Open source closed garage I, too, installed an open source garage door opener, and Im loving it OpenGarage restored my home automations and gave me a whole bunch of new ideas. Kevin Purdy Nov 15, 2024 7:05 am | 118 Hark! The top portion of a garage door has entered my view, and I shall alert my owner to it. Credit: Kevin Purdy Hark! The top portion of a garage door has entered my view, and I shall alert my owner to it. Credit: Kevin Purdy Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLike Ars Senior Technology Editor Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee's, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app. But that app doesn't work with my preferred home automation system, Home Assistant, and also looks and works like an app made by a garage door company.I had looked into the ratgdo Lee installed, and raved about, but hooking it up to my particular Genie/Aladdin system would have required installing limit switches. So I instead installed an OpenGarage unit ($50 plus shipping). My garage opener now works with Home Assistant (and thereby pretty much anything else), it's not subject to the whims of API access, and I've got a few ideas how to make it even better. Allow me to walk you through what I did, why I did it, and what I might do next.Thanks, Ill take it from here, GenieGenie, maker of my Wi-Fi-capable garage door opener (sold as an "Aladdin Connect" system), is not in the same boat as the Chamberlain/myQ setup that inspired Lee's project. There was a working Aladdin Connect integration in Home Assistant, until the company changed its API in January 2024. Genie said it would release its own official Home Assistant integration in June, and it did, but then it was quickly pulled back, seemingly for licensing issues. Since then, no updates on the matter. (I have emailed Genie for comment and will update this post if I receive reply.)This is not egregious behavior, at least on the scale of garage door opener firms. And Aladdin's app works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, but not with Home Assistant or my secondary/lazy option, HomeKit/Apple Home. It also logs me out "for security" more often than I'd like and tells me this only after an iPhone shortcut refuses to fire. It has some decent features, but without deeper integrations, I can't do things like have the brighter ceiling lights turn on when the door opens or flash indoor lights if the garage door stays open too long. At least not without Google or Amazon.I've seen OpenGarage passed around the Home Assistant forums and subreddits over the years. It is, as the name implies, fully open source: hardware design, firmware, and app code, API, everything. It is a tiny ESP board that has an ultrasonic distance sensor and circuit relay attached. You can control and monitor it from a web browser, mobile or desktop, from IFTTT, MQTT, and with the latest firmware, you can get email alerts. I decided to pull out the 6-foot ladder and give it a go. Prototypes of the OpenGarage unit. To me, they look like little USB-powered owls, just with very stubby wings. Credit: OpenGarage Installing the little watching owlYou generally mount the OpenGarage unit to the roof of your garage, so the distance sensor can detect if your garage door has rolled up in front of it. There are options for mounting with magnetic contact sensors or a side view of a roll-up door, or you can figure out some other way in which two different sensor depth distances would indicatean open or closed door. If you've got a Security+ 2.0 door (the kind with the yellow antenna, generally), you'll need an adapter, too.The toughest part of an overhead install is finding a spot that gives the unit a view of your garage door, not too close to rails or other obstructing objects, but then close enough for the contact wires and USB micro cable to reach. Ideally, too, it has a view of your car when the door is closed and the car is inside, so it can report its presence. I've yet to find the right thing to do with the "car is inside or not" data, but the seed is planted. OpenGarage's introduction and explanation video. My garage setup, like most of them, is pretty simple. There's a big red glowing button on the wall near the door, and there are two very thin wires running from it to the opener. On the opener, there are four ports that you can open up with a screwdriver press. Most of the wires are headed to the safety sensor at the door bottom, while two come in from the opener button. After stripping a bit of wire to expose more cable, I pressed the contact wires from the OpenGarage into those same opener ports. The wire terminal on my Genie garage opener. The green and pink wires lead to the OpenGarage unit. Credit: Kevin Purdy After that, I connected the wires to the OpenGarage unit's screw terminals, then did some pencil work on the garage ceiling to figure out how far I could run the contact and micro-USB power cable, getting the proper door view while maintaining some right-angle sense of order up there. When I had reached a decent compromise between cable tension and placement, I screwed the sensor into an overhead stud and used a staple gun to secure the wires. It doesn't