Want to receive this two-minute roundup as an email every weekday? Sign up here !
Today’s Headlines
Power shutoffs can't save California from wildfire hell
On Wednesday night, PG&E started shuting off power for hundreds of thousands of California residents in an effort to prevent wildfires during a high-wind period. Though this may be necessary as a stopgap, shutoffs won't save California from wildfires entirely. “Even if you prevent 90 percent of wildfire ignitions, the remaining fires could be just as bad or even worse,” notes Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. “Even if we see fewer of them, we’ll still have catastrophic fires.”Never trust a platform to put privacy over profits
Twitter has become the latest tech giant to use data from its two-factor authentication security system for its marketing database. The company says the use of two-factor phone numbers and email addresses for marketing was accidental, but the information was used to help target ads , and the company only came forward three weeks after stopping it. Last year, Facebook admitted to a similar practice, and the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook a record $5 billion in July over numerous instances of user data mishandling.Fast Fact: 3.3 Million
That's how many barrels of bunker fuel are used by huge cargo-carrying ships each day. This particular type of fuel has 3,500 times as much sulfur as automotive fuel, and it has one wild side effect: Lightning is twice as likely to strike in shipping lanes than in other places.
WIRED Recommends: Nintendo Switch Accessories
If you have a Switch, you already know how great it is. If you don't, you should get one . But our reviewers think you shouldn't stop there: They put together a list of the 26 best accessories to trick out your Switch.News You Can Use
Here are some tips to supercharge your Instagram stories .
This daily roundup is available as a newsletter. You can sign up right here to make sure you get the news delivered fresh to your inbox every weekday!