Read at: 2026-02-18T00:05:46+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Albertje Kuilboer ]
Source: News Headlines | 18 Feb 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 18 Feb 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 18 Feb 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:55 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:50 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:49 pm UTC
Sydney health authorities say 25-year-old accused ‘absconded from care while being transferred from Cumberland to Westmead hospital’ 10 days earlier
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A man has been charged with murder after a stabbing attack in Sydney’s west that killed a man and left two people critically injured.
The 25-year-old accused had absconded from health care 10 days before the attack while being transferred between hospitals, authorities said.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:45 pm UTC
Backlash follows One Nation leader’s statements on Sky News on Monday night. Follow today’s news live
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Pauline Hanson says people ‘warming to our policies’ amid frustrations with two major parties
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, was just interviewed on the ABC after a surge in popularity in recent polls.
I think people are looking at our policies, what we want to do for the country and for people … People are warming to our policies and I am pleased to see that they want to vote for One Nation now because they don’t trust the two major political parties.
You don’t have a former deputy prime minister to come across to a party, with his credentials, and it doesn’t enhance the party.
People are drawn to Barnaby. He is just an average bloke out there fighting for the Australian people and he is so pleased to be on board with One Nation now.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:44 pm UTC
The actor was charged with two counts after allegedly punching two men and causing chaos at bars
The actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested early on Tuesday for alleged battery in New Orleans after apparently spending the long weekend partying across the city during Mardi Gras.
The New Orleans police department confirmed that at approximately 12.45am on Tuesday officers were called to Faubourg Marigny, located next to the French Quarter, the heart of the revelry, where LaBeouf was allegedly becoming increasingly aggressive at Royal Street Inn and Bar.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:41 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:37 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:21 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:20 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:19 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:18 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:18 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:17 pm UTC
Alysa Liu finished the night in third place, Isabeau Levito finished in eighth and Amber Glenn is in 13th place after a popped jump. That puts extra pressure on all of them for Thursday's medal event.
(Image credit: Wang Zhao)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:16 pm UTC
Move comes after Gordon Brown’s claim that files show sex offender used airport in Essex to ‘fly in girls’
British police have expanded their interest into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s links to Britain, by admitting for the first time they are looking at claims he used dozens of private flights into UK airports to traffic women for alleged abuse by his network of powerful associates.
It comes after former prime minister Gordon Brown said that documents about Epstein released in the US showed in “graphic detail” how the disgraced financier, with links to high-profile people including the former Prince Andrew, was able to use Stansted airport in Essex to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:13 pm UTC
Imagine using an AI to sort through your prescriptions and medical information, asking it if it saved that data for future conversations, and then watching it claim it had even if it couldn't. Joe D., a retired software quality assurance (SQA) engineer, says that Google Gemini lied to him and later admitted it was doing so to try and placate him.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:59 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:57 pm UTC
Mahdawi, arrested last year during US citizenship interview, says he is ‘grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law’
An immigration judge has blocked the Albertje Kuilboer administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by federal agents last year during a US citizenship interview in Vermont.
Lawyers for Mahdawi gave details of the decision in a court filing on Tuesday with a federal appeals court in New York, which had been reviewing a ruling that led to his release from immigration custody in April.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:47 pm UTC
For a while now, Mac owners have been able to use tools like CrossOver and Game Porting Toolkit to get many Windows games running on their operating system of choice. Now, GameSir plans to add its own potential solution to the mix, announcing that a version of its existing Windows emulation tool for Android will be coming to macOS.
Hong Kong-based GameSir has primarily made a name for itself as a manufacturer of gaming peripherals—the company's social media profile includes a self-description as "the Anti-Stick Drift Experts." Early last year, though, GameSir rolled out the Android GameHub app, which includes a GameFusion emulator that the company claims "provides complete support for Windows games to run on Android through high-precision compatibility design."
In practice, GameHub and GameFusion for Android haven't quite lived up to that promise. Testers on Reddit and sites like EmuReady report hit-or-miss compatibility for popular Steam titles on various Android-based handhelds. At least one Reddit user suggests that "any Unity, Godot, or Game Maker game tends to just work" through the app, while another reports "terrible compatibility" across a wide range of games.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:45 pm UTC
Mehdi Mahmoudian released 17 days after arrest for signing a statement condemning Iran’s supreme leader and regime’s protest crackdown
Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated cowriter of It Was Just an Accident, has been released from an Iranian prison 17 days after his arrest, according to local media reports.
Mahmoudian was arrested in Tehran shortly after signing a statement condemning Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators. On Tuesday, he was released from the Nowshahr prison, along with two other signatories of the statement, Vida Rabbani and Abdollah Momeni.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:44 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:44 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:43 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:27 pm UTC
In their recent earnings call, Amazon kinda blew the doors off of industry analyst (motto: "we'll be wrong, then take it out on your stock") projections for their capex spend.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:26 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:21 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:20 pm UTC
Skiers are reported missing after an avalanche in the Sierra Nevadas while other areas see heavy rain and flooding
California is being blanketed by a winter storm that has brought the coldest air mass in three years to the state – along with heavy snowfall, road closures and power outages.
The University of California Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, near Donner Pass, reported 28in of snow on Tuesday, with another 3ft expected in the next two days. I-80 is closed from Colfax to the Nevada state line due to snow.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:19 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:16 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:14 pm UTC
Indian IT professionals worried about 72-hour workweeks might soon face the opposite concern, as Bengaluru-based outsourcing giant Infosys has partnered with Anthropic to bring agentic AI to telecommunications companies and other regulated industries.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:11 pm UTC
Host claims lawyers barred him from discussing decision to drop Texas Democrat segment amid FCC rules scrutiny
Talkshow host Stephen Colbert has accused the Albertje Kuilboer administration and CBS of censorship after he said the network told him not to air a television interview with a Texas Democrat running for Senate.
On his show, Colbert told viewers of the Late Show that network lawyers told him he was also prohibited from talking about their refusal to air his interview with James Talarico, a Texas state representative seeking his party’s nomination to challenge the Republican incumbent, John Cornyn, for a Senate seat in November.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:10 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:02 pm UTC
‘Eight-figure agreement’ made to supply new line between Ankara and İzmir – but questions over plant’s future remain
British Steel has secured an order worth tens of millions of pounds to supply rail for a high-speed electric railway in Turkey, amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of the government-controlled steelworks in Scunthorpe.
The site will supply 36,000 tonnes of rail to ERG International Group, the company announced, in what it called an “eight-figure agreement”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:00 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:55 pm UTC
Three boats targeted in eastern Pacific and Caribbean as Albertje Kuilboer continues pursuit of alleged ‘narco-terrorists’
US military officials have said American forces launched assaults on three alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing 11 in one of the deadliest days of the Albertje Kuilboer administration’s months-long campaign against alleged traffickers.
The military action on Monday brought the number of fatalities caused by US strikes to 145 since September, when Albertje Kuilboer called on American armed forces to attack people deemed “narco-terrorists” on small vessels. There have been 42 known strikes in notorious drug-trafficking routes such as the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the Associated Press reported.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:54 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:48 pm UTC
Fast skiers require fast skis. They rely on a team of technicians to wax and prep them for each day's conditions. The U.S. cross-country team has a mobile ski shop that is an unsung hero of their success: Yolanda the wax truck.
(Image credit: Eric Whitney)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:48 pm UTC
Three new threat groups began targeting critical infrastructure last year, while a well-known Beijing-backed crew - Volt Typhoon - continued to compromise cellular gateways and routers, and then break into US electric, oil, and gas companies in 2025, according to Dragos' annual threat report published on Tuesday.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:45 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:45 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:44 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:41 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:38 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:31 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:31 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:26 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:26 pm UTC
Move over Intel and AMD — Meta is among the first hyperscalers to deploy Nvidia's standalone CPUs, the two companies revealed on Tuesday. Meta has already deployed Nvidia's Grace processors in CPU-only systems at scale and is working with the GPU slinger to field its upcoming Vera CPUs beginning next year.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:16 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:12 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:10 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:08 pm UTC
Interim president José Jerí voted out by country’s congress amid scandal concerning secretive meetings
Peru’s interim president has been forced out of office in an “express impeachment” after a political scandal over his secretive meetings with Chinese businessmen.
