Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping is under threat from a failure to find accommodation for a growing number of newly released prisoners, a charity has warned.An analysis by the social justice charity Nacro has found that nearly one in six people leaving jail in England and Wales last year were released into homelessness, reaching the highest rate for five years.Between April 2025 and March 2026, 15,155 people freed from prison were without housing – equivalent to 300 people every week and an 18% increase on the previous year.In a bold first pledge in his first speech as prime…

The Democratic Party’s ascendant left flank, looking to build on its success in Michigan last week, faces fresh tests in two primaries in the Midwest on Tuesday.A democratic socialist appears to be clearly ahead in the governor’s race in Wisconsin, and a progressive is facing off against a moderate in an expensive Senate race in Minnesota. Wisconsin, like Michigan, is a closely watched national battleground.On the Republican side, President Trump’s choice to succeed Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina — Mr. Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham — is running in a special primary election against four more experienced rivals. Despite…

Starting February 1st, 2027, creators who want to monetize their channel through YouTube’s Partner Program (YPP) will need at least 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. That’s a sizeable jump from YouTube’s current requirement of 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 watch hours in the past year, or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Creators will also need to maintain 10 million Shorts views over 90 days to earn money from the Shorts Creators Pool, though falling below this…

class H3Graph: def __init__(self, schema, unet, te, lora=None): self.s, self.g, self._id = schema, {}, 0 self.unet, self.te, self.lora = unet, te, lora def node(self, cls, **inputs): self.s.check(cls, inputs) self._id += 1 nid = str(self._id) self.g[nid] = {“class_type”: cls, “inputs”: inputs} return nid def _backbone(self): model = self.node(“UNETLoader”, unet_name=self.unet, weight_dtype=”default”) if self.lora: model = self.node(“LoraLoaderModelOnly”, model=[model, 0], lora_name=self.lora, strength_model=1.0) if CFG[“SIGMA_SHIFT”]: sv, sa = CFG[“SIGMA_SHIFT”] model = self.node(“MiniMaxH3SigmaShift”, model=[model, 0], shift_video=float(sv), shift_audio=float(sa)) clip = self.node(“CLIPLoader”, clip_name=self.te, type=”minimax”, device=”default”) vvae = self.node(“VAELoader”, vae_name=VAE_VIDEO) avae = self.node(“VAELoader”, vae_name=VAE_AUDIO) return model, clip, vvae, avae def _tail(self, model, cond, latent, vvae, avae): turbo = bool(self.lora)…

A financially motivated threat actor previously associated with the Medusa ransomware operation is now deploying a new ransomware strain called StormEncryptor. Microsoft Threat Intelligence is tracking the actor as Storm-1175 and says the recent attacks were likely preceded by exploitation of an authentication-bypass vulnerability (CVE-2026-18577) in the N-central remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool. Storm-1175 is believed to be a China-based threat actor. It was previously linked to Medusa ransomware, targeting systems via zero-day and n-day flaws in various products, including GoAnywhere MFT, SmarterTools SmarterMail, Microsoft Exchange, Invanti Connect Secure, and JetBrains TeamCity. “Storm-1175’s deployment of StormEncryptor marks the threat…

“We view this as the first of several rulemakings the SEC will undertake to provide regulatory certainty for crypto assets after the Senate failed before the August recess to advance the Clarity Act on crypto market structure,” TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg wrote in a client note sent after the SEC’s notice.The proposal is expected to give a path to crypto firms enabling them to raise capital for projects without triggering SEC registration requirements, and the businesses are also expected to be provided an exit path for getting clear of the agency’s jurisdiction when they’re not engaged in hands-on management…

A total solar eclipse is set to cross Europe, and people around the world will be able to watch the event live. The European Space Agency (ESA) will begin its broadcast at 1:30 p.m. EDT (19:30 CEST) on August 12, giving viewers a chance to experience the eclipse from home.. Quick linksWhat Happens During a Total Solar Eclipse A solar eclipse happens when the Moon moves directly between Earth and the Sun, covering the Sun and casting a narrow region of Earth into darkness. When the Sun’s brilliant surface is hidden, its faint and wispy atmosphere becomes visible. Stars and…

With Virginia’s Aug. 4 primaries in the rearview mirror, the ballot is set in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.  In the state’s second congressional district, Republican incumbent Jen Kiggans will fight to hold her seat against former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria in a district recently reshaped to include Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, and parts of Norfolk. The Cook Political Report describes VA-2 as a swing seat. In recent years, the area has faced severe blue-sky flooding and land subsidence from storm surges and extreme weather. It’s also adjacent to the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, projected…

Your leader (The Guardian view on sporting fair play: it was never quite cricket, 30 July) recycles the persistent caricature of Siegfried Sassoon’s, Hugh de Sélincourt’s and AG Macdonell’s cricket fiction as existing in a “bucolic dreamworld”.Sassoon’s The Flower Show Match is set against the background of the Boer war, with recurring references to the relief of Ladysmith. The home umpire is also suspected of using his wooden leg to make dents in the pitch.In De Sélincourt’s The Cricket Match, a war profiteer has felled the fir trees surrounding the Tillingford ground to have them sawn into pit props. The…

Heat health alerts now in place across whole of EnglandAmber heat health alerts are now in effect across all regions of England, aside from the north east, which has been given a yellow alert, up until Friday evening. You can keep up to date with the latest weather health alerts here.ShareUpdated at 10.04 CESTKey eventsPippa NeillFarmers have reported their earliest harvests in 20 years, with reduced yields, while reservoir levels have fallen to 69% – 11.6% lower than expected for this time of year.Paul Tompkins, the deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, said that with no meaningful rain forecast in…