Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

High-resolution satellite imagery has never been easier to buy, or to fake. For a brief window last week, the world’s most popular digital globe, Google Earth, let users manipulate satellite images with AI to create fakes grounded in real terrain. Backlash prompted the company to roll back the feature after less than a day. But its rollout demonstrated how quickly contemporary models can churn out misinformation when the right guardrails are not in place. Authentic imagery, meanwhile, is more available than ever. Customers’ options are rapidly expanding amid an ever-growing field of international competitors that offer similar views from low…

Claim: In August 2026, the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton died from self-inflicted injuries he briefly livestreamed on TikTok. Rating: On Aug. 4, 2026, the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., went live on the social media site TikTok for roughly 15 minutes. He was holding a knife and his torso appeared be covered in blood. Statements from Hilton’s family later confirmed that his wounds were self-inflicted. Police responded to the home, according to People magazine, and Hilton was taken to a hospital.  In the wake of the incident, posts spread online claimng Hilton had died from his…

Two men in France were convicted on Wednesday of aggravated violence in a case that followed the death of Raphaël Graven, an internet personality. Mr. Graven died last year during a live broadcast on the platform Kick, where fellow live streamers routinely subjected him to humiliation and abuse.The men were not accused of causing Mr. Graven’s death, but they controlled the channel whose stream he was present on when he died. The case provoked an intense debate in France about the government’s role in regulating parts of the internet where harassment and violence can go unchecked.In a criminal court in…

Altman’s four-page order, dated Wednesday and made public Thursday, said he found merit in Trump’s contention that his bid to drop his claims of damage to his brand and businesses — focusing instead on damage to his reputation — might undercut the BBC’s need for the financial data.“This is a compelling argument,” wrote Altman, a Miami-based Trump appointee.Lawyers for the BBC argued that information on the value of Trump’s businesses will continue to be relevant to the case regardless, since Trump’s reputation is closely tied to his business acumen. The BBC’s attorneys have also noted that Trump’s proposed new complaint,…

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, said on Thursday that he had been discharged from a rehabilitation facility after a nearly eight-week medical absence, announcing in a statement that he would continue recovering at home as the Senate takes its scheduled August recess.“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement.A spokesman for Mr. McConnell did not say whether the senator would return to the Senate when the…

Representative Cory Mills of Florida is running for re-election in a solidly Republican district and has President Trump’s endorsement. Yet two of his fellow Republicans on Florida’s congressional delegation would prefer he lose his upcoming primary election.Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos took the rare step of endorsing one of Mr. Mills’s rivals this week, underscoring how vulnerable some Republicans consider Mr. Mills, who was investigated by the police in Washington, D.C., last year after a woman filed a report of assault. No charges resulted.His former girlfriend was also granted a protective order against him. As a result of…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysDetails of the upcoming Pixel 11 lineup have leaked.Upgrades are coming to the chipset and modem.It’s yet to be seen how much value the new HiLight feature will bring.While the actual reveal is less than a week away, the majority of specs and details for the upcoming Google Pixel 11 series have already leaked. It might not seem like a huge upgrade from the 10 series at first glance, and the physical redesign is minimal, but there are definitely some things to be excited about once you dive in.Also: The…

OpenAI is rolling out a more reliable version of ChatGPT GPT-5.6 Sol for Plus and Pro users, while Free users are getting unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna. The changes are focused on making ChatGPT more direct, factually accurate, and consistent across quick questions and deeper reasoning tasks. In our tests, BleepingComputer observed that GPT now gives you greater control over the model’s reasoning and intelligence with a new slider. ChatGPT’s intelligence slider Source: BleepingComputer As you can see in the screenshot, you can slide GPT’s reasoning from Instant to High. Instant would respond almost immediately, while High reasoning could take…

Ex-governor of New York and Democrat Andrew Cuomo has said lawmakers need to hurry up and get the “highly political” Clarity Act over the line.  Cuomo, who is also the director of crypto exchange OKX, said that Democrats and Republicans were mainly locking horns over the ethics language in the bill.  A number of lawmakers are hoping the Clarity Act — which would set in stone crypto regulation in the U.S. — gets passed before Congress departs for August recess. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives last year but sticking points remain.  “We need clarity,” Cuomo said…

The NASA Science Activation Program’s Cosmic Storytelling with NASA Data (CosmicDS) project, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, works to bring authentic NASA data into the hands of educators and learners. From July 27–29, 2026, the CosmicDS team partnered with the Smithsonian Institution’s BEST AQI (Breathing Easier: Supporting Teen Air Quality Investigations) project to host a Leadership Institute at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) in Cambridge, MA. The Institute brought together 13 formal and informal educators who serve as advisors to BEST AQI, an initiative that guides teens through their own air quality research to…