Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Use the Moon to find Antares and the Teapot, spot brilliant Venus, welcome the equinox, and see the Harvest Moon near Saturn and Neptune. Sept. 14-20: Use the Moon to find Antares and the Teapot; dark skies may reveal the Milky Way center Sept 18: Venus reaches peak brilliance for this evening appearance Sept. 22: September equinox; fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere Sept. 26: Harvest Moon rises near Saturn and Neptune The Moon joins a tea party… Venus cranks up the brightness… the seasons officially change… and the Harvest Moon meets up with…

Maryland’s ratepayer protection agency is fighting on two fronts simultaneously to shield households from paying hundreds of millions more in costs related to projected power demand—much of it linked to data centers that may never get built.  In recent weeks, the Office of People’s Counsel has asked federal regulators to reject regional grid operator PJM Interconnection’s plan to procure additional power to ensure grid reliability. In case that fails, OPC also asked Maryland’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, to shield ratepayers by acting before the capacity procurement is locked in on Oct. 21. PJM, which runs the electricity grid…

The Tersan Shipyard in Türkiye has laid the keel for the cable-laying vessel (CLV) it is constructing for South Korean subsea cable installation company LS Marine Solution.Source: Tersan Shipyard via LinkedIn LS Marine Solution and the shipyard signed a contract for the construction of the vessel in June 2025, followed by the start of construction in July 2026. “We have successfully celebrated the keel laying of the next‑generation cable laying vessel InterOcean (Hull No. NB1139) which we built for LS Marine Solution. This milestone ceremony marks the official transition of the project into the construction phase, while highlighting the strong partnership between the…

“In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity” is an aphorism attributed to Albert Einstein. It seems to be taken to heart by this White House. A global bond sell-off sparked by an inflationary shock emanating from the Gulf sees Donald Trump seeking to restrict plans by Japan – a longtime ally – to reduce dependence on an international system America dominates.Japan, a successful exporter, has long done things its own way. For years Tokyo saw off the bond vigilantes despite running enormous deficits and a huge national debt. It demonstrated how a central bank could fund public spending…

A rumor circulating in late August 2026 claimed crews cut down dozens of cherry trees to pave the way for U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to renovate a Washington, D.C., golf course.  As of this writing on Sept. 1, we’ve found no evidence to support the claim dozens of cherry trees had been removed as part of the project. The gold course makeover, which Trump said would begin on Sept. 1, aims to create a championship-style site by overhauling the East Potomac Golf Links property inside East Potomac Park. The rumor about cherry trees appeared to have originated with readers…

The National Electoral Commission says 70 percent of voters cast their ballots in favour of the changes.Published On 1 Sep 20261 Sep 2026A referendum in Guinea-Bissau has approved a new constitution that will significantly increase the power of the president.The National Electoral Commission said on Tuesday that 70 percent of votes cast last week were in favour of the changes, with the turnout at almost 60 percent.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe referendum, proposed by the military government, which seized power in a coup in November last year, took place shortly ahead of a general election at the…

Burnham dropped a hint that he could raise defense spending to 3 percent of GDP by 2030 — a key demand of his chief finance minister, John Healey, when he quit Starmer’s government earlier this year as defense minister. Burnham said he had appointed Healey “precisely because” of his arguments on defense.  Yet both men have pushed back any decision to a spending review in 2027, and will not face easy choices; the U.K.’s long-term borrowing costs are their highest since 1998, and Burnham declined to rule out tax rises in Healey’s fall budget. On paper, the position did not…

Burnham said his time as Greater Manchester mayor had given him “a clear theory of growth”, namely that devolving powers to regions outside London would boost their economy. He argued the approach had worked in Manchester and now he wanted “every single place across our regions and nations to be able to do the same, creating the conditions for good growth in every postcode”.Some MPs have raised concern that areas without mayors – and the new powers that have come with them – would suffer, leading to a two-tier system. Efforts to secure a devolution deal in Cornwall have been…

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has warned his country will retaliate if the UK imposes sanctions against it over the potential expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Addressing Parliament for the first time as foreign secretary, Ed Miliband said he would introduce a “comprehensive reset” of policy on Israel “in the coming weeks”. He said the government would examine how to stop UK companies “financing, constructing or advertising new settlements” in the occupied West Bank.Responding, Gideon Saar told Hebrew-language news website Ynet: “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.” “If they act, I think they will…

Amazon doesn’t advertise its Labor Day sale as heavily as Prime Day and Black Friday, but the Amazon 2026 Labor Day Sale still offers some of the best deals of the year on an assortment of tech and home gear ranging from half off WIRED’s previous top-pick wireless headphones, Sony’s XM5 series ($198) we’ve ever tested to the best deal I’ve seen this year on WIRED’s favorite laptop power bank, the EcoFlow Rapid Pro X ($180).Amazon’s deals are in heavy flux during the lead-up to Labor Day—and a number of my favorite grills and griddles have already sold out on…