look like a pro installed it, but it's not half bad. Where I ended up installing my OpenGarage unit. Key points: Above the garage door when open, view of the car below, not too close to rails, able to reach power and opener contact. Credit: Kevin Purdy A very versatile boardIf you've got everything placed and wired up correctly, opening the OpenGarage access point or IP address should give you an interface that shows you the status of your garage, your car (optional), and its Wi-Fi and external connections. The landing screen for the OpenGarage. You can only open the door or change settings if you know the device key (which you should change immediately). Credit: Kevin Purdy It's a handy webpage and a basic opener (provided you know the secret device key you set), but OpenGarage is more powerful in how it uses that data. OpenGarage's device can keep a cloud connection open to Blynk or the maker's own OpenThings.io cloud server. You can hook it up to MQTT or an IFTTT channel. It can send you alerts when your garage has been open a certain amount of time or if it's open after a certain time of day. You're telling me you can just... see the state of these things, at all times, on your own network? Credit: Kevin Purdy You really dont need a corporate garage coderFor me, the greatest benefit is in hooking OpenGarage up to Home Assistant. I've added an opener button to my standard dashboard (one that requires a long-press or two actions to open). I've restored the automation that turns on the overhead bulbs for five minutes when the garage door opens. And I can dig in if I want, like alerting me that it's Monday night at 10 pm and I've yet to open the garage door, indicating I forgot to put the trash out. Or maybe some kind of NFC tag to allow for easy opening while on a bike, if that's not a security nightmare (it might be).Not for nothing, but OpenGarage is also a deeply likable bit of indie kit. It's a two-person operation, with Ray Wang building on his work with the open and handy OpenSprinkler project, trading Arduino for ESP8266, and doing some 3D printing to fit the sensors and switches, and Samer Albahra providing mobile app, documentation, and other help. Their enthusiasm for DIY home control has likely brought out the same in others and certainly in me.Kevin PurdySenior Technology ReporterKevin PurdySenior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 118 Comments

Indigenous artist KiteFlorian Voggeneder/vog.photoPST ART: Art & science collideMulti-venue, Southern CaliforniaCloses 16 February 2025The myth of the irreconcilably divided worlds of art and science is still alive. But its nonsense, says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation the two have always been intertwined. She stresses this in her role as chief architect of PST ART: Art & science collide, a programme of over 70 exhibitions in Southern California over the next three months designed to interrogate the bonds between the two.In 2017, Weinstein began talking to museum directors about the theme. Everyone started sparking

Steve NelsonEarth isnt doing so great. Thanks to human-induced climate change, the seas are warming and rising, while the land in many places is alternately choked in drought or inundated with floods. As for us humans, we are engaged in warfare on multiple continents, far-right movements are ascendant across the world and, as of last month, dude wipes are available with a pumpkin spice scent in the United States.Meanwhile, the escape hatch to space is creaking open. Elon Musks company SpaceX has a growing fleet of cheap, reusable rockets. In October, the booster stage for its mega-rocket, Starship, was caught in the grip of a skyscraper-high tower as it descended back to Earth. It was an impressive feat. But Musks goal with these vehicles is even more audacious: to start a self-sustaining million-person city on Mars in the next 30 years.Has anyone really thought this through? Well, yes, as it happens, albeit not Musk. We are a wife-and-husband research team a biologist and cartoonist, respectively and we have spent four years looking into how humans will become space settlers for our latest book, A City on Mars. We set out to write the essential guide to a glorious off-world future. What we learned, however, made us space settlement sceptics.Heres the thing: Mars sucks. When you dig into what life would really look like on the Red Planet, in terms of the squishy details of human existence, it becomes hard to avoid an inconvenient conclusion that moving to Mars to escape Earth would be like moving

Nature, Published online: 15 November 2024; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08382-0Lunar farside volcanism 2.8 billion years ago from Change-6 basalts

Nature, Published online: 14 November 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03748-wA genetic tweak can make big tomatoes much sweeter. Plus, how smartphone signals can help map the upper atmosphere