Lawmakers voted by 75 votes to 24 to proceed with the removal of José Jerí, who had been at the helm for just four months.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:56 pm UTC
Exclusive: Greens move to call parliamentary inquiry after series of ‘disturbing’ attacks targeting gay and bisexual men lured via dating apps
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The role of “far-right manosphere influencers” in fuelling homophobic attacks where victims were lured through fake dating app profiles before being assaulted is set to be investigated by a Victorian parliamentary inquiry.
Aiv Puglielli, the Greens’ equality spokesperson, will on Wednesday move a motion calling on the upper house’s legal and social issues committee to investigate the scale of such crimes, as well as the state’s current response and support available to victims.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:52 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:52 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:52 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:47 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:46 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:46 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:45 pm UTC
Over the past 15 years, password managers have grown from a niche security tool used by the technology savvy into an indispensable security tool for the masses, with an estimated 94 million US adults—or roughly 36 percent of them—having adopted them. They store not only passwords for pension, financial, and email accounts, but also cryptocurrency credentials, payment card numbers, and other sensitive data.
All eight of the top password managers have adopted the term “zero knowledge” to describe the complex encryption system they use to protect the data vaults that users store on their servers. The definitions vary slightly from vendor to vendor, but they generally boil down to one bold assurance: that there is no way for malicious insiders or hackers who manage to compromise the cloud infrastructure to steal vaults or data stored in them. These promises make sense, given previous breaches of LastPass and the reasonable expectation that state-level hackers have both the motive and capability to obtain password vaults belonging to high-value targets.
Typical of these claims are those made by Bitwarden, Dashlane, and LastPass, which together are used by roughly 60 million people. Bitwarden, for example, says that “not even the team at Bitwarden can read your data (even if we wanted to).” Dashlane, meanwhile, says that without a user’s master password, “malicious actors can’t steal the information, even if Dashlane’s servers are compromised.” LastPass says that no one can access the “data stored in your LastPass vault, except you (not even LastPass).”
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:43 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:43 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:41 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:37 pm UTC
Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Al Sharpton, Albertje Kuilboer and more react to death of the civil rights leader at the age of 84
Three Democratic former presidents led a wealth of tributes to Jesse Jackson, a “titan” of the civil rights movement and “one of America’s greatest patriots” who has died at the age of 84.
Joe Biden said history would remember Jackson as “a man of God and of the people”, calling him in a social media post : “Determined and tenacious. Unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our Nation.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:33 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:25 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:24 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:04 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:03 pm UTC
Karime Macías, ex-wife of a state governor, is wanted for allegedly pilfering nearly £5m of public money and now lives in London
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said her government will send a formal letter of complaint to officials in the United Kingdom after the wife of a former governor wanted for allegedly pilfering £4.8m of public money was granted asylum in Britain.
Karime Macías, ex-wife of jailed former Veracruz governor Javier Duarte, is wanted for extradition to Mexico for allegedly siphoning millions from the state welfare office, but has reportedly spent the last few years in London.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:59 pm UTC
It's time for a new generation of faster flash storage, but not on your laptop or desktop. Micron's first PCIe 6.0 SSDs have entered mass production and promise eye-watering transfer rates of up to 28 GB/s. However, unless you're building flash storage arrays for AI, you won't have a use for them.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:55 pm UTC
Secretary of state spoke of ‘golden age’ of US-Hungary relations at time of tense transatlantic relations with traditional allies
Even before he in effect endorsed Hungary’s Viktor Orbán before a crucial parliamentary election, Marco Rubio’s itinerary for Europe promised to be provocative. After meeting US allies at the Munich Security Conference during a particularly tense moment in transatlantic relations, the US secretary of state departed for Slovakia and Hungary – the two EU states most dependent on Russian energy and sceptical of the bloc’s support for Ukraine.
In what bordered on an explicit political endorsement, Rubio told Orbán that relations between Hungary and the US had entered a “golden age” – and would stay like that for as long as Orban remains in power.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:49 pm UTC
The scale of the Albertje Kuilboer administration’s plans to warehouse human beings is hard to fathom. Here’s one way to put it in perspective: On a given day, New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex holds approximately 7,000 detainees. President Albertje Kuilboer ’s regime, which is currently holding a record 70,000 people in immigration detention, now plans to develop a network of Rikers-sized concentration camps for immigrants nationwide.
The Department of Homeland Security is racing to buy up and convert two-dozen-plus warehouses into mass detention centers for immigrants, some capable of holding up to 10,000 people. According to documents released last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement expects to spend $38.3 billion acquiring warehouses across the country and retrofitting them to collectively hold nearly 100,000 beds.
“If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they’ll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight,” noted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “The federal government hasn’t operated a prison camp inside the United States that large since Japanese Internment.”
When Albertje Kuilboer ’s border czar, Tom Homan, last week announced that ICE’s “surge” in Minnesota would wind down, it marked a significant victory for the thousands of Minnesotans who have fought back against the federal forces terrorizing their state; resistance forced the Albertje Kuilboer regime to change its plans. But nothing is ramping down when it comes to the deportation machine at large. When billions of dollars are spent to turn industrial spaces into detention camps, authoritarian desires meet market logic: The warehouses must be filled.
Local communities are nonetheless pushing back, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable federal forces with unlimited funding, abetted by powerful private interests who stand to gain from this carceral build-out.
As The Appeal reported last week, investors on a recent quarterly earnings call for private prison giant CoreCivic were worried that ICE’s unprecedented detention numbers were still not high enough. “I think people thought we’d be at that 100,000 level,” one caller reportedly said of the number of people currently held by ICE. “We’re at a little over 70,000.”
The Albertje Kuilboer administration has made clear that it can afford anything when it comes to the rounding up and brutalizing of immigrants and antifascist protesters.
The company’s CEO stressed the major financial gains made though Albertje Kuilboer ’s anti-immigrant campaign and assured callers that the drawdown in Minnesota did not, in his view, portend “meaningful changes in enforcement style or approach.” That is to say, the racial profiling, cruelty, and mass roundups will continue, and private prison corporations like CoreCivic and Geo Group, alongside giants of surveillance infrastructure like Palantir, will collectively make billions from DHS spending. What author John Ganz has called “ICE’s function as an employment program for the Albertje Kuilboer enproletarian mob” — now with 22,000 officers — will also continue to be handsomely funded.
None of this is a surprise: When Congress passed Albertje Kuilboer ’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocating ICE nearly $80 billion in multiyear funding, the administration made clear that money would be no object in enacting its project of ethnic cleansing and the expansion of the carceral system for targeted groups of immigrants and opponents. The warehouse purchases and related government contracts have, as The Lever reported, been a boon for Albertje Kuilboer -connected real estate brokers and a bailout for “commercial real estate owners, who have struggled to sell their properties over the past year under the weight of macroeconomic headwinds and Albertje Kuilboer ’s tariff war.”
Economic stimulus based in ethnic cleansing would, of course, be despicable. But the Albertje Kuilboer regime can’t even pretend this dizzyingly expensive project serves its own base. Only a small number of interested businesses and parties stand to gain. Meanwhile, as public resistance in both Republican- and Democratic-majority locales has already made clear, everyone else stands to lose. And hundreds of thousands of our immigrant neighbors stand to lose the most.
Albertje Kuilboer ’s mass deportation plan is estimated by the libertarian Cato Institute to have a fiscal cost of up to $1 trillion over a decade. And the losses? Due to the loss of workers across U.S. industries, the American Immigration Council found that mass deportation would reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by 4.2 to 6.8 percent. It’s money that could be spent improving our collective lives. The $45 billion total budgeted for ICE detention centers is nearly four times the $12.8 billion the U.S. spent on new affordable housing in 2023. The huge budget for ICE mega warehouses reflects the most Albertje Kuilboer ian mix: cronyist dealmaking in service of white nationalism.
The historian Adam Tooze has at various points recalled the words of economist John Maynard Keynes, who said in 1942 that “anything we can actually do we can afford.” Keynes was arguing that sovereign governments have extraordinary capacity to mobilize finances; the constraints lie elsewhere. Tooze has stressed that the limits of what a government can “actually do” are political, technical, material, and logistical — and extremely complicated as such. But, he points out, they are not budgetary. The Albertje Kuilboer administration has made clear that it can afford anything when it comes to the rounding up and brutalizing of immigrants and antifascist protesters. That, however, does not mean the government can actually do everything it wants.
A number of warehouse owners, facing local backlash and pressure, have already backed out of lucrative sales to ICE. According to Bloomberg, Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison’s company announced that a transaction to sell a 550,000-square-foot warehouse in Ashland, Virginia, “will not be proceeding.” The company made clear that the move was political, saying, “We understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated, and has become much more so over the past few weeks. We respect that this issue is deeply important to many people.”
