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A federal judge is agreeing with the FBI's contention that publicly disclosing its methods on how it spies on journalists could hamper national security.

A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Freedom of the Press Foundation sought FBI procedures surrounding the agency's protocol when issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) against members of the media. Without a court warrant, an NSL allows the bureau to obtain "subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records" from third-party wire or electronic communication providers if such information is "relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."

The items withheld from the organization, according to US District Judge Haywood Gilliam, included "instructions for managing and conducting cyber investigations," the "instructions for investigating and charging members of the news media," an NSL "PowerPoint training presentation," and other materials in draft form.

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The Chilean government recently gave the go-ahead on a massive solar thermal plant that is expected to produce electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week—a considerable feat for a plant that depends solely on solar energy. The plant, proposed for a site in Chile’s Tamarugal province, would consist of three 150 megawatt solar thermal towers, which become heated as mirrors placed around each tower reflect sunlight onto it.

That heat is transferred to molten salt, which circulates through the plant during the day and is stored in tanks at night. The salt, a mixture of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate that’s kept at a balmy 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit (566 degrees Celsius), is used as a “heat transfer fluid.” As energy is needed, the salt can be dispatched to a heat exchanger, where it will lend its heat to water to create a super-heated steam. That steam is used to move a traditional steam turbine to create electricity.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Thomas Jackson)

Six advertising industry trade groups yesterday thanked Republican lawmakers for introducing legislation that would overturn rules that protect the privacy of Internet users. If the rules are overturned, advertisers would not be prevented from buying consumers' Web browsing history from Internet service providers.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) last week introduced Congressional Review Act resolutions that would overturn the Federal Communications Commission's privacy rules for Internet service providers and prevent the FCC from issuing similar regulations in the future.

"We wholeheartedly commend Senator Flake and Congressman Blackburn, and their Senate and House colleagues, for introducing resolutions of disapproval for the FCC's ill-considered move to create a new, costly, counterproductive, confusing and unnecessary regulatory regime around privacy for broadband providers," ad industry lobby and trade groups said in a statement issued by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, Data & Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, and Network Advertising Initiative.

Enlarge / Scott Pruitt during his confirmation hearings. (credit: Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)

Last week, newly appointed EPA head Scott Pruitt made some comments about climate change that were clearly at odds with a basic scientific understanding of the climate. Since then, various groups of scientists have pointed out just how wrong he was and have offered to help out if he decides to come to grips with reality.

First, a reminder of what Pruitt said during a CNBC interview:

I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact. So no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see. But we don't know that yet. We need to continue the debate and continue the review and the analysis.

That statement is wrong on a number of levels, and various groups have not been shy in pointing out its flaws. The day following, the head of the American Geophysical Union, Eric Davidson, penned a short response. "In contrast with [Pruitt's] statement," he wrote, "an impressive array of scientific societies and many academies of science, national governments, and other organizations worldwide have agreed on the scientific basis of climate change and the conclusion that human actions are a primary driver." He referred Pruitt to the AGU's position statement on climate change, which calls for urgent action on humanity's role in climate change.

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Enlarge / The Switch's JoyCon controllers in their Grip cradle. (credit: Mark Walton)

Early numbers are still rolling in for Nintendo's Switch, and for now it looks like the news is still good: according to numbers compiled by SuperData from both Famitsu and market research firm GfK, Nintendo's new console has sold 1.5 million units worldwide, including 500,000 consoles in the US, 360,000 in Japan, 85,000 in the UK, and 110,000 in France. SuperData also says that 89 percent of Switch buyers have also purchased The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which would work out to sales of about 1.34 million (this doesn't account for Wii U sales of the title).

GamesIndustry.biz points out that "most" of these numbers just account for the console's first week of sales and that the actual number should be higher now. The numbers are also measuring consoles actually sold to customers, while Nintendo's official sales figures count consoles shipped to retailers (a higher number).

As we've already said, it's not really possible to draw conclusions one way or the other about the long-term health of the Switch from these initial sales. On the one hand, it's good for Nintendo that the console is selling so briskly and that the company appears to be well on its way to its own sales goal of two million units shipped by the end of March. On the other hand, even the Wii U sold pretty well in its launch window, and early sales goals are just as likely to be about hitting manufacturing targets as measuring actual consumer enthusiasm. Still, these figures suggest that at the very least, Nintendo's most enthusiastic supporters aren't feeling burned by the Wii U and that they haven't been spooked by reports of hardware problems like Joy Con connection issues or dead pixels.