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Enlarge / Starlink satellite dish seen on September 25, 2022, in Izyum, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (credit: Getty Images | Yasuyoshi Chiba)
Elon Musk ordered SpaceX engineers to temporarily disable Starlink in order to thwart a Ukrainian submarine drone attack on the Russian naval fleet last year, according to a report based on a new biography of Musk. The book provides more details on a previously reported incident.
A CNN exclusive report today said, "Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company's Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson's new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled 'Elon Musk.'"
"As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they 'lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,' Isaacson writes," the CNN report said. Ukrainian officials reportedly begged Musk to turn satellite service in the area back on.
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Richard Newstead)
The New York City Police Department said it will use drones to check out backyard parties when neighbors call to complain about large crowds this weekend.
"The drones are going to be responding to non-priority calls and priority calls," NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said at a press conference yesterday. "For example, if we have any 311 calls on our non-emergency line where if a caller states there's a large crowd, a large party in the backyard, we're going to be utilizing our assets to go up, to go check on the party, to make sure if the call is founded or not, and we'll be able to determine how many resources we need to send to that location for this weekend. So we will have our drone teams out there starting tonight, all the way into Monday morning."
Daughtry spoke near the end of a press conference (see video) about safety and security measures for J'Ouvert, a "traditional street festival honoring the vast heritage and culture of the Caribbean diaspora," and the West Indian Day Parade.