Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Beware the angry Canadian.Famous for their mild-mannered, earnest perseverance, Canadians have united in protest against US President Donald Trump’s latest trade war escalation. “WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” Trump posted this week.Ontario premier Doug Ford, an outspoken Trump critic whose province is one of the hardest hit by tariffs, spoke for many fellow citizens when he said of the US president: “As far as I’m concerned, he can kiss my ass.”Trump on Monday said he would increase tariffs on Canadian cars and automotive parts to 50 per cent from January 1 shortly after launching new 50 per cent levies on…

Roughly 160 people are dead and hundreds more—including dozens of international tourists—are missing after flash floods hit a region on the mountainous border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Devastating footage posted to social media shows people fleeing a wall of water that washed away buildings and vehicles.Initial analysis of satellite imagery and reports from the Nepalese government indicate that the flooding was likely triggered by a landslide caused after a piece of a glacier fell hundreds of feet.As the region warms, its ice is becoming increasingly unstable, raising the risk of catastrophic flooding.“The glaciers over there are definitely in…

Google on Tuesday announced the release of Chrome 152, with patches for more than 300 vulnerabilities, the majority of which were discovered internally using AI. Ten vulnerabilities have been assigned a critical severity rating. Most are use-after-free issues in components such as Angle, Aura, Chromecast, Views, and SafeBrowsing.  Sixty-one flaws have been rated as high severity, while the rest have medium or low severity.  Of the 327 weaknesses patched by the latest Chrome updates, 299 were discovered internally by Google. The use of AI has led to a surge in the discovery of Chrome vulnerabilities this year.  However, external researchers…

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have continued their winning streak, attracting billions of dollars in new investment over the past week.  U.S. investors have thrown $2.56 billion since last Monday, according to Farside Investors data, helping push the leading cryptocurrency’s price higher.  And this week alone, nearly $652 million in fresh cash has hit the products managed by the likes of BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and Fidelity.  Bitcoin was recently trading for $78,302 after jumping nearly 25% over a seven-day period. The coin touched as high as $81,160 on Monday.  Bitcoin’s rise comes after a sluggish June and July when it mostly traded…

An international team of researchers, led in part by the University of Ottawa, has documented a major calving event at Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland. On August 4, 2026, the glacier released a 76.4 km2 ice island, its largest loss of floating ice since 2012 and the biggest Arctic calving event since 2020. The newly separated tabular iceberg broke away from Petermann Glacier’s floating ice tongue and may be as much as 150 meters thick. Its surface area is roughly comparable to Manhattan Island, giving scientists a rare opportunity to observe how enormous Arctic ice masses develop, move through the…

Dozens of Americans and Canadians are among hundreds of people who are missing following a deadly flash flood and mudslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, Nepali authorities say.More than 150 people are so far known to have died, according to the authorities. The US State Department said it was aware that Americans were impacted by Wednesday’s floods but did not provide numbers. It added that the US embassy in Nepal is working closely with local tour agencies and authorities to assist affected Americans, a spokesperson said.Canada’s foreign office said it was also monitoring developments and was ready to provide assistance if…

Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader cameras have been deployed across 49 states. The company has spent more than $2 million on lobbying in 2025 and 2026. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Flock Safety has poured more than $2 million into federal and state lobbying since 2025 as the fast‑growing surveillance company faces mounting scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties and privacy advocates over its ever-expanding network of license‑plate‑tracking cameras. The company spent nearly $1.3 million between January 2025 and July 2026 on federal lobbying and at least another $1 million in statehouses across the U.S., according to OpenSecrets’ federal lobbying data…

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at an Iranian-Omani proposal for the Strait of Hormuz, deadly flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet, and rising Israeli extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Tehran’s Demands for Hormuz Iran and Oman reached a revenue-sharing agreement on the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with Muscat saying it is “hopeful” that the deal will be formalized soon. Meanwhile, Tehran warned that the critical waterway will remain closed if the United States fails to accept the proposal’s terms. “The U.S. is obstructing this process, causing progress to be delayed,” said Hossein Mohebbi,…

The claim that the Trump administration’s alleged plan to slaughter wild horses was linked to its plan to import 300,000 tons of ground beef is unproven. The rumor appeared to mix elements of several different news items: a New York Times investigation that says the Trump administration allowed protected wild horses and burros to be sold for slaughter, an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social that his administration would import “up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef” to lower beef prices, and a series of food recalls. While Trump did post on Truth Social…

Floodwaters and mud crashed through Himalayan river valleys and swallowed villages on Wednesday, creating a cross-border crisis in Nepal and the Chinese territory of Tibet, with an unknown number of people swept away or buried.Thousands of people live in riverside settlements downstream from the flooding, and hundreds are dead or missing, including foreign tourists. At least 19 vehicle bridges and 40 kilometers of roads have been swept away, according to a statement from Nepal’s prime minister.Here’s what to know about the flash floods.Where did the floods hit?The torrents rushed through the valley of the Trishuli River, which is flanked by…