UK News
View All 9RSPCA branded 'Nazis' as pensioner's cat dies after being seized in police raid
The RSPCA has been compared to the Nazis by a pensioner after her cat was seized in a police raid and died.Katherine Theodotou, 79, has won the right to have an independent expert assess her beloved pet Rita's cause of death after it died in foster care.She was already embroiled in a legal battle with both the Metropolitan Police and Britain's leading animal charity after officers captured her 17-month-old pet.Mrs Theodotou, who runs an animal sanctuary near Hereford, was set to have her case heard by magistrates. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say But two days before the hearing, Rita suddenly and unexpectedly died in RSPCA foster care.At the High Court, Mr Justice Kimblin refused to order the cat's body returned to the pensioner, but did allow for a post-mortem examination involving an RSPCA vet and an independent specialist.She told The Times: "The police and RSPCA have behaved like a bunch of Nazis. I've never seen any such behaviour towards an elderly woman."In court, the sanctuary owner slammed the animal charity as a "strange organisation that is run by odd women who dress in military-style uniforms"."I'm going to start a campaign for its abolition," she added.Police officers and the RSPCA raided the sanctuary over a report Rita was being mistreated, which Mrs Theodotou, a former human rights lawyer, said was maliciously placed.RSPCA lawyers insist the charity acted in Rita's best interests after receiving a report from vets indicating the cat had "deteriorated" under her care.The pensioner claimed to have been "pushed violently to the ground" during the raid by six police officers and two RSPCA officials.LATEST ANIMAL INTERVENTIONS:British zoo saves entire species from extinction in extraordinary 'rescue mission'Killer whales caught on camera ramming prey so hard it explodesMichelin-star chef faces jail for covering diners' desserts in antsRita was born with a disability which meant she could not properly move her back legs and also suffered from occasional bladder infections, the court previously heard.Mrs Theodotou has battled in the High Court for the RSPCA to return her cat's body so she could carry out her own post-mortem, but the animal charity refused the request.She told the court: "I'm entitled to her body or what is left of her body. She is my cat, my darling cat. I love this animal very much. I spent a lot of time in caring for her."There was no need to come with six police officers to my house and break down the door. I’m entitled to have a post-mortem myself. I have very competent doctors."Mark Townsend, the RSPCA's barrister, said the cat was under the charity's "ultimate care" and needed to investigate the death itself.Mr Justice Kimblin said the RSPCA had a right under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act to investigate a death, but Mrs Theodotou is entitled to receive the cat's body as her owner.Mr Townsend previously told the court the cat's condition was "extremely concerning" and was being treated at a veterinary hospital before being placed in foster care.Lawyer for Mrs Theodotou said Rita had received regular medical support and was "well cared for". Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
Children as young as six rushed to hospital after horror dog attack at playground
Two children have been rushed to hospital after a horror dog attack in a playground.Both children, aged six and 11, received bites to their legs and thighs on Vernon Street in Leicester.Leicestershire Police are now appealing to the public for information about the incident on April 19.The force is now looking for a woman, pictured on CCTV holding a dog on a lead. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The woman appears to be wearing a grey hoodie, dark trousers and has brown hair.In one image, she is seen struggling to keep the hulking dog on its lead.In a statement, police said: "Enquiries have been ongoing since the incident was reported to us and we hope the public can help us move the investigation on."We know the images are not the best quality, but we hope someone will recognise the woman or the dog."If this is you or you have any suspicions about who the woman may be we would urge you to get in touch."Those with information are urged to contact PC 4630 Samuel Senior on 101 quoting crime number 26*224111.Last month, the Government introduced legislation to ban children under 12 from being in the same home as dangerous dogs on their own.The law, which will come into effect on November 1, will result in the seizure of the dog and potential prosecution, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.DOG ATTACKS - READ MORE:Royal Mail postmen defend delivery worker who kicked blind dog to death ‘like a football’ in vile attackBig Brother star mauled by XL bully and left 'scarred for life' after horror attackWoman, 19, dies after horror dog attack in Essex as arrest madeAnimal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman said: "Any attack on a child by a dangerous dog is unacceptable."The safety of children must always come first, and this new measure will strengthen protections in the home by ensuring young children are not left unattended around banned breed dogs, including XL Bully types."While many owners are acting responsibly - those that don't should face the legal consequences."All banned dogs, including the notorious XL Bully, must be muzzled and kept on a lead in public places.The ban on the dangerous breed came into effect the February before last.Despite the restriction, dog incidents rose that year, with 31,920 recorded dog attacks in 2024.This is a two per cent increase from 2023, according to the most recent data.The RSPCA, as a result, has examined the idea of reintroducing dog licences to curb "challenges around dog ownership". Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
