November 2011

The top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have asked the panel's GOP leaders to postpone Thursday's markup of spectrum legislation offered by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore.

The Democrats wrote full committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Walden to say a delay is necessary to give them more time to analyze Walden's spectrum bill and to give both parties a chance to resume negotiations on crafting bipartisan legislation.

"We believe the difference between us can be resolved and we have some new ideas for bridging our differences that we would like to discuss with you," Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Communications and Technology Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., wrote. "We hope you will agree to postpone the markup so we can work with you to produce a bipartisan bill that all members can support."

Following the release of Walden's draft bill on Tuesday, Waxman chided the panel's GOP members for cutting off negotiations last month before a bipartisan deal could be reached. He also announced that Democrats on the panel planned to introduce their own competing spectrum measure.

Still, in their letter Wednesday, Waxman and Eshoo praised Walden for reversing his previous opposition to giving a stretch of spectrum known as the D-block to public safety officials to create a national broadband network.

The Democrats, however, voiced concern that Walden's bill doesn't provide enough funds for building the network and that provisions related to deploying and maintaining it are too burdensome. They also complained about a provision that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from allocating some spectrum freed up through incentive auctions authorized by the bill for unlicensed uses such as super-fast Wi-Fi.

"After almost a year of hearings and extensive meetings, the committee looks forward to convening the markup tomorrow at 10 a.m." a Walden spokeswoman said in response to the Democrats' letter.

Wireless companies and other supporters of freeing up more spectrum for wireless broadband technologies have been keen for the committee to act on the issue. "Spectrum is a vital resource that needs immediate attention. We are thankful for the chairman's leadership and the progress that's been made," AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations Tim McKone said in a statement Tuesday.

Shoppers flocked to their computers to do their holiday shopping on Cyber Monday, which posted record online sales, according to the Wall Street Journal.

AT&T may be willing to give up as much as half of T-Mobile USA's customers to win approval of its bid to buy the firm, Bloomberg reports.

Amazon says that the Silk browser in its new Kindle Fire tablet does not violate user privacy but a key lawmaker is not satisfied with the company's claims, Ars Technica reports.

Google is expanding its mobile mapping services indoors to include maps of airports, shopping malls and other places, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Read all of today's e-Reads on our Tech page.

AT&T is in talks to sell off assets to regional wireless provider Leap Wireless as a way to mitigate the government's concerns about the endangered merger with T-Mobile, according to a report in the New York Times.

They are negotiating a way for AT&T to sell it a big piece of T-Mobile's customer accounts and some of its wireless spectrum, "according to people involved in the negotiations," the article says.

The idea of the asset sale is that it will beef up Leap to preserve competition while scaling back how big AT&T becomes after the merger. Bloomberg has also reported that AT&T is planning to roll out a plan for divestitures in hopes of salvaging the merger.

Neither Leap or AT&T responded to questions about the report.

AT&T has said from the day the merger was announced that it expects regulatory clearance could be contingent on divestitures.

Could a big Leap deal be enough to satisfy the Justice Department? Analysts say mollifying Justice with divestitures could be tough.

"We view the odds of reaching an agreeable settlement as quite long, as the government would be looking for some type of deal that would maintain four reasonably strong national wireless carriers. An AT&T deal with T-Mobile, even assuming significant divestitures, would -- at best -- create a weakened fourth national carrier," Christopher King of Stifel Nicolaus wrote in a note to clients last week.

Merger opponent Bert Foer, president of the American Antitrust Institute, said Leap might not be hefty enough to satisfy regulators.

"The question is, can Leap actually make the leap into being a viable replacement for T-Mobile? I come at it as an outsider thinking it's not very likely to succeed," he said.

The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission have both moved to block the deal.

A status hearing on the Department of Justice's lawsuit against AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed to Dec. 9, an AT&T spokesman says.

Federal District Judge Ellen Huvelle has a scheduling conflict., according to court papers.
Huvelle has already ruled that Sprint and C Spire may bring a separate lawsuit against the proposed $39 billion merger.

There was lots of action in the case last week, with the Federal Communications Commission coming out in opposition to the deal and AT&T withdrawing its application with the FCC while it fights DOJ.

If AT&T and the Justice Department do not reach a settlement beforehand, the trial is set to start on Feb. 13. Huvelle has said during she wants it to conclude in less than six weeks.

AT&T gave up on its effort to gain Federal Communications Commission approval for its merger with T-Mobile, at least for now, the telecom giant announced on Thursday.

AT&T said it is withdrawing its request to transfer T-Mobile's wireless licenses while it tries to fight off a Justice Department lawsuit blocking AT&T from buying T-Mobile's other assets from its parent company Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom is also withdrawing their application.

"AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG are continuing to pursue the sale of Deutsche Telekom's U.S. wireless assets to AT&T and are taking this step to facilitate the consideration of all options at the FCC and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice," AT&T said in a statement. The company said it is still trying to resolve the matter through other means as well.

