When President Donald Trump issued his infamous travel ban in January, it consumed headlines for days. 

But little attention was paid to other provisions in the executive order—including one that sped up the implementation of a program that could soon result in the facial scanning of every person taking a flight from anywhere in the United States.

The program is a part of a larger plan called Biometric Exit, which is operated by the folks at Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.  Read more…

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It sucks when dads are praised as heroes for doing the stuff mums do every day. 

So instead of saying “look at this incredible dad, actually loving his kids like some kind of saint,” we’ll simply suggest that the actions of Indiana man Keenan Watkins be the new norm. 

When Watkin’s 10-year-old daughter, Aayla, asked her dad to carry around her precious (and anatomically accurate, therefore fugly) ’80s baby doll all day, he obliged. Only later realizing the gravity of what he’d promised. But it was too late to back out. He’s a dad who keeps his promises, without compromise.

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If good horror writing illuminates the world around us, then Mariana Enriquez’s new book, Things We Lost In The Fire, is a floodlight, using the supernatural to expose in stark relief the hard, very real conversations we all avoid.

“Most of the stories are horror stories,” explains Enriquez, “but I try to make very atmospheric, dreary stories that mix with politics and the social climate of my city Buenos Aires,” says Enriquez.

Things We Lost In The Fire is a collection of 12 short stories, each populated with ghosts, haunted houses, and other supernatural phenomena to explore violence, poverty, history, and women. Read more…

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When it comes to car stuff, not many of us are experts.

But thanks to the adorable stylings of a three-year-old YouTuber, you can finally get an idea of how to change your car’s oil. The host of the channel “Little How To Girl” can’t quite do all of the physical stuff, but she’s doing better at adulting than some adults we know.

And she does a pretty hilarious cover of “Kumbaya,” where the lyrics are replaced with “the oil’s draining, m’lord, Kumbaya.” 

Impressive.  Read more…

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer reportedly hid among the bushes at the White House to avoid reporters after news broke that Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

Sound familiar?

Yep. Spicer’s actions bring to mind that famous scene from The Simpsons where Homer slinks away into the bushes. 

Plenty of people on the internet were quick to point out the similarities between Spicer and Homer, even prompting some excellent Photoshops. Thankfully, Redditor and GIF wizard superscatman9 combined the two, spicing up one of the internet’s most beloved memes.  Read more…

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Some mysterious bots seem to have taken a keen interest in telecommunications policy.

Automated programs are thought to be responsible for more than 100,000 identical comments recently posted to the Federal Communications Commission’s website.

The messages, each posted under a different name, urge the agency to roll back the Obama Administration’s rules protecting net neutrality.

Yet when ZDNet and The Verge contacted more than two dozen of the supposed concerned citizens, none of them were aware of the opinions expressed in their name. One didn’t even know what net neutrality was. Read more…

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Just months after winning a big legal victory in China against a company accused of ripping off his name and logo, Michael Jordan’s iconic sneaker brand has signed its first Chinese basketball star. 

His name: Guo Ailun. 

Your probable reaction: Who?

We’ll explain.

Jordan Brand is paying Guo $1.4 million per year to endorse its gear, according to The Vertical‘s Nick DePaula. 

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Donald Trump’s highly suspicious Tuesday night firing of FBI Director James Comey, who just happens to have been asking for more resources to investigate the Russian ties of Trump’s campaign, has been an exhausting news story — and it just keeps going. You’d be forgiven for wanting to take a break.

At the same time, entertainment just seems so damn distracting right now. We have some Watergate-level history on our hands, and it’s going to take a lot of public outrage and constant pressure on our representatives to get the independent investigation American democracy needs.

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Everybody just needs to break loose sometimes, even deer. 

A trail cam set up by photographer Pete Olsen in Ontario, Wisconsin captured an embarrassing moment for a deer in a shallow stream. Olsen has the camera set up to scope out some of the wildlife in the area, and he captured what would normally be described as graceful creatures letting loose a little.

Without much warning, a young whitetail deer rears onto its hind legs, jumps back, and slams its side right into the stream. 

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