Wales breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Wednesday, July 29)
Ellie Gosley Senior Reporter Hello, and welcome to WalesOnline's live blog for Wednesday, July 29. We'll be bringing you all of the from across Wales - whether you're on the move, at home or at work - as well as the latest traffic and travel. We'll also be keeping you informed of major news stories from the UK and overseas. Contribute to the live blog , or tweet us @WalesOnline to share the news that's breaking in your area. Read the biggest stories in Wales first . New Updates Today06:41 BST Ruby Evans wins Wales' first gold medal at Commonwealth GamesRuby Evans won Wales' first gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games after producing a brilliant display to claim victory in the women's floor final in Glasgow. The 19-year-old delivered a superb high-risk routine to score 13.500, finishing ahead of England pair Abigail Martin (13.333) and Shantae-Eve Amankwaah (13.300) to secure the Commonwealth title. It completed a remarkable turnaround for Evans, who had endured a frustrating start to the Games. A fall from the beam during Sunday's all-around competition effectively ended her hopes of challenging for the medals, with the Welsh gymnast eventually finishing sixth after Wales had also narrowly missed out on a podium place in the team event. here. Ruby Evans of Team Wales celebrates winning gold(Image: 2026 ) Ellie Gosley Today06:15 BST Today's weather forecastStaying largely dry, with some warm sunshine, though turning fresher. Here is the full Met Office forecast for Wales today: "Areas of cloud will affect northern and western areas on Wednesday, thick enough at first to give patchy drizzle and some fog over the hills. The southeast will best of the sunshine, and turning very warm here. Maximum temperature 25 °C." Ellie Gosley Today06:05 BST Good morning Bore da and welcome to WalesOnline's daily news blog. The team is here to bring you all the and updates today. Ellie Gosley Follow Wales Online:
Arts diary: King's Theatre finally re-opens and why festivals need trams chaos to be sorted now
The King’s Theatre has been closed for nearly four years
World News
View All 10At least 13 killed in Japan earthquake as rescuers race to find others trapped in rubble
Yatsushiro Shrine was among the historic buildings damaged by a magnitude-7.1 earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture. JIJI Press/AFP via Add NBC News to Google July 29, 2026, AM EDT 13 people have been killed in southwestern Japan after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday, as rescuers searched for survivors of collapses at a shopping mall and a paper mill. “Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible,” Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo. The quake struck Tuesday afternoon in Kumamoto prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a relatively shallow depth of 6 miles, prompting tsunami warnings and evacuation from coastal areas. The epicenter was about 12 miles south of the city of Kumamoto, which has a population of about 700,000. While the tsunami warning was lifted shortly after, the quake caused extensive damage throughout the prefecture, including to historic buildings such as Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist site that is still under repair from another deadly quake in the same area in 2016. It also ruptured roads and left thousands of homes without power, with officials warning residents to beware of heat stroke as temperatures reach well into the 90s. A damaged truck and car are seen on a debris-covered road after an explosion at the Aeon mall in Kashima, Japan. Yuichi Yamazaki / AFP via Two women in their 20s were killed at the partially collapsed Aeon mall near Kumamoto, while eight others have been pulled alive from the rubble. Mall officials said Wednesday that four people were still missing and that they were investigating whether a gas leak caused an explosion. Seven people are also missing after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in the city of Yatsushiro, Reuters reported, citing a local government official. Thousands of soldiers have been deployed to assist rescue teams across the affected area, while hospitals have treated dozens of people for injuries. Some of those injured were passengers on Japan’s high-speed trains, according to operators, which suspended all train services on Kyushu immediately after the quake. The violent shaking also derailed a freight train at the Yatsushiro station, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the JR Freight Railway Company. Aerial footage from NHK showed carriages overturned next to the track and collapsed pillars of the Yatsushiro Shrine.