AT&T says it plans to seek FCC approval again "as soon as practical."

The move comes two days after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a draft order, which, if approved, would have referred the case to an administrative law judge.
That was widely seen as a major blow to AT&T's chances at the agency.

As a result of withdrawing its application, AT&T told investors it could lose as much as $4 billion in break up fees to Deutsche Telekom.

Critics of the deal said AT&T will be hard pressed to ever gain approval in the future.

"After today's actions, the chances that AT&T will take over T-Mobile are almost gone," Public Knowledge's Gigi Sohn said in a statement.

Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president at the Media Access Project, called the decision an act of desperation in an attempt to prevent the FCC from holding a hearing.

"This turkey is too big to be hidden by releasing it on Thanksgiving," he said in a statement. "Withdrawal of the FCC applications should be seen for what it is: a concession that the deal would create a duopoly in the national wireless market that will result in higher prices and reduced choice in handsets."

In calling for an administrative hearing, the FCC said AT&T's claims of new jobs didn't stand up to scrutiny.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee confirmed on Wednesday that it has scheduled a Dec. 1 markup for spectrum legislation after the super-committee failed to find a compromise.

"Spectrum legislation is a longstanding priority for both parties and a key element of our pro-jobs strategy," Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said in a statement. Specific details of the bill were not released but Walden promised that it would "create thousands of jobs, establish an interoperable public safety network, and reduce the deficit."

Various proposals in both the House and Senate have been dogged by disagreements over how to free up more spectrum for broadband, and how to provide for a national public safety communications network.

After the Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday that AT&T's merger with T-Mobile would destroy rather than create jobs, AT&T executives shot back with a statement questioning the FCC's credibility.

AT&T Senior Vice President Jim Cicconi pointed to the FCC's claim that its $4.5 billion plan to develop broadband networks would create 500,000 jobs over the next 6 years.

"Yet somehow in our merger, the FCC staff concluded that a far greater investment in broadband -- $8 billion -- plus firm commitments on job preservation and enhancement, will instead result in 'massive loss of US jobs and investment,' Cicconi said in a statement.

In a nod to the political arguments about economic stimulus, Cicconi painted the FCC conclusion as favoring government over the private sector.

"This notion, that when government spends money on broadband it creates jobs, but when a private company spends money it doesn't, is clearly wrong on its face, and raises questions about the credibility of anyone at the FCC who would make such a claim," he said.

On Tuesday FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a draft order that would refer the merger to an administrative law judge. The order is expected to be approved by the Democrat-dominated commission in a move that signals the FCC's intention to block the transfer of T-Mobile's spectrum licenses to AT&T.

"The record clearly shows that -- in no uncertain terms -- this merger would result in a massive loss of US jobs and investment," FCC officials said in a statement.

A new study predicts that Apple will overtake Hewlett-Packard next year as the world's top personal computer vendor - if the iPad is counted as a PC, according to USA Today.

An IDG News examination found that 27 Republicans who opposed net neutrality because they say it unnecessarily regulates the Internet favor controversial legislation to crack down on online piracy that critics say will undermine the integrity of the Internet.

The Wall Street Journal profiles Joe Wayland, the Justice Department's lead antitrust trial lawyer who is leading the department's lawsuit to block AT&T's bid to buy T-Mobile USA.

Microsoft is buying the online video search engine VideoSurf, the Seattle Times reports.

As part of its Black Friday deals, Amazon plans to sell all its non-iPhone smart phones for a penny, according to The Washington Post.

Read all of today's e-Reads on our Tech page.

The Federal Communications Commission released a measure Friday creating a $4.5 billion "Connect America Fund" to subsidize broadband in rural areas, transforming a previous fund devoted to the landline phone operations at rural phone companies.

The order was released Nov. 18, a full 23 days after the commissioners unanimously voted to pass it. GOP lawmakers want the agency to release orders before votes. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., chairman of the House's telecom subcommittee, has a bill that would make this standard practice.

The FCC says its new fund will bring broadband to 7 million people over the next six years. For more on this policy, check out our piece from the day of the vote.

AT&T and the Justice Department are fighting over the rules for sharing sensitive documents in the latest skirmish on fair play in their court proceeding.

A mediator and a judge are deciding this and other key process questions in the lead up to a February trial on whether AT&T's proposed T-Mobile purchase breaks antitrust law.

AT&T told the court in a Friday filing that it should not approve the Justice Department's request to share certain documents with third parties, such as consultants and outside lawyers. The documents in question are filings that AT&T submitted to the FCC's merger review, an ongoing process separate from DOJ's actions.

AT&T said the government had effectively sought "wholesale access by an unlimited group to a vast amount of information."

The Justice Department said its request pertained to "a discrete set of materials." AT&T framed it as gigantic.

"Those 16 filings contain, in total, approximately 1.5 million pages and more than 300 gigabytes of data," AT&T said.

