SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The Twittersphere erupted in a calamitous fusillade of angry posts on Saturday by President Donald Trump, who accused former President Barack Obama of ordering a Nixon-era wiretap on the Trump Tower offices in October. Legal experts pointed out several problems with the chief executive’s understanding of wiretapping protocols. Only a federal judge can authorize such an action, and only when a preponderance of evidence suggests criminal wrongdoing or treason -- in this case, the supposed collusion between Trump team members and operatives in Moscow. However, in a stunning revelation on Monday, undisclosed sources from the National Security Agency (NSA) verified a connection but cautioned that Trump and his colleagues may be innocent of treason. The current opinion is that the real estate magnate, in a desperate ploy to save his dwindling fortune, fell victim to a Nigerian email-type scam that originated in Russia.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- President Donald Trump has become the accepted master of social media. In fact, he has made the bold and unprecedented decision to serve as his own press corps, transferring the outdated platform to Twitter. The job of White House correspondents is to report on the president’s decisions and activities. Trump astutely recognizes that no individual is better equipped to perform that task than the commander-in-chief himself. However, he also understands firsthand the dangers that a free and open Internet have unleashed in this time of American carnage. “The real peril is uncensored access to vast amounts of information and facts, which are killing the economy and thwarting governmental efforts to keep people on the right path,” Kellyanne Conway said. She called Trump’s appointment of Ajit Pai as FCC chairman an essential step toward progress. Pai has already vowed to take a “weed whacker” to the electric communism of net neutrality, ending the free flow of fake news that is destroying the nation and undermining the alternative facts Americans need.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone, Apple is poised to disrupt the industry again -- with a smart device that allows real-time, bi-directional communication. Apple plans to unveil a completely redesigned model to honor the product that ignited a mania that’s gripped this nation ever since. Not only has the appearance been dramatically overhauled, the next generation model promises users an unexpected and radical surprise in core functionality. Tim Cook, the company’s CEO, has fought an uphill battle to maintain the powerful momentum fueled by the vision of Steve Jobs. On Monday, he tentatively announced a breakthrough that even test subjects couldn’t foresee. “The new iPhone 8 will revolutionize the way lifestyle devices connect us to our world,” Cook said. “Forget social media and digital messaging. This new prototype will allow you to speak directly to any person by simply entering a 10-digit identification code.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Two days after Google’s major product announcements on October 4, Facebook showed up to the party with its nearly forgotten Oculus Rift gear. In April 2014, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans to integrate the realm of virtual reality with social media. Now Facebook wants to double down on both. With a crowd of tech innovators hawking augmented reality offerings, the folks driving Oculus hope to distinguish their system by promoting more interactive experiences. So on December 6, Facebook will release Oculus Touch -- handheld controllers that allow gamers and other users to manipulate objects in their digitized worlds. What no one expected was the instant backlash. Aficionados of hardcore VR porn flooded Facebook with complaints. One in particular summed up the core issue: “What the hell? When I’m watching porn, I need a hands-free experience, Mark. Not another stick to control.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Donald Trump’s detractors were given a precious gift this past Monday in the shape of a debate performance riddled with false statements, incorrect facts, petty attempts at character assassination, ad hominem attacks, misogyny, fat shaming, racial insensitivity and the temperamental antics of a generally unhinged human being. In fact, most critics argued that Trump only got one thing right: there are 28 members in NATO. However, that count has now doubled. Since the debate, Trump has insisted that audio problems in the room hindered his appearance. The Republican presidential candidate placed the lion’s share of the blame on his microphone. This Friday, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) confirmed the claim.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The success of Uber, the app-based personal transportation service, has renewed the demand for independent contractors. It’s also ushered in an emerging freelance marketplace called the “gig economy.” While the model may be great for business, labor advocates say it’s horrendous for workers and the wider economy. Pushing employees to sell their services independently weakens their security, cripples their long-term financial stability and depletes their purchasing power. Employees are, after all, consumers. But with the announcement Wednesday of an app-based call service for prostitutes -- the result of a partnership between Google Maps and Unter, a heavily funded startup by a conglomerate of savvy pimps -- labor regulators worry that the rise of this new “trick economy” will wreak further damage on millions of housewives and moonlighters who are seeking part-time opportunities to strengthen their household incomes.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Technology today has transcended the need to calculate complicated formulas or automate tedious manual processes, it’s become inextricably integrated into our lifestyles. Smartphones, tablets and laptops have transformed the way we see and interact with our world. But even these much beloved advances can’t escape the law of unintended consequences. In Nicholas Carr’s Pulitzer-nominated 2011 book “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains,” neuroscientist Michael Merzenich warned that technology, like any major pharmaceutical, comes with its share of adverse side-effects. He cited a slew of potentially harmful byproducts that included disrupted sleep cycles, weakened memory, poor retention and recall, chronic forgetfulness, and diminished comprehension. But a new Republican-funded study discounts these “dubious and uninformed observations.” While still concluding that today’s technology is dangerous and perhaps deadly, GOP scientists praised Merzenich’s so-called threats as “real societal benefits to the Party.” The problem, they believe, is much more insidious: “The real peril is, in fact, uncensored access to vast amounts of information and facts, which are killing the economy and thwarting governmental efforts to keep people on the right path.” The other culprits? Wikis, e-cigarettes, Internet porn and digital books.

