Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Some of the earliest outsiders to discover the Chernobyl accident were workers at a Swedish nuclear power plant, when the building’s radiation monitors went off. After checking for leaks, the workers eventually realized the radiation came from abroad. The Swedes demanded answers from their neighbor, the Soviet Union. Yet when Soviet news acknowledged the accident, it only gave a terse description. In many cases, the Soviet government attempted to downplay the disaster to the outside world. This secrecy cost European governments valuable response time. That September, countries, including the United States and Soviet Union, signed a treaty to notify affected…

Claim: A video and a screenshot from that footage authentically show the overflow crowd at a Minnesota rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in September 2026. Rating: Context The footage and the screenshot are both from a pro-Trump rally held in Minnesota in July 2024, not September 2026. In September 2026, a video and screenshots from the same footage circulated online purportedly showing supporters at a Minnesota rally for U.S. President Donald Trump that same month. Examples of the clip were posted on X and Instagram, and the screengrabs appeared on X and Facebook. The captions were similar, in one…

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, September 24: The Spanish press express outrage after the forced eviction of an elderly woman from her Madrid residence. Unrest in the Tigray region sparks fears of a new war between rebels and Ethiopia’s central government. Australian authorities reveal that the national health insurance system Medicare was hacked by an AI agent. Finally, we look at Britain’s rudest-sounding street names! The eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old pensioner, amid Spain’s housing crisis has shocked the nation. El Mundo documents the eviction of Maricarmen in photos. She lived in the upmarket Madrid neighbourhood of Retiro for 70 years until…

But despite the reprieve in what has been a steady drumbeat of bad economic news for Merz until this point, economists warned of more trouble ahead, including rapidly rising debt levels and rising political turmoil.Forecasters for Germany’s five leading economic institutes warned that domestic political developments could weaken the outlook going forward, warning the German coalition is backpedaling on needed but unpopular reforms to the healthcare and pension systems in the wake of historic AfD wins in regional elections this September.  “The economy has performed more robustly than expected,” said Oliver Holtemöller, head of economic forecasting at the Halle Institute…

There is no “switch” to stop small boat crossings, and not every migrant boat can be intercepted, Labour’s deputy leader has told the BBC.Lucy Powell’s comments came after two uncontrolled landings from the Channel in two days, at Folkestone and Samphire Hoe in Kent.The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has ordered an urgent review by Border Security Command, calling the failure to intercept the two boats “not acceptable”.But the Conservatives say Labour has lost control of Britain’s borders, and a “radically different” approach is needed.A total of 781 people were recorded as arriving in 10 boats on Wednesday, the highest in…

An OpenAI model hacked into an Australian government website, the country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday, in the first publicly reported case of an AI model hacking into a government’s systems.  Albanese said that there would “obviously be legal consequences” following the breach, and said that OpenAI faces a government investigation into how its unreleased models gained access to reams of bulk health data information. This latest incident disclosure comes as governments and tech companies grapple with how to rein in increasingly autonomous AI after a recent spate of AI agents breaking out of their sandboxes, colluding on the…

Microsoft released the KB5124010 September 2026 non-security preview update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, with 46 changes including Bluetooth improvements and the ability to remap the Copilot key. KB5124010 is a preview update that lets administrators and users test Windows improvements, bug fixes, and new features before they become generally available during next month’s Patch Tuesday release. However, unlike regular cumulative updates, monthly optional updates like KB5124010 provide only quality improvements and don’t include security fixes. The September 2026 preview update adds support for Emoji 17.0, a new “Open apps maximized” accessibility setting that automatically maximizes app windows as…

Trillions in advisor wealth may still be sitting on the sidelines of Bitcoin. James Seyffart explains how wirehouse rules at firms like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan still restrict how financial advisors can buy Bitcoin ETFs for clients. He walks through target allocations, why many advisors chose to wait out the bear market, and how a small shift in allocation could bring big new demand. Chapters:0:00 Bitcoin ETFs See Nearly $1 Billion in Daily Inflows1:08 Why the $82K Bitcoin ETF Cost Basis Matters4:11 Can ETF Flows Actually Move the Bitcoin Price?5:42 New Buyers, Target Allocations and Advisor Demand7:51 Wirehouse Rules Holding…

A drug designed to remove aging, damaged cells may help older skin recover from wounds more quickly, according to research published in Aging (Aging-US). The study, titled “Topical ABT-263 treatment reduces aged skin senescence and improves subsequent wound healing,” examined a drug called ABT-263 and its effects on wound repair in older mice. Researchers Maria Shvedova, Rex Jeya Rajkumar Samdavid Thanapaul, Joy Ha, Jannat Dhillon, Grace H. Shin, Jack Crouch, Adam C. Gower, Sami Gritli, and Daniel S. Roh from the Boston University Aram V. Chobanian and Edward Avedisian School of Medicine found that applying ABT-263 directly to aging skin…

NEW YORK—From the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called on fellow leaders to support a treaty affirming that nature has inherent rights.  “Today I am announcing that Panama will lead internationally an effort to recognize the universal rights of nature. And I ask all of you to support us in this initiative,” Mulino said. Panama’s center-right government is working within the longstanding U.N. Harmony with Nature program, proposing language in the triennial Harmony with Nature resolution that would formally open inter-governmental negotiations on a non-binding declaration asserting that nature has rights and articulating…