The fight over documents could help determine how much the Justice Department can benefit from outside legal helpers, who can only be so helpful without key documents.

The parties head to court November 30 for a status conference.

Federal investigators are looking into reports that a hackers may have caused a water pump in Illinois to burn out last week, according to a Homeland Security official.

On Thursday, Joe Weiss, a managing partner at the industrial security firm Applied Control Solutions, publicized portions of a report that outlined an attack on a water system in a blog post. The computers that carried out the attack, which led to the pump failure, were traced to an IP address in Russia, according to Weiss.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are "gathering facts" about the alleged cyberattack, DHS spokesman Peter Boogaard said in a statement.

"At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety," he said.

Congress and federal agencies are debating the extent of the threat to physical "critical infrastructure" such as water systems, which have become vulnerable to cyberthreats as they have been connected to communications networks. So far, however, there have been practically no confirmed instances of a cyberattack causing physical damage in the United States.

"With increased interest from the hacker community, the public release of malicious code such as STUXNET, and our growing reliance on 'Smart' utilities, incidents like the alleged hacking of a Springfield, Illinois, water utility will become more of a reality if we continue to delay instituting necessary reforms to the cyber systems that run our most important infrastructure," co-founder of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., said in a statement.

Tech companies see a gold mine in a federal government shift to Android and Apple devices, The Washington Post reports.

AT&T says someone tried on a big hack attack.

Retailers hope mobile apps will make holiday catalogs more entertaining, The New York Times reports.

Bill Gates takes the stand in a Novell monopoly lawsuit in Utah, according to Business Week.

And Gizmodo has a list of every word you can't text in Pakistan.

For more of Today's e-Reads, visit our Tech page.

The Federal Communications Commission's controversial net neutrality rules are scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, but their future is anything but certain.

The rules, which are designed to prevent Internet service providers from blocking competitors' traffic, have been challenged by all sides. A divided FCC approved the regulations in December.

Although the rules survived efforts by Republicans in Congress to overturn them, some observers say the FCC faces an uphill fight to defend the regulations in court.

Verizon and several advocacy groups have sued to block the rules. Verizon contends the FCC doesn't have the authority enact such rules, while consumer groups say the FCC's rules were too weak.

Members of Congress, staffers, and Facebook developers will convene for the first-ever Congressional Facebook Developer Hackathon next month to examine ways social media can interact with legislative data and communication with constituents.

"As social media increasingly plays a central role in all areas of our everyday life, it is essential that Congress fully incorporate these platforms into its daily operations," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., in a statement. The event will take place on Dec. 7.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Congress has a "duty" to embrace new technologies to help make government more transparent.

"Americans have a right to petition government, and new online technologies are giving that right exciting new possibilities," he said in a statement. "We welcome the help and advice of industry leaders like Facebook, as well as individuals and academics who have innovative ideas on how to do so."

The Hackathon is open to the public and Hill staffers, with more information available on Cantor's website.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Friday that his panel will have a hearing Nov. 30 to consider the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai to the Federal Communications Commission.

"These are exceptional nominees who will be effective advocates at the FCC," Rockefeller said in a statement. "As we consider these nominations, I remain committed to working with my colleagues to address any concerns and move these nominations to a full Senate confirmation as expeditiously as possible."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said he planned to put a hold on the confirmations until the FCC gives him documents about communications with the wireless start-up LightSquared.

Rockefeller had said he wanted to move forward as quickly as possible.

Rosenworcel would fill a vacancy left by departing commissioner Michael Copps, who plans to leave by the end of the year. Pai would move into a position vacated by GOP commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, who left the commission earlier this year to work for Comcast.

The Department of Homeland Security had a message for House lawmakers on Thursday: Give airwaves to public safety.

A DHS official testifying at a House hearing lobbied for the administration's stance on a public safety network for emergency responders, which has yet to win congressional approval.

"The administration is fully committed to working with Congress to ensure the passage of legislation that meets the critical national need of establishing a public safety broadband network," Chris Essid, director of the emergency communications office at DHS, told a House Homeland Security subpanel.

The administration wants Congress to devote a valuable chunk of spectrum known as the D Block to public safety agencies so they can build a national communications network. But some House Republicans would prefer to auction those airwaves to industry and build the the network with other frequencies.

The push from DHS comes as spectrum legislation remains held up over this dispute. Legislation could still potentially move through the commerce committees or through the super committee if lawmakers manage to break through the D Block divide.

That could be tough. Congressional Research Service telecom specialist Linda Moore, testifying at the hearing, pointed out the network dispute is rooted in disagreements on the role of government.

"Bills that have been introduced in the 112th Congress show a great deal of cohesion about the need for a nationwide network and what type of support it should provide to public safety agencies, but little agreement about the roles that different federal agencies would play in the deployment and operation of the network," she said in written remarks.

House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said Thursday that he is planning to mark up controversial legislation before the end of the year that would crack down on piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites.

