The Federal Aviation Authority passed an order restricting the unauthorized use of drones over the Statue of Liberty and other such landmarks, adding to the existing list of no-fly zones for drones in the United States. "At the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 99.7 – "Special Security Instructions" – to address concerns about unauthorized drone operations over 10 Department of the Interior (DOI) sites, including the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore," FAA said in its press release Thursday. The restrictions go into effect next Thursday. To ensure the general public is aware of these restrictions, FAA has issued an interactive online map that is available on both its website and its B4UFLY app. According to the press release, violation of the restrictions could result in civil penalties and even criminal charges.

On October 5th, hobbyists will no longer be able to fly their drones around ten US landmarks. The Department of the Interior and the FAA have restricted UAV flights within 400 feet of the monuments, which include the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Hoover Dam. The #FAA and @Interior agree to restrict #drone use over certain landmarks. No reason was given for the new restrictions on the FAA post announcing them, though the department's data website notes it was by request of the Department of Defense along with federal intelligence agencies due to "National Security, or Intel Agency or National Defense" concerns. Regardless, the restriction is classified as temporary, and it's the first time the department has banned hobbyist UAVs from flying over monuments, though the FAA has long banned them from military bases.

In Switzerland, executives from the three partner companies showcased the drone in action on Thursday, with a woman enacting the scene of loading up the drone with a bag of coffee that was flown several kilometers and landed smoothly on the rooftop of a Mercedes-Benz van. After high-fives at the successful flight, the coffee was then brewed up at a coffee cart at the ready and served for the several dozen attendees.

The FAA and U.S. Interior Department said they would restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the boundaries of the sites including the U.S.S. The restrictions will be effective Oct. 5 and there only a few exceptions that permit drone flights within these restrictions.

U.S. airstrikes across eastern Syria have hobbled Islamic State's deadly drone program, U.S. officials say, but commanders warn that proliferation of the inexpensive technology may allow terrorist groups to launch other aerial attacks around the globe. U.S.-backed fighters have reported small drones flown by the militants seven times this month in Iraq and Syria as Islamic State struggles to maintain the crumbling borders of its self-declared caliphate, according to the U.S. military task force in Baghdad. That's down from more than 60 drone sightings earlier this year, especially during the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, which was liberated in early July. Dozens of Iraqis were killed or wounded by 40-millimeter grenades and light explosives dropped from remote-controlled devices that one U.S. commander likened to killer bees. The use of camera-equipped quadcopters and model-plane-sized drones, sometimes flying in swarms, had become a signature tactic of Islamic State, much as the growing U.S. fleet of large missile firing Predator and Reaper drones have changed the face of modern warfare.

The head of the FBI says we may soon be living in a world where terrorists won't even have to risk their lives to carry out mass murder on innocents. In his first testimony before Congress on Wednesday, new FBI Director Christopher Wray says that one of the main concerns of the bureau currently is the possibility of terrorists using drones in attacks. 'It's a topic that we've been discussing a lot lately. I think we do know that terrorists organizations have an interest in using drones. We've seen that overseas already with some growing frequency and I think the expectation is it's coming here imminently,' Wary said, after being asked a question about drones by Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota).

Drones using artificial intelligence will be deployed off beaches in New South Wales, Australia, to detect sharks and warn swimmers. The new drones will patrol beaches and use artificial intelligence to detect sharks in the water. It's not the first time drones have been used in Australia to detect sharks, but what makes the new drones interesting is that they do not rely on human operators controlling the drones to look for sharks. Instead, they use artificial intelligence software so they can spot sharks by themselves. To improve the results, additional software is also deployed to analyze the video feed from the drones to doubly make sure that sharks aren't missed.

Laser weapons are on a roll. The U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization are testing them. Plans include mounting them on Humvees to shoot down drones. You can see them destroy drones on YouTube. The Missile Defense Agency wants to test laser-equipped drones as a defense against North Korean missiles.

I look down and start gliding toward a dilapidated skate park below. Once I'm near the ground I pull my nose up and look level with the horizon. Spotting two trees, I race toward them, pass between them, then turn on a dime, skirting some shipping containers on my left. It's like every dream I've ever had about flying, but faster. I take off a pair of video goggles, and I see the shipping containers come into focus, this time directly in front of me, as my eyes adjust to the sunlight. This is my third "First Person View" flight with the Draco drone, and it's more exciting every time.

Dubai is living up to its promises. The Future City said in June it would test flying taxis this year, and it followed through on Monday. Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority announced it successfully tested autonomous taxi drones in the city. Volocopter, the German company that built the flying drones, said this week's test is the "first-ever public flight of an autonomous urban air taxi." The test, which did not include a passenger, successfully lifted, flew and landed the unmanned air taxi.