heat already kills more people in the US than any other weather-related event .
In 50 years , between 1 to 3 billion people could find themselves living in temperatures so hot that they ’ re outside the range in which humans have been able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week .
Just how many billions will face that future depends on what action is taken now to stop the planet from dangerously overheating .

A combination of heat and humidity so extreme that it’s unendurable isn’t just a problem for the future — those conditions are already here, a new study finds. Off-the-chart readings that were previously thought to be nearly nonexistent on the planet today have popped up around the globe, and unyielding temperatures are becoming more common.
Extreme conditions reaching roughly 115 degrees Fahrenheit on the heat-index scale — a measurement of both heat and humidity that’s often referred to as what the temperature “feels like” — doubled between 1979 and 2017, the study found. Humidity and heat are a particularly deadly combination, since humidity messes with the body’s ability to cool itself off by sweating. The findings imply that harsh conditions that scientists foresaw as an impending result of climate change are becoming reality sooner than expected.
“We may be closer to a real tipping point on this than we think”
“We may be closer to a real tipping point on this than we think,” Radley Horton, co-author of the new study published today in the journal Science Advances, said in a statement. His previous research had projected that the world wouldn’t experience heat and humidity beyond human tolerance for decades.
More intense and frequent heat events are one of the symptoms of climate change, a lot of research has shown. But most of those studies were based on readings that looked at averages over a wide area over a long period of time. Instead, Horton and his co-authors looked closely at hourly data from 7,877 weather stations around the world. They used the “wet bulb” centigrade scale, which measures other factors such as wind speed and solar radiation on top of heat and humidity.
That’s how they found more than a thousand readings of severe heat and humidity, reaching wet bulb readings of 31 degrees Celsius, that were previously thought to be very rare. Along the Persian Gulf, they saw more than a dozen readings above what’s thought to be the human tolerance limit of 35 degrees Celsius on the wet bulb scale. That’s the highest wet bulb reading that scientific literature has ever documented. In 2015, the city of Bandar Mahshahr in Iran experienced a wet bulb reading just under 35 degrees Celsius. At more than 160 degrees Fahrenheit on the heat-index scale, that’s about 30 degrees higher than where the National Weather Service’s heat-index range ends — and it’s a scenario that climate models hadn’t forecast to happen until the middle of the century.
Spells of extreme humid heat were also witnessed across Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and North America and were generally clustered along the coasts. The US Gulf Coast was particularly hard-hit. The region saw dozens of instances of conditions reaching levels not expected to take place for decades. Severe conditions only lasted hours and were often only in small areas, but these bouts are becoming more frequent and more intense, the researchers say.
They make the case that future studies ought to take a similarly localized look to get a better understanding of how climate change is playing out in communities that will feel the crunch ahead of the rest of the world. A Pulitzer prize-winning series by The Washington Post took this sort of approach in a series about places where average temperatures have already risen 2 degrees Celsius, the threshold at which the Paris climate accord aims to keep the globe from surpassing.
“At the smallest scale, it’s more intense.”
“If you zoom in you see things that you don’t see at a larger scale,” says Colin Raymond, lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “At the smallest scale, it’s more intense.” One of the limitations to their study, according to Raymond, is that there are places across the globe that simply lack weather stations. So what they were able to document could be happening at an even wider scale, there just aren’t tools in place yet to make those measurements everywhere.
Extreme heat already kills more people in the US than any other weather-related event.