During a hearing Wednesday on Smith's Stop Online Piracy Act, Smith and other supporters of the legislation urged opponents of the bill to offer up concrete changes in writing instead of offering vague criticisms. A Google official testifying on behalf of coalition of tech firms including Facebook, eBay and Yahoo, said the bill as drafted is too broad and could snarl legitimate websites and stifle innovation and free speech.

In an interview Thursday with Tech Daily Dose, Smith wasn't overly optimistic that the committee would be getting much concrete input on changes that would address opponents' concerns. "They have too much self-interest," Smith said.

Some U.S. companies benefit from the advertising on sites that offer pirated movies and other content. When asked about Google in particular, he said, "Google is clearly benefiting from illegal foreign websites that steal American companies' intellectual property."

Smith added that such companies "should be willing to give up a few tainted dollars to help" other U.S. companies".

At Wednesday's hearing, Google Copyright Counsel Katherine Oyama said the company has gone to great lengths and expense to try to take down illegal content when notified about it

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also raised concerns with Smith's bill.

"The problem of rogue websites duping consumers is a real one and deserves Congress' attention. The internet, human rights, and cybersecurity communities have raised concerns that SOPA doesn't strike the right balance that protects the needs of copyright holders and internet users alike," Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said. "Tens of thousands jobs in all the affected industries require us to find an effective solution that all stakeholders can support."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to debate wide-ranging cybersecurity legislation during the first work period of 2012, according to backers of the measures.

Reid told Republican leaders of his decision in a letter late on Wednesday night, the top members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said in a statement.

"Every day Congress fails to strengthen the cybersecurity of the nation's critical infrastructure is another day of unacceptable risk for our country," committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn.; ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said in a joint statement. "There is no such thing as 100 percent security, on- or offline, but we must take action to strengthen our defenses against those who are constantly working to do us harm."

The trio has sponsored the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act, which would address government authority, structure, and other cybersecurity issues. The bill has been criticized, however, by civil libertarians who contend it would give the government too much power over the Internet.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., who chairs the Energy and Commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over consumer privacy and security issues, wants Facebook to explain how hackers penetrated the social networking site, resulting in violent and pornographic images on some users' Facebook pages.

Mack, chairwoman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, has asked Facebook for a briefing next week. She will be looking for details on how many users were affected, how the attack occurred, whether the vulnerability hackers used to penetrate Facebook could be used by others to gather personal data about users, and what the company is doing to prevent the incident from happening again, Bono Mack's spokesman Ken Johnson said Wednesday.

"The chairman is very concerned about what took place and wants to make certain - to the extent possible - that it doesn't happen again," Johnson said.

Bono Mack has been working on legislation that would set national standards for what actions companies must take to prevent and respond to data breaches involving consumer data.

Facebook explained the source of the images used in the attack. "During this spam attack users were tricked into pasting and executing malicious javascript in their browser URL bar, causing them to unknowingly share this offensive content," Facebook said in a statement. "No user data or accounts were compromised during this attack...We've built enforcement mechanisms to quickly shut down the malicious pages and accounts that attempt to exploit it."

A Facebook spokesman added that the company "looks forward" to briefing Bono Mack's subcommittee on the incident.

A special federal watchdog said it has shut down 85 alleged online mortgage modification scams found through online ads placed on Google, the Wall Street Journal reported.

CNN examines the fallout from the cyber attack on Facebook that posted pornographic and violent images on users' pages.

The Salvation Army is looking beyond its traditional red kettle and exploring the use of new mobile payment systems for donations, according to The New York Times.

The animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is taking aim at Nintendo for its treatment of animals in the latest version of its Super Mario video game, according to Fox News.

All of today's e-reads can be found on our Tech page.

Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., says Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has done a "decent" job, but some of the most significant actions by the agency seem to be driven by a partisan agenda.

Speaking at a National Journal Live event on Wednesday, Terry said FCC actions on net neutrality Internet competition rules as well as efforts to reform a fund to promote broadband development have suffered from preconceived opinions and a lack of transparency.

"The critique would have to center around... net neutrality that looked like an agenda was driven rather than good policy," said Terry, vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Efforts to reform the Universal Service Fund to pay for new broadband services, meanwhile, are opaque, Terry said. "There's an order out there and I have no Idea what it says."

Terry said unpublicized agency orders and "document dumps" can make it appear that FCC leaders are "abusing the process." House Republicans are leading a push to reform the FCC, with a markup on reform legislation scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Chairmen of the FCC need to work to cultivate a good relationship with Congress, former Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said /at Wednesday's event.

"The chair needs to understand that his entire role in life is to carry out Congress's will," he said.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., says he wants answers about last week's test of the emergency alert system, which was highly promoted and thenplagued by reports of problems.

Walden, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology,said on Tuesday he has scheduled a meeting with federal officials to review the Nov. 9 test.

Across the country many people reported that no signal appeared or the transmission was garbled on outlets ranging from radio, TV, and cable.