“The U.S. government has spent so much of its time spying on American citizens that if the attacks came from Sony, we would have known about it long ago.” -- FBI Director James Comey

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On Wednesday, after nearly a month of speculation and circular arguments, FBI Director James Comey staunchly defended his bureau’s claim that North Korea orchestrated the cyber-attack against Sony Pictures in retaliation for its film “The Interview,” which depicts a farcical attempt by two American entertainment journalists to assassinate Kim Jong-un. The U.S. government has endured weeks of criticism from cybersecurity experts who believe the attacks originated from a source inside Sony. Comey responded that these private-sector lackeys “don’t have the facts that I have.” Regardless of where responsibility for the hacking falls, government officials feel confident that the evidence will point to a foreign source. “The U.S. government has spent so much of its time spying on American citizens that if the attacks came from Sony, we would have known about it long ago,” Comey stressed.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Researchers from Cornell University in California admitted Monday to performing a series of dubiously ethical experiments in 2012 by manipulating the content in random Facebook users’ news feeds to gauge emotional reactions. Creepier still, Facebook suggested that such experimentation is routine, which explains how the project slipped past the eyes of ethics committees. Facebook attempted to defend its actions, stating that its overly vague data use policy allows it do whatever the heck it wants as part of “internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research and service improvement.” In a follow up announcement, Facebook also revealed that tests after 2012 have involved directly editing the content in users’ posts to make them “more positive. We see suicidal rants all the time; putting a happy spin on them makes others more likely to post, and increases traffic.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Not long ago, software developers, hardware manufacturers and Internet pioneers began a battle of supremacy for “smart devices,” portable mini-computers designed to enhance and streamline the lifestyles of consumers. Now, these same technology leaders are duking it out over new lines of products that shrink the same core features into wearable accessories. Google launched Glass, a virtual-reality device that resembles eyeglasses and makes the functionality of an Android smartphone accessible through a display built into clear lenses. Samsung countered with a smartwatch. Now Google and Apple have announced plans to distribute their own unique smartwatches. But an unexpected challenger entered the technological fray Monday in the form of a struggling, low-tech Dutch company called Timex, which promises consumers “the smartest watch on the market,” in both digital and analog formats.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In a devastating ruling Friday for proponents of “net neutrality,” the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a set of rules that pave the way for “paid priority fast lanes,” despite protests and national dissent. The proposal, spearheaded by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, passed by a three-to-two majority within the commission. Opponents of the measure described the decision as alarming “for anyone who treasures a free and open Internet.” Those who support the proposal, such as former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) -- once Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee -- called the idea of equal access and open speech on the Internet an affront to civil liberties and free-market economies, coining the talking point “Electric Communism.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin inched closer to Soviet-era censorship by signing into law restrictive new controls for the country’s Internet. Political activists, Internet champions and free speech advocates attacked the decision, saying the government would be able to tighten the reins on any views it deemed dissenting. But Putin’s biggest criticism came from the United States. National Security Agency (NSA) officials called the law “immature, myopic and completely counterproductive to real intelligence gathering.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On March 8, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 went missing with 239 people aboard. Its disappearance from radar without any signs of trouble from the cockpit, combined with revelations about suspicious passengers and conflicting information disseminated by the Malaysian government, have fueled the mystery and countless conspiracy theories. Rescuers canvassed the plane’s likeliest resting places with coordinated aerial searches and the deployment of a Bluefin-21 underwater vehicle that scans the seabed with sonar equipment. But despite the massive and ongoing efforts, no one has yet to locate the gigantic 777 in a confined swath of ocean where black box pings were detected consistently. On Tuesday, frustrated crews announced a radical expansion of the hunt to cover outer space.