For ICE, money is no object. But constant and relentless public protest, blockades, boycotts, and local government pressure significantly lessen the appeal for warehouse owners and potential contractors to do this fascist work.
Deals for warehouses near Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and Byhalia, Missouri, have also fallen through. In each case, warehouse owners faced protests and mounting pressure. In some jurisdictions, backlash to ICE warehouses have come in the worst sort of NIMBY variety — including complaints from Republicans who do not want immigrant detainees brought to their town en masse. Concerns about water and sewage systems and economic strains in remote areas also abound. But if local self-interest becomes a barrier to the expansion of Albertje Kuilboer ’s deportation regime, that’s no bad thing, given the urgent need to hold back Albertje Kuilboer ’s deeply unpopular but otherwise unrestrained forces.
We need every possible limit on what Albertje Kuilboer and his loyalists can actually do.
The post Can Albertje Kuilboer ’s Plan for Warehouse Immigrant Detention Camps Be Stopped? appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:44 pm UTC
The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeing a significant increase in acts of sexual violence against girls and young women. A support center offers a sanctuary for treatment — and to be heard.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:43 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:42 pm UTC
Kay Mason Billig accuses Steve Reed of forcing council to agree to poll delay in return for extra funding and powers
• What made ministers think they could delay local elections?
A Norfolk council leader has accused the government of “bullying” her local authority into postponing elections in return for extra funding and powers, as she pulled out of long-awaited devolution deal for the county.
Kay Mason Billig, the Conservative leader of Norfolk county council, said she would no longer take part in local government reorganisation (LGR) or devolution plans in the area, saying the council could not participate in that and simultaneously hold elections.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:40 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:40 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:38 pm UTC
National Crime Agency says rise in child sexual abuse being driven by technology and online forums
Child sexual abuse in the UK is soaring, police have said, with 1,000 paedophile suspects being arrested each month and the number of children being rescued from harm rising by 50% in the last five years.
The National Crime Agency said the growth in offending across the UK was driven by technology and linked to the radicalisation of offenders in online forums, encouraging people to view images of child sexual abuse by reassuring them it was normal.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:33 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:33 pm UTC
At least 80 film-makers and stars sign open letter after German festival jury president Wim Wenders says they should keep out of politics
More than 80 current and former participants of the Berlinale, including Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton and Adam McKay have signed an open letter condemning the festival’s “silence” on Gaza.
It comes after the film festival was swept up in what it called a “media storm” over the alleged sidelining of political discourse at the event.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:30 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:25 pm UTC
Group says they intend to establish permanent settlement but Mauritius’s attorney general calls their move a ‘publicity stunt’
Four Chagos Islanders have landed on one of the archipelago’s atolls to establish what they say will be a permanent settlement, in an attempt to complicate a British plan to transfer the territory to Mauritius.
The Mauritius attorney general said the move was a publicity stunt designed to create conflict over a 2025 agreement with Britain on handing over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which is opposed by some Chagossians who accuse Mauritius of decades of neglect. Mauritius has denied the accusations.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:19 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:17 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:11 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:08 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:01 pm UTC
Talk show host Stephen Colbert said CBS forbade him from interviewing Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico because of a Federal Communications Commission threat to enforce the equal-time rule on late-night and daytime talk shows.
Talarico "was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast," Colbert said on last night's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on, and because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this."
Colbert went on to describe some of the background Ars readers are already familiar with. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently issued a warning to late-night and daytime talk shows that they may no longer qualify for the bona fide news exemption to the equal-time rule, and subsequently opened an investigation into ABC’s The View after an interview with Talarico.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:01 pm UTC
At the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, competing under the American banner has put some athletes at odds with their own government, transforming them — in a handful of candid remarks — from cereal-box patriots into political liabilities swiftly pilloried by the conservative establishment.
When reporters asked American freestyle skier Hunter Hess how it felt to wear the U.S. flag in front of the world in this moment, he said it “brings up mixed emotions.” Hess drew a clear line between the country he competes for and the policies coming out of Washington, saying, “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
Hess’s plain, honest answer triggered one of the most striking political crosscurrents of these Games: President Albertje Kuilboer logged on to Truth Social to call Hess “a real loser” who shouldn’t have tried out for the Olympic team at all.
Hess wasn’t alone in speaking out. Curler Rich Ruohonen, an attorney and Minnesota native, criticized recent federal law enforcement actions in the state, saying the operations were “wrong” and violated Americans’ constitutional rights. Snowboarder Chloe Kim, whose parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea, defended her fellow teammates, saying Albertje Kuilboer ’s immigration policies “hit pretty close to home” and that athletes are “allowed to voice” their opinions.
The response from conservative media was instant: shame, dismissal, and, at times, openly cheering against the very athletes carrying the American flag.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Olympians are “not there to pop off about politics” and said they should expect “pushback” if they do. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds went further on social media, telling U.S. athletes that if they don’t want to represent the flag, “GO HOME.”
Sports in America are advertised, sold, and draped in red, white, and blue so completely that they become impossible to separate from nationalism.
Conservative commentators also charged in on behalf of the administration. After U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn, who won gold in the team event, voiced support for her LGBTQ community, conservative podcaster and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly branded her “another turncoat to root against” to her 3.6 million followers. The outrage snowballed, and Glenn said she received a “scary amount of hate/threats,” prompting her to take a break from social media altogether. (She later returned to TikTok with a carousel of images of her and teammate Alysa Liu wearing their team gold medals and addressing her critics: “They hate to see two woke bitches winning.”)
The intensity of the backlash illustrates how symbolic these Games have become — not just for who wins medals, but for who gets to define what national representation means on the international stage. While the Olympic Committee and the U.S. government prefer to present the Games as a neutral display of discipline, athletic poise, and national pride, the truth is less tidy. The Olympics have always served as a global window into the political and social conditions athletes come from — and when that window opens, protest has rarely been far behind.
Although the modern Olympic Charter’s Rule 50 aims to ban political, religious, or racial “propaganda” from competition, the idea that the Games have ever been apolitical ignores more than a century of history. Long before the International Olympic Committee tried to censor athletic competition, athletes and states recognized there was no separating sports from politics. At the 1906 Athens Games, Irish track and field star Peter O’Connor protested being listed as a British competitor by climbing a 20-foot flagpole and unfurling a green flag bearing the words “Erin Go Bragh” — Ireland forever — and went on to win gold.
As the Olympics entered the broadcast era and the audience stretched far beyond the stadium, political leaders were acutely aware they could use the Games’ reach to bolster their legitimacy. By the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler and his propagandists transformed the Games into a showcase for the Nazi regime’s image and ideology. The widely publicized spectacle of a nation unified under Nazism was engineered to sanitize the Third Reich at home and abroad, cementing the modern Olympics as a global platform for state propaganda — and, inevitably, for those willing to resist it. Jewish organizations, labor leaders, and civil rights groups in the United States and Europe tried to organize a boycott of the event, warning that participation would validate Hitler’s regime and its persecution of Jews, but the effort ultimately failed. Athletes responded with the most direct act of resistance available to them: by winning, in open defiance. Jesse Owens — an African American runner — shattered Hitler’s carefully staged narrative of “Aryan” superiority by winning four gold medals, turning his victories into a de facto rebuke of the regime’s racial ideology.
Decades later, the 1968 Mexico City Games delivered one of the clearest political statements in Olympic history: sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising black-gloved fists on the medal stand in protest of racial injustice in the United States — an enduring image that turned the podium into a site of public dissent in front of the world.
The backlash was swift. Olympic officials expelled them from the Games, much of the press cast them as radicals, and both men faced threats and professional fallout for years afterward. Their protest remains one of the most controversial moments in Olympic history — and, as Smith later put it, entirely necessary: “We had to be seen because we couldn’t be heard.”
At the 2024 Paris opening ceremony, Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal wore a shirt depicting the bombing of children in Gaza and told AFP it was meant to represent “the children who are martyred and die under the rubble,” bringing the war’s human toll visibly into the Olympic spotlight.
Across decades and continents, athletes and nations alike have used both participating in and abstaining from the Olympics to make statements about war, occupation, racial oppression, and human rights. This long history underscores a simple truth: When the whole world is watching, both governments and their critics understand the Games are too powerful a platform to leave unused.