"By many accounts, last week's test had major problems," Walden said in a statement. "In my home state of Oregon, most--if not all--stations didn't even receive the signal.

He said he has contacted officials at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Emergency Management Agency to schedule a briefing for the subcommittee's members on Thursday.

"I look forward to hearing where the agencies can relay what worked, what didn't, and where we can go from here to fix it," Walden said.

The FCC and FEMA contend that the test played out exactly as needed.

"The Nationwide EAS Test served the purpose for which it was intended - to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to help strengthen our ability to communicate during real emergencies," they said in a joint statement.

More than 30,000 communications carriers participated in the test and they have 45 days to report on the results.

Several leading Internet companies are voicing strong concerns with House and Senate legislation to curb online piracy, saying the measures would impose new burdens that could stifle their industry's innovation and growth.

AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga Game Network wrote the top leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Tuesday about the bills introduced by the chairmen of both panels.

"We support the bill's stated goals - providing additional enforcement tools to combat foreign 'rogue' websites that are dedicated to copyright infringement or counterfeiting," the Internet firms wrote. "Unfortunately, the bills as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action and technology mandates that would require monitoring of websites."

The companies said they cannot support the bills as written and called on the lawmakers to focus on more targeted measures to crack down on online piracy and counterfeiting.

At a hearing earlier this year, a Google official urged a House Judiciary panel to target the money being earned by foreign websites that engage in piracy and counterfeiting.

But copyright and trademark holders say Google in particular has not done enough to block access to such sites through its search engine. They also say it has done too little to ensure that ads it provides to websites do not appear on "rogue" sites.

Critics and supporters of the legislation will likely get a chance to air their concerns on Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act, introduced late last month by Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas., and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich.

The arrival of smartphones compounded a problem that already confounded cellphone users: Why do cellphone batteries lose power so fast, and why does it take so long to recharge them?

A team of engineers at Northwestern University may be able to answer to both problems.

They say they have created new technology that could allow some rechargeable batteries to hold 10 times more energy and charge 10 times faster than current batteries.

The technology, which could be ready for market in three to five years, comes in the form of an electrode for lithium-ion batteries, like those used in cellphones and other mobile devices such as mp3 players.

"We have found a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery's charge life by 10 times," Northwestern Profession Harold Kung, wrote in a report published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials. "Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries on the market today."

They accomplished this by tweaking the materials used in lithium-ion batteries -- the carbon-based sheets of a material called graphene. Kung's team sandwiched clusters of silicon between the graphene sheets, and punched holes in them. This stabilized the battery and gave lithium ions a "shortcut" to the anode end, allowing for a quicker recharge.

Kung's team thinks they can improve the batteries even more by tinkering with the other end of the battery, the cathode end.

Does the Amazon Kindle Fire live up to the hype? The Washington Post takes a look.

Some analysts fear that the growing torrent of data flowing over electronic networks is a disaster waiting to happen, The New York Times reports.

Google Maps turns up more weird structures, this time in the desert in China. Gizmodo gathers some of the strangest.

For more of Today's e-Reads, visit our Tech page.

Along with "quantitative bank examiner" and "supervisory printing services specialist," job seekers on the government's USAJobs.gov website will soon have another position to apply for: astronaut.

On Tuesday NASA will launch the application process for the next class of American space travelers. The job applications will be handled through USAJobs.gov, which features federal job postings.

This next generation of astronauts will join the recently graduated class of 2009 as some of the first astronauts to fly into space in something other than the space shuttle, which made its last flight in July.

New spacecraft are being developed to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station, as well as other planets -- Mars is first in line -- and asteroids.

A federal judge has ruled that the Justice Department can access Twitter accounts connected to the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks, CNet reports.

T-Mobile reported a boost in subscribers for the first time in a year and profits that beat expectations even as it fights to gain regulatory approval of a deal to sell itself to AT&T, according to Bloomberg.

MSNBC reports that demand for Amazon's new Kindle fire could pose a threat to the iPad's dominance of the tablet market.

Visit our Tech page to read all of today's e-Reads.

If you can't beat 'em, form a coalition!

Nearly 90 industry groups and companies announced Thursday they have formed a new coalition to try to block a plan, to allow for the introduction of an unlimited number of new Internet addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the nonprofit group that manages the Internet's "top level" domain name system, plans to vastly expand the domain name space from the 22 groups of names such as .com now available to Internet users to almost any name such as .bank or .angrybirds.

The Coalition for Responsible Internet Domain Oversight says that ICANN's domain name plan will have costly implications for trademark owners, who could be forced to register their names in every new domain name launched or offer their own Internet address. The coalition also argues that ICANN has not taken their concerns seriously enough and failed to follow the consensus-driven process ICANN is supposed to use when enacting such new proposals.

ICANN is currently slated to begin accepting applications under the new domain name program in January.

"The major global industries represented by [the coalition] foresee immense damage to their constituents, consumers and the economy," Association of National Advertisers President and CEO Bob Liodice, said in a statement. "We implore ICANN to discontinue its efforts to roll out this ill-conceived, unwanted and destructive program."

