Raphael Satter, writing for AP: Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into Washington's political scene. The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who's-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation. She was connected to a deputy assistant secretary of state, a senior aide to a senator and the economist Paul Winfree, who is being considered for a seat on the Federal Reserve. But Katie Jones doesn't exist, The Associated Press has determined. Instead, the persona was part of a vast army of phantom profiles lurking on the professional networking site LinkedIn. And several experts contacted by the AP said Jones' profile picture appeared to have been created by a computer program. Experts who reviewed the Jones profile's LinkedIn activity say it's typical of espionage efforts on the professional networking site, whose role as a global Rolodex has made it a powerful magnet for spies.

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Announcement comes as Mexico beefs up security along its southern border in effort to stem the flow of migrants north.

Caretaker PM resigns, ending crisis which saw two rival governments jostle for power after an inconclusive election.

In retail stores, Bluetooth "beacons" are watching you, using hidden technology in your phone. From a report: Imagine you are shopping in your favorite grocery store. As you approach the dairy aisle, you are sent a push notification in your phone: "10 percent off your favorite yogurt! Click here to redeem your coupon." You considered buying yogurt on your last trip to the store, but you decided against it. How did your phone know? Your smartphone was tracking you. The grocery store got your location data and paid a shadowy group of marketers to use that information to target you with ads. Recent reports have noted how companies use data gathered from cell towers, ambient Wi-Fi, and GPS. But the location data industry has a much more precise, and unobtrusive, tool: Bluetooth beacons. These beacons are small, inobtrusive electronic devices that are hidden throughout the grocery store; an app on your phone that communicates with them informed the company not only that you had entered the building, but that you had lingered for two minutes in front of the low-fat Chobanis. Most location services use cell towers and GPS, but these technologies have limitations. Cell towers have wide coverage, but low location accuracy: An advertiser can think you are in Walgreens, but you're actually in McDonald's next door. GPS, by contrast, can be accurate to a radius of around five meters (16 feet), but it does not work well indoors. Bluetooth beacons, however, can track your location accurately from a range of inches to about 50 meters. They use little energy, and they work well indoors. That has made them popular among companies that want precise tracking inside a store.

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As the video game industry's attention was focused squarely on the final day of the E3 convention in Los Angeles this week, Amazon's video game division quietly laid off dozens of employees. From a report: Amazon Game Studios, which is currently developing the online games Crucible and New World, told affected employees on Thursday morning that they would have 60 days to look for new positions within Amazon, according to one person who was laid off. At the end of that buffer period, if they fail to find employment, they will receive severance packages. Amazon also canceled some unannounced games, that person told Kotaku. The company wouldn't say exactly how many employees it laid off, but confirmed the news when reached by Kotaku today.

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Demonstrators in Algiers demand the departure of senior figures linked with former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Jordan's top prosecutor demands cyber-crimes department to halt broadcast of the Jinn show because of 'immoral scenes'.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation holds yet another summit on the heels of a global trade war.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Firefox users are reporting that their saved passwords have been lost, with the problem seemingly caused by antivirus software rather than being an issue with Firefox itself. Antivirus software such as Avast and AVG appear to be corrupting the file in which Firefox stores passwords, rendering it unreadable. Thankfully, passwords can be recovered, but -- for the time being --- they will be corrupted again when you restart your computer.

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Trump administration handed small court victory in its effort to ban transgender people from serving in the US military.

2016: "I'm not going to pay to get through 100 paywalls. They need to work together to solve this."

WHO says deadly outbreak does not meet the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern.

NASA has touted its bold plan to return American astronauts to the moon by 2024 for months. Now we're starting to get an idea of how much it will cost. From a report: The space agency will need an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion over the next five years for its moon project, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNN Business on Thursday. That would mean adding another $4 billion to $6 billion per year, on average, to the agency's budget, which is already expected to be about $20 billion annually. Bridenstine's remarks are the first time that NASA has shared a total cost estimate for its moon program, which is called Artemis (after the Greek goddess of the moon) and could send people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century. NASA wants that mission to include two astronauts: A man and the first-ever woman to walk on the moon.

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In a series of now-removed posts, Khaled al-Matrafi said Al Jazeera was 'legitimate target' for Saudi-UAE-led coalition.

Families and survivors are still awaiting justice as inquiry into fire that killed 72 people in London keeps slow pace.