GPS

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Google Maps: We're Going to Scrap That Desert Detour

GPS sent cars onto unpaved roads in California desert, and they had to turn back

(Newser) - Google Maps is officially apologizing for sending a caravan of cars on an unpaved detour in the California desert from which they all had to turn around. Everyone got out safely, though at least one car suffered expensive damage, reports the Washington Post . The GPS ordeal happened on Nov. 19,...

Hawaii Tourists Follow GPS Straight Into Harbor

They were rescued, uninjured

(Newser) - Here's your annual PSA reminding you that you can't always trust your GPS: Two tourists trying to find a manta ray tour on the big island Saturday night followed their GPS straight into the water. They had to be rescued after their Dodge Caravan went down the boat...

Family: GPS Led Man to Fatal 'Bridge to Nowhere'

Philip Paxson of North Carolina drove off abandoned span on private road

(Newser) - The family of a North Carolina father of two say he died after following his GPS at night onto a bridge that partially washed away almost a decade ago. The body of Philip Paxson, 47, was found in his overturned vehicle in a creek on Oct. 1, the morning after...

Drivers Say Google Maps Failed Them in Snowstorm

They say they were routed down closed or treacherous California mountain roads

(Newser) - Authorities in California say weather events like this month's record-breaking snowfall in the Lake Tahoe area should be a reminder for people not to rely too heavily on their GPS systems. Drivers complained this week that when highways were closed, services like Google Maps and Waze, which is also...

'Baked Alaska' Wants GPS Monitor Removed

Attorney for 'Baked Alaska' tells judge his client isn't a flight risk

(Newser) - Anthime Gionet's apparent livestreaming of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6 may have helped authorities nab multiple other participants in the riot, and he himself was arrested on Jan. 15 and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry, and...

GPS Reading Leads to Arrest
GPS Reading
Leads to Arrest
Jan 19, 2021 3:04 PM CST

GPS Reading Leads to Arrest

Bryan Betancur, who's tracked while on probation, belongs to white supremacist groups: FBI

(Newser) - Being on probation, Bryan Betancur knows his movements are tracked electronically by parole and probation officers. After his GPS monitor showed the Maryland man was in the US Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6—during the mob attack—he was arrested. Federal court documents say Betancur has said he...

Amazon Driver Blames GPS for Odd Predicament

Delivery van became stuck in a golf cart tunnel

(Newser) - In yet another example of GPS leading a driver seriously astray, an Amazon driver got his van stuck in a golf cart tunnel last week in a Detroit suburb. USA Today has the "must be seen to be believed" photo. And in what may be the understatement of the...

China Says GPS Alternative Is Now Complete

55th satellite in Beidou system has been launched

(Newser) - China on Tuesday launched the final satellite in its Beidou constellation that emulates and may seek to compete with the US Global Positioning System, marking a further step in the country's advance as a major space power. The launch of the satellite onboard a Long March-3 rocket was broadcast...

Waze Directs Jersey Gamblers Into Wilderness

New Jersey police have a warning for those headed to Atlantic City's Borgata casino

(Newser) - An ad in the Waze navigation app is misdirecting motorists headed to Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa into the wilderness of New Jersey's Pine Barrens, police said. Jackson Township police posted on Facebook that officers in recent weeks have had to help motorists who followed the...

A Cop Was Idling in a Parking Lot. A Surprise Driver Pulled Up

11-year-old was reportedly lost after driving 200 miles to live with Snapchat stranger

(Newser) - Police say an 11-year-old boy drove himself across South Carolina intending to live with an unknown male he'd met on Snapchat. The plan came to a quick close as the boy, who'd driven 200 miles from his home in Simpsonville, pulled up alongside Charleston Officer Christopher Braun in...

Burglar Takes GPS Monitor Along for 10 Crimes

Cops allege the ankle bracelet to Taiheem McKay's arrest

(Newser) - Cops say an accused New York serial burglar was caught thanks to the GPS ankle monitor he took along with him to the scenes of the crimes. Per News 12 , cops on Long Island have arrested Taiheem McKay for allegedly robbing 10 homes in the town of Riverhead over the...

Fitbits Pose 'Increased Risk' for Deployed Troops: DOD

Department of Defense says GPS data from fitness trackers too sensitive, bans them

(Newser) - The Pentagon has restricted the use of fitness trackers by deployed personnel after an app revealed the movement of troops in sensitive areas. Per CNN , Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan issued a memo barring use of the technology six months after a fitness tracking company called Strava released a global...

After 4 Days Missing, Trucker Stumbles Out of Wilderness

Jacob Cartwright's GPS led him astray in remote Oregon; he doggedly walked 36 miles home

(Newser) - A trucker who was missing for four days in a snowy part of Oregon after his GPS sent him awry walked 36 miles and emerged safely from a remote region. Jacob Cartwright, 22, showed up Saturday near La Grande, where an intensive search had been taking place since he went...

Russians Go After US Drones in Syria With 'Fairly Easy' Tactic

They're reportedly jamming the drones' GPS signals

(Newser) - US military drones patrolling the skies over Syria have an operational issue: Russia is messing with them. Specifically, US officials tell NBC News , Russia is jamming their GPS signals, a tactic that seems to have started in earnest on smaller drones a few weeks ago after chemical attacks were suspected...

Experts Say Fitness Tracker Map Reveals Secret Military Bases

'A lot of people are going to have to sit through lectures come Monday morning'

(Newser) - Last November, Strava published a Global Heatmap tracking the movements of the 27 million people who use its fitness service—either through its app or devices like Fitbits—over two years. A 20-year-old international security and Middle East expert finally took a closer look at the map this weekend after...

Owner on Jeep Ending Up in Lake: 'I Was Speechless'

Friends who'd borrowed her vehicle were led into Lake Champlain by Google's Waze app

(Newser) - "I was speechless." That's how the owner of a Jeep tells WCAX she reacted when she heard said Jeep had ended up at the bottom of Lake Champlain. How Tara Guertin's vehicle got there: She says friends who were driving it were misled by faulty directions...

Drivers Who Cut Through This Town Might Owe $200

Leonia, New Jersey, is outlawing out-of-town drivers during rush hour

(Newser) - Authorities in Leonia, New Jersey, are so tired of out-of-town drivers clogging their streets during rush hour that they're taking what even the police chief acknowledges is "extreme" action: They're outlawing out-of-town drivers at crunch time. Soon, anyone not from Leonia caught driving there between 6 and...

Couple Follows GPS, Get Stranded for 6 Days

They ended up stuck on rocky road in Utah

(Newser) - A Texas couple who narrowly survived after being stranded for six days on a desolate dirt road in southern Utah says they realized too late their GPS app was guiding them to the wrong spot. KSL reports that 78-year-old Helena Byler of Houston, Texas, said Friday that they were on...

Cops Tracked Rape Victim Using Her Cellphone GPS

Christopher Henneghan charged with rape, unlawful imprisonment

(Newser) - Police in Pennsylvania say they were able to find a rape victim using her cellphone's GPS signal, the AP reports. Bensalem police say they received 911 texts on Saturday from a woman claiming she'd been sexually assaulted. She texted that she was trapped in a bedroom and couldn'...

Theft of GPS Tracking Devices Backfires Spectacularly

Burglar's attempt to steal a beer also went wrong

(Newser) - It's only June, but a crook in California may already have a lock on the Dumbest Criminal of 2017 award. Authorities had little trouble tracking the thief down after he stole 100 GPS trackers along with other items from the Santa Clara offices of tech firm Roambee, NBC4 reports....

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