Victoria Kjr Theilvig is the first Miss Denmark to win Miss Universe. Miss Denmark 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe During the pageant, the Miss Universe announcers said that Theilvig was the first Miss Denmark to place in the top five since 1963 and she went on to become the first from her country to win the crown.The 21-year-old pageant queen is a dancer who aspires to become a lawyer. She is also an advocate for mental health and animal rights.Ruby Pouchet was the first Miss Bonaire to compete at Miss Universe in 25 years. Miss Bonaire 2024 Courtesy of Miss Universe Pouchet, a 29-year-old communications specialist and government official, didn't place in the top 30. Marianela Ancheta brought Miss Cuba back to the Miss Universe stage for the first time since 1967. Miss Cuba 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Ancheta made it to the top 30 on Saturday night.The 31-year-old is a model and businesswoman. She is also an advocate for mental-health support. Miss Egypt Logina Salah was the first woman with vitiligo to compete in the pageant. Miss Egypt 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Salah made it to the top 30 during the Miss Universe finals.The 34-year-old is a mother, model, makeup artist, and TV presenter. She is using her current platform to destigmatize vitiligo, a condition that results in the loss of pigment in the skin. Saran Bah was the first Miss Guinea to compete at Miss Universe. Miss Guinea 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Bah, 29, is a master's student pursuing her degree in business administration. She also works for a government nonprofit. Miss Gibraltar Shyanne Mcintosh was the shortest contestant in the pageant's history. Miss Gibraltar 2024 Courtesy of Miss Universe Before Mcintosh won the title of Miss Gibraltar, she told the judges, "I may be small, but I stand tall," Gibraltar Chronicle reported. According to her Instagram, she is around 5-foot-1.The 25-year-old accountant was also the first Miss Gibraltar to walk across the Miss Universe stage in 34 years. Macau was represented in the Miss Universe pageant for the first time, thanks to Cassandra Chiu.Miss Macau 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Chiu placed in the top 30 on Saturday night. The 23-year-old is a dancer, model, and digital creator. At 40, Miss Malta Beatrice Njoya was the oldest woman to compete in the pageant. Miss Malta 2024 Courtesy of Miss Universe Njoya is a single mother of three.She's also a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse and now works with local NGOs to "advocate against all forms of violence against women," according to her Miss Universe bio. Mariyam Saina Naseem was the first Miss Maldives to compete at Miss Universe. Miss Maldives 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Naseem's Miss Universe appearance stirred controversy in her home country.The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information, and Arts in the Maldives said the pageant "fundamentally conflicts with the Islamic beliefs, cultural values, and traditions upheld by the Maldivian people," according to Ceylon Today.Miss Somalia Khadija Omar was the first woman to wear a hijab on the Miss Universe stage. Miss Somalia 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images Omar, 23, was also the first woman to represent Somalia at the Miss Universe competition. In 2021, she became the first pageant queen to wear a hijab at Miss World. Djulieta Calalb is the first-ever Miss Moldova to compete at Miss Universe. Miss Moldova 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe The 20-year-old organizes fashion events in Moldova and Romania. She is also an advocate for sports development.Davin Prasath became the first Miss Cambodia to place at Miss Universe since her country's debut in 2017. Miss Cambodia 2024. Courtesy of Miss Universe Prasath made it to the top 30 in the competition. The 33-year-old spends much of her time volunteering and providing community service. Rumina Ivezaj was the first woman from Montenegro to compete in the pageant. Miss Montenegro 2024 Hector Vivas/Getty Images The 19-year-old is an environmental conservation advocate.Chelsea Manalo was the first Filipino of African descent to represent the Philippines on the Miss Universe stage. Miss Philippines 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images The 25-year-old began modeling at the age of 14. She has a degree in tourism management and previously competed at Miss World Philippines 2017, where she reached the top 15. Tea Gjorgievska represented North Macedonia for the country's Miss Universe debut. Miss North Macedonia 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images According to her Miss Universe bio, the 21-year-old's mission is "to inspire a world where every person feels valued and has a voice."Alma Cooper was the first Afro-Latina woman to represent the USA at Miss Universe. Miss USA 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images Alma Cooper, 22, is an Army officer and West Point graduate, where she was in the top 5% of her class. She is now a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, pursuing a master's degree in data science. Ava Vahneshan was the first Miss Persia to walk the Miss Universe stage. Miss Persia 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images The 26-year-old is a singer, model, and Chinese