Tech

Twitter protects POTUS, Gmail boosts security, Comcast wins big in court: ICYMI

Important news you may have missed on Thursday, Aug 11.

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Dell Cameron

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Here’s some news you may have missed:

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Some people shrugged off Donald Trump’s comments about how gun owners might deal with Hillary Clinton as “just jokes.” However, as a number of academics who study the foundations of humor argue, those jokes tell an important story about who belongs and who doesn’t, who matters and who doesn’t, whose life is worth protecting and whose isn’t.

At least five major cash-register providers have been hacked. Here’s what you need to know.

An innocent Muslim woman from Michigan discovered her picture was used by CNN during a segment on ISIS recruitment in France. Her family members’ worry over it being spread through their community, or in their children’s schools, raises new concerns about the use of terrorist propaganda by the media.

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You win some, you lose some, and today Comcast won big. A U.S. court ruled the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to upend state bans on community-run broadband.

An update to Gmail that filters unauthenticated messages should help make it a little harder for hackers to trick you.

A new British military report suggests Russia used mass texts and GPS hacks to bring chaos to Ukraine.

Twitter reportedly protected President Obama from troll abuse using an algorithm unavailable to the rest of us. The company’s failure to address abuse is its biggest flaw. “We tweet the same complaints, write the same stories, see our friends and favorite celebrities harassed, and then wake up and do it all over again,” writes Selena Larson.

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If only the Democratic National Committee had access to some kind of encryption that could protect its emails from malicious hackers like Guccifer 2.0. Oh right, it does.

Adblock Plus has already figured out a way to subvert Facebook’s solution to ad-block software, which the social media site only announced two days ago.

ICYMI last night:

After activists went after New York Life on Twitter, the insurance giant was forced to fire its managing director for threatening the life of a Black Lives Matter activist.

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Soon to replace everyone’s favorite “This is fine” meme.

A mobile app called PotBot helps users discover the best weed for their body and recommends strains of marijuana for particular medical conditions. —via Madison Margolin, Motherboard

American gymnast Simone Biles takes the all-around Olympic gold in Rio —via Rachel Axon, USA Today

Donald Trump doesn’t plan to change his campaign style, he says, even though he’s doing poorly. His remarks in this interview transcript should alarm Republicans. —via Aaron Blake, Washington Post

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Trump’s attorney says it would be “malpractice” to advise his client to release his tax returns. —via Nolan D. McCaskill, Politico

There’s one demographic barely mentioned by the presidential candidates, and it’s a group who could probably use their attention the most. The poor. —via Binyamin Appelbaum, New York Times

The next president may have to deal with the meltdown of ObamaCare. A lot rides on the next open enrollment period. —via Sarah Ferris, The Hill

Donald Trump touted two child care programs rolled out by his company. The only problem is neither program was available to employees. —via Jill Colvin and Catherine Lucey, Associated Press

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