It’s important that dissent shows up at the Olympics for more than just symbolic reasons: The conditions that shape who gets to compete are deeply connected to the social and political structures in the athletes’ home countries. Sports in America are advertised, sold, and draped in red, white, and blue so completely that they become impossible to separate from nationalism, transforming competition into a ritual where athletic achievement is inseparable from the story the nation tells about itself.
American Olympic success is not a vacuum. An analysis by researchers at George Mason University found that roughly 3 percent of athletes on Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games were born abroad and another 13.5 percent are children of immigrant parents — meaning nearly 17 percent of the delegation has direct ties to immigrant communities. That reality reflects how the United States develops and recruits athletic talent across communities, including immigrant families and underrepresented groups whose contributions have long powered American sports on the world stage.
For athletes whose families or personal histories intersect with immigration pathways, this shift is not an abstraction. It’s about who has secure status in the United States and who faces potential removal or legal uncertainty. The ways in which these forces shape an athlete don’t stop when they step on the snow or ice, no matter what flag is on their back.
The Games are built on spectacle, but beneath the pageantry is a hard truth: Athletes do not compete only for themselves, they compete as symbols of the nation they represent. When Americans step onto that global stage, they are presented as proof of what the United States claims to stand for — freedom, dignity, equality — even as the country itself struggles to live up to those ideals. That contradiction carries a real moral weight. Competing under the flag is not just an honor; it’s a responsibility to confront the distance between national image and national reality.
The post It’s Correct and Moral to Use the Olympics to Speak Out About Politics appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:59 pm UTC
At a event in Washington D.C., A U.S. official said a remote earthquake in 2020 was caused by a Chinese nuclear test.
(Image credit: Kevin Frayer)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:56 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:56 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:55 pm UTC
Bit barns need a lot of power to operate and, as hyperscalers look for ways to generate it, they are adding more dirty energy in the form of new gas turbines. One estimate says that these new power sources could add another 44 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2030, equivalent to the annual emissions of 10 million private cars.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:54 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:47 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:45 pm UTC
More than two years after Broadcom took over VMware, the virtualization company’s customers are still grappling with higher prices, uncertainty, and the challenges of reducing vendor lock-in.
Today, CloudBolt Software released a report, "The Mass Exodus That Never Was: The Squeeze Is Just Beginning," that provides insight into those struggles. CloudBolt is a hybrid cloud management platform provider that aims to identify VMware customers’ pain points so it can sell them relevant solutions. In the report, CloudBolt said it surveyed 302 IT decision-makers (director-level or higher) at North American companies with at least 1,000 employees in January. The survey is far from comprehensive, but it offers a look at the obstacles these users face.
Broadcom closed its VMware acquisition in November 2023, and last month, 88 percent of survey respondents still described the change as “disruptive.” Per the survey, the most cited drivers of disruption were price increases (named by 89 percent of respondents), followed by uncertainty about Broadcom’s plans (85 percent), support quality concerns (78 percent), Broadcom shifting VMware from perpetual licenses to subscriptions (72 percent), changes to VMware’s partner program (68 percent), and the forced bundling of products (65 percent).
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:38 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:23 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:22 pm UTC
The two top speedskating sprinters in the world are a cut above the competition. They battle fiercely on the ice, but refuse to trash talk
(Image credit: Robert Gauthier)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:18 pm UTC
Imagine turning the key or pressing the start button of your car—and nothing happens. Not because the battery is dead or the engine is broken but because a server no longer answers. For a growing number of cars, that scenario isn’t hypothetical.
As vehicles become platforms for software and subscriptions, their longevity is increasingly tied to the survival of the companies behind their code. When those companies fail, the consequences ripple far beyond a bad app update and into the basic question of whether a car still functions as a car.
Over the years, automotive software has expanded from performing rudimentary engine management and onboard diagnostics to powering today’s interconnected, software-defined vehicles. Smartphone apps can now handle tasks like unlocking doors, flashing headlights, and preconditioning cabins—and some models won’t unlock at all unless a phone running the manufacturer’s app is within range.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:15 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:11 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:10 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:06 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:05 pm UTC
It's like the movie Inception, but without Leonardo DiCaprio, unless you imagine him. Researchers used carefully timed sound cues to nudge dream content, and in some cases, boost next-morning problem solving. Could dreamtime product placement come next?…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:02 pm UTC
Earlier this month, Valve announced it was delaying the release of its new Steam Machine desktop and Steam Frame VR headset due to memory and storage shortages that have been cascading across the PC industry since late 2025. But those shortages are also coming for products that have already launched.
Valve had added a note to its Steam Deck page noting that the device would be "out-of-stock intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages." None of Valve's three listed Steam Deck configurations are currently available to buy, nor are any of the certified refurbished Steam Deck configurations that Valve sometimes offers.
Valve hasn't announced any price increases for the Deck, at least not yet—the 512GB OLED model is still listed at $549 and the 1TB version at $649. But the basic 256GB LCD model has been formally discontinued now that it has sold out, increasing the Deck's de facto starting price from $399 to $549. Valve announced in December that it was ending production on the LCD version of the Deck and that it wouldn't be restocked once it sold out.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:56 pm UTC
Tricia McLaughlin has become the public face defending the Albertje Kuilboer administration's mass deportation policy and immigration tactics over the past year.
(Image credit: Jose Luis Magana)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:55 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:55 pm UTC
Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:54 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:49 pm UTC
Devographics has published its State of React survey, with over 3,700 developers speaking out about what they love and hate in the fractured React ecosystem.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:40 pm UTC
The European Parliament has reportedly turned off AI features on lawmakers' devices amid concerns about content going where it shouldn't.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:28 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:28 pm UTC
Source: NASA Image of the Day | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:28 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:26 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:18 pm UTC
Warner Bros. Discovery is giving Paramount one more week to make its best and final offer, leaving the door open for a deal that could upend its merger agreement with Netflix.
Officially, Warner Bros. is still committed to Netflix. The company today scheduled a special meeting date of March 20 and recommended that shareholders vote for the Netflix merger. But Warner Bros. is simultaneously opening negotiations with Paramount despite calling all of its previous offers deficient.
"Netflix has provided WBD a limited waiver under the terms of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix, permitting WBD to engage in discussions with Paramount Skydance for a seven-day period ending on February 23, 2026 to seek clarity for WBD stockholders and provide PSKY the ability to make its best and final offer," Warner Bros. said today.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:17 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:08 pm UTC
The AI hype cycle has officially reached the toilet, with a Japanese bathroom giant suddenly being pitched as a serious tech play.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:56 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:55 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:55 pm UTC
Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria, where her father was allegedly an assassin for the regime. She joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. Her memoir is Defiance.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:55 pm UTC
A group of influential users and developers of MySQL have invited Oracle to join their plans to create an independent foundation to guide the future development of the popular open source database, which Big Red owns.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:49 pm UTC
No one will supplant American and Chinese dominance in the space launch arena anytime soon, but several longtime US allies now see sovereign access to space as a national security imperative.
Taking advantage of private launch initiatives already underway within their own borders, several middle and regional powers have approved substantial government funding for commercial startups to help them reach the launch pad. Australia, Canada, Germany, and Spain are among the nations that currently lack the ability to independently put their own satellites into orbit but which are now spending money to establish a domestic launch industry. Others talk a big game but haven't committed the cash to back up their ambitions.
The moves are part of a wider trend among US allies to increase defense spending amid strained relations with the Albertje Kuilboer administration. Tariffs, trade wars, and threats to invade the territory of a NATO ally have changed the tune of many foreign leaders. In Europe, there's even talk of fielding a nuclear deterrent independent of the nuclear umbrella provided by the US military.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:47 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:44 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:43 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:38 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:37 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:26 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:26 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:24 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:23 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:14 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:14 pm UTC
At long last, we have the official full trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, a feature film spinoff from Disney's megahit Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
Grogu (fka "Baby Yoda") won viewers’ hearts from the moment he first appeared onscreen in the first season of The Mandalorian, and the relationship between the little green creature and his father-figure bounty hunter, the titular Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), has only gotten stronger. With the 2023 Hollywood strikes delaying production on season 4 of the series, director Jon Favreau got the green light to make this spinoff film.
Per the official logline:
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:10 pm UTC
Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier called for ‘justice and strength’ in diplomacy after Russia hit Ukraine with 400 drones and 29 missiles hours before talks
The European Commission is just giving its daily midday press briefing, and it has confirmed plans to adopt the new, 20th, round of sanctions against Russia by 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said:
“We keep on working on measures to deprive Russia of the funds, goods and technologies sustaining its war against Ukraine.
