Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

President Donald Trump and other administration officials are claiming credit for a recent drop in prescription drug prices, citing deals they’ve struck with drugmakers and the launch of the online direct-to-consumer platform TrumpRx. But experts are skeptical those measures have had much impact on prices overall, and they say other factors likely explain most of the decline. Trump and his allies were quick to celebrate when the latest consumer price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released in mid-August, showed prescription drug prices falling 3.1% over the past year. The data measure prices paid by consumers and insurers at retail,…

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A United States judge has scheduled a hearing in Washington, DC, to discuss the case against a former Libyan intelligence official accused of participating in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, an attack on a commercial aeroplane that killed everyone on board.The case concerns Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, who reportedly worked for Libya’s external security organisation at the time of the bombing.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listFederal prosecutors have accused Mas’ud of delivering the bomb that was later loaded onto Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988.His trial is expected to be…

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A British woman has died after being stabbed at a railway station in southern Germany in the early hours of Sunday morning, police have said.The 31-year-old woman was attacked at the station in Rosenheim, Bavaria, shortly before 01:00 local time (00:00 BST). She was taken to hospital where she died as a result of “severe” injuries, the Bavarian Police said in a statement.Officers arrested a 27-year-old German man at the scene immediately after the incident. The background and motive for the attack is under investigation, the statement added.Police have asked anyone who may have witnessed “an argument or physical altercation”…

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A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed construction to continue on President Trump’s luxury White House ballroom, which has been steadily rising to replace the East Wing the president tore down last fall.The justices said the preservationists who challenged the construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom did not have legal grounds known as standing to bring their lawsuit because they were not directly harmed by the project, estimated to cost $400 million.The majority emphasized that its order was not addressing the legality of the project and instead the question of who could sue to try to block it. But in…

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Senior Reform UK figures like to boast that the summer time – and parliament’s longest recess – is when the party makes hay.Supposedly, it is when Nigel Farage and co can muscle in on the news cycle with provocative statements and new policies, painting “establishment” opponents as workshy layabouts.Last year’s summer break came with an added opportunity, which the rightwing populist party eagerly grasped, in the form of protests against hotels housing asylum seekers. As Labour and the Tories tempered their language, Farage eagerly weighed in, warning of the prospect of “civil disobedience on a vast scale”.Yet as August comes…

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who led his country to World Cup glory in 2022 and is considered one of the greatest players of all time, has retired from international football more than two decades after his debut.The 39-year-old played in three finals across six World Cups with Argentina, finishing runner-up in 2014 and 2026. He scored 125 goals in 207 games for his country, twice winning South America’s Copa América.“It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts, deep in my soul,…

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Team,Today is my last day as CEO of Apple. This is a moment I always knew would come one day, and yet it is still hard to believe it has arrived and I am writing these words. I love this company and the team behind it, and I couldn’t let this day pass without sending a note to you, to tell you how grateful I am for the outpouring of affection you’ve sent my way, for the way you’ve shown up each and every day, and most of all, for the privilege of a lifetime serving as your leader.The truth…

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Threat actors associated with Aurora (aka Aur0ra) ransomware have been observed using SpaceX’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding assistant Cursor to break into target networks, according to findings from CloudSEK and Gambit Security. The two independent analyses are based on exposed infrastructure associated with the Russian-speaking cybercrime group, leading to the discovery of its toolkit, shell history, and encryptor. CloudSEK said the exposed open directory leaked “months of activity” that was active against more than 20 organizations across nine countries between April and July 2026. Four of those victims have since been listed on its data leak site. “The operator used…

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Bitcoin on Monday shrugged off tensions in the Middle East, barely moving despite U.S. President Donald Trump vowing to hit Iran hard.  The price of the biggest cryptocurrency recently stood at $79,076, unmoved over a 24-hour period. The coin also hasn’t budged from where it stood seven days ago.  Geopolitical strife has this year hurt Bitcoin’s price, with the cryptocurrency typically facing downward pressure on news of war and rallied in hopes of a ceasefire.  When the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran in February, the coin nosedived, and had been shaky on news of war in March and April. …

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For the first time in 14 years, doctors have updated guidelines for preventing migraine attacks. The new recommendations from the American Academy of Neurology and American Headache Society, published August 31 in Neurology, incorporate evidence on treatments that weren’t available when the guidelines were last updated. That includes drugs that target calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP. These drugs, like Aimovig and Ajovy, have been a game changer for some, reducing migraines in up to 70 percent of the people who take them. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. Some come in…

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