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Reform-led Derbyshire council cuts contact with reporter over coverage of garden blockade case
Derbyshire County Council, led by Reform, has said it will stop responding to local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell, prompting criticism that the move threatens press freedom. Bisknell had reported on 81-year-old Helene Ball’s legal fight with the council over access through her garden gate, a case that drew national attention after the council placed large…
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Homeowners in England urged to check flood risk: ‘A third of people don’t realise’
More than two million people in England are unaware that their properties are at risk of flooding, according to the Environment Agency. As the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to winter, the agency is urging residents to check their flood risk and prepare accordingly. This warning comes at a critical time, with…
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Builder’s fraudulent work left North West home structurally unsafe, costing couple over £70,000
Joanne Dagostina says a builder’s work left her home structurally unsafe and caused severe stress for her family in the run-up to her wedding. The case forms part of a wider fraud in which Patrick Hartley cheated 13 households in the North West out of nearly £700,000; he was jailed for three years and nine…
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Burnham overhauls welfare and pensions; Trump meets tech on AI
Labour’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled three major policy overhauls, including ending the pension triple lock to fund a national care service. Trump met tech executives to discuss AI safety expansion despite growing public opposition.
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Audi recovered from Wear as police investigate fatal Sunderland crash
Three teenagers died when a black Audi A3 crashed through a metal barrier and plunged into the River Wear near Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland on Tuesday afternoon. A 17-year-old boy who was in the vehicle managed to escape and is now in police custody on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, whilst a witness…
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UK inquiry adds Birmingham and Wales to grooming gang investigations
The grooming gangs inquiry has expanded its scope to include investigations in Wales and Birmingham, alongside previously announced investigations in London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley. The £65 million, three-year inquiry—led by Baroness Anne Longfield, former children’s commissioner for England—aims to examine child sexual abuse by grooming gangs and determine why institutions and organisations failed to…
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Missouri killer gets 25 years after disturbing conduct at sentencing
Clyde Sanders, 38, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing 19-year-old Kobe Dotson in Missouri in April 2023. During the hearing, Sanders handled autopsy photographs and made remarks while Dotson’s relatives delivered victim impact statements, prompting an angry reaction from the family. Prosecutors increased their proposed sentence from 23 to 25 years after…
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Christa Pike refuses final meal after courts reject execution appeal
Christa Pike, a 50-year-old Tennessee death row inmate, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday morning after exhausting all legal appeals and clemency efforts. Governor Bill Lee denied her clemency request and the US Supreme Court declined to stay the execution, with the justices making their decision less than a day before…
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Wife has last laugh after $100m Texas tycoon tried to get secret SHARIA divorce behind her back and pay her just $50 to end marriage
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Hira Azhar can pursue a divorce and division of marital property in Texas, reversing earlier decisions that recognised her husband’s Pakistani divorce. The ruling matters because the justices found that the way she was notified did not meet constitutional standards and that a foreign judgment obtained in those…
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UK disposable incomes rose as benefit payments offset stagnant wages
UK household disposable income per person rose by 1 per cent in the second quarter, but the increase came from higher benefit payments rather than wages. The figures suggest that benefits helped households cope with rising taxes, inflation and other cost pressures, while disposable income remained slightly below its level when Labour took office. Office…