At this time, 12:46 EDT the IC wiki is listing a changelog for 1.96 link
[*]Added checks to ensure Minecraft Forge is properly installed, and display a user-friendly error if not
[*]Added dynamic block ID assignment
[*]Added configuration option to disable crafting ITNT
[*]Added user-friendly errors for most exceptions inside the code
[*]Added Forge Mod Loader metadata
[*]Unlikely fix for energy tiles sometimes not sending/receiving power - if they fail a console message will notify
[*]Fixed chunk errors caused by cables with wet Construction Foam
[*]Fixed energy network crashes when moving energy tiles with RedPower frames
[*]Fixed crash when getting near Reactor Chambers
[*]Fixed jetpacks in SMP - finally!
[*]Fixed nano/quantum suits getting immediately destroyed by sabers
[*]Fixed crop trampling behavior on SMP - if you still have this issue, please tell us
[*]Fixed quantum boots not absorbing fall damage
[*]Fixed sounds not respecting the Minecraft volume
[*]Possible fix for JVM crashes when starting the game with sounds on for some people
[*]Fixed crash when placing cables in mid-air (RedPower deployers and assemblers)
[*]Fixed using a treetap on the top or bottom side of a booze barrel eating the treetap
[*]Fixed game crash if a chest is directly below a Miner
[*]Fixed cropsticks keeping some properties of a crop that was removed from it
[*]Fixed crashes when the ALT, Boost, Mode Switch and/or Forward keys are assigned to a mouse button
[*]Fixed Water Mills not accepting water cells and BuildCraft liquid containers until a water bucket is placed
[*]Fixed sided inventory (BuildCraft pipes and RedPower tubes)
behavior for the drill (left/front) and scanner (right/back) slots of a
Miner
[*]Fixed (may have already been fixed, but just in case) construction foam not appearing properly after solidifying on SMP
[*]Fixed drills not being effective against soul sand
[*]Fixed item repair not working for non-electric tools and armor
[*]Nano boots partially absorb fall damage similarly to rubber boots
[*]Personal Safes can not be retrieved (including its contents) by RedPower block breakers on multiplayer
[*]Recipes for the following items rebalanced: Teleporter, MFE, MV Transformer, HV Transformer, OV Scanner
[*]Removed the small internal storage in Solar Panels, Wind Mills and Water Mills
[*]Torches, levers, rails and other blocks which require a solid block support can no longer be placed on Construction Foam
[*]Dynamite and FreqTrans recipes are shapeless
[*]Coffee properly displays on the creative mode item list
[*]Tweaked some rarity values
The 1.96 download isn't up yet anywhere, is this SOP for the IC2 dev team or is something strange going on?