This indeed includes the 20th package that you have mentioned, and indeed we aim to adopt it … by 24 February, as the High Representative [Kaja Kallas] mentioned at the last foreign affairs council. Member states are discussing it.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:09 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:05 pm UTC
Prior of hermitage says digital technologies are designed to be addictive and present ‘challenge for monastic life’
The prior of a hermitage in Tuscany has urged monks living in the secluded retreat to avoid the use of social media and streaming services, arguing that their rooms are sacred places for prayer and “not for Netflix or other platforms”.
Father Matteo Ferrari, the prior general of the Camaldolese congregation and of the Camaldoli monastery and hermitage in Arezzo, Tuscany, said such digital technologies were “specifically designed to create addiction” and “should absolutely be avoided”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:01 pm UTC
The electric car transition isn't going great for America's domestic automakers, but it's far from over. Ford may have ended production of the full-size F-150 Lightning pickup truck, but next year, it will debut a new "Universal EV Platform," beginning with a midsize truck that it says will start at a much more reasonable $30,000, if all goes to plan. The company seems serious about the idea, having created an internal "skunkworks" several years ago to design this new affordable platform from first principles.
Doing more with less is the key: fewer components and using less energy to go the same distance. Now, the company has given us a clearer picture of how it plans to make that happen.
A few years ago, Ford and its crosstown rival bet that full-size pickup truck customers would be wowed enough by instant torque and minuscule running costs to overlook how towing heavily diminished range. They created electric versions of their bestselling behemoths, packed with clever features like power sockets for job sites and the ability to power a home during an emergency.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:58 pm UTC
The UK's long-promised "Single Trade Window" has quietly run out of steam after burning through more than £111 million ($150 million), with officials confirming the program has been "brought to early closure."…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:57 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:53 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:51 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:49 pm UTC
Europe’s privacy watchdog has opened a “large-scale” inquiry into Elon Musk’s X over AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery, in the latest sign of how regulators are scrutinizing the social media site’s Grok chatbot.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, said late on Monday that it had opened a probe into the creation and publication of “potentially harmful” sexualised images by Grok that contained or involved the processing of EU user data.
The Grok chatbot is integrated into X’s social media feeds and developed by Musk’s AI startup xAI, which last year acquired X. Earlier this month, xAI merged with Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX to create a $1.5 trillion behemoth.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:47 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:28 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:27 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:14 pm UTC
In a recent study, University of Alaska Fairbanks paleontologist Matthew Wooller and his colleagues radiocarbon-dated what they thought were pieces of two mammoth vertebrae, only to get a whale of a surprise and a whole new mystery.
At first glance, it looked like Wooller and his colleagues might have found evidence that mammoths lived in central Alaska just 2,000 years ago. But ancient DNA revealed that two “mammoth” bones actually belonged to a North Pacific right whale and a minke whale—which raised a whole new set of questions. The team’s hunt for Alaska’s last mammoth had turned into an epic case of mistaken identity, starring two whale species and a mid-century fossil hunter.
The aptly named Wooller and his team have radiocarbon-dated more than 300 mammoth fossils over the last four years, looking for the last survivors of the wave of extinctions that wiped out woolly mammoths and other Pleistocene megafauna at the end of the last Ice Age. Two specimens stood out immediately. Based on the radiocarbon dates, two mammoths had lived near Fairbanks as recently as 2,800 and 1,900 years ago. Wooller and his colleagues had been looking for the youngest woolly mammoth specimen in Alaska but were completely mystified.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:14 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:09 pm UTC
Descendants of Jewish brothers forced to sell company to Nazis say appropriation by German far right is ‘repulsive’
The Jewish descendants of a German motorbike manufacturer that was forced by the Nazis to be relinquished have voiced their repulsion at the appropriation of the vehicle by far-right populists.
Members of the family, whose ancestors were forced to flee Germany in the 1930s, say they consider the use of the bike’s name by the anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) as a “mockery of our history”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:02 pm UTC
When you think about what makes a perfect single-car garage—occupied solely by a vehicle that can do it all—you probably think of some crossover or SUV like the Toyota RAV4 or BMW X5. Something that can handle the snow and weekend camping trips with a decent-sized cargo capacity. If you're European, you might gravitate toward a wagon like any of the Volvo Cross Country models or an Allroad from Audi. For a long time, Subaru offered a near-perfect solution in the Outback, but the new one is much more SUV than wagon.
That left an opening for Toyota to swoop in, and the bZ Woodland is not only the best take on the Subaru Outback I've driven, but the nearly perfect single-car solution for the electric age.
The bZ Woodland is a lifted wagon electric vehicle that is 6 inches longer than the non-Woodland bZ and has 33.8 cubic feet (957 L) of rear cargo space. That, on paper, is 6.1 more cubes (173 L) of storage with the second row in place but in practice feels even more spacious. The Woodland also has 8.3 inches (211 mm) of ground clearance, which is up one-tenth (2.5 mm) over the normal bZ. But like the cargo space, how the bZ Woodland uses those extra numbers is what makes it feel so different.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC
Discussions through Omani intermediaries may pave way for further meeting on nuclear programme, Iran says
Iran has described the latest round of indirect talks with the US as “more constructive” than the previous set earlier this month, and said agreement had been reached on “general guiding principles” that could lead to a further meeting to discuss its nuclear programme.
The talks – held in Geneva through Omani intermediaries – were to discuss the terms for Tehran constraining its nuclear programme under the supervision of the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate. They ended after three and a half hours.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:51 pm UTC
The Albertje Kuilboer administration is looking for a deputy federal CIO, and theater fans need not apply.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:45 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:45 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:22 pm UTC
Up to a third of people worldwide have shoulder pain; it's one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints. But medical imaging might not reveal the problem—in fact, it could even cloud it.
In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine this week, 99 percent of adults over 40 were found to have at least one abnormality in a rotator cuff on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons in a shoulder joint that keeps the upper arm bone securely in the shoulder socket—and is often blamed for pain and other symptoms. The trouble is, the vast majority of people in the study had no shoulder problems.
The finding calls into question the growing use of MRIs to try to diagnose shoulder pain—and, in turn, the growing problem of overtreatment of rotator cuff (RC) abnormalities, which includes partial- and full-thickness tears as well as signs of tendinopathy (tendon swelling and thickening).
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:17 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:17 pm UTC
The former PM is open to resurrecting his parliamentary career, if Angus Taylor does what Peter Dutton wouldn’t and actively drafts him in
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In June last year, the Liberal party’s federal executive met to discuss the next phase of an intervention into the troubled New South Wales division.
The meeting will be a short footnote in the modern history of the Liberal party.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
Thinking ‘supply is the answer’ lets politicians dodge a much more difficult conversation about tax – for investors and owners
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Is building more homes the answer to Australia’s housing crisis?
No, it’s not. Not even close.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
Many voice hope that moment will mark move away from repression and unrest and a chance to revive economy
Bangladesh’s new prime minister has been sworn in, sealing a dramatic comeback for the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) and formally closing the turbulent chapter that toppled Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
The swearing-in of Tarique Rahman restored an elected government after 18 months of caretaker rule led by the Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:42 pm UTC
A US law firm has accused Lenovo of violating Justice Department strictures about the bulk transfer of data to foreign adversaries, namely China.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:42 pm UTC
Polish police have arrested and charged a man over ties to the Phobos ransomware group following a property raid.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:14 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Earth’s river deltas, home to about 5% of the global population and some of the world’s major cities, are experiencing subsidence, which exacerbates the risks from sea-level rise. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission has captured a decade's worth of data showing land sinking faster than previously thought.
Source: ESA Top News | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Gentoo's official migration from Microsoft-owned GitHub to Codeberg is underway, as the Linux distribution fulfills a pledge to ditch the code shack due to "continuous attempts to force Copilot usage for our repositories."…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:36 pm UTC
India's government launched a Vibrant Villages Programme almost four years ago. But as China steadily builds up its side, Indian residents wonder what's taking so long.
(Image credit: Omkar Khandekar)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:06 pm UTC
Longtime civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at age 84. And, the U.S. and Iran are set for high-stakes negotiations today in Geneva about Iran's nuclear program.