Other groups in the coalition include the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Broadcasters and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as such companies as Adobe, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, and Samsung.

"The new gTLD program is the result of six years of careful study, discussion and debate," ICANN spokesman Brad White said. "It evolved from 45 comment periods encompassing 2,400 comments and analyses. There were 55 explanatory memoranda or independent reports and seven drafts of the Applicant Guidebook."
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The House Energy and Commerce Committee has launched an investigation into a $267 million loan provided to a wireless broadband company by the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service.

In a letter to RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein, key Republicans and Democrats on the committee asked for information about the loan made under the 2002 farm bill to Open Range Communications, which filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 6. The committee noted that the Agriculture Department's inspector general has raised concerns about the agency's broadband program.

"Open Range's bankruptcy potentially puts $73.5 million of taxpayer money at risk," committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and the Democratic and GOP leaders of the panel's Oversight and Communications subcommittees wrote.

The panel has asked the Rural Utilities Service to brief it on the process the agency used to provide the loan to Open Range and its oversight of the company, as well as information about other broadband loans made by the agency.

On its website, Open Range, which planned to provide wireless broadband service to under-served areas in 17 states within five years, said an unnamed company has plans to buy it and continue offering service.

The committee also is investigting federal government loans made to solar maker Solyndra, which also filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

The New York Times breaks down Pew's latest research into bullying and social media.

The FTC cracked down on a social network site that caters to children, the Huffington Post reports.

Some merchants say Groupon is slow to pay them their share, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg will interview New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie online, according to TechCrunch.

For more of Today's e-Reads, visit our Tech page.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., are expected to introduce legislation on Wednesday that would close a loophole that now allows some Internet retailers to avoid collecting sales taxes from out-of-state customers.

The bipartisan Senate bill is similar, though not identical, to a measure introduced last month in the House by Reps. Steve Womack, R-Ark., and Jackie Speier, D-Calif., that would let states make online retailers collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers.

Both bills are targeted at closing a loophole left by a 1992 Supreme Court decision that exempted retailers from collecting sales taxes from customers in states where stores have no physical presence. While the ruling was directed at catalog stores, it has since been exploited by some online retailers as well.

The Senate bill would require that states meet certain standards to make it easier for retailers to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers before they would be required to do so. The bill provides states with two ways to meet the bill's standards, according to a summary of the legislation obtained by Tech Daily Dose.

States could participate in a program known as the Streamlined Sales Tax project, which was formed by a group of states several years ago to simplify their sales tax codes. Alternatively, they could meet standards set by the bill including designating a single state agency where retailers can send the taxes, providing a uniform sales and use tax base within a state and protecting retailers from liability for mistakes they may make in collecting taxes on remote sales.

The Senate bill has a more limited small business exemption, exempting retailers with annual gross receipts of $500,000 or less from the bill's requirements.

Firms such as from eBay have voiced concern about the bill's impact on small online retailers, many of which use eBay to help sell their products online, and have called for a much bigger exemption for small businesses.

Attorney General Eric Holder says the department's antitrust team is prepared to see its court case to block AT&T's bid to buy T-Mobile USA through to the end, according to Reuters.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is working with a Swedish company to include key-card technology in the new BlackBerry models.

While saying he is still mourning the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt defended his company against criticism from Jobs in his biography.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has invested big in the mobile payment startup Square, which also has attracted former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to its board of directors, Reuters reports.

ZDNet examines former pro-wrestler and ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's threat to run for president - or change his citizenship - over his displeasure with the Transportation Security Administration's airport screening programs.

It's Election Day in some parts of the country and if you live in five counties in Oregon you can even vote on your iPad, Mashable reports.

Read all of today's e-Reads on our Tech page.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission are preparing for the first nationwide test of the emergency alert system

The familiar alert is often tested at local levels, but it has never been tested across the entire nation at once. The test is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

"The various disasters our country has faced this year underscore the need for effective and well-tested emergency alert and warning systems that could be used in a time of real emergency, at a moment's notice," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wrote in a letter to agencies and other organizations.

The test will send an approximately 30-second signal on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems.

Not included in the test is the new Personal Localized Alerting Network, which is designed to send text message alerts to mobile devices. That system was launched in New York City in May, with the rest of the nation expected to follow in the next few years.

Two key former officials with the nonprofit group that manages the Internet's domain name system are raising concerns with its plan to allow an unlimited number of generic Internet addresses, the top-level domain name suffixes that come after the dot like .com or .org.

Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf and tech investor Esther Dyson chaired the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers during its early years, when the group was introducing the first set of new domain names to compete with the only Internet addresses available to the public at the time: .com, .net. and .org. They now said they see several potential problems with ICANN's latest domain name plan, which has sparked strong opposition from major trademark owners.

