July 2019

China Snares Tourists’ Phones in Surveillance Dragnet by Adding Secret App

Technology /

BEIJING — China has turned its western region of Xinjiang into a police state with few modern parallels, employing a combination of high-tech surveillance and enormous manpower to monitor and subdue the area’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. Now, the digital dragnet is expanding beyond Xinjiang’s residents, ensnaring tourists, traders and other visitors — and digging […]

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Prominent Republicans File Brief to Support L.G.B.T. Rights in Legal Case

Politics /

The court has already ruled, in effect, “We don’t care what the legislators thought in 1964, the text of the law is clear,” said Roy T. Englert, a Washington appellate lawyer who is the lead author of the brief. The issue of nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender individuals may stir up cultural and political

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Alert level increased at world’s largest volcano in Hawaii

Technology /

Federal officials raised the alert level Tuesday for the world’s largest active volcano, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984. The U.S. Geological Survey changed the level from “normal” to “advisory” following a steady increase in earthquakes and ground swelling that began in March. An eruption is not imminent, but scientists are closely monitoring

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Elizabeth Warren Calls on Former F.D.A. Chief to Quit Pfizer Board

Politics /

Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday called on Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to resign from the board of Pfizer, saying his decision to join one of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies “smacks of corruption.” Ms. Warren, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said in a public letter

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Christine Lagarde Is Picked as E.C.B.’s New President. What Does the Bank Do?

Finance /

On Tuesday, European officials nominated Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s current leader, to succeed Mario Draghi as European Central Bank president. Here’s a primer on the institution Ms. Lagarde has been chosen to lead. [After grueling negotiations, the E.U. selected its top leaders on Tuesday. See who they are.] What is the European Central

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