An ASEAN Summit Consumed by Middle East Worries
Uncategorized The South China Sea ran a distant second. Joseph Rachman: A pencil drawing of a man wearing glasses in a t-shirt Joseph Rachman , the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Southeast Asia Brief. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (foreground, second from left) takes a selfie with Philippine police and other security personnel as he departs Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (foreground, second from left) takes a selfie with Philippine police and other security personnel as he departs Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, on July 23. Brendan Smialowski / Pool / AFP via July 29, 2026, AM Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief. The highlights this week: The ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting takes place amid geopolitical turmoil, concerns about the governance of Indonesia’s president intensify, and we look at what’s new in Trump’s latest round of tariffs. Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief. The highlights this week: The ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting takes place amid geopolitical turmoil, concerns about the governance of Indonesia’s president intensify, and we look at what’s new in Trump’s latest round of tariffs. ASEAN Summit Dominated ’s meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila took place against a backdrop of continued turmoil. The South China Sea and the war in the Middle East overshadowed proceedings as both China and the United States continued their track record of shooting themselves in the foot. On July 20, a clash at the Second Thomas Shoal between China’s coast guard and Philippine navy left a Filipino sailor injured. The Philippines alleges that he was struck on the head with a wooden baton. China alleges that the Filipinos struck first and were trying to ram the Chinese boat. When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi landed in Manila on Wednesday, he and Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro exchanged diplomatic protests over the matter. Lazaro also protested a video released earlier this month a monkey. Despite this acrimony, the summit’s joint communiqué struck an optimistic note on efforts to finally conclude a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea. The ministers wrote that they “looked forward to continued efforts” to “conclude the negotiation of an effective and substantive COC” within the year. Then Thursday and Friday saw incidents at the Scarborough Shoal, where the Philippines accused China of firing a water cannon at Philippine fisheries boats.
Some Jordanians Demand that American Troops Leave the Kingdom
Hundreds of political, legal and other figures signed a public letter warning that Jordan’s close alliance with the United States poses a risk.
China’s Next Play for the South China Sea
Chinese ships in Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea, June 2026 Ezra Acayan / Reuters LYNN KUOK is Lee Kuan Yew Chair at the Brookings Institution. More & Download Print unlock this feature or Sign in. Save Sign in and save to read later Copy This is a subscriber-only feature. or Sign in. Chicago MLA APSA APA Chicago Cite not available at the moment MLA Cite not available at the moment APSA Cite not available at the moment APA Cite not available at the moment Request reprint permissions here. Ten years ago, a tribunal in The Hague handed the Philippines a sweeping legal victory. Convened to hear a case the Philippines brought under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the tribunal rejected any Chinese claim to historic rights within the “nine-dash line”—a U-shaped demarcation that encompasses much of the South China Sea but for which Beijing has never provided coordinates. It also clarified the maritime entitlements of the Spratly features, Scarborough Shoal (an atoll west of the Philippine main island of Luzon), and Reed Bank (a submerged atoll within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone), finding that none of these features generates an exclusive economic zone. The high-tide features are at most entitled to a territorial sea. Reed Bank forms part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Although legally binding only on the Philippines and China, the ruling strengthened the position of other Southeast Asian coastal states ’s historic rights claim nor any exclusive economic zone extending from the features the tribunal examined could override their sovereign rights in their own exclusive economic zones. The tribunal did not decide on sovereignty over contested land features because it lacked the jurisdiction to do so. China immediately rejected the decision but paused conduct most obviously inconsistent with it: interfering with its neighbors’ resource rights and driving non-Chinese fishermen from Scarborough Shoal. Once international attention waned, however, China’s transgressions began anew. Disputes over sovereign rights and jurisdiction at sea have been the primary source of conflict since. Beijing initially sought to deter coastal states from exercising their rights, most notably warning Hanoi against drilling for oil and gas in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in 2017 and 2018. Beijing then went further, dispatching vessels into its neighbors’ exclusive economic zones to conduct seismic surveys. Beijing continues to challenge its neighbors’ exercise of sovereign rights at sea. Offshore energy sites became recurring flash points.
