Apple's iPhone and iPad running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 have become the first consumer mobile devices cleared for NATO-restricted classified data. No special software or settings are required. MacRumors reports: Apple's devices are the first and only consumer mobile products that have reached this government certification level after security testing and evaluation by the German government. iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 are now certified for use with classified data in all NATO nations. In an announcement of the security clearance, Apple touted its security features: "Apple designs security into all of its products from the start, ensuring the most sophisticated protections are built in across hardware, software, and Apple silicon. This unique approach allows Apple users to benefit from industry-leading security protections such as best-in-class encryption, biometric authentication with Face ID, and groundbreaking features like Memory Integrity Enforcement. These same protections are now recognized as meeting stringent government and international security requirements, even for restricted data."
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Shutdown affecting Fema has caused delay in delivery
Host city officials concerned about ability to stage events
Representative Nellie Pou: ‘Time for DHS to do its job’
Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, replied forcefully on Thursday to concerns about a holdup of federal funding for this summer’s World Cup, confirming that “no funds have been awarded yet” in a post on X. About $625m in grants administered by the Federal Emergency Management Authority (Fema) were authorized last summer and set to be distributed to US host cities to aid with security and planning for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
Noem’s comments follow congressional testimony earlier this week by host city officials who expressed concern that they may not have time to adequately prepare for the tournament if they don’t receive the funds in short order.
Continue reading...Clinton tells closed-doors meeting she does not recall meeting Epstein; oversight Democrats say Trump appears in files ‘almost more than any other person’
Cindy McCain announced today that she will step down from her role as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme to focus on her health.
McCain, the widow of the late US senator John McCain, suffered a mild stroke last October and had returned to Italy to resume her work after that, but the demands of the job were affecting her recovery, the organization said. She started the role in April 2023. She will step down in three months.
Continue reading...Largest ever image obtained by specialist telescope in Chile represents scientific and aesthetic breakthrough
Scientists have captured a beautiful image in unprecedented detail of the vast Milky Way galaxy, of which our own solar system is a part.
The stunning image is the largest ever obtained by the specialist telescope in Chile called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (Alma) radio telescope, according to the group behind the project.
Continue reading...The rationale to justify the US striking first has shifted from the country killing protesters to its developing weapons
As senior Democrats emerged from a classified briefing on Iran with the secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier this week, the leaders of the opposition delivered reserved, cryptic warnings of what may become the US’s largest military intervention since the Iraq war.
This was not a line in the sand against a new war in the Middle East. Instead, Democrats targeted the opaque decision-making around Donald Trump – as well as his own unpredictable whims – that could guide the weightiest foreign-policy decision of his two terms in office.
Continue reading...First lady to preside over meeting on ‘children, technology and education in conflict’ in New York next month
First lady Melania Trump is set to lead a session of the United Nations security council on Monday, coinciding with the US assuming the body’s rotating monthly presidency, the White House announced.
According to a statement, first cited by CNN, Melania Trump plans to spotlight education as a tool for fostering tolerance and promoting global peace at the global body, which has its headquarters in New York.
Continue reading...Player is captain of NHL’s Ottawa Senators
Tkachuk expresses regret over Trump joke
US ice hockey star Brady has said he does not appreciate an AI video released by the White House that shows him insulting Canadians.
Tkachuk played in the Americans’ victory over Canada at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, which secured the US men their first gold medal since 1980. In the wake of that win, the White House’s TikTok account published video of Tkachuk saying: “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating fuckers a lesson.”
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New York mayor to meet president – who called Mamdani a ‘nice guy’ during State of the Union – for second time
New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is meeting Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, during an unannounced trip to the nation’s capital, an official in the mayor’s office confirmed to the Guardian.
Neither the mayor nor the president’s public schedules listed the meeting. However, Trump does have a “private meeting” listed for 3pm ET. The White House has yet to reply to the Guardian’s request for comment.
Continue reading...Mozilla has released Firefox 148 for Windows, macOS and Linux, bringing a new AI Settings section that lets users disable all of the browser's AI-powered features in one click and then selectively re-enable the ones they actually want, such as the local translation tool that works locally rather than in the cloud. The update also patches more than 50 security vulnerabilities -- none known to be under active exploitation -- over half of which Mozilla classifies as high risk, including five sandbox escape flaws and eight use-after-free bugs in the JavaScript engine that could allow code execution.
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The far-right activist’s trip came amid calls for the US to be included in a probe into foreign interference in UK politics
The hosting of Tommy Robinson by the Trump administration has been condemned by British MPs amid calls for the US to be included in a probe into foreign interference in UK politics.
The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being feted in the US, where he met figures including a political appointee at the Department of State in Washington DC and a congressman.
Continue reading...Acting university president says agents misrepresented themselves to gain entry to the residential building
A Columbia University student was arrested on Thursday by federal immigration officers who apparently misrepresented themselves by posing as New York police officers looking for a missing child in order to to gain entry to a residential building to make the apprehension.
The acting president of the elite institution in New York City, Claire Shipman, wrote in a statement sent to the wider Columbia community on Thursday that the university was working to gather more information on the incident earlier that morning.
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