Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Amid heat waves, wildfire smoke warnings and sudden storms over the last few months, officials around the world have urged people to follow a fairly straightforward method for keeping safe: stay inside.  But this guidance comes with its own risks, including an often-underestimated public health threat.  A growing body of research finds that climate-fueled extreme weather can breed loneliness and isolation, which experts say hinders community connection, mental health and physical well-being. In some cases, this seclusion can be deadly. Data shows people living alone are more likely to die during heat waves, hurricanes and floods—removed from the social networks…

Illinois law provides for the appointment of a special prosecutor when the elected county state’s attorney has an “actual conflict of interest in the cause, proceeding, or other matter.” Often the conflicts are inadvertent: A relative or political ally is a key witness in the case, for example, or the state’s attorney previously represented someone now charged with a crime. The petition to appoint a special prosecutor can come from any “interested person,” even if that person is not a party in the case. The special prosecutor’s appointment must be approved by the judge overseeing the case. In Illinois, special…

When China’s Politburo met on July 30 to set economic policy for the second half of 2026, the numbers in front of it were not good. In the first half of the year, retail sales grew just 1.3 percent from a year earlier, while the economy grew 4.7 percent. Consumer prices were up just 1 percent, about where they have been since February. A technology rally carried the stock market through the spring, but it broke in mid-July and was falling again as the Politburo convened. The solution that the Politburo settled on is to double down on the strategy…

Pyongyang conducts second weapons test in less than a week as Seoul, Washington gear up for annual military exercises.Published On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026North Korea has launched a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan, according to Seoul and Tokyo, marking the second such test from Pyongyang in less than a week.The launch on Wednesday came as South Korea and the United States announced plans to hold their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills starting on August 17.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Our military detected at around 6:00 am [21:00 GMT Tuesday] a ballistic missile launched by…

Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin state assemblywoman and democratic socialist, outlasted two more prominent Democrats but still faces several others in the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday.Here are five things to know about Ms. Hong, a chef and former small business owner from Madison.1. She ran as a populist focused on economic issues. Ms. Hong, the child of Korean immigrants, is a single mother and renter who once owned her own ramen restaurant. This year, she was sued over unpaid credit card debt, and has argued such working-class challenges make her well-equipped to understand and improve the lives of Wisconsinites.2.…

After a former lead writer claimed Saber “replaced me with ChatGPT,” CEO Matthew Karch now claims, “Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI,” for the Rideshare “Stimulator” game announced last month, developed by Unigine.The writer, Stella Sacco, says differently, however, posting on Bluesky that “I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they’re not disclosing it on Steam.”Saber describes Rideshare “Stimulator” as an “immersive driving simulation game that puts you behind the wheel as…

Advice for CSOs For CSOs, the primary strategic priority should be reducing the window of exposure around CVE-2026-68820, because exploitation is already occurring, Bicer said. CVE-2026-62832 should follow closely, because it is publicly disclosed and assessed as more likely to be exploited. The next priority should be unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerabilities with low attack complexity, particularly Windows DNS Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, Microsoft QUIC Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, Windows iSCSI Target Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, and Windows Deployment Services TFTP Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. He said IT leadership should also require accelerated remediation and explicit validation…

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed separate civil lawsuits against Goliath Ventures and founder Christopher Delgado over an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme that raised about $400 million. The SEC said Goliath raised at least $425 million from more than 1,300 investors through an unregistered securities offering. Investors were told their money would be placed in crypto liquidity pools, but the agency alleged none of the funds or crypto assets were invested and Delgado diverted at least $51 million for personal use. In a separate action, the CFTC said approximately 1,600 customers contributed at least…

The International Space Station has been busy throughout 2026, as it continues to be a bustling workspace for astronauts conducting a variety of scientific experiments that lay the groundwork for missions to the Moon and beyond. NASA’s Artemis II mission in April was the first crewed flight around the Moon in more than 50 years, marking a major milestone for humanity’s return to the lunar surface. While the mission validated key systems needed for future deep space human exploration, work aboard the International Space Station continues to support those goals. Astronauts on the orbiting laboratory are testing technologies, studying how…

An emerging narrative is that elephant poaching has declined, yet evidence shows that the illegal trade in ivory persists, and that the involvement of organized crime in it keeps growing.Despite big and news-making seizures of illegal ivory recently, criminal networks continue operating, and southern Africa appears to be back at the illegal global trade’s center.“The current narrative that the situation is under control should not be accepted without question,” a new op-ed for World Elephant Day 2026 argues.This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.See All Key Ideas In…