Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

It’s a familiar experience: racing against masses of anonymous netizens online to get yourself on the list for an in-demand event.For Andrew Bird, from Melbourne, in Australia, it was a spot in an often over-booked pilates class – but his solution had unexpected consequences.He says he outsourced the “chore” to an AI agent – a tool that can carry out online tasks autonomously.It succeeded, but went further than he imagined by hacking the gym’s online systems, in what is being seen as the latest example of the way AI agents will go to any lengths to carry out the jobs…

Enterprise software maker SAP on Tuesday announced the release of 28 new security notes, two updates to previous notes, and a GitHub advisory. Four of the notes published on SAP’s August 2026 Security Patch Day resolve critical vulnerabilities, the most severe of which is CVE-2026-58231 (CVSS score of 10/10), an improper authorization issue in SAP Commerce Cloud (Data Hub Adapter). The bug could allow remote attackers to bypass authentication, likely leading to code execution and unauthorized access to internal components. Successful exploitation would impact the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application. SAP also addressed two critical code injection flaws…

Drinking a daily glass of 100% fruit juice or a smoothie as part of the UK’s 5-a-day guidance may help support mental well-being, according to research from Newcastle University in the UK. In a randomized controlled trial, adults who typically ate relatively little fruit and vegetables received support to increase their intake. Some participants were also asked to include one glass of fruit juice or a smoothie each day as they worked toward the 5-a-day target. After four weeks, both groups increased the amount of fruit and vegetables they consumed. However, participants who included fruit juice or a smoothie also…

A U.S. Senate committee last week approved a complicated swap of underground coal resources supported by Montana’s Crow Tribe that would benefit Signal Peak Energy, a mining company that exports most of its coal to Japan and South Korea. Democrats on the Indian Affairs Committee opposed the bill, citing concerns that it was intended to skirt environmental lawsuits and regulations. The bill would give the Crow, a sovereign tribe in southern Montana, ownership of coal reserves beneath their land currently held by the Hope Family Trust; in exchange for relinquishing these rights, the Hope family would receive federal coal reserves…

UK-headquartered energy giant BP has tasked Emerson with the provision of automation and control systems for an unmanned offshore platform that will be part of the next development phase of a giant natural gas field in the Caspian Sea, described as one of the world’s largest gas-condensate fields and the company’s largest gas discovery. Shah Deniz; Source: BP The Shah Deniz consortium, consisting of BP (operator, 29.99%), Lukoil (19.99%), TPAO (19.00%), Southern Gas Corridor Upstream/SGC (16.02%), NICO (10.00%), and MVM (5.00%), has awarded an automation contract for the Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project to Emerson. This deal covers the supply of…

Reading Time: 3 minutes This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Tuesday, Aug. 11, is Election Day in Wisconsin, and we will soon learn the results of the closely watched Democratic primary for governor and other important primary races. But how soon, exactly? The unofficial winners of some close races may not be known until late Tuesday, or even early on Wednesday. But results coming in late at night aren’t indicative of problems. Over the past several years, Wisconsin voters have come to rely more and more on absentee…

Raúl Castro was on an official state visit in Paris a decade ago as Cuba’s president when a hulky bodyguard in his entourage stood out.The man kept so close to Mr. Castro while they walked the red carpet at the Élysée Palace that a member of the French honor guard tried pulling him back. Even François Hollande, France’s president at the time, waved him back.The security escort who kept inserting himself in official photos was none other than Mr. Castro’s grandson, Raúl G. Rodríguez Castro, a colonel in the interior ministry.Today, the once largely unknown bodyguard has become a key…

President Trump has chosen Dennis Kirk, a co-author of the right-wing road map known as Project 2025, as inspector general for the Interior Department, a role that would oversee any review of the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.The White House announced the nomination of Mr. Kirk, a former adviser to Tulsi Gabbard when she served as director of national intelligence, and a staff member at the conservative Heritage Foundation, last week. His nomination is subject to Senate approval.The Trump administration’s efforts to rush through repairs to the pool, a national landmark, ended in disaster earlier this year. A…

China’s car parts makers have quietly amassed greater control of Europe’s automotive supply chains, snapping up local suppliers as Beijing seeks to expand its footprint on the continent amid growing resistance to its exports. Since the mid-2000s, Chinese companies have invested in more than 130 European automotive parts makers, mainly in key car manufacturing hubs in Germany and France, according to consultancy Rhodium.The acquisitions of European parts suppliers have alarmed EU policymakers and auto executives. Both parties fear that China could soon redraw the industry map for car components on the back of explosive growth in vehicle exports.“It will not…

The FBI is reportedly investigating how a North Korean was hired to work for a U.S. federal government agency. News of the investigation was first reported by Federal News Network, citing a senior FBI official speaking at a conference on July 28 in Washington, D.C.. The official confirmed to Federal News Network that the FBI is investigating a North Korean working for an unnamed federal agency. It’s unclear how the North Korean was hired, but the regime is known for its coordinated and long-running campaigns aimed at fraudulently obtaining employment at private organizations and multinationals. The case marks a rare…