Dyson was ICANN's founding chairman of the board from 1998-2000, while Cerf, one of the pioneers in the Internet's development, succeeded Dyson in 2000 and served until 2007. Despite their past association with ICANN, neither has a formal role with the group any more.

Following an appearance at an unrelated event on Wednesday, Cerf told Tech Daily Dose that he's "nervous" about ICANN's new domain name proposal. He cited several potential concerns, including that it could create confusion among Internet users, big problems for trademark owners who may feel forced to register their trademark in all the new names or launch their own Internet addresses, and also logistical headaches if any of the operators of the new domain names go out of business.

"At this stage of the game I think the engine is now running, and ICANN will do whatever it does," Cerf said. "We will have to watch and see what happens and figure out what to do if the outcomes turn out to be harmful."

ICANN is currently set to begin accepting applications for the new domain name program in January.

Dyson has raised similar concerns in recent months about ICANN's plan. In a syndicated column in August, Dyson also said expanding the number of domain names reduces the value of those out there already and questioned the motives behind the plan.

"Most of the people active in setting ICANN's policies are involved somehow in the domain-name business, and they would be in control of the new TLDs (top-level domain names) as well. It's worth it to them to spend their time at ICANN meetings (or to send staffers), whereas domain names are just a small part of customers' and user' lives," she wrote. "And that means that the new TLDs are likely to create money for ICANN's primary constituents, but only add costs and confusion for companies and the public at large."

ICANN, which did not respond to a request for comment, says the plan will promote innovation. And it is supported by ICANN's latest chairman, Steve Crocker, a peer of Cerf's in the development of the Internet.

The LightSquared controversy may delaytwo new nominations to the Federal Communications Commission, at least for now.

On Thursday Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, officially notified the Senate that he plans to place a hold on the confirmations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai to be FCC commissioners.

"I will object to proceeding to the nomination because the FCC continues to stonewall a document request I submitted to the FCC over six months ago on April 27, 2011, regarding their actions related to LightSquared and Harbinger Capital," Grassley said in a statement inserted into the Senate record.

Grassley has requested information from the FCC, as well as LightSquared and its chief financier, Harbinger Capital, about how the agency handled LightSquared's quest to build a wholesale nationwide wireless network. Tests have shown that the company's original plan interfered with global positioning systems.

The FCC and LightSquared have denied the requests for documents. In a letter to Grassley on Oct. 19, lawyers for LightSquared and Harbinger said the companies have been "fully transparent." But because Grassley did not also request documents from the GPS industry, LightSquared argued that any further disclosure would present an incomplete picture.

That answer, as well as the FCC's denial, did not play well with Grassley.

"It not only sets a dangerous precedent for a federal agency to unilaterally set the rules on how it engages with Congress -- it also prevents any meaningful ability for the vast majority of Congress to inform themselves of how an agency works," he said.

The hold will go into effect when and if the confirmations reach the Senate floor after being considered by the Commerce Committee.

FCC nominees often face little opposition, but can be used as bargaining chips.

For example, former FCC member Jonathan Adelstein's nomination was blocked for months from 2001 to 2002 by then-Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down Lott's choice for a judicial nomination.

Grassley's move to block the nomination was first reported by The Hill.

Sens. Ron Wyden, -D-Ore., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., introduced a nonbinding resolution Wednesday that calls on the Senate to exempt small businesses from legislation that would authorize states to require Internet retailers to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers.

"It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should not enact any legislation that would grant state governments the authority to impose any new burdensome or unfair tax collecting requirements on small Internet businesses and entrepreneurs, which would ultimately hurt the economy of, and consumers in, the United States," the resolution states.

The resolution appears to target legislation being crafted by a bipartisan group of senators that would authorize states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes from customers in states where the stores have no brick and mortar building.

A 1992 Supreme Court decision found that states cannot require retailers to collect sales taxes to people in states where those retailers lack a physical presence. Since then, states have complained that they are losing billions of dollars in revenues because of the loophole, which originally applied to catalog retailers but has since been extended to online retailers.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., were expected to introduce their online sales tax bill this week but sources say the timing could slip to next week. The Senate measure is expected to be similar, though not identical, to a bipartisan bill introduced in the House last month.

Some firms like eBay say the proposed Senate bill and the House legislation do not provide a big enough exemption for small businesses. They argue that the threshold to qualify for the exemption in both the House and Senate bills is far too low.

"Today's Senate resolution recognizes the bipartisan support for shielding small businesses expanding on the Internet from facing new tax barriers to success," eBay Vice President for Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel Tod Cohen said in a statement on the Wyden-Ayotte resolution.

"Forcing small businesses to take on the same costs and tax burdens as national retail businesses is unrealistic, unfair and will unbalance the playing field between giant retailers and small business retailers on the Internet."

Meanwhile, 126 national and state retail groups and companies wrote the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction on Wednesday to urge the panel to include in its deficit reduction package a provision that would authorize states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers. The so-called super committee is charged with developing a package by Thanksgiving with more than $1 trillion in budget savings.

