Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

The Trump administration is expediting an environmental review of the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System that would reauthorize the project for another 30 years, including the pipeline, pump stations, access roads, bridges and a fuel gas line that lie within the right-of-way. The Bureau of Land Management is also shortening the public comment period for review of the project to 15 days. The federal government usually accepts public comment from 30 to 60 days, or even longer, depending on the complexity of the rules. BLM, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, was not scheduled to renew the…

The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond—effectively, the rate of interest on U.S. government debt—peaked last week at 5.33 percent, its highest level in 19 years. This may be the product of the normal laws of supply and demand. But the fluctuations in the vast market for U.S. debt have effects that are profound for both the U.S. and global economies—and, in this case, for U.S. politics, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now assumed responsibility for trying to bring that interest rate down. Why exactly are yields rising? How is Bessent’s background as a bond trader informing his…

After the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced two cases of measles-related deaths in one county, the local coroner appeared to contradict the account. And in an ongoing spat with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has alleged that a Shapiro staffer may have even “fabricated” the deaths. We’ll lay out what we know. The saga brings to mind a pandemic-era falsehood that the vast majority of people classified as dying from COVID-19 did not die of the disease, but died of other causes while they happened to be infected. And when two children…

A 41-year-old man has died and at least six other people have been injured after a large sign fell at a Christian festival in West Sussex, police said.The man, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at the Big Church festival near Steyning on Friday afternoon.His next of kin have been told and are being supported by specialist officers, Sussex police said.The force added that at least six other people have been taken to hospital for treatment.DCS Richard McDonagh said: “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the man’s family…

Berlin is being blackmailed by hackers who were able to compromise city systems and steal data earlier this month, its mayor has said.Kai Wegner said officials would not cave in to the ransom demand, which came on Thursday evening. He did not say how much was being sought, though Der Spiegel reports the hackers are demanding 30 bitcoin, worth around €2m (£1.7m).Some of the German capital’s online systems were forced to close down as a result of the attack, while investigators were working to understand what data had been taken.The Rhysida group, which is thought to operate from Russia and…

President Trump the other day posted a heroic image of himself backed by an aircraft carrier, warplanes and American flags. In the lower left corner was former President George W. Bush and a sign, “Mission Not Accomplished 2001-2021.” In the other corner was a sign referencing himself saying “Mission Accomplished 2026.”Except that it is not. Mr. Trump’s war in Iran, which hit the six-month mark on Friday, is anything but accomplished. Half a year in, the conflict has deteriorated into a quagmire of the president’s own making with no clear goals, no obvious strategy and no end in sight. Mr.…

President Donald Trump interrupted Nvidia’s all-hands staff meeting on Thursday morning when he called CEO Jensen Huang midway through, three sources who witnessed the interaction tell WIRED.Nvidia’s all-hands meetings typically involve Huang presenting or answering questions, on stage, to in-person staff at the company’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters, while thousands of remote employees tune in to a virtual livestream. During the meeting on Thursday, Huang received a call on his mobile phone, which he stepped aside to take.Staffers could clearly hear Trump’s distinctive voice through Huang’s onstage microphone, although they couldn’t make out what he was saying. Less than a…

So far, agentic AI has proven more effective for cyberattacks than cyber defense, but that may be changing.Theresa Lanowitz, principal analyst at Omdia, spoke with Dark Reading’s senior news director, Rob Wright, at the News Desk at Black Hat USA 2026 about new research regarding shifting enterprise investments in offensive cybersecurity practices, such as penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and red teaming, amid growing concerns about AI-driven threats.Lanowitz explained how organizations are looking to increase spending on offensive cybersecurity practices to keep pace with the increasing speed with which threat actors are weaponizing new vulnerabilities and launching attacks. One way to…

Solana validators have approved a proposal to double the network’s annual disinflation rate, reducing future SOL issuance.According to finalized voting results, the proposal received 67% support, with 25.16% voting against and 7.84% abstaining. Overall participation reached 60.7% of eligible stake.The proposal, known as SGP-0002 or Double Disinflation, increases Solana’s annual disinflation rate from 15% to 30%, while leaving the network’s long-term inflation target of 1.5% unchanged.Under the new schedule, Solana is expected to reach its 1.5% terminal inflation rate in about 2.8 years, compared with roughly 5.7 years under the previous schedule, Solana Compass reported. The change would result in…

President Donald J. Trump awarded NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Friday for their service during the Artemis II mission. He presented the awards during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, honoring the first medal recipients since 2023. NASA’s historic Artemis II mission launched on April 1, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. The crew members were the first astronauts to launch on the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, flying aboard NASA’s Orion…