AJ Vicens

The Indicator Guide to using Telegram in digital investigations Telegram has become a top source for documenting global conflicts — and so much more. Here's how to use it for investigations.

For those thinking of using Telegram for conflict reporting, image gathering, and source searching, here’s a guide I put together for @indicator.media:

indicator.media/p/the-indica...

I’m in

a black and white photo of a little girl looking out a window Alt: a black and white photo of a little girl looking out a window

I just ordered that one based on your flagging it. Now I’m about to spend more.

Oooohhh

Ubuntu 26.04 Shows Asterisks When You Type Your sudo Password Ubuntu 26.04 will show asterisks when you type your sudo password, as Canonical adds a patch to its Rust-based sudo-rs. Here's what changed and why.

Ubuntu 26.04 will show asterisks when the user types in their sudo password.

Previously, Ubuntu did not provide any feedback to avoid nearby attackers from determining the length of a user's password.

www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/02/ubun...

Live: US and Israel strike Iran as Trump says action give Iranians chance to 'topple their rulers' The U.S.-Israel joint operation plunged the Middle East into a new conflict that Donald Trump said would end a security threat to the U.S. and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.

Follow @reuters.com love page here: “Israel and US attack Iran, Trump confirms 'major combat operations' -“ www.reuters.com/world/iran-c...

Israel said it launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran, pushing the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation and further dimming hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West reut.rs/3N9KHGD

Investigative Post obtained this video of Border Patrol abandoning Nurul Shah Alam, the nearly blind Burmese refugee who was found dead

www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/26/t...

Trump directs US agencies to toss Anthropic's AI as Pentagon calls startup a supply risk U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he is directing the government to stop work with Anthropic and the Pentagon said it will declare the startup a supply-chain risk, dealing a major blow to the artificial intelligence lab after a showdown about technology guardrails.

Trump directs US agencies to toss Anthropic's AI as Pentagon calls startup a supply risk reut.rs/4r5NHS9

snip from WSJ piece on Grok demand not being high unless you're trying to pose as a bad actor

Demand for Grok within some fed agencies not that high, unless you're trying to act like a bad actor for defensive testing: www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

ICE is struggling to keep pace with vetting new hires during its historic recruitment push, so it's hiring officers before completing standard checks.

The agency fired five people after belatedly finding that they had outstanding warrants for their arrest.

www.reuters.com/world/ice-st...

Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War A statement from our CEO on national security uses of AI

Statement out of @anthropic.com on its tension with the Department of Defense is worth reading in full:

www.anthropic.com/news/stateme...

Horrific

Hackers publish 680,000 Odido customer records, demand ransom and threaten more releases Hackers released stolen personal and financial information of hundreds of thousands of Odido customers on the dark web, following a ransom demand of more than 1 million euros. The cybercriminal group ...

Shinyhunters published 680,000 Odido customer records, demand ransom and threaten more releases if the Dutch telco doesn't pay one million euros over the next 16 days.
nltimes.nl/2026/02/26/h...

A White House Staffer Appears to Run Massive Pro-Trump X Account A popular right-wing account that called a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes "a masterpiece" appears to be run by a White House staffer, according to records reviewed by WIRED.

ICYMI: A popular right-wing account that called a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes "a masterpiece" appears to be run by a White House staffer, according to records reviewed by WIRED. www.wired.com/story/a-whit...

Epstein Files Are Missing Records About Woman Who Made Claim Against Trump

Why did it take the @nytimes.com 16 paragraphs before giving credit for this revelation to @npr.org and @sollenbergerrc.bsky.social? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/u...

Helluva story @jdaleshoemaker.bsky.social

DHS official tells state election chiefs there won't be ICE agents at polling places Members of the Trump administration held a call with state election officials around the country ahead of this year's midterm elections.

New w @janetimm.bsky.social: In the feds' first call with states since gutting CISA's election programs, they promised no ICE at polling places, but weirdly refused to reaffirm states run elections, per people on the call.

Border Patrol dumped a blind man at a Buffalo donut shop A nearly blind Burmese refugee has been missing since Thursday after Border Patrol dropped him off at a Buffalo Tim Hortons.

And here's the @jdaleshoemaker.bsky.social piece that ran the day before his body was found.

www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/24/b...

Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol dies in Buffalo. A nearly blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol miles from his home dies in Buffalo after having been missing for nearly a week.

This blind man - a refugee from Burma - was dropped off by Border Patrol at a Tim Horton's in Buffalo, NY.

In the middle of February.
A mile from a home where he no longer lived.
While his relatives were searching for him.

Cops found his body 5 days later

www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/b...

Exclusive: FBI obtained Kash Patel and Susie Wiles phone records during Biden administration The FBI subpoenaed records of phone calls made by Kash Patel and Susie Wiles, now the FBI director and White House Chief of Staff, when they were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023 during the fede...

Exclusive: FBI obtained Kash Patel and Susie Wiles phone records during Biden administration www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi...

section of story talking about fake judges and other court officials used to dupe vulnerable immigrants

This is insane: gothamist.com/news/fake-im... @gothamist.com

Google disrupts Chinese-linked hackers that attacked 53 groups globally Google disrupted a Chinese-linked hacking group that breached at least 53 organizations across 42 countries, the company said Wednesday.

Google disrupts Chinese-linked hackers that attacked 53 groups globally - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Exclusive: US orders diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives An internal diplomatic cable said such efforts could interfere with AI-related services.

Scoop: Rubio has ordered US diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives worldwide

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Under India’s pressure, Facebook let propaganda and hate speech thrive Facebook has retreated from its professed ideals in India under pressure from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Here we go. Free, no-reg versions of favorite stories from my four years at the Washington Post. First, three pieces from our Pulitzer-finalist series on how India's ruling party coerced U.S. tech giants into violating their own policies. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/0...

Judge says government may not search devices seized from Post reporter A federal judge in Virginia denied the Justice Department’s request to search a Washington Post reporter’s devices in a national security leak probe.

NEW: Judge blocks DOJ from searching reporter Hannah Natanson's seized devices, says court will review them. The judge also said a DOJ filter team's search of work-product would be "the equivalent of leaving the government’s fox in charge of the Washington Post’s henhouse"
wapo.st/4kR9c7P

Top Noem aide entered cockpit before firing pilot over missing blanket, sources say Top U.S. homeland security aide Corey Lewandowski entered the cockpit of a government jet uninvited during a flight last year, after which he fired a pilot over a misplaced blanket, two people familia...

Top Noem aide entered cockpit before firing pilot over missing blanket, sources say - www.reuters.com/world/us/top...

Anthropic accuses Chinese labs of trying to illicitly take Claude’s capabilities Anthropic claims Chinese labs DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax used "industrial-scale" distillation to siphon Claude’s AI capabilities for offensive cyber ops.

“It poses a national security threat, the AI startup said, such as by possibly enabling offensive cyber operations.” cyberscoop.com/anthropic-ac...

Jesus

JUST IN: US judge permanently blocks release of report on Trump documents case reut.rs/4qS2os6