Politics
View All 10AI tool will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, charity warns
Border Force officers with two young migrants at Dover. Photograph: Anadolu/Anadolu/Getty View image in fullscreen Border Force officers with two young migrants at Dover. Photograph: Anadolu/Anadolu/Getty AI tool will lead to more child refugees being treated as adults, charity warns ‘Racist bias’ overestimating ages in Home Office’s facial-recognition software will lead to solo children being housed with adults, says Human Rights Network Flawed and racialised models that underpin the AI-powered age-detection systems to be introduced , rights groups and children’s charities have warned. Urging ministers to reverse plans to introduce facial age-estimation technology to screen migrants, critics have warned that black children arriving from conflict zones are at risk of being of thrust into the adult system. Maddie Harris, of the Humans for Rights Network, said the charity had worked with hundreds of children who were already being wrongly filtered into the adult system during age assessments at borders carried out . In May, the Helen Bamber Foundation revealed that 755 children in 2025 were incorrectly identified as adults on arrival to the UK, according to Home Office figures. Harris said the introduction of AI was a “cheap process” that would not improve these numbers. “This is not about protecting children – this is about shoring up the decisions that [the authorities] are making,” she said. The government has admitted that even the best systems can have a 30-month margin of error. Harris said this is particularly risky for children, especially those from countries such as Sudan and Somalia, who she said were already “adultified” . “As soon as a child is treated as an adult, they are susceptible to – or exposed, rather – to any of the egregious consequences that the Home Office is applying to adults, such as detention and removal,” she said. Unaccompanied children would be forced into accommodation alongside adults, exposing them to risk and to the violence threatened , she said. In May, the government announced a contract to use facial age-estimation technology developed by Cognitec, a German firm that calls itself “the face-recognition company”. That system showed bias against sub-Saharan Africans, tending to overpredict the ages of minors, according to an investigation . The UK-based tech monitor Foxglove has said these systems relied on “racist bias” and said the government should not use children to test experimental technology. The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium has raised concerns about the technology’s ability to assess children who have undergone difficult journeys.
Collins says State Department will reinstate funding for global humanitarian vaccine alliance
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday that the State Department is set to reinstate funding for a global humanitarian vaccine program after the Trump administration previously paused the program. “It is welcome news that following our recent outreach, the State Department has committed to contributing the full $600 million for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance,” Collins…
Ex-Trump health official shocked by Fauci’s ‘unabashed narcissism’ from diaries
A former Trump health official on Tuesday slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci over his recently-released journal entries. “I’d like to see honesty and transparency and I’d like Tony to come clean with all the things that he’s really been caught in contradictions,” Dr. Brett Giroir, a former assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health…
UK faces ‘very difficult trade-offs’ in budget because of Iran war, say analysts
Ships anchored in the strait of Hormuz off Iran on Monday. The on-off closure of the waterway has pushed up oil prices, putting pressure on inflation. Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP View image in fullscreen Ships anchored in the strait of Hormuz off Iran on Monday. The on-off closure of the waterway has pushed up oil prices, putting pressure on inflation. Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP UK faces ‘very difficult trade-offs’ in budget because of Iran war, say analysts Leading thinktank says higher oil prices and inflation will give Andy Burnham a ‘challenging inheritance’ Andy Burnham has been warned by a leading thinktank of “very difficult trade-offs in the next autumn budget” if the Iran war keeps oil prices and inflation high. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the new prime minister faced a “challenging inheritance” and his plans to revamp public services would meet severe pressure from persistently higher prices. With oil prices having briefly gone back above $100 a barrel, and the strait of Hormuz all but closed since March, the thinktank said it expected inflation to rise to 3.8% over the next seven months, forcing the chancellor, John Healey, to find an extra £24bn -terms welfare payments. How the Bab al-Mandab blockade threat helped push oil back above $100 The thinktank said it had cut its forecast for the chancellor’s spending headroom in the budget from just over £7bn to nearer £3bn. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s independent forecaster, estimated in March that the Treasury had about £22bn of spare capacity above existing spending commitments. Underscoring the cost of the Middle East conflict to the UK, the NIESR said the economy would grow at a slower pace this year and in 2027 as a result of higher energy prices and the spillover effects from uncertainty created -off war. It said a downgrade of growth to 1.1% this year and the same slow pace next year meant the UK would suffer £28bn in lost growth over two years compared with forecasts in January. David Aikman, the institute’s director, said Burnham faced “a challenging inheritance” with spending “eroded by inflation”, coupled with the highest borrowing costs in the G7, new spending demands and cost-of-living pressures. He said there would be a temptation to ease the strain on the public finances and pay for new initiatives . Aikman said this would be a mistake and only cause further strife in later years, especially when another health or economic shock happened.