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- For many Americans, April 15 is tax day, the annual deadline for filing state and federal returns. But this April 15, Google overshadowed the stress and dread associated with the date by hosting a one-day sales event for its wearable computer product Google Glass. Despite the steep price of $1,500 per unit, popular models sold out within hours of Tuesday’s launch. The thin virtual-reality device, which resembles eyeglasses, is designed to take the functionality of a smartphone and make it accessible through a display built into empty frames. But by late afternoon, rival developer Facebook announced the surprise sale of its competing virtual reality device Oculus Rift, which it acquired last month. “Google Glass is severely limited -- it projects a tiny version of a stripped down Android OS in one eye,” a Facebook representative said. “Oculus Rift is an immersive, 360-degree Facebook world that eliminates all the privacy concerns Glass has been catching flak for. But it does so much more.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) – Every spring, to the dismay of many, Google retires several of its underperforming services as part of an initiative called “spring cleaning,” establishing a disturbing trend of axing services that thousands of users depend on. Among famously shuttered features were iGoogle and Google Mini. Other victims have included Google Desktop, Google Notebook, Sidewiki and Aardvark. The company came under fire last year when it announced the demise of Google Reader, the RSS feed aggregator launched in 2005. It also did away with Building Maker and Cloud Connect. On Tuesday, Google continued its belligerent slash-and-burn campaign -- and upped the ante to unprecedented degrees -- by announcing the end of YouTube and, just hours ago, its flagship product Search.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- New Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich came under fire by OkCupid and internal employees after his donations to support California’s Proposition 8, a bill that intended to strike down marriage equality in the state, were uncovered in public listings. Eich issued a statement Monday confirming Mozilla’s commitment to diversity and equality despite his personal loathing of such things. Late Monday evening, however, anti-gay “heterequality” activists launched their own stunning attack against Eich, disavowing themselves of his support and accusing him of hypocrisy for frequently experimenting with “same-origin policy” during his development of JavaScript.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On Monday, the United States and its allies opted to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for his annexation of Crimea by ousting him from the Group of 8. The decision to expel Putin from this exclusive club of power players came amid increasing tensions with Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine, a crisis that came to its head last month. President Obama and several of the world’s leading economic superpowers banded together in a closed-door meeting during a nuclear security summit to plan their collective stance against Moscow. While they stopped short of imposing sanctions, world leaders demonstrated the gravity and breadth of their displeasure with Russia’s military mobilization to the Crimean Peninsula by unfriending Putin from their Facebook pages.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On March 13, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg phoned President Obama to voice his extreme displeasure over the U.S. government’s domestic spying programs, which were revealed to the public through leaks from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. “The President spoke last night with Mark Zuckerberg about recent reports in the press about alleged activities by the U.S. intelligence community,” a White House official said Friday. But by Monday, the 29-year-old tech billionaire showed no signs of being placated. Zuckerberg told reporters the NSA could monopolize all social media companies within days of launching its own network. He urged the Justice Department to file antitrust charges against the NSA for unfair competition.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- According to newly leaked documents from Edward Snowden, a British intelligence agency collected millions of images from the webcam chats of Yahoo users, with much of the footage containing sexually explicit content. Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) operated the surveillance program, code named Optic Nerve, which targeted users whether they were suspected of illicit activities or not. Just as the NSA’s domestic spying program in the United States demonstrated the astounding potential of a government-run social network -- rivaling any initiatives undertaken by Facebook or Google -- Optic Nerve is showing how public sector adult film productions can provide the highest quality porn, practically for free. The news has investors scrambling to cash in on what analysts are calling the “penultimate realization of gonzo and reality porn.”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) revealed Friday that Steve Jobs, the technology guru and cultural icon behind the cultish electronic lifestyle company that is Apple Inc., had approved a commemorative postage stamp slated for a 2015 release. Stamp designs are typically private affairs that are kept under wraps from the public until their printing. It seems ironic that the struggling postal service would honor one of the pioneers of electronic mail, but representatives for the USPS admitted that the conditions Jobs placed on his authorization for the stamp created an unprecedented profit opportunity for the agency.