Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

In a contrast of fire and ice, smoke from wildland fires mingled with several of the Cascade Range’s prominent, glaciated volcanoes in summer 2026. Astronauts on the International Space Station photographed the scene while orbiting over the U.S. West in late July and early August. Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest peak at 11,249 feet (3,429 meters), is pictured above, near a thick plume of smoke pouring from the Grasshopper fire. Thunderstorms passed over the forest in the preceding weeks, and a lightning strike on July 23 ignited the blaze pictured in this July 31 photo. The fire, burning east of the…

A popular bald eagle from California’s Big Bear Valley, watched by millions around the world through a livestream nest camera, has died.Jackie, as the bird was known, was admitted to the Ojai Raptor Center after rescuers found her grounded and fighting with two juvenile bald eagles in the Big Bear Valley.Dehydrated and anemic when she was found, Jackie developed blood clots in her wing and kidney, leading to her declining health and eventual death despite three weeks of intensive veterinary care.Jackie’s and her mate Shadow’s popularity spurred a $10 million donation for a land trust to purchase parts of…

I am sorry that the parkrun spoils Janet Knowlson’s experience of her local park (Letters, 7 August). I wonder if she has ever spoken to a parkrunner or a volunteer? Many would tell of the camaraderie and their improved physical and mental health. Strangers become friends and even partners. We do not take over the park, as she alleges, rather we recognise that we share the space with other park users and are respectful of their rights and needs. Parkrun is for everyone and anyone, from children upwards, and not only runners. It is only competitive if you want it…

Do you have more information on this topic? Send us a message. The claim that seven U.S. Navy personnel died in a brawl on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is still under investigation, although there’s no credible evidence the alleged incident occurred.  The rumor stems from a report from Iranian state-owned Mehr News Agency, which cited another Iranian media outlet, Tasnim News Agency, that cited anonymous sources.  A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command said the reports were false.  We have left the story unrated because the Iranian reports did not include enough concrete details for us to fully investigate…

Thousands of US military members who have lived aboard an aircraft carrier for more than 250 days are reportedly contending with food shortages, broken plumbing and exhaustion, leading lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon and pressuring the Trump administration over the Iran war.Military news outlets reported that some USS Abraham Lincoln sailors have attempted to jump overboard, and families have raised concerns about mental health onboard the ship.Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday called reports of conditions “completely misrepresented”.The carrier left California in November for the South China Sea and was sent to the Middle East ahead of attacks…

Jack Wallen/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysDicio is a solid replacement for Google Assistant.Dicio handles basic tasks very well (including hands-free calling).The free app’s main drawback is that it does not work with Android Auto.I recently wrote about the problems Gemini has with reliably making hands-free calls. Given that Assistant handled this task with ease and predictability, it’s worrisome that Google is set on permanently tossing Assistant aside, without having solved this hands-free issue.  When I learned that Google Assistant would be discontinued next month, I decided to look for an alternative. That search led…

Security researcher Nightmare Eclipse has dropped a fresh zero-day exploit leading to privilege escalation on Windows. Also known as Chaotic Eclipse, the disgruntled researcher released multiple zero-day exploits targeting Microsoft products over the past several months, usually right after the Patch Tuesday security updates. Right on cue, the new proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit, dubbed ShieldBreak, was published on August 2026 Patch Tuesday. It targets a vulnerability in Microsoft Defender, allowing any user to gain System privileges. According to Nightmare Eclipse, the exploit is a RoguePlanet patch bypass, works on the latest Windows 11 versions and on Windows Server 2025, and likely…

The source also said SEC staff have become increasingly focused on the agency’s legal authority to issue such broad relief, including whether it has completed sufficient economic analysis and followed the procedural steps required to justify an exemption. Industry insiders have been instructed that this effort may need to wait for the outcome of the Clarity Act.Resistance came from traditional financial institutions as well.SIFMA, the Wall Street trade group whose members include major broker-dealers and investment banks, has emerged as one of the main groups halting the SEC’s initiative, according to an industry source familiar with the discussions. SIFMA did…

Growing up in Grafton, West Virginia, engrossed in Star Wars and all things science fiction, Fletcher Newell had an early interest in space exploration. That interest only grew when, in 2013, his fourth-grade class took a field trip to a nearby NASA facility he had not yet heard of – NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility, located in nearby. Thirteen years later, Newell and 48 of his colleagues at the facility were sworn in as NASA civil servants during a ceremony on Aug. 10. “I had always admired NASA from afar,” said Newell, who started working at IV&V…

Prolonged heatwaves pushed death tolls to new levels this year in Maryland, which recorded its highest number of heat-related deaths with more than a month left of summer.  At least 70 deaths across the U.S. were linked to the heat domes that covered much of the country in July, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. July was the hottest month across the United States since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began keeping records 132 years ago.  An August 2024 study that analyzed deaths occurring between 1999 and 2023 using data from the Centers for Disease Control and…