Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

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,…

A national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs has announced targeted investigations will take place in Birmingham and Wales.The inquiry said the probes would “examine the sexual abuse and exploitation of children by grooming gangs and the response of organisations responsible for protecting children” in both areas.Oldham in Greater Manchester, Bradford and Keighley in West Yorkshire and London were announced as the first locations for local investigations earlier this year.It is unclear whether further locations will be selected. Some survivors have expressed frustration that their area has not yet been included and said they were concerned about expanding…

UK household income grew at a stronger pace than previously estimated during the first six months of the year, according to revisions of official data.The rise in income per head to 1.1% between January and June followed an increase in the level of economic growth that illustrated the resilience of the UK economy since the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East more than seven months ago.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.5% rather than the previously estimated 0.4% in the April to June quarter, showing that the UK economy grew at the…

Instagram is the latest social media platform to add built-in AI-powered features that will give users feedback on their posts. The company announced Wednesday that its standalone Edits app will now include an AI “creative assistant” that pulls in data from a user’s Instagram account and offers suggestions on what to change.Using the new assistant, creators can ask open-ended questions about what’s trending on Instagram, why one video worked and another didn’t, or what piece of content resonated most with their audience. The tool pulls in data and metrics such as likes, views, retention on videos, and shares. Instagram says…

The number of vulnerabilities disclosed each month doubled in 2026, and the monthly average of vulnerabilities exploited in the wild nearly doubled, according to a new report from Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG). Analyzing disclosures from January 2025 through August 2026, GTIG found that monthly disclosures rose from 5,045 in January 2026 to 10,477 in July, peaking at 10,740 in August. “We found that AI is measurably changing not just the pace of vulnerability discovery and exploitation, but also the types and typical risk profiles of vulnerabilities that are being discovered,” GTIG says. The researchers caution that raw volume can…

Bitcoin futures open interest is back above $50 billion for the first time this year. Is that healthy leverage or a warning sign? David Lawant, head of research at Anchorage Digital, says it’s a sign of vitality, and explains why rising spot volume and thinning order books point to the early stages of a Bitcoin market upturn. Chapters:0:00 Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Tops $50B – Healthy or a Warning Sign?1:26 Reading Bitcoin’s Market Structure Beyond Open Interest3:23 Rising Spot Volume, Thinning Order Books, and the Anthropic IPO4:15 The Liquidity Absorption Ratio Explained6:52 How to Spot a Bitcoin Market Regime Change7:36…

A large review led by researchers at King’s College London has found that people who use cannabis are more likely both to commit violent acts and to experience violence themselves. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) combined data from 63 studies involving more than 265,000 people. They analyzed the general population separately from people receiving psychiatric care. What the Review Examined The researchers used the World Health Organization’s broad definition of violence, which includes physical, sexual and psychological violence toward another person, both inside and outside intimate relationships. They also separated self-reported violence from cases that…

A potentially historic El Niño event is building in the Pacific Ocean and already impacting the globe. Based on most recent models, this year’s event could be the largest ever recorded.Recent studies suggest that climate change is increasing the intensity of El Niños. A paper analyzing coral samples from the Galapagos Islands found that intensity has increased 36.5% in the last four decades.Modeling suggests that climate change will continue to intensify El Niños into the future and change their frequency. Though this is still debated, with some models showing more limited influence.See All Key Ideas As a potentially…