medicine specialist. Chidimma Adetshina was the first Miss Nigeria to place in the top five at the pageant. Miss Nigeria 2024 Hector Vivas/Getty Images It wasn't an easy journey for Adetshina to reach the Miss Universe stage. She was originally competing for Miss South Africa 2024 but decided to withdraw from the pageant following social-media attacks regarding her nationality. The Miss Nigeria competition then invited her to compete.The 23-year-old is a law student and athlete who champions "diversity, equity, and inclusion" as part of her Miss Universe platform, according to her bio for the pageant. Emilia Dobreva was the first Miss United Arab Emirates to compete at Miss Universe. Miss UAE 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images The 27-year-old is a mother of three and a successful model. She has walked the runway at New York Fashion Week and appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Vietnam, according to Harper's Bazaar Arabia.Uzbekistan made its first Miss Universe appearance, with Nigina Fakhriddinova representing the country. Miss Uzbekistan 2024. Hector Vivas/Getty Images Fakhriddinova, 25, is a model.

The 73rd annual Miss Universe pageant took place in Mexico City on Saturday.Over 120 women competed for the crown, with multiple countries making a Miss Universe debut.Miss Denmark Victoria Kjr Theilvig won the Miss Universe title.Miss Denmark Victoria Kjr Theilvig has been crowned the new Miss Universe.Theilvig, 21, was named the winner of the 73rd Miss Universe competition on Saturday night in Mexico City. She was crowned by Miss Universe 2023 Sheynnis Palacios, the first woman from Nicaragua to win the title. Theilvig, 21, was named the winner of the 73rd Miss Universe competition on Saturday night. Hector Vivas/Getty Images In second place was Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina, followed by Miss Mexico Mara Fernanda Beltrn Figueroa.Theilvig is the first Miss Denmark to win Miss Universe. It had been 61 years since a contestant from the country had placed in the top five of the competition. Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina placed first runner-up. Hector Vivas/Getty Images During the final round, the top five contestants were all asked the same question: "Miss Universe has inspired generations of women. What is your message to the women watching you right now?""No matter where you come from, no matter your past, you can always choose to turn it into your strengths," Theilvig said in her response. "It will never define who you are. You just gotta keep fighting." Theilvig is the first Miss Denmark to win Miss Universe. Hector Vivas/Getty Images "I stand here today because I want to change, I want to make history, and that's what I'm doing tonight," she added. "So, never give up, always believe in yourself and your dreams, and that is exactly what you're going to do."Theilvig is a dancer and beauty entrepreneur who regularly advocates for mental-health support and animal rights. She aspires to become a lawyer. Miss Denmark 2024 at the National Costume Contest. Hector Vivas/Getty Images Multiple contestants made history at Miss Universe this year.Adetshina, who won first runner-up, is the first Miss Nigeria to place in the top five at Miss Universe.Miss Egypt Logina Salah was the first woman with vitiligo to compete in the pageant, while 40-year-old Miss Malta Beatrice Njoya was the oldest woman to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

With President-elect Donald Trumps latest slate of extreme or controversial nominees Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary has come the question about whether even a Republican-controlled Senate will actually confirm them all.But what if thats asking the wrong question? What if Trump has no intention of asking the Senates permission?Throughout the transition, Trump has made several references to his intent to use recess appointments to get his appointees in place more quickly. This refers to a longstanding presidential power to fill jobs that typically require Senate confirmation if Congress is in recess. The Constitution included that power in an era when reconvening a recessed Congress would take months of travel time; more recently, presidents have used it to get around Senate opposition for certain picks.Yet Trumps references to recess appointments were vague, and it was unclear exactly why he sounded so insistent on them. The new Congress would not need to recess for some time. The Senate surely would consider his top nominees quickly. The new Republican majority would likely be deferential to most of his choices, and the Democratic minority has no power to actually block any of them. So why would recess appointments be necessary so soon?We got a potential clue about what Trump may have in mind when the well-connected conservative legal activist Ed Whelan heard a rumor.Hope its wrong, Whelan wrote on X Wednesday, but Im hearing through the grapevine about this bonkers plan: Trump would adjourn both Houses of Congress under Article II, section 3, and then recess-appoint his Cabinet. This may sound technical, but it would amount to a massive power grab: Trump would be forcing