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Russia scaled back opposition to European proposals to improve the safety of nuclear power, leaving the U.S. as the main dissenter to new rules intended to avoid a repeat of Japan’s 2011 meltdown in Fukushima. Russia changed its stance at a Dec. 4 meeting of nuclear diplomats, setting out the Moscow government’s view of new […] More »

Across the nation, the powerful combination of broadband, affordable devices and increasing opportunity for cloud-based content is transforming education. Traditional teaching tools like blackboards and books are giving way to interactive digital content delivered directly to students’ devices. We have moved from a world where a connected computer lab down the hall was a luxury, […] More »

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s full report on post-September 11 interrogation techniques by the CIA painted a grim picture of brutality used in an attempt to get answers from people thought to be associates of al-Qaida. The report, released on Thursday, revealed treatment of prisoners in secret prisons in Europe and Asia a […] More »

WASHINGTON — An early-warning system set up by the U.S. government is designed to protect drivers from auto defects. Narrow industry reporting requirements mean regulators could miss the next exploding air bag. Under a 2000 law, automakers are legally obligated to file reports of deaths and injuries from the public so safety officials can spot […] More »

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Monday pressed the Justice Department for more information on a program that collects Americans’ cellphone data using airplanes equipped with technology that mimics cellular towers. Markey said the program revealed by The Wall Street Journal last week raises important privacy concerns. “The sweeping nature of this program and the likely […] More »

The U.S. Senate struck down an advance of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline on Tuesday in a tight 59-41 vote that split Democrats. The GOP-led House of Representatives passed the bill late last week in a 252-161 vote, which pitted all 221 Republicans in the chamber, along with 31 Democrats, against the 161 Dems […] More »

Honda will replace potentially defective airbag inflaters in cars nationwide, according to statements the automaker gave federal safety regulators earlier this month. In doing so, it bows to pressure from lawmakers and auto safety experts who had questioned automakers’ limiting of the latest airbag recalls to high-humidity regions. Honda will also offer loaner cars “as […] More »

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday adopted a broad expansion and overhaul of its program to bring high-speed Internet into schools and libraries, a move that will also add to the fees tacked on to the phone bills of Americans each month. The E-Rate program, part of the Universal Service Fund, will grow […] More »

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Monday pressed the Justice Department for more information on a program that collects Americans’ cellphone data using airplanes equipped with technology that mimics cellular towers. Markey said the program revealed by The Wall Street Journal last week raises important privacy concerns. More »

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is on a mission to hook up schools with faster Internet. Wheeler on Monday laid out a plan to increase the so-called E-Rate fee on phone bills — a longtime program that funds Internet access to schools and libraries — by 16 cents a month, or just under $2 […] More »