Business
View All 10UBS joins Wall Street rivals in trading-led profit surge
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Porsche Earnings Rise After Selling More of its Pricier Cars
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FirstFT: AI sell-off sparks hedge fund collateral calls
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Audi continues U.S. product push with three-row Q9 SUV
Livestream Menu Audi unveiled a three-row, full-size luxury SUV called the Q9 SUV, starting at $89,095. The brand has announced two other SUVS aimed at turning around its sales in the U. S. sales are down 17% this year through June compared with 2025. VIDEO5:0505:05 How Audi hopes to win back consumers CNBC Digital Original Video German luxury auto brand Audi unveiled its full-size Q9 SUV on Tuesday. It is the first so-named vehicle for Audi and the latest in a product push aimed at the heart of the American market, where the brand has struggled over the past several quarters. The three-row Q9 and a high-performance SQ9 variant will together be the brand's flagship U. S. model, joining two other SUVs Audi has already unveiled this year — the compact Q3 and midsize Q7 SUVs, which were revealed in March and June, respectively. Filip Brabec, Audi of America senior vice president of product management, said the Q9 was made primarily with the U. The consideration extended to the six and eight-cylinder engines and large cupholders. "If you look at our recent introductions, whether it is the Q3, whether it is this car, it really plays right into the center of what's happening in America," Brabec said at the vehicle reveal in New York on Tuesday. "SUVs keep growing. It's over 80% of the of the premium space, and we have absolute top contenders in each and every part of those segments." The Q9 starts at $89,095 and the SQ9 at $119,395, competing in one of the most profitable, but crowded segments in the U. S. market. "It represents the most lavish luxury car that we have in this space," Brabec said. The vehicle is 209 inches long end to end and 86.8 inches wide when measuring from the outer edges of the sideview mirrors. It's slightly longer than both the Mercedes GLS and the BMW X7 and is large enough to fit adults in the third row. In a press conference before the reveal, Brabec said the Q9 focused on three key areas: performance, space and technology. Both versions have powertrains selected to suit American tastes. The Q9 comes with a 2.9-liter V6 engine with 429 horsepower and a 4.9 second 0-60 mph acceleration time, according to Audi. The sportier SQ9 is powered by a 4.0 liter V8 with 591 horsepower, 590 foot-pounds of torque, and a 3.8 second 0-60 mph time. It also has a number of new features, including "matrix adaptive beam" headlights, which have been available in Europe and elsewhere for roughly a decade but have only recently been allowed in the U.