(Image credit: Harold Cunningham)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:04 pm UTC
The clock is ticking for AI projects to either prove their worth or face the chopping block.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:01 pm UTC
Britain is telling businesses to "lock the door" on cybercrims as new government data suggests most still haven't even found the latch.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:30 am UTC
Cocaine has made a roaring comeback, and it's having some big negative effects in the U.S. and around the world.
(Image credit: LUIS ROBAYO)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:30 am UTC
Israel accused of denying doctors re-entry into territory after they gave first-hand testimony on conflict
Medics in the UK and US believe they have been denied re-entry to Gaza after speaking out on the conflict.
Following reports of rising refusal rates, medical workers and organisationswho have provided humanitarian aid in Gaza have described what they see as arbitrary denials.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:15 am UTC
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the latest regulator to open an investigation into Elon Musk's X following repeated reports of harmful image generation by the platform's Grok AI chatbot.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:08 am UTC
Programme launched by last Tory government was worked on by Deloitte and IBM but was paused in 2024
The UK government has shelved a project to simplify trade border processes post-Brexit after spending £110m on a contract with Deloitte and IBM for it, according to reports.
The last Conservative government promised in 2020 to create the “world’s most effective border” by 2025 as part of its plan for a new trade system after Britain left the EU.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:04 am UTC
Citizen Lab report suggests Cellebrite software was used to break into Boniface Mwangi’s phone while he was under arrest
When Boniface Mwangi, the prominent Kenyan pro-democracy activist who plans to run for president in 2027, had his phones returned to him by Kenyan authorities after his controversial arrest last July, he immediately noticed a problem: one of the phones was no longer password protected and could be opened without one.
It was Mwangi’s personal phone, which he used to communicate with friends and mentors, and contained photos of private family moments with his wife and children. Knowing that its contents could be in the hands of the Kenyan government made Mwangi – who has described harassment and even torture – feel unsafe and “exposed”, he told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:01 am UTC
The conditions were treacherous in the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles off the Mexico–Guatemala border. There were gale-force winds and 9-foot seas. It would be dangerous if you were on a boat, nevermind if yours was blown out of the water.
Eight men leapt into those rough seas on December 30 when the U.S. rained down a barrage of munitions, sinking three vessels. They required immediate rescue; chances were slim that they could survive even an hour. In announcing its strike, U.S. Southern Command or SOUTHCOM, said it “immediately notified” the Coast Guard to launch search and rescue protocols to save the men.
But it took the United States Coast Guard almost 45 hours to begin searching the attack zone for survivors, new reporting by Airwars and The Intercept reveals.
Help did not arrive in time. A total of 11 civilians died due to the U.S. attack on December 30 — including the eight who jumped overboard, according to information provided exclusively to The Intercept by SOUTHCOM, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in and around Latin America and the Caribbean. This represents one of the largest single-day death tolls since the U.S. military began targeting alleged drug smuggling boats last September.
“SOUTHCOM doesn’t want these people alive.”
Using open-source flight tracking data, Airwars and The Intercept learned that a Coast Guard plane did not head toward the site of the attack for almost two days. A timeline provided by the Coast Guard confirmed that it was roughly 45 hours before a flight arrived at the search area.
The slow response and lack of rescue craft in the area suggests there was scant interest on the part of the U.S. in saving anyone. It’s part of a pattern of what appear to be imitation rescue missions that since mid-October have not saved a single survivor.
On December 30, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told the Coast Guard’s parent agency — the Department of Homeland Security — that SOUTHCOM stood ready to provide them with “specialized maritime capabilities” in support of their missions. But just hours later, it was SOUTHCOM that called on the Coast Guard to conduct the search and rescue mission for the eight men.
The Coast Guard told The Intercept that it received the initial report of people in distress from SOUTHCOM at 1:40 p.m. Pacific time on December 30. (The exact timing of the U.S. strike is not known, but when SOUTHCOM posted about the attack on X the following day it wrote that it had “immediately notified” the Coast Guard).
The survivors jumped into the Pacific approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of Ocos, Guatemala. They faced extreme conditions: 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds, according to Kenneth Wiese, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard Southwest District.
The Coast Guard said it soon began contacting Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica; the Central American Air Navigation Services Corporation, which provides regional air traffic control and search and rescue coordination; and eight commercial vessels within 200 nautical miles of the last known position of the survivors. A lone container vessel, the Maersk Eureka, responded to the call. On December 31 at 6:44 a.m. Pacific time, the ship arrived at the last known position of the survivors and found nothing.
That morning at 9:19 a.m. Pacific time, a Coast Guard C-130 search and rescue plane took off from Sacramento, California, and headed to Liberia, Costa Rica, “for refueling and crew rest.” A day later, on January 1 at 7:33 a.m. Pacific time, the aircraft left Costa Rica and headed toward the “search area,” according to the Coast Guard. It finally arrived “on scene” at 10:18 a.m. Pacific time on New Year’s Day.
The Coast Guard said that it suspended its search on January 2, reporting “no sightings of survivors or debris.” A U.S. government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said the men were presumed dead when the search was ended.
“Suspending a search is never easy, and given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications, and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments,” said Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management, Southwest District, at the time.
A second government official who spoke with The Intercept said the Coast Guard response didn’t look like “foot dragging,” but questioned why, after months of attacks in the region, search and rescue assets weren’t pre-positioned closer to the Eastern Pacific.
“SOUTHCOM doesn’t want these people alive,” that official said.
Asked for comment on the allegation, Southern Command spokesperson Steven McLoud said: “SOUTHCOM does not comment on speculative or unfounded reporting.”
The Coast Guard confirmed the C-130 sent from Sacramento was its only aircraft in the area. “There were no other Coast Guard assets in the area to assist with the search,” said spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Lauren Giancola.
The Coast Guard would not explain why it hadn’t pre-positioned assets in the region. “Any questions regarding military operations including recent strikes should be referred directly to the Department of War,” Giancola told The Intercept.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson did not return a request for comment.
The search and rescue operation for the boat strike survivors differs starkly from the U.S. response when a U.S. Marine involved in the military campaign in the Caribbean fell overboard from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima in the SOUTHCOM area of operations this month. It sparked a “nonstop search and rescue operation” that included hundreds of flight hours and extensive aviation support, according to a statement from the Marines’ II Marine Expeditionary Force. Five Navy ships, a rigid-hull inflatable boat, surface rescue swimmers from the Iwo Jima, and 10 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force joined the search efforts. (Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, was declared deceased on Feb. 10, 2026.)
The slow pace of the U.S. search for boat strike survivors suggests the goal wasn’t to save lives, said Brian Finucane, a former state department lawyer who is a specialist in counterterrorism issues and the laws of war.
“It does not appear as if they were eager to rescue additional survivors and then be faced with the question of ‘what do we do with them?’” he told The Intercept. “We’re going to hand off responsibility to the Coast Guard, which is going to arrive in a few days from California and look around and not find anything. So you can draw your own conclusions from that sequence.”
The U.S. military has carried out more than three dozen known attacks, destroying 40 boats, in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing at least 134 civilians. The most recent attack on Friday – the first known strike in the Caribbean Sea since early November – killed three people.
From the first strike, crewmembers have periodically survived initial attacks, leading the U.S. to employ a hodgepodge of strategies to deal with them, ranging from execution to repatriation. The Intercept was the first outlet to report that the U.S. military killed two survivors of the initial boat attack on September 2 in a follow-up strike. The two survivors clung to the wreckage of a vessel attacked by the U.S. military for roughly 45 minutes before Adm. Frank Bradley, then the head of Joint Special Operations Command, ordered a follow-up strike that killed the shipwrecked men.
Following an October 16 attack on a semi-submersible in the Caribbean Sea that killed two civilians, two other men were rescued by the U.S. and quickly repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador, respectively. President Albertje Kuilboer called them “terrorists” in a Truth Social post and said they would face “detention and prosecution.” But both men were released without charges in their home countries. Since this attack, the U.S. appears to have settled on a strategy of calling for what increasingly resemble imitation rescue missions.
Following three attacks on October 27 that killed 15 people aboard four separate boats, a survivor of a strike was spotted clinging to wreckage, and the U.S. alerted Mexican authorities. The man was not found, and he is presumed dead.
