Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

A first of its kind measurement of a magnetar may have captured empty space behaving in a way physicists have predicted for 90 years, but never directly observed. The results published Wednesday in Nature. Magnetars are a special class of neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields, the strongest of any object in the observable universe, around a trillion times stronger than the strongest permanent magnets ever built on Earth. These super magnetic neutron stars offer glimpses into the physics of intense environments that cannot be found anywhere else. Neutron stars are the leftover cores of massive stars, formed at the…

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Nobody should be left to struggle with their mental health alone. But every day, thousands of people are waiting months for help, then finding the only door open to them is a busy A&E.”These new centres will be a lifeline for so many,” he said.”They will bring NHS services closer to home, making it easier to get support before problems get worse and ensuring those in crisis get the right care in the right place.”The chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, Andy Bell, said he welcomed the announcement on the whole – although…

A widespread downsizing of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the second Trump administration has exacerbated longstanding workforce challenges there and imperiled its response to disasters, a congressional watchdog warns.  More than 4,300 employees resigned or were let go from the agency last fiscal year, representing some 17 percent of its workforce, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent nonpartisan federal agency. A hiring freeze also began in January 2025 and was in effect until this past May. The reductions have resulted in a loss of institutional knowledge and experienced personnel and…

I remember fondly Jimmy Cricket (No smut, no swearing, wrong-feet wellies and a silly hat: the gentle comedy world of Jimmy Cricket, 4 August) taking over the intercom from the cabin crew who had just announced our flight to Manchester would be delayed. Groans from the passengers quickly gave way to laughter as Jimmy read a letter from the mammy in Ireland and the next hour passed so enjoyably that when the pilot announced take off, disappointment could be heard. Martin BrayfordAltrincham, Cheshire Goodness me, Mick Foster (Letters, 3 August)! Don’t you know that “creativity” is the sole prerogative of…

In one month, from May to June, overall inflation in the U.S. dropped at the “fastest rate in more than six years,” as President Donald Trump said in late July remarks. But he has repeatedly cited the statistic while wrongly suggesting that the inflation rate is now “way down” from when he took office. It’s not. Photo by alvaro gonzalez via Getty Images. The big one-month drop came after several months of increases in the inflation rate that were largely due to high oil and gasoline prices caused by the war with Iran. When the U.S. and Iran were honoring…

A California man who was arrested at Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course ahead of a presidential visit is facing more charges, as authorities released new details about the investigation.Authorities say federal agents first observed 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele near the golf grounds in Rancho Palos Verdes on 31 July, wearing an earpiece and capturing photographs and videos of security agents assessing the property.Taele returned on 2 August, authorities say, two days before Trump was scheduled to visit the resort for a fundraising dinner with the Republican National Committee (RNC). Teale approached federal agents and said he was employed by…

The chief constable of Thames Valley police has said he will consider joining legal action against the government if it fails to block the early release of two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.The Police Federation is contemplating going to court in its attempts to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers in prison.In August 2019, Harper, 28, died when he was dragged down a country road in Berkshire by a car as Cole, Bowers and their accomplice Henry Long fled the scene of a quad bike theft.All three were convicted of manslaughter in 2020. Cole and Bowers were sentenced to 13…

The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket slammed into the moon on Wednesday. But while astronomers hoped to catch a glimpse of the impact, no one seems to have captured images or video.The timing of the crash landing was well documented, giving astronomers plenty of time to train their telescopes and instruments on the moon in hopes of catching a lunar first: an impact flash on the lit side of the moon.When the time came, though, no observatory managed to obtain a direct image of the collision of the rocket, which was traveling at about 5,400 mph at…

Ravie LakshmananAug 05, 2026Cybercrime / Artificial Intelligence OpenAI said it disrupted a Cambodia-based scam operation that used its generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT to facilitate a wide range of investment, romance, gambling, and law enforcement impersonation schemes. To that end, it banned a coordinated network of ChatGPT accounts likely originating from Southeast Asia and operating from the city of Poipet, a region with extensive ties to scam compounds and human trafficking in the past. The cluster of accounts is said to have used OpenAI’s models to create and support the operation of fake online personas, generate and translate messages…

Scientists have discovered an enormous body of magma deep beneath Tuscany, even though the region shows few of the surface clues typically associated with such systems. Using a seismic imaging method called ambient noise tomography, researchers detected approximately 6,000 km3 of volcanic fluids buried 8 to 15 km below the surface. (6,000 km3 equals the volume of 2.4 billion standard Olympic swimming pools.) The international team included scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (CNR-IGG), and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Their findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, could…