Technology
View All 10More Tailscale tricks for your jailbroken Kindle
Blog|insightsJune 12, 2026 More Tailscale tricks for your jailbroken Kindle If you managed to put Tailscale on a jailbroken Kindle before it updated too far ahead, you got something pretty great, even if it wasn't the full Tailscale experience. But good things come to those who wait (or dig around on GitHub). Open-source developers have improved the Tailscale experience on one of the weakest computers you own. If your Kindle is jailbroken, an updated version of Mitanshu Sukhwani's Tailscale implementation offers a few new things: Tailscale SSH enabled by default, so you don't have to enable USBnetworking SSH and its very obvious default user/password A proxy mode that lets apps like KOReader to reach other nodes on your tailnet, like a Calibre/OPDS or Wallabag server A full TUN mode that, on some Kindles, can make Tailscale networking work at the device level Let’s dig into each one and how to set them up. As before, this is community code working on a very unofficial device state; bring your patience along. Tailscale on a Kindle, now with proxies The last time we wrote about Tailscale on a Kindle, the client was basic, but it worked. The Kindle showed up on your tailnet, complete with a green dot in the web admin console. You could reach the Kindle . You could even SSH into the Kindle over Tailscale, which was handy for further tinkering. But “reachable via Tailscale” is not the same as “routing all incoming and outgoing traffic across your tailnet,” it turns out. Tailscale on a jailbroken Kindle is typically forced to run in userspace mode, which means it cannot use the device's own network routing layer, known as TUN mode. You could start Tailscale, and then start an app like KOReader, but when you tried to connect to another Tailscale device, like your Calibre server at 100. x. y. z, it would go like this: KOReader (or any app) asks the Kindle’s root OS how to reach 100. x. y. z The Kindle, lacking Tailscale routing, cannot reach that Tailscale IP address KOReader drops the connection An update to the Kindle KUAL app by greywolf1499 provides different modes that work around this. Now, when you try to reach another Tailscale IP address on your Kindle, it can go like this: You start Tailscale in proxy mode You set up KOReader or another app's proxy settings to connect to 127.0.0.1:1055 KOReader tells the proxy it wants to reach 100. x. y. z Tailscale’s daemon tailscaled, listening on port 1055, routes the connection through Tailscale E-books, articles, and other data flows between your Tailscale-running Kindle and other Tailscale devices This Tailscale proxy offers two modes, SOCKS5 and HTTP CONNECT, for apps that may prefer one or the other.
User Interfaces of the Demo Scene
Exploring the tools of the trade Ahh, the demo scene - a digital art subculture, a motley gang of creative nerds, and a favourite pastime of mine. So much amazing art, music and code has been produced by sceners, and anyone who comes into contact with the scene might start to wonder exactly how - apart from hours of dedicated grind, of course. The scene has a long and storied tradition of building its own tools. In a combination of teenage inexperience, old habits, a penchant for experimenting and a desire to make things look cool, this has resulted in some rather peculiar user interfaces. A few of them are presented below. Most of them are for the Amiga, but several other platforms are represented as well. Not wanting to be accused of clickbaiting, let's start off with one of the main attractions: Elite Sinus Producer, made . Demos are usually described as "real time", which is true in the sense that they're (almost never) just animation players, and that demo effects are produced, frame by frame, from code. However, to achieve seemingly impossible technical feats, extensive "cheating" is employed. The most common cheat is probably the so called precalc, meaning that instead of doing complex maths on a 7 MHz (or even slower) CPU, lookup tables are utilized. A plethora of tools for creating such lookup tables exist. This is one of them. When first starting Elite Sinus Producer, the user is met with this menu. Upon pressing an F-key to make a selection, the corresponding menu option is highlighted and a sample of a cuckoo clock is played. Here I've selected the "Flower" option. This can then be saved to disk as (presumably) assembly source code. Any sprite would look nice when moving along this path! There's also a handy help screen, which is so outlandish I had to grab a short film clip of it: Part of the background consists of moving blue raster bars, and the other part flashes between red and cyan. This obviously helps immensely when reading the text, displayed ina font designed with nothing but legibility in mind. Plenty of scene related tools are either command line utilities or predominantly text based. First out, we have the assemblers. There was a wide variety of assemblers for the Amiga, but the scene always favoured Seka, Asm-One and other derivatives of the same concept. There were so many different versions and hacks (Trash'm-one, for example) that the sprawling family tree rivals that of Unix systems.