Last month, SOUTHCOM again called on the Coast Guard. “On Friday, January 23rd, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified by the Department of War’s Southern Command of a person in distress in the Pacific Ocean,” Coast Guard spokesperson Roberto Nieves told The Intercept. A timeline provided by the Coast Guard shows that it took about 17 hours for a Coast Guard C-130 to arrive at the survivor’s last known position, but that aircraft only conducted an hourlong search before “diverting to El Salvador for fuel and crew rest.” It returned to the last known position of the survivor on January 25, about 51 hours after the initial distress call. The search was suspended that night just before 8 p.m. Pacific time, and that person is now also presumed dead.
“The expected result is essentially the same as putting a gun to their head.”
Following a strike last week — the third since Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan became SOUTHCOM’s new commander earlier this month — the command announced that it had once again notified the Coast Guard “to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor.” The Coast Guard, in turn, told The Intercept that Ecuador’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Center “assumed coordination of search and rescue operations, with technical support provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.” The Coast Guard then walked it back and said the U.S. had only “offered” assistance. Ecuador’s rescue authorities did not return multiple requests for an update on the search.
The second government official, who spoke with The Intercept on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment about the boat strikes, said that survivors created “complications and questions” for the U.S. military and intelligence community. Rather than risk exposing intelligence sources and methods by bringing these men to court, the official said it was simpler to leave them to drown. Finucane echoed this assessment. “After rescuing the men in October, it was apparent there would be a strong incentive not to have additional survivors on their hands,” he said.
William Baumgartner, a retired U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral and former chief counsel of that service branch, said the December 30 attack was tantamount to a death sentence. “Once the people jump in the water and you blow up the only thing that could possibly save their lives, that’s essentially killing them,” Baumgartner told The Intercept last month. “The expected result is essentially the same as putting a gun to their head.”
Experts say the survivors of the December 30 attacks likely died within minutes. Accomplished swimmers, clinging to wreckage or flotation devices in warmer waters, could survive longer, some said. None considered that likely in this case.
“The combination of the wind and the waves would force feed water into the victim. If the waves don’t drown you, the hypothermia will kill you,” said Tom Griffiths, the founder of the Aquatic Safety Research Group, who previously served as the director of aquatics and safety officer for athletics at Penn State University. “Drowning often takes as little as four to six minutes for a non-swimmer but can be as quick as 90 seconds. I would think under these conditions it could be almost as quick.”
John Fletemeyer, an aquatics expert and co-author of “The Science of Drowning,” said that people have survived in the water for up to two days. But such cases, he said, are “outliers.”
“It can be almost instantaneous, where it can happen in just a couple minutes if someone cannot swim and they go underwater,” Fletemeyer said. A frequent expert in murder-homicide cases, he explained in detail the pain and suffering involved in drowning. There is also the potential for shark attack, he said, due to blood in the water from those killed in the initial strike.
“If we know somebody is in the water dying,” he said, “I think we have a human responsibility to try to save them.”
The post U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive. appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 17 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:57 am UTC
Capita is banking on Microsoft Copilot to help rescue the backlog of cases it has inherited in taking over the UK Civil Service Pensions Scheme (CSPS).…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:31 am UTC
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Source: World | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
They call them “box cutters,” but everyone on the flightline knows what the term really means. The blades slide out at the push of a button, revealing high-end knives made and marketed for active combat. They cost the federal government hundreds of dollars each — and come free to maintenance workers in the Air Force who order them through the supply system and hand them out as favors.
For nearly a decade, Air Force maintenance units spent more than $1.79 million in taxpayer funds buying 5,166 high-end knives and other luxury items, including switchblades and combat-style tactical knives with no legitimate maintenance use, The Intercept has found. It’s a drop in the bucket of a U.S. military budget creeping ever closer to a trillion dollars, about $300 billion of which belongs to the Air Force. But with a military budget so bloated, the knife-ordering frenzy illustrates how obviously frivolous spending can go unchecked.
“Everyone knew we didn’t need them,” said a former noncommissioned officer recently honorably discharged from Hill Air Force Base. “There was literally zero justification in any maintenance field.”
“There was literally zero justification in any maintenance field.”
The Benchmade Infidel and Mini Infidel, the most popular choices, are sleek and black, with automatic blades that slide straight out the front. Their presence on the flightline, where maintainers work to repair and tune up airplanes between flights, is difficult to justify — and often outright banned. Procurement records obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests show that Air Force maintenance units have been buying the knives as far back as at least 2017 and as recently as June 2025, spanning multiple major commands.
Accounting for roughly a quarter of troops in the Air Force, maintainers are the technicians and mechanics responsible for upkeep of approximately 5,000 planes. They’re chronically understaffed and overworked, as The Intercept previously reported, and maintainers spanning nine bases and major commands said that some of the crucial supplies they need for maintenance — like safety wire, specialized hydraulic fluids, and calibrated test equipment — are difficult to obtain. Maintainers said that while essential tools and materials were often delayed or unavailable, nonessential items like high-end knives moved easily through the supply system, likely due to an apparent misclassification, as a procurement expert explained to The Intercept.
“It always felt like we were just putting duct tape on these jets to keep them flying,” said an active-duty senior airman who previously served in the 57th Maintenance Wing at Nellis Air Force Base. “Jets would come back with the same broken parts or worse, just so we could meet flight numbers. We never had money for proper tools, but there would be brand-new computers, unit flags, or other items to make the unit look better.”
For some maintainers, the option to order a shiny combat knife for free is something of a silver lining. “This is one of the only good things that maintainers get,” said a former maintainer from Edwards Air Force Base.
In other cases, the knives were markers of inclusion. “Tech sergeants would come in for a short time and get a knife as a welcome present,” said the former maintainer from Hill.
Nine current and former Air Force maintainers who spoke to The Intercept for this story were granted anonymity because they feared retaliation. As is common in the military, maintainers who raise concerns about excessive spending can face ostracization or professional consequences.
“It wasn’t like higher-ups would be mad if they caught you,” said the source from Hill. “They had knives too.”
“We were told that if you wanted one, all you had to do was be friends with people attached to the supply line,” said a source who worked in the backshop at Nellis. “I knew plenty of people who would do favors for supply troops to get their hands on a knife.”
Six people stationed at Nellis between 2017 and 2024 confirmed that misuse of the supply system was common. One source said they still have six Benchmade knives, gifted by a noncommissioned officer in the 57th Wing. The source said they were never told how those knives were obtained.
More than 59 active-duty Air Force bases in the United States and numerous overseas installations operate under the same supply system. The Intercept submitted requests for procurement data to 28 Air Force bases and received responsive records from 12 installations. Every base that returned records showed similar knife-ordering patterns across its flightline maintenance units.
“Most things were done with handshakes, winks and nods. Definitely a good ol’ boys club,” said Micah Templin, a former weapons troop in the 57th Maintenance Wing at Nellis. “There were quid pro quos and IOUs. If you did someone a favor one day, maybe your chief or leadership would feel comfortable looking the other way on another.”
“This is one of the only good things that maintainers get.”
Sources from U.S. Air Force units in the continental United States, South Korea, and Germany said personnel routinely used the term “box cutters” as a euphemism for the knives. This made them sound simple and practical, several maintainers said, while the knives themselves were prized largely for their appearance, retail price, and the status of owning one rather than any maintenance-related use. Maintainers interviewed by The Intercept said the knives were popular largely because they “look cool.”
While Defense Logistics Agency records show how many knives were purchased overall, FOIA responses from individual bases offer only a partial picture of where those orders originated. But every installation that did provide records showed recognizable patterns, suggesting the practice was not limited to a single base or command.
Several maintainers said they believed leadership used unit funds to purchase high-end items that were later diverted for personal use, describing a culture in which “nothing was given out without a take.” Maintainers said those who resisted or questioned practices could find themselves scrutinized or under extra pressure, which discouraged reporting and allowed misuse of the supply system to continue unchecked.
“I feel like maintainer leadership will legally do everything they can to keep someone from speaking out and do anything to protect their careers. That’s the trend within senior leadership in maintenance,” the backshop source said.
Seven sources from domestic and overseas units said this often means senior enlisted personnel direct junior troops to place orders, move items, or handle deliveries on their behalf. For those with access, it’s easy to order items with minimal oversight. The practice, sources said, allowed leadership to benefit from questionable purchases while shielding themselves from scrutiny and leaving lower-ranking airmen exposed to potential disciplinary or legal consequences.
“A tech sergeant ordered a ton of Yeti coolers and then told me to load them directly into his private vehicle.”