the Senate into a recess. This would mean that, for many of the most important posts in the federal government, Trump could simply ignore the Senate, thumbing his nose at the body to impose everyone he wanted, no matter how corrupt, extreme, or controversial they are.Moreover, it would mean Trump would be choosing to crash headlong into one of the biggest guardrails constraining the presidents authority: the Senates confirmation powers. If Trump were to try this and get away with it, Senate confirmation powers would effectively no longer exist.Currently, this remains in the rumor stage, and if it is truly something being considered by Trump, it remains unclear whether hed go through with it. But it makes a lot of sense. It may reflect the influence of Elon Musk and the Silicon Valley right in Trumps camp its a risky, norm-shattering attempt to disrupt the way politics, governance, and presidential power work. (Musk has indeed been tweeting about recess appointments.) It would mean starting off Trumps term with a high-stakes showdown and certain litigation with no one certain about exactly how things would play out.Why this recess appointment plot would be different than past recess appointment controversiesRecess appointments have been the subject of political and legal controversy in the past.In 2012, President Barack Obama was frustrated at the Republican Senate minoritys constant filibusters of many of his key nominations. (At the time, 60 votes were needed to get nominees past a filibuster; rule changes have since lowered that threshold to a simple majority.) He wanted to use recess appointments to fill some posts, but Republicans were blocking the Senate from going into recess at all. Even though nearly everyone left town, they continued to hold pro forma sessions where nothing actually happened.So Obama decided to just do recess appointments anyway, filling three National Labor Relations Board seats and the directorship of the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration argued that the pro forma sessions were fake and Congress was actually in recess; therefore, Obama could do recess appointments. But the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his argument, saying it was up to Congress to determine whether it was in recess.Trumps plan would be far more brazen.The Constitution states that during a congressional session, both chambers of Congress must consent if they want to adjourn Congress for more than three days. But it also says that in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, the president may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.In laypersons terms, that would seem to say that if the House and Senate disagree on when to adjourn, the president can force them to do so. This power has never been used by the president.But according to Whelans sources in the conservative legal movement, this is the plan Trumps team is putting together. First, Trump would get the House of Representatives under Speaker Mike Johnson to propose adjourning Congress. Then, if the Senate refused to do so, President Trump would step in, saying that because the two chambers disagreed, hed use his power to force the Senate to adjourn. He would then make recess appointments to his hearts content.Such appointments would then inevitably be challenged in court, and the Supreme Court would eventually determine whether they were legal.Whelan has gone public because hes appalled by this idea. Its a fundamental general feature of our system of separated powers that the president shall submit his nominations for major offices to the Senate for approval, he wrote in National Review. That feature plays a vital role in helping to ensure that the president makes quality picks.If Trump pulled this off, it would be an utter humiliation for incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republican senators generally it basically would be taking a wrecking ball to the power of the Senate. The scheme would also require, as Whelan points out, the cooperation of Speaker Johnson and his House majority. But it is far from clear whether Republicans in either chamber or the courts have the inclination or the spine to stand up to an unprecedented power grab by Trump. And the rumors of it bode ill for other Trumpian abuses of power that will surely lie ahead.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: Politics

Were closing in on the big savings weekend of the season as Black Friday is just two weeks away. Its a great time to save big on home goods, electronics, and more. However, you dont actually need to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday so find a great deal.For anyone shopping for a friend, family member, loved one, or yourselfif you or they are into fitness, perhaps this Garmin Venu 3 will make the perfect gift. Its normally priced at $449, but right now you can get it for 22% off which brings it down to just $349, its lowest price ever having only launched in August 2023.See at AmazonDesigned for Your LifestyleFor those into fitness be it a specific activity, going for runs, or working out in the gym, Garmins interface has dozens of different activity types. So you