Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly advanced a bipartisan measure to impose sweeping sanctions against Russia and extend penalties against Iran, paving the way for passage of long-stalled legislation championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham.The vote was 86 to 12, with nearly all Republicans and a majority of Democrats joining together to push it well beyond the 60 votes needed to tee up a final vote.It came hours after Mr. Graham, who died suddenly this month, was memorialized in ceremonies at the Capitol and Washington National Cathedral, and not long after senators had met on Capitol Hill with President Volodymyr…

OpenAI said Tuesday that the rogue AI agent that breached Hugging Face’s platform also hacked multiple third-party accounts and services as part of the attack. It’s now clear that the unprecedented security incident, which arose during an internal test of OpenAI’s latest AI models, was more extensive than the company initially disclosed.In an updated blog post, OpenAI said that an ongoing review of the incident revealed that “four accounts” tied to “publicly available services” were used by the AI agent as part of a larger effort to hack Hugging Face. The rogue agent apparently found credentials that had been exposed…

The surge in device-code phishing attacks highlights how threat actors are increasingly stealing passwords to target authentication sessions, tokens, and trust relationships that enable them to masquerade as legitimate users and maintain persistent access.Compromised tokens and sessions allow attackers to operate within trusted identity environments, making malicious activity indistinguishable from legitimate user behavior. Device code phishing, for instance, exploits a legitimate sign-in process designed for devices with limited input capabilities, such as smart TVs and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Attackers trick users into entering a code from a phishing email into a real Microsoft or Google authentication page, unknowingly…

In brief The United States announced a ceasefire with Iran yesterday, but markets aren’t optimistic it will last. The odds that the ceasefire lasts a continuous 14 days dumped by 10% on Polymarket today. The U.S. and Iran had held fire for a third day by Monday, but President Trump warned military action could resume if diplomacy fails. The United States seems to have announced a ceasefire yesterday on its offensive actions against Iran. But prediction markets are not too optimistic about how long that peace will last.A Polymarket contract requiring a continuous 14-day period without a U.S. airstrike or…

Exercise may provide some relief for people with hip osteoarthritis, but the improvements in pain and physical function may be too small for many patients to notice in everyday life, according to a new Cochrane review. The researchers caution that stronger evidence is still needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. Hip osteoarthritis affects millions of people around the world and is a major cause of long-term pain and disability. Exercise is commonly recommended as one of the first treatments for reducing symptoms and maintaining mobility. Exercise Benefits May Be Modest Researchers from the University of Sydney and University of…

An alleged corruption case at Indonesia’s Surabaya Zoo has reignited concerns over governance at the country’s wildlife conservation institutions.Experts say the investigation highlights broader questions about transparency, accountability and how conservation facilities are monitored.They warn that failures in oversight can have far-reaching implications for both public trust and animal welfare.See All Key Ideas An alleged corruption case at Indonesia’s Surabaya Zoo has renewed scrutiny of how the country’s wildlife conservation institutions are governed and prompted experts to warn that financial misconduct can have consequences that extend beyond public finances to the welfare of animals entirely dependent on human…

In July 2026, a claim spread online that trans dolls with interchangeable genitalia would be distributed to Minnesota classrooms in the fall.  The rumor stemmed from from a report by conservative news outlet The College Fix, which focuses on higher-education news. Several other right-leaning news outlets repeated the claim.  While it is true that a research group at the University of Minnesota has developed paper dolls with interchangeable internal reproductive organs and external genitalia due for release in 2026, the claim they will be distributed to classrooms in Minnesota or elsewhere isn’t supported by evidence and doesn’t appear to have…

Home Middle East Live Issued on: 29/07/2026 – 04:51Modified: 29/07/2026 – 05:45 Screengrab made on July 18, 2026 from handout video footage released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) shows what the US military says is the latest wave of precision strikes on Iranian military sites. © AFP via Handout US Central Command Public Affairs US and Saudi warplanes carried out strikes on Tuesday against Iran-backed militants in Iraq who launched more than two dozen drone attacks in recent days, the US military said. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck and halted three oil tankers in the Strait of…

No one is yet saying out loud that Merz should go. But if his party performs poorly in three state elections in September, the crisis will likely become much harder to contain. The drama has so far unfolded in two acts. The first began on July 14, when BILD — which, like POLITICO, is owned by Axel Springer — reported that Jens Spahn, the conservatives’ parliamentary group leader, and his husband had become parents through a surrogate mother in the United States.  “This feeling can hardly be put into words,” the paper quoted him as saying. The complication was plain…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThe US is poised to impose sweeping sanctions on buyers of Russian oil and gas after senators overwhelmingly endorsed a bill intended to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin to end his years-long war in Ukraine.The Senate voted 86-12 late on Tuesday to advance a bill that imposes primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and individuals and businesses that buy that nation’s oil and gas. The sanctions package is the latest sign the Trump administration is starting to warm to Ukrainian…