Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Andy Burnham will tell firms bidding for public contracts to prove they are creating jobs rather than meeting green and social targets in a bid to get more people into work.The prime minister will overhaul the £90bn public procurement system so bidders have to show they are supporting young people into work and addressing local skills shortages.It comes as the government seeks to tackle the youth unemployment crisis, with Burnham saying he wants to create “growth in every postcode”.But green groups criticised the plans, arguing supporting young people into work should not come at the expense of the environment.Companies bidding…

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first mRNA flu vaccine, enabling use of a technology that will make it easier to rapidly target a widely prevalent or particularly virulent strain of the virus.The approval of the vaccine, called mFLUSIVA, which is manufactured by Moderna, follows a series of blows to mRNA research directed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including the cancellation of 22 projects meant to develop vaccines with mRNA technology through the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.Initially the F.D.A. had refused to even review Moderna’s application for approval earlier this year, but…

Jack Wallen/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysDuckDuckGo for iOS has a new privacy feature.Copy Clean Link prevents tracking information from being copied.You can share links knowing they are clean.A new feature from DuckDuckGo’s iOS app automatically strips away unnecessary tracking identifiers and other parameters that could lead to fingerprinting and other unwanted issues, according to a report from Digital Trends, Tuesday.For reference, what DuckDuckGo on iOS does is get rid of everything in a link that follows the question mark (including the question mark itself). Also: Why the most private way to browse the web isn’t incognito mode (but this…

Modern attacks increasingly begin with the web application. Customer portals, partner platforms, APIs, external business applications, and AI-powered services have become the front door to the enterprise. The systems organizations build to create value are now the same systems attackers target for initial access. For years, security teams have invested heavily in protecting networks, endpoints, identities, and cloud infrastructure. Those investments remain essential, but the way attackers gain initial access has changed. Business-critical applications are internet-facing, constantly evolving, deeply connected to enterprise systems, and often changing faster than organizations can continuously validate them. Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift. The…

The group filed a proposed class action in the Southern District of New York in April, alleging false advertising, deceptive practices, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. The complaint claimed the project marketed itself as an “autonomous, AI-run venture fund” even though Walters and other insiders controlled it. It also alleged that holders were diluted during the migration from AI16Z to ELIZAOS.The rebrand followed objections from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, commonly known as a16z, over the original name.“Their claim was ridiculous, but we didn’t have the capital to legally fight it,” Walters wrote. He added that he once held tokens…

Marmots – chubby, ground-dwelling squirrels – are the latest stars on the adult platform OnlyFans.That’s thanks to the efforts of Colorado-based biologist Dr Daniel Blumstein, the head of a long-running field study on marmots, who was worried about its financial future after federal funding to universities was cut. Blumstein told the BBC he recently launched an account on OnlyFans, which is known mostly for sexually explicit content, and began posting “uncensored marmot content” in “an act of desperation”. This content is family-friendly videos of the rodents scurrying around and popping out of their burrows, which so far has generated more…

TOBYHANNA, Pa.—Rich Troscianecki spent a decade searching for a slice of paradise. After raising a family in a sprawling New Jersey suburb, he and his wife craved a more peaceful place with lots of woods and a water view. They finally found the perfect spot deep in the Pocono Mountains, an ecotourism mecca known for fishing, hiking and some of the purest waters in all of Pennsylvania. But after 10 years enjoying their bucolic retreat along the Lehigh River, Troscianecki worries that the region’s environmental health—as well as his own tranquility—are now at risk. His home is a half mile…

Norwegian TGS has kicked off a large-scale 2D seismic reimaging project covering 34,000 kilometers across offshore Egypt, in partnership with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).Source: TGS The EGY-2DRE2026 project will integrate input from the GeoStreamer 2016, 2018 and 2023 surveys, together with other available conventional 2D data, to build a single, consistent regional framework across the offshore basins. According to TGS, the reimaged dataset is designed to give operators a sharper, basin-wide structural framework to support prospect identification and maturation, helping customers direct exploration budgets toward the areas of highest potential in the anticipated future licensing round, and support activity in the offshore Nile Delta, Herodotus Basin, and wider Eastern Mediterranean Basin.  “EGY-2DRE2026 will give our…

When Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced last year she would not seek re-election in 2026, she opened the door to a competitive Democratic primary and a potential pickup opportunity for Republicans.  A GOP candidate hasn’t won a Senate race in Minnesota in 20 years, but recent polling has a generic Republican candidate within single digits of a generic Democratic candidate. The parties will give names to those nominees on Aug. 11, when voters head to the polls for the primaries. The Democratic ballot includes two names: Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Craig had raised $12.7 million, nearly…

Watchdog training is coming to students in the Midwest and Puerto Rico this fall.As higher learning institutions work to hinder, pressure or punish student newspapers over reporting controversial stories, IRE, in partnership with Open Campus, is proud to bring watchdog training to two universities in September.Student publications often do a better job covering their school than local news outlets — sometimes they’re the only ones on the story! — but they also face additional challenges because they’re students. These day-long workshops will help students learn how to cover their institutions with more depth and provide them with the skills and…