Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Recently I found myself thinking about slug-like aliens that crawl through people’s ears and into their brains, with the ultimate purpose of global domination. It would explain a lot about what has gone so wrong with the world, wouldn’t it? And it was why I immediately flashed back to the children’s fantasy series Animorphs when Donald Trump’s health secretary and conspiracy theorist, Robert F Kennedy Jr, admitted to having had a worm in his brain.While visiting my parents in Cleveland, Ohio recently, I realised that a few books from the children’s fantasy series were still sitting on the shelves in…

Claim: A secret NASA document named “Project Anchor” leaked in November 2024, revealing the agency believed the Earth would “lose gravity” for seven seconds on Aug. 12, 2026. Rating: Throughout the first eight months of 2026, people shared a rumor alleging Earth would “lose gravity” for seven seconds on Aug. 12, leading to the deaths of tens of millions of people. Users purported a secret NASA document named “Project Anchor” leaked in November 2024, revealing the agency had known of and organized special preparations for the cosmic event. For example, in March 2026, an Instagram user posted (archived) a meme…

An Al Jazeera investigation has tracked the rapid spread of an anti-Muslim campaign on X after Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan in the Democratic primary for a United States Senate seat.It found that the apparently orchestrated campaign against El-Sayed, whose election win is seen as a setback for pro-Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, has sought to reframe his electoral win as a religious and ideological threat to the US.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe attacks began with accounts clipping the phrase “inshallah”, which means “God willing”, from El-Sayed’s election night speech. This word was used in the…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government are among the harshest critics, with Rome introducing border controls for travelers from Spain on Friday and sparking retaliation from Madrid. Weber echoed proposals made last week by EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, arguing that countries outside the bloc could be offered closer trade ties, economic collaboration and legal migration opportunities in exchange for accepting the installation of return hubs. “Migrants who have no right to remain must leave Europe — no ifs, ands or buts!” he wrote, adding that returns must no longer depend on the political will of individual…

The next major stop in the fight between moderate and progressive Democrats will come in Minnesota, where a competitive Senate primary on Tuesday has been shaped by the Trump administration’s deadly immigration crackdown and a fraud scandal that rocked the Democratic-run state government.The race between Representative Angie Craig, a moderate who represents a purple suburban district in Congress, and Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s progressive lieutenant governor, will offer the latest test of left-wing energy in the Democratic Party as it strives to flip the Senate.The contest, which has become one of the most expensive Senate primaries in state history, comes a…

Andy Burnham is going on a “listening tour”, travelling the country on a bus to find out what real people are concerned about. I’ve heard commentators rationalise the idea in various ways: apparently it underscores the difference between him and his predecessor, who only ever relaxed when he was out of the country; what else is Burnham going to do in recess, with his cabinet already chosen – organise his Post-it notes?; he’s been out of politics a long time, and many people will be only dimly aware of who he is; his speeches to date have had a very…

Today, I’m talking with Lila Snyder, who is the CEO of Bose.You certainly know Bose — it’s one of the most famous brands in all of consumer tech. The company started 60 years ago selling speakers to consumers, and its focus on research and development has led it to be a leader in both car audio and noise-canceling headphones.Lila was last on the show about four years ago, and since then she’s dramatically rearchitected the company. The focus on research is still there, but she’s sold off Bose Professional, acquired the high-end audio brands McIntosh Labs and Sonus faber, and,…

Physics AI can now explore thousands of design variations in the time it would take a traditional simulation to chew through a handful of them. Precisely up to 1,000 times faster, according to Siemens. What it cannot do is sign off a safety-critical part. On that, the technology has a firm limit, and Sam Mahalingam, who leads the business building it at Siemens Digital Industries Software, states it without hedging.“Is this good for safety-critical applications?” he said, on the sidelines of Realize LIVE Asia-Pacific in Bengaluru. “No, it is not.”That matters because the answer cuts against two years of an…

Identity security is under growing strain. The passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA) responses, IP reputation, geolocation and browser characteristics organizations have traditionally used to judge whether a login is legitimate are becoming easier for attackers to steal, imitate or work around. AI is adding to that pressure, not by creating a completely new class of attack, but by making familiar identity attacks faster and more efficient. Meanwhile, rotating IP addresses and disposable browser profiles make malicious logins harder to distinguish from legitimate ones. Against this rapidly evolving threat landscape, organizations need effective Zero Trust measures that protect against ‘legitimate’ logins from…

Bitcoin starts the week with new August highs as traders weigh the impact of crunch US inflation data.Key points:US CPI and PPI data comes amid fluctuating bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes in 2026.The Japanese yen remains at the forefront as it creeps back toward the key 160 level against the US dollar.Bitcoin (BTC) traders see the area around $65,800 as crucial for bulls after BTC/USD hits new month-to-date highs.Larger Bitcoin wallets contrast with retail holders after a conspicuous two-month accumulation spree.Baskets of onchain indicators still see the bear market continuing in the second half of the year. CPI, PPI data…