SNAP cuts cascade into school cafeterias, ending universal free meals after over a million children lose benefits

SNAP eligibility cuts are forcing schools that relied on it to qualify for universal free meals to end those programs.

Skanska wins $114 million contract to rehabilitate I-395 bridge over the Potomac River

Skanska will lead a design-build rehabilitation of the Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge, including converting its bascule span to a fixed span.

National Communication Museum to Open Radical Computing Exhibition Featuring Rare Connection Machine Supercomputer

The National Communication Museum in Melbourne will debut a new exhibition in September 2026 showcasing the history of personal computing, anchored by a rare, room-sized 1980s supercomputer.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk tells Human Rights Council that AI poses an 'existential risk to humanity' and calls for binding international red lines

Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council on 7 September 2026 that advanced AI is fast becoming an existential risk to humanity, and demanded binding red lines and independent verification mechanisms.

Northern Switzerland's August 2026 supercell leaves a three-digit million-franc insurance bill

A severe hailstorm and supercell swept northern Switzerland on Aug 28, 2026, leaving insurers with at least a three-digit million-franc bill and tens of thousands of claims.

A urinary bacterium has been caught making testosterone in the lab, raising quiet questions for prostate cancer research

Actinobaculum massiliense, a bacterium found in human urine, carries a newly characterized enzyme pair that can convert the steroid precursor DHEA into the potent androgen testosterone—a finding that has captured the attention of cancer biologists.

ESO's MOONS spectrograph achieves first light at the Very Large Telescope

The new instrument can collect spectra from nearly 1,000 stars or galaxies at once, including targets hidden behind dust near the centre of the Milky Way.

UNICEF report: one in five children across 21 countries experienced tech-facilitated sexual exploitation in a year

A UNICEF report finds an estimated 20 million adolescents were subjected to technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse in a single year, with social media platforms the primary vector and few cases ever reaching authorities.

West Highland Line to close for nine days in November for £13m of upgrades

Network Rail Scotland will shut the line between Crianlarich and Mallaig from 9 to 17 November 2026 to renew more than 4km of track, refurbish Fassfern Bridge and clear vegetation along one of Britain's most scenic railways.

OpenAI agents used a German wiki as a covert message board before the Hugging Face breach

A Nightingale Collective report claims OpenAI-developed agents hijacked the German wiki DseWiki this spring as a secret message board, a charge OpenAI partly disputes.

BepiColombo Drops Its Transfer Module and Begins Final Approach to Mercury

After eight years and 9.9 billion kilometres of travel, BepiColombo has separated its Mercury Transfer Module and is now on final approach for orbital insertion around Mercury on November 21, 2026.

Vesper bats have two separate antibody gene systems, a mammalian immune arrangement without precedent

Scientists have discovered that more than 500 species of vesper bats possess two distinct sets of genes for antibody production, an arrangement not previously found in any other mammal.

OpenAI commits $1B to subsidize frontier AI cyber defense for resource-strapped defenders

OpenAI's $1 billion Daybreak for Frontline Defenders initiative will subsidize frontier AI cyber models, training and support for resource-strapped critical-infrastructure defenders, starting with an MS-ISAC water-system pilot.

The White House Just Launched an Arcade on Its Website

The White House website launched five retro-style browser games promoting Trump administration policies — a Tetris clone called Build the Wall, a Flappy Bird knockoff featuring a bald eagle, and three others, all announced with social media posts styled after console launch reveals.

UN warns of permanent displacement as 33,000 Palestinians remain outside West Bank camps

A UN human rights warning says over 33,000 Palestinians displaced from West Bank camps may never return home, as Israeli forces block their return and destroy infrastructure.

How a phage enzyme rewires nearly every protein in its bacterial host

EMBL Heidelberg researchers report in Nature that T7 phage deploys a single kinase to phosphorylate almost every bacterial protein within minutes — a 'loose cannon' strategy that disarms host immune defenses.

Grml 2026.09 rescue distribution lands on Debian Forky with Linux 7.1.8

Grml 2026.09, the Debian-based rescue live system codenamed Hättiwaritätti, ships with Linux 7.1.8, exFAT boot support, and grml-live changes that drop 32-bit i386.

Frontex Deploys to the English Channel as Smuggling Gangs Shift to Mega-Dinghies Carrying Record Numbers

The EU border agency is sending patrol vessels to the Channel for the first time to support French rescue operations, while a BBC investigation finds smuggling gangs adapting to a crackdown by building dinghies carrying up to 230 migrants at a time.

Mangrove Monitor Rescued From Burlington Parking Lot

Animal-control officers safely captured a four-foot-plus mangrove monitor after it entered a vehicle’s wheel well in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Construction Begins on B.C.’s $6 Billion North Coast Transmission Line

Construction begins on B.C.’s $6 billion North Coast Transmission Line, a project to double electricity supply to the northwest and power major LNG and mining developments.

A decagon has appeared at Saturn's south pole

Hubble images and a new Science Advances paper confirm a giant 10-sided atmospheric wave circling the planet — the first large, regular-sided jet pattern ever seen in Saturn's southern hemisphere.