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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pitched its recent court battle with Apple as one of national security versus privacy. But in the conflict over public use of cryptography, decades in the making, this latest battle is actually a collision over differing notions of security in a digital age ( 1 ). Law enforcement contends that there should be no “warrant-proof” spaces: When there is a valid court order, agents should be able to access communications devices and systems. Technologists ( 2 ) and many former government security officials ( 3 – 5 ) see this differently: Weakening smartphones' security provided by encrypted communications is counterproductive to long-term security. The ability to secure data on smartphones is crucial not just for the private information present on phones but also because of the ability of smartphones to securely authenticate users to online accounts. Rather than rely on out-of-date approaches to law enforcement, the FBI must develop 21st-century investigative capability.

When Jack Connelly first began studying the greater sage grouse in Idaho in the late 1970s, "it was not unusual to see 500 in a single flock," says the biologist, who is retired from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "Today, it would be unusual to see 200." That dramatic decline has made the sage grouse—a large, pointy-tailed bird with showy mating habits—the subject of one of the biggest endangered species battles ever in the United States. President Barack Obama's administration is under court order to decide by 30 September how to protect the bird: declare it an endangered species—the nuclear option in conservation—or opt for the less onerous conservation strategies that officials are testing on its fellow rangeland bird, the lesser prairie chicken. An endangered listing could have widespread economic and environmental consequences. The sage grouse's remaining population is spread over 67 million hectares in 11 western states, pitting it against farming, ranching, mining, and energy interests. Some members of Congress are trying to block any listing, because of the potential cost to industry and private landowners. They have even vowed to stop ongoing government efforts to protect grouse on federal lands, which hold about 65% of its key remaining habitat. "I don't think it's an overstatement to say that this issue is the mother of all [endangered species] decisions," says forestry scientist Eric Washburn, of the law and lobbying firm Bracewell & Giuliani in Washington, D.C.

SCIENCE POLICYUnder a court order, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last month reluctantly handed over a list of unfunded applicants to a longtime critic of its peer-review practices. NIH officials say that the public release of the names and addresses violates the privacy of applicants and could hurt the careers of young scientists. But the man who won the list wants to give the information to foundations, investors, and others who might fund ideas that NIH either rejected or didn't have enough money to fund.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put the gray wolf back on the endangered species list. The listing conforms to a U.S. district court order issued in July ( Science , 25 July, p. [475][1]). There had been speculation that the government might appeal the ruling, which came after the Natural