Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are always watching you — even when you’re browsing pornography websites in incognito mode. Trackers from tech companies like Google and Facebook are logging your most personal browsing details, according to a forthcoming New Media & Society paper, which scanned 22,484 pornography websites. Where that data ultimately goes is not always […]

Good morning. We’re covering a health emergency in Congo, an investigation into the Notre-Dame fire and an unusual poker world champion. Congo Ebola outbreak declared global health emergency The yearlong Ebola epidemic, which has killed 1,676 people and infected 2,512, is the second-largest outbreak in history (after the one in West Africa in 2014 and […]

This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday. The history of American opposition to immigration is to a large extent a history of racism, which was often promoted by powerful or influential people. Calvin Coolidge wrote in 1921 that “Biological laws tell us that certain […]

If “Brexit and a backstop are mutually incompatible”, as Nick Crawford claims (Irish Independent, Letters, July 16) then the English are just going to have to ditch Brexit. The Government’s position is a no-brainer, seeking only to protect Ireland from the fallout of a crazy, reactionary decision. Let’s be clear, Brexit would be a disaster […]

In picking a fight with the quartet of Democratic congresswomen known as the squad, President Trump has done more than divide the American public — again — on the question of whether he’s a racist, a political opportunist or an occasionally overzealous patriot. Calling on these four women of color — Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good evening. Here’s the latest. 1. The Justice Department announced that it would not bring charges against the New York City police officer who used a chokehold on Eric Garner, five years after Mr. Garner’s dying words — “I can’t breathe” — became a rallying […]

The Privacy Project has been underway for four months, and in that time we’ve learned quite a bit about what we do — and don’t — know about privacy. Privacy is a complex, nebulous and constantly evolving issue, but amid the chaos and complexity, we have discerned four main themes: the ubiquity of surveillance and […]

Good morning. We’re covering Kim Jong-un’s luxurious limousine collection, China’s growing gender inequality and possibly the worst way to smuggle drugs. How does Kim Jong-un get his luxury cars? The North Korean leader has frequently been seen using expensive Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce limousines, in open defiance of U.N. sanctions intended to keep his country from […]

Police say an expert from Florida has captured an elusive alligator in a Chicago public lagoon. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the Humboldt Park gator was caught humanely early Tuesday and is in good health. The reptile, nicknamed “Chance the Snapper,” was first spotted last week and photos soon started showing up online. Investigators […]

A sushi shop in New Zealand can’t seem to get rid of its most enthusiastic guests: a pair of fish-loving blue penguins with a rebellious streak. The little birds were found nesting under a refrigerator at the sushi shop in Wellington’s largest railway station early Monday. The shop owner called police to deal with the […]