FCC makes 988 the 3-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The FCC voted today to make 988 the official three-digital number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The new rules require phone service providers to direct all 988 calls to the hotline, but the 988 function won’t go into effect until July...

Apple re-approves Hey email app after last week’s standoff

After a bit of a standoff, Apple has approved Basecamp’s Hey iOS app bug fixes, signaling that the Hey email app is now allowed in the App Store. Anyone following Apple’s back and forth with Basecamp might be surprised by the decision.For those just...

FDA approves a rapid COVID-19 test that uses CRISPR

Sherlock Biosciences has received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA for a rapid COVID-19 test that uses CRISPR technology. This is the first FDA-authorized use of the gene-editing tool, which poses both massive potential and ethical i...

The EU just approved a vaccine to prevent Ebola

Today, the European Union granted an Ebola vaccine "conditional marketing authorization." The vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, is known as Ervebo. It's the first human Ebola vaccine to be approved by the EU.

FCC formally approves the T-Mobile-Sprint merger

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally approved the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. The decision comes after a drawn-out, and at times contentious, review of T-Mobile's $26.5 billion bid to merge with Sprint.

FCC bans spoofed text messages and international robocalls

This week the FCC voted to approve rules that ban spoofing text messages and international robocalls. The new rules close long-standing loopholes in the Truth in Caller ID Act, which banned spoofing domestic calls but made it hard for the FCC to comb...