"As you seek solutions to address the federal budget, any final product will undoubtedly have an impact on the states, which are likewise facing their own budget crises," according to the letter signed by the American Booksellers Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Retail Industry Leaders Association, National Retail Federation, and others. "Consistent with the goals of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Congress has an opportunity to help the states resolve their own budget shortfalls by enhancing states' rights over sales tax collection authority and in the process closing a loophole that will level the playing field for all merchants."

A group of smaller cable companies are asking the Federal Communications Commission for a one-year exemption from having to comply with a law enacted in December that would lower the volume on all those loud TV ads that irritate so many television viewers.

The law specifically requires that the volume of commercials should not exceed the decibel level of regular programming. Under the law known as the CALM Act, the FCC has one year to ensure that advertisers adopt industry technology that "modulates sound levels and prevents overly loud commercials."

In a meeting Monday with FCC officials, the American Cable Association argued that smaller cable firms need more time to absorb the costs of complying with the law.

"Because smaller [multichannel video programming distributors] are unable to spread the costs to comply with the CALM Act over a large number of subscribers, as a group, they should receive a blanket one-year hardship waiver with a possible one-year extension," they wrote in a letter to the FCC afterward.

Some of the lawmakers involved in drafting the law have written the FCC in recent months to say it was clearly intended to apply to not just broadcast stations but to cable, satellite and other video providers and also to all commercials regardless of who places them within programming.

In a July letter to the FCC, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who authored the House's version of the law, noted that the legislation does allow the FCC to grant exemptions to providers that might need extra time to comply with the law.

The House passed legislation late Tuesday that would temporarily bar states and localities from imposing some new taxes on wireless services like smart phones.

The legislation, authored by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Trent Franks, R-Ariz., would impose a five-year moratorium on new state or local taxes on wireless services, unless they are already imposed on other goods and services.

The bill's supporters say states and localities are taxing wireless services, which includes service for mobile phones, iPads and other wireless devices, at rates as high as three times the average state sales tax of 7 percent.

"This bill would not affect any existing revenues. In fact, it wouldn't affect the ability [of states] to raise taxes on all goods," Lofgren said Tuesday during the House debate on the bill. "What it would do is keep [states and localities] from singling out wireless services for disproportionate taxation."

State and local officials worry the bill would limit their ability to raise revenues, so in July the House Judiciary Committee amended the bill to allow a state or city to impose a new wireless tax if it is approved by the affected voters.

Despite this, many groups remain opposed, including the National League of Cities and the National Governors Association, according to Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., who spoke out against the bill during the House debate.

"States need all the tools at their disposal to balance their budgets and preserve and create jobs and provide essential services," Chu said. "Yet this bill takes away one of those tools to protect the wireless industry at the expense of other" industries.

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, have introduced a Senate version of the legislation, but the chamber has yet to act on the measure. The wireless tax legislation is similar to a law Wyden helped author more than a decade ago that would bar states and localities from imposing multiple taxes on Internet access.

"In light of the challenging economy, we hope the U.S. Senate moves swiftly to pass the companion bill," Steve Largent, president and CEO of the wireless industry group CTIA, said in a statement.

After a customer backlash, Bank of America has canceled plans to charge $5 debit card fees, the AP reports.

U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague called for cyber "rules of the road" at a global conference on Internet security in London, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Homeland Security officials are trying to figure out how to use social media as an intelligence source, according to the AP.

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Broadcasters brought in a former United Nations ambassador on Tuesday to help make their case to policy makers that the future of broadcasting is bright, growing and should be preserved.

Former U.N. Ambassador, ex-Atlanta Mayor and civil rights leader Andrew Young was on hand as the National Association of Broadcasters launched their Future of Television coalition.Their case has grown more important as the industry grapples with calls for broadcasters to voluntarily give up some of their spectrum to help meet growing demand for wireless technologies.

Congress is weighing legislation to authorize incentive auctions, in which broadcasters would give up some of their airwaves and get cash from the proceeds. Broadcasters worry that television stations that opt out could be harmed if they are forced to move to a different place on the TV band in order to clear out a chunk of space that can be auctioned to wireless providers.

"We're trying to reassert ourselves in the debate with the Future of Television Coalition," NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith said during a news conference Tuesday. "It's enormously important for the American people to understand that while they have the blessing of taking broadcast television for granted, there are decisions that could be made that could take that away from them."

The coalition argues that broadcasting is far from a dying industry and that more Americans are dropping their subscription-based television services such as cable and satellite and returning to over-the-air broadcasting. At the same time, they note that the transition from analog to digital TV has allowed broadcasters to roll out mobile digital television and offer additional channels with even more free programming including content for minority communities, which tend to rely on over-the-air television more than other groups.

The coalition includes mobile television providers, digital antenna makers and new broadcast networks offering content for some of the digital channels being simulcast by TV stations, including Bounce TV co-founded by Young and others.