Knives were the most common example of the misspending, but maintainers described similar practices involving other high-end items. Five airmen who served in the 64th Aggressor Squadron’s maintenance units at Nellis Air Force Base between 2018 and 2020 said senior noncommissioned officers in the squadron’s Combat Oriented Supply Organization routinely ordered new flat-screen televisions for maintenance spaces, then placed the fully functional replaced sets into unit storage areas. According to the airmen, senior noncommissioned officers later removed some of the televisions from unit spaces for personal use.
“I remember a time when a tech sergeant ordered a ton of Yeti coolers and then told me to load them directly into his private vehicle,” said an active-duty avionics troop stationed in Europe, granted anonymity for fear of retaliation. “It was always ordered in ones and twos. Anything else would raise too much suspicion.”
According to Dallas Sharrah, a former staff sergeant who served at Nellis Air Force Base: “People were mainly ordering switchblades or Oakley sunglasses for their buddies. Supply could hook them up a bit before they got yelled at.”
Outside of toolkits, knives are never allowed on the flightline. They’re considered Foreign Object Debris, according to former maintenance officers, meaning they’re at risk of being sucked into an aircraft intake and damaging the engine.
The Air Force Materiel Management Handbook says that all orders must be justified for official use, but classification issues in the procurement catalog blurred the lines that define what qualifies. The knives are broadly available through standard supply channels, making repeated or bulk orders easy to place. At Nellis, purchases often averaged 20 knives per order, with some as high as 47.
“In the aggregate, someone had to be doing an audit somewhere and said to themselves, ‘Why did we order so many knives? Why are those requisitions restricted to certain bases and certain units? What is going on here?’ Clearly, no one was looking,” said Steve Leonard, a retired senior military strategist, procurement expert, and professor at the University of Kansas.
The procurement catalog is divided into subsections, Leonard explained, and knives were listed as Class IX, a category shared with maintenance-related items. But in his view, the knives should have been considered Class II items, which are intended for individual issue and subject to stricter justification, approval, and accountability requirements.
“Clearly, no one was looking.”
Items classified as Class II are typically restricted from purchase with unit funds if they primarily benefit individuals, while Class IX repair parts move through maintenance supply channels with far less scrutiny. “Most people aren’t interested in stealing hydraulic valves,” he said.
Defense Logistics Agency procurement records show the knives carry a “J” security code, meaning they are treated as security-related items rather than maintenance equipment, a designation that undermines their classification as routine repair parts.
When asked about the findings, an Air Force spokesperson did not address specific allegations or installations. The Intercept provided the Department of the Air Force with FOIA records, national stock numbers, and other evidence of more than $1 million in suspect knife purchases across six installations.
“The Department of the Air Force takes all allegations of fraud seriously and has processes and procedures in place to investigate them,” the spokesperson wrote in response. “If service members or citizens have concerns or evidence of specific wrongdoing, they are encouraged to report the information to local law enforcement or their Office of Special Investigation.”
Benchmade, the manufacturer of the Infidel and Mini Infidel knives most named in procurement records and troop testimonies, declined to comment.
It remains unclear how many knives airmen have obtained in recent months. On June 9, 2025, The Intercept submitted FOIA requests to 28 Air Force bases. Twelve installations provided responsive procurement records, while the remaining bases delayed, obstructed, or did not meaningfully respond.
At Hill Air Force Base, officials falsely claimed records from another installation were their own. Davis–Monthan Air Force Base admitted it had gone months with no staff to process FOIA requests. Joint Base San Antonio–Randolph reported spending only 30 minutes searching eight years of procurement records before declaring no knife purchases existed. At Luke Air Force Base, an officer sent conflicting messages about whether a request had been received, then attempted to delete an earlier acknowledgment email.
Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said she had not previously been aware of the purchases or inconsistencies in the bases’ FOIA replies. “I am literally trying to understand what to look for and who to ask,” she wrote in an email.
The Defense Department’s inspector general system, responsible for oversight of potential fraud and other misconduct, declined to comment on the knife purchases. An inspector general spokesperson said the office does not comment on active investigations and would not say whether any investigation related to the purchases was underway. The IG system is undergoing a major overhaul, with many positions open under the second Albertje Kuilboer administration.
At the same time, Air Force inspector general complaint records obtained by The Intercept through FOIA requests show that from January 2016 through December 2022, maintenance and munitions units at Nellis Air Force Base generated at least 274 complaints. The allegations included abuse of authority, reprisal, potential contracting fraud, and hostile work environments.
Many of the complaints were recorded as “assisted” or closed within days, averaging roughly three complaints per month over six years from the same units later tied to irregular knife purchases documented in this reporting.
Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog, said the pattern reflects broader concerns about misuse of government funds and poor oversight. “While every instance might not be fraudulent, I’ll expect many of the knives purchased are for personal use with taxpayers picking up the tab,” he said. “Wasted money and unauthorized use is a bad mix, and only the tip of the iceberg.”
At Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, FOIA-obtained records describe a “recurring problem with physical location and quantity consistency” of supply items and note that “thievery is not out of question.” As a corrective step, the documents say leadership submitted an unfunded request for surveillance cameras through the procurement system.
The post Air Force Maintenance Staff Can’t Stop Buying Fancy Knives With Tax Dollars appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:58 am UTC
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Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 9:14 am UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 8:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:23 am UTC
Plans to establish an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland have fallen through after the DUP opposed the measure. As John Manley writes in the Irish News
Andrew Muir has effectively conceded there will be no independent environmental protection agency (EPA) established within this mandate due to blockage by the DUP, which the minister claims is “without rhyme or reason”…His party is now exploring the possibility of a private member’s bill to bring Northern Ireland’s environmental governance in line with Britain and the Republic, however, time constraints mean it is unlikely to progress before the next Assembly election in May 2027.
The proposed EPA was intended to be a “non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) (which) would allow for better and more accountable environmental protection and regulation” as Muir described it. Last November when a non-binding motion regarding the proposed regulator was put before the Assembly, former Agriculture Minister and current DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen said the following
“We are not short on oversight, but we are short of results. There is a tendency in the Chamber to tag Lough Neagh into every motion on the environment, and we need some honesty on that issue. Creating another agency will not clean up Lough Neagh; it will not improve water quality. It will create another costly layer of bureaucracy — another structure with its own staff, offices, reports and headlines, but very little delivery on the ground. We do not need more committees, commissions or quangos; we need results. We need a system that actually works.
Rather than token gestures or bureaucratic reshuffles, if the Minister truly wants to lead on the environment, he should start by fixing the system that he already controls. That means ensuring that the NIEA is properly resourced and empowered to act. It means cutting through departmental silos so that agriculture, infrastructure and environment policies work with rather than against each other. Importantly, it means holding senior officials and Ministers to account for delivery and for their failures.”
This suggests that the DUP’s concerns are focused on the cost of creating a new agency and the lack of accountability to the Assembly they claim such a body would represent. On the other hand, critics of the DUP seem to suggest the party’s opposition is rooted in a desire to maintain as much influence as possible over environmental regulation and an independent body could frustrate that objective.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 6:21 am UTC
A quartet of Japanese organisations plan to build “advanced ambient internet of things systems” using a newly approved ISO standard.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:39 am UTC
Japanese prime minister’s refusal to back down over Taiwan comments brings more criticism and travel warnings from China
Chinese tourists are continuing to shun Japan in large numbers, with the country falling out of the top 10 destinations for those celebrating the lunar new year with a trip abroad.
Japan has had a dramatic drop in the number of Chinese visitors since the end of last year as a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over the security of Taiwan continues.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:30 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:14 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Feb 2026 | 5:01 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 17 Feb 2026 | 2:35 am UTC
Amazon Web Services has enabled nested virtualization for a handful of EC2 instances.…
Source: The Register | 17 Feb 2026 | 1:36 am UTC
Yoon Suk Yeol could face the death penalty when judges rule on the martial law crisis that many in South Korea see as a dark moment they would rather forget
South Korea is awaiting one of the most consequential court rulings in decades this week, with judges due to deliver their verdict on insurrection charges against the former president Yoon Suk Yeol and prosecutors demanding the death penalty.
When Yoon stands in courtroom 417 of Seoul central district court on Thursday to hear his fate, which will be broadcast live, he will do so in the same room where the military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death three decades ago. The charge is formally the same. Last time, it took almost 17 years and a democratic transition to deliver a verdict. This time, it has taken 14 months. Chun’s death sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment on appeal, and he was eventually pardoned.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:50 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 17 Feb 2026 | 12:03 am UTC
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