“The US Navy has disclosed that eight sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during its prolonged deployment, The Hill reported. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao made the disclosure in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, after she sought information about the well-being of sailors aboard the carrier and accompanying vessels. The revelation comes after families of sailors raised concerns about deteriorating mental health and difficult living conditions during the carrier strike group’s lengthy deployment in West Asia amid the US war with Iran.” (09/24/26)
“A fire broke out on Wednesday evening at a ground-based Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland providing connectivity for the region, including Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said, adding the systems were now operational. Poland has been on heightened alert for acts of sabotage since Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied any such action.” (09/24/26)
“The FBI is investigating a claim by a cyber-crime group that it has stolen sensitive information on all bureau staff – around 38,000 people. The group, Shiny Hunters, says it has every agent’s name, role, badge number and personal details including home address, phone numbers and spouse information. Professor Ciaran Martin, the former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, said – if confirmed – it was ‘as serious as it gets when it comes to data breaches.’ In a statement posted on X, the FBI said it was aware of the claim and the agency was ‘actively and aggressively investigating the matter’. The criminals claim to have breached the FBI’s servers on Monday night and began contacting reporters on Tuesday sharing samples and screenshots of the stolen data.” (09/24/26)
“The man once known only as the ‘Unknown Wanderer’ in Boise now has a name—and a curious tie to one of the country’s most infamous unsolved crimes, CBS News reports. Idaho investigators say the man found dead by cyanide in a Boise church in December 1982 has been identified via DNA as Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski, a chemist with a long-standing obsession with poisons. While authorities aren’t formally tying him to Chicago’s 1982 ‘Tylenol Murders,’ in which seven people were killed by cyanide-laced Tylenol, investigators have revealed evidence that appears to possibly link him to the cold case. He had a history of working in drugstores, and colleagues recalled him having a fascination with carrying out the ‘perfect crime,’ the AP reports.” (09/24/26)
“More than a dozen words long used in Bermuda and across the Caribbean got an official nod on Wednesday from the Oxford English Dictionary. First in line is ‘bimpert’, a Bermudian word of unknown origin that is used to describe a stupid or foolish person. People on the tiny island in the north Atlantic often use it in this traditional phrase: ‘A bimpert is justah wuffless bye’, which roughly translates to: an idiot is just a worthless boy. Another colorful addition is ‘hornerman’, a word used in the eastern Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago since 1975 to describe an unfaithful man or a man having a relationship with someone else’s partner.” (09/23/26)
“Australia said on Thursday an OpenAI agent breached a government health data portal in June, gaining unauthorised access to files, in what could be the first known instance of an AI agent hacking a government website. The breach is one of the highest-profile incidents of AI agents accessing external systems outside the United States, coming on top of several recent breaches globally by rogue AI agents that have alarmed governments and companies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to the medical statistics portal of Medicare, Australia’s universal health insurance programme, while conducting research on public medical spending.” (09/24/26)
“African elephants use dozens of different medicinal plants to treat themselves and their families when they are sick. This is the conclusion of a study which interviewed people who live and work alongside the elephants in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya. These particular animals have long intrigued scientists with their extraordinary behaviour – they are known as salt-mining elephants, because they go into caves and scrape the rock with their tusks to extract minerals for their diet. This newly published research suggests that the same elephants use several different plant species in the forest for medicinal purposes.” (09/24/26)
“Chicago could halt new data center development within city limits for a year. … Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with a group of alders, is pushing for a 12-month moratorium while the city develops a ‘comprehensive regulatory framework’ for data centers. There are 39 active data centers in Chicago, according to the city. … At least a half-dozen major U.S. cities, including Seattle, Charlotte, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Oklahoma City, have temporarily halted or restricted new data center development while considering new regulations.” (09/23/26)
“Italy’s government passed a decree Thursday to place an upper limit on the number of students in each school classroom who have only limited Italian language skills and to ban face-covering Islamic veils in schools. Premier Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government said the package is aimed at strengthening integration through language learning and has drawn support from right-wing allies. Opponents including some educators, unions and opposition parties warn that new rules could force students to attend schools far from their neighborhoods, while critics accuse the government of turning immigration into a political issue. With elections possible as early as next spring, analysts say the measures allow the premier to reassert her credentials on issues central to her conservative base, even though their impact is likely to be limited and significant questions remain about how they would be enforced.” (09/24/26)
“Andy Burnham has signalled he may lift the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands at football matches, suggesting it is ‘unfair’ for fans to be singled out when it is permitted for other sports. The prime minister, a committed Everton fan who still attends matches, said there was a case for trialling an end to the ban to bring football in line with rugby and cricket. The move was welcomed by the Football Supporters’ Association and the English Football League, but police warned it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to make changes without considering their impact on safety. Burnham has long opposed the ban, saying it is discriminatory and out of date, harking back to an era when football violence was fuelled by drinking within view of the pitch.” (09/23/26)
