FBI and EPA Warn That Hackers Are Hijacking Water Treatment Controllers in Real Time
A joint FBI/EPA advisory says attackers are breaking into water utility PLCs, locking out operators, and disrupting service across at least seven states.
Switzerland Ties Its Alpine Heat Record as Basel Hits 39.7°C During Fourth Summer Heatwave
Switzerland's highest temperature of 2026 was recorded in Basel on July 30, matching the northern Alpine record, as drought alerts reached Level 5 and August 1 fireworks were cancelled.
Commodore Spends Its First Birthday Back on New Games for the C64 Ultimate
Commodore is using the first anniversary of its reboot to launch Made For U(ltimate), an initiative to fund and label new games built specifically for the FPGA-based C64 Ultimate's modern capabilities.
Late Period and Greco-Roman Funerary Complex Found at Tell Quesna Necropolis
Egyptian archaeologists uncovered a funerary complex at Tell Quesna necropolis containing 560 faience ushabti figurines and imported pottery from Rhodes, dating to the Late and Greco-Roman periods.
Sam Altman on Capitol Hill: Voluntary AI Security and the Question of Whether It Will Hold
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with senior Trump administration officials, lawmakers, and economists on Capitol Hill on July 29, previewing new AI models amid a cyber breach fallout and urging Congress to act before the Aug. 1 voluntary security framework deadline.
A Judge Approves Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion AI-Copyright Settlement
A federal judge approved Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement with authors who alleged the company used pirated books to train Claude, creating a landmark AI-copyright payout.
The SNB Earned CHF 25 Billion in Six Months — Nearly All of It in Q2
The Swiss National Bank posted a CHF 25.2 billion profit in the first half of 2026, powered by equity gains on foreign currency holdings, with a falling gold price providing the only real drag.
60,000 Migrants Breach Ceuta Border in Two Days, Leaving 67 Dead and Triggering EU Emergency Response
At least 67 migrants died after an estimated 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta over two days, overwhelming border controls; Spain installed a containment barrier, virtually all migrants returned, and 22 EU governments demanded an emergency meeting.
Arch Linux Ships Its First Monthly ISO with Linux Kernel 7.1
Arch Linux ships kernel 7.1 by default for the first time in its August 2026 monthly ISO, bundling fresh system libraries, updated desktop profiles, and a refreshed installer to validate upstream changes before they hit the rolling channels.
Switzerland's Drought Forced a Firework-Free National Day, But Cantons Divided Over Official Exemptions
Emergency services reported a peaceable night as all 26 cantons banned private fireworks and several prohibited pyrotechnic sales, though official exemptions in Bern, Lake Zurich, and Zug sparked political backlash.
NASA Langley Opens First New Wind Tunnel in Over 40 Years
A $57 million vertical wind tunnel replaces two aging facilities and will test aircraft, rockets, and spacecraft for missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Titan.
UN Human Rights Chief Warns Uganda's Civic Space Is Collapsing
UN High Commissioner Volker Türk denounces a systematic crackdown on dissent in Uganda, with dozens of opposition figures, journalists, and activists facing enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention.
Commodore C64C Ultimate Enters Production Using Rediscovered 1986 Injection Molds
A new C64C hardware run is officially entering production using originally recovered 1986 injection molds, bringing decades-old manufacturing tolerances back to a modern factory floor.
Swiss Army extends firefighting mission in Corsica by four days
Three Swiss Super Puma helicopters will continue supporting French emergency forces against wildfires on the Mediterranean island for four more days.
The 2026 Europhysics Prize Honors the Discovery of Altermagnetism as a Third Fundamental Magnetic Phase
On July 24, the European Physical Society announced three researchers receive the 2026 Europhysics Prize for discovering altermagnetism, a third fundamental class of magnetic order that combines zero net magnetization with spin-polarized electronic properties.
Iranian Hackers Expand PLC Attacks to Siemens and Schneider, US Agencies Warn
CISA, FBI, NSA, and five other US agencies updated a joint advisory, revealing that Iranian-affiliated actors have expanded their industrial control system campaign to target Siemens and Schneider Electric programmable logic controllers, using legitimate engineering software to disable safety systems and feed operators falsified data.
Curiosity Found a Sea of Honeycomb Fractures on Mars. Nobody Knows How They Got There.
Curiosity photographed the largest field of honeycomb-shaped polygonal fractures ever seen on Mars during June observations in Valle Grande, a valley where the features spread in every direction — leaving scientists unable to say how they formed.
The Trump Administration Ends Open-Ended Student Visas With a Four-Year Cap
A new DHS rule caps F and J student visas at four years, eliminates the open-ended duration of status policy, and reduces the post-graduation grace period to 30 days effective September 15, 2026.
Germany Finally Bids Roads Goodbye. The €169 Billion Rail Pivot Starts Now.
Germany’s Bundestag passed a landmark Infrastructure Future Act redirecting €169 billion toward transport, establishing rail as the country's top priority for the first time while overhauling approval procedures.
A 90-Year-Old Puzzle at Vindonissa Resolved: The First Roman Camp's Boundary Traced
An 11-month rescue dig at Vindonissa traced the complete boundary of the first Roman military camp, built under Tiberius, resolving a 90-year-old mystery about the site's earliest fortifications.
Alabama Finally Has a Start Date for its $3.2 Billion Mobile River Bridge
The Alabama Department of Transportation announced construction on the long-planned $3.2 billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project is expected to begin before the end of 2026.
Santa Clara County Awards $1.88 Billion to Rebuild Its Largest Dam
Santa Clara Valley Water District awards a $1.88 billion contract to rebuild Anderson Dam for seismic safety, one of the largest dam reconstruction projects in US history with a seven-year construction window starting early 2027.