Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

U.S. forces formally withdrew from Iraq on Wednesday, ending a two-decade military presence that stoked years of devastating bloodshed, and leaves behind a battered nation struggling to unshackle itself from its two most powerful, and now warring, allies.After toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003, the brutal dictator who ruled Iraq for nearly 24 years, American forces are making their second withdrawal from the country.The U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation, which ended in 2011, left a country reeling from sectarian bloodletting and militant insurgencies that cost nearly 4,500 U.S. lives and killed more than 115,000 Iraqis, according to the most modest counts.American…

Rutte’s unusually strong remarks underscore the growing tensions between Moscow and NATO countries as hybrid attacks and Russian-linked sabotage proliferate across Europe. In recent days, Russia’s embassy in Belgium sent NATO a note alleging the alliance was displaying “reckless and irresponsible” behavior near its Kaliningrad exclave, following alliance exercises involving several reconnaissance planes, ground forces and fighter jets near the region, which is between Poland and Lithuania, last month. “We have emphasised that Russia possesses the necessary means to repel any potential aggression and is prepared to deploy its entire arsenal to defend its territory should NATO countries attempt to…

Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester until June, added: “I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city”.He said he was “of course” confident that his own interactions with City’s owners when he was mayor would stand up to scrutiny.Burnham made his comments amid widespread shock in football about the scale of the independent commission’s findings – and the strength of Premier League comments about City’s actions.Burnham was speaking to the BBC from Hill Dickinson…

The hottest ticket at Labour conference – after Andy Burnham’s speech – was an afterparty in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, headlined with a set by the noughties girlband Sugababes. As Labour activists and ministers belted out the lyrics under pink spotlights, it was hard not to draw some parallels with the party’s recent history.There have been painful lineup changes and a lot of internal division, but this week onstage in Liverpool the originals are back together and they only played the hits. The fans can’t get enough.Burnham’s own show on the main stage had the conference hall in raptures not because…

The new Fire TV Stick 4K will be a little easier to set up than Amazon’s previous 4K streaming sticks since it no longer requires a power adapter. You can power the device directly from your TV’s USB port, like the updated entry-level Fire TV Stick Amazon launched earlier this year. The Fire TV Stick 4K, available starting today for $59.99, runs on Amazon’s refreshed TV OS and includes Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Bluetooth Low Energy.Amazon’s also simplifying its streaming stick lineup, which now includes four devices instead of five: the Fire TV Stick HD, Fire TV Stick 4K,…

For nearly a decade, multi-factor authentication has been the control every security leader points to when asked how they’ve reduced account takeover risk. It sits on almost every compliance checklist and nearly every cyber insurance questionnaire, and for good reason — adding a second factor to a password login closed off an enormous share of credential-based attacks, and organizations that adopted it early saw the payoff in fewer compromised accounts. That confidence is now outdated in a way many security teams haven’t fully registered. The MFA adoption rate reported to a board or an auditor rarely distinguishes between the method…

That’s where Abrams sees an opening. Open USD, he said, is designed for banking, cross-border payments, card settlement, institutional trading and lending, with an economic model built to reward the companies that drive supply and activity.”When are stablecoins successful? It’s when they recede into the background and just become a core part of your mom’s bank account,” Abrams said.From 140 partners to five foundersOpen Standard first emerged in June with more than 140 partners across payments, banking, crypto and technology, including BlackRock, BNY and Standard Chartered.The initial announcement rattled competitor Circle CRCL$83.18 as the market worried that major USDC partners,…

Reading Time: < 1 minute Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. Yes. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany voted against five House resolutions directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, voted as follows: March 5: Nay on House Concurrent Resolution 38. April 16: Nay on House Concurrent Resolution 40. May 14: Nay on House Concurrent Resolution 75. June 3: Nay on House Concurrent Resolution 86. July 23: Nay on House Concurrent Resolution 89. Tiffany…

Claim: Numerous videos authentically show a singer named George Paul performing on the NBC competition TV show “America’s Got Talent.” Rating: Throughout 2026, Snopes readers searched our website to find out whether numerous videos truly show a singer named George Paul performing music, including Christian songs, on NBC’s competition TV show “America’s Got Talent.” Searches of DuckDuckGo and Google uncovered hundreds of videos attributed to Paul on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, with his clips amassing hundreds of millions of views. Most posts supposedly feature appearances on “America’s Got Talent,” while others purportedly show him on “The…

The execution of Tennessee inmate Christa Pike has been halted an hour before it was due to happen.Pike, 50, has been awaiting execution since she was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.In their ruling on Wednesday, judges from the Sixth Circuit Appeals court said they needed more time to consider the arguments in Pike’s case. It is unclear how long the pause will last.This latest ruling comes after the Supreme Court denied a reprieve and the Tennessee governor declined to grant Pike’s request for clemency earlier this week.Her lawyers said that for years,…