can track every time your lift, go for a hike, kayak, paddleboard, golf, rock climb, or whatever is you do to stay active. Garmin Coach will even recommend when you should work out and when you should take a day off to recover so your progress can continue optimally. On those rest days, it can even lead you through guided meditations.Like other smartwatches, you can receive calls, text notifications so you can always stay connected without having to take your phone out of your pocketcompatible with both Android and iPhones. You can also connect a credit card to you can use tap-to-pay right from the watch.It will also help you get better sleep at night by tracking your sleep metrics: Sleep Coach will give your personalized insights and recommend how much sleep you should be getting for the night ahead. It can even detect your naps and will show you how much its reenergized you via a change in your Body Batterya metric which considers your sleep, heart rate, daily steps, and more to assign your estimated energy level throughout the day.The Garmin Venu 3 comes in several different choices of band color including black, whitestone, dust rose, French gray, ivory, pebble gray, and sage gray to best match your style. Get the fitness smartwatch today for its record low price of just $349 after the 22% discount for a limited time.See at Amazon

By Matt Novak Published November 16, 2024 | Comments (4) | Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan speaks during a discussion on antitrust reforms at the Brookings Institution October 4, 2023 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images The number of complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls in the U.S. has dropped a whopping 50% since 2021, according to the FTCs annual report on spam calls released Friday. The federal agency launched Operation Stop Spam Calls in 2023, one of many efforts credited with helping cut back on the number of annoying calls Americans get from telemarketers. The most common complaint about spam calls to the FTC over the past year was regarding medical and prescription issues, with imposters being the second most common, and reducing debt the third. The other categories rounding out the list include energy, solar, and utilities as well as home improvement and cleaning complaints. Some of the spam complaints were regarding live callers, but the majority were so-called robocalls. In fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, the FTC received 1.1 million complaints about robocalls, down from 1.2 million in 2023, and over 3.4 million in 2021.There are over 253 million people registered on the Do Not Call list right now. In 2023 that number was 249 million, 246 million in 2022, and 244 million on the list in 2021. Americans can put their number on the Do Not Call registry by visiting donotcall.gov or by calling the tollfree number 8883821222. Calling that number should be done from the phone you want to register. The new report includes some interesting data, including a ranking of the states with the highest percentage of people whove registered for the Do Not Call list. The states with the most active registrations relative to their population include New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The fewest registrations were in Alaska, with Hawaii and Texas not far behind.The state-level data for people whove registered for the Do Not Call list FTC The FTCs report includes detailed breakdowns for each state and can be viewed at the agencys website. And there has been real progress in getting rid of at least some unwanted calls. But the folks at the FTC know they still have work to do. Illegal calls remain a scourge, but the FTCs strategy to pursue upstream players and equip the agency to confront emerging threats is showing clear signs of success, said Sam Levine, Director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement published online. In the years to come, it will be critical we continue this progress by confronting not only telemarketers but those firms who knowingly profit from scam calls.That line years to come, certainly sounds ominous after Donald Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 5. After all, the likely peak of the scam robocall era was the end of the 2010s, when Trump was president. And its unlikely that anyone who may be installed at the FTC by Trump will be as aggressive with consumer protection than the current head of the agency Lina Khan. In fact, given the names Trump has put forward for important agencies, like Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense and Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, its probably a safe bet that Khan will be replaced by some complete clown who has no qualifications aside from loyalty to Trump. Get ready for a lot more robocalls in the coming years, my friends.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Matthew Gault Published November 14, 2024 By Todd Feathers Published November 13, 2024 By Dua Rashid Published October 23, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published October 18, 2024 By Lucas Ropek Published October 17, 2024 By Todd Feathers Published October 16, 2024