Grok Creator SpaceXAI Sues Minnesota AG to Stop Ban on Nudification
Artificial Intelligence Grok Creator SpaceXAI Sues Minnesota AG to Stop Ban on Nudification Governor Tim Walz tweeted, "See you in court, creep." 28, 2026, pm ET Reading time 3 minutes © JRdes via Shutterstock Read Later Read Later Comments (5) “xAI accordingly does not contest Minnesota’s interest in prohibiting the dissemination of artificially generated nude images of real people without their consent. But […]” So reads an excerpt from the first paragraph of a new lawsuit against Minnesota’s attoney general from xAI, LLC, the SpaceX AI division recently rebranded as SpaceXAI. (It appears the company’s LLC and primary website url haven’t been updated to match the SpaceXAI rebrand. They should kick it into high gear because I’m very sick of writing all this stuff out). As you probably recall, over this past holiday break, a capability of xAI’s Grok chatbot went viral, and users created countless nonconsensual sexual images of real people, including many of underage people. One estimate using extrapolation placed the number of sexualized images of children created 23,000. A statement on X later said Grok’s capabilities were changed to prevent this. “We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content,” the statement said in part. But now Minnesota has a new law on its books that bans nudification apps and websites—any tech that takes images of clothed people and automatically makes them nude, generally with AI. The law, HF 1606, bans the act of using the software, and penalizes the companies themselves—allowing the state to levy fines, and opening the door to lawsuits from victims. It “prohibits the access, download, or use of nudification technology, except when the website, app, or software requires the substantial application of technological or artistic skill by a human creator directing and controlling the output,” according to CBS News. It theoretically goes into effect next month. But the suit from xAI characterizes the law as so excessively broad that it curbs valid uses of AI. It also says the law fails to take into account intent. And it imposes “massive civil penalties,” despite its alleged deficiencies. Large swaths of the lawsuit are dedicated to contesting the law’s criteria for nudity. It alleges that Minnesota disregarded an apparent common sense definition of “intimate” body parts, and instead used a definition pulled from a law against certain kinds of physical touch.
Survey Finds Americans See AI as Comparable to Humans. It’s Making Them Trust It Less
Artificial Intelligence Survey Finds Americans See AI as Comparable to Humans. It’s Making Them Trust It Less The better it gets, the worse it feels. 28, 2026, pm ET Reading time 2 minutes A robot with a human-like face and hands using artificial intelligence is displayed at a stand © FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Read Later Read Later Comments (2) The more Americans learn and interact with artificial intelligence, the more skeptical they grow of it. That is one trend that shows up in a new Bentley University-Gallup survey shared with Gizmodo. The examination of public opinion on AI, which dates back to 2023, found that while people increasingly technology as comparable to certain human capabilities, their trust in it and faith in its ability to improve their lives are declining. Per the survey, 39% of people surveyed believe AI does more harm than good, up from 31% in 2025. That figure climbs to 47% among 18- to 29-year-olds, marking a pretty significant uptick from the 27% who shared that negative view of AI in 2024 and 36% in 2025. The majority of those surveyed, 52%, believe the technology does equal amounts of good and harm, while the share who believe AI does more good than harm has fallen to just 9%. This comes as the general public becomes both more aware and, seemingly, more impressed with the performance of AI tools and agents. Seven in 10 people surveyed said they believe they are somewhat or extremely knowledgeable about AI, up from 64% last year. The survey also shows that the public increasingly believe that AI performs as well as or better than people in several areas, including providing financial advice and assisting students with homework. AI has also made significant gains in how people perceive its ability to drive a car and provide medical advice, though human recommendations still reign there. Despite this—or maybe because of it—the public’s trust in the use of AI is eroding. Nearly three in four respondents said they trust companies to use AI responsibly “not much” or “not at all.” Among young people, it jumps to four in five who lack trust. Notably, while Republicans are the most trusting political group, even their levels of faith in corporate responsibility appear to be wavering. About 35% of people who identify as members of the party expressed some or a lot of trust in companies using AI responsibly, a dip from 41% in 2025. That lack of trust in how companies use AI is likely linked to the prevailing belief that AI will destroy jobs.
Science
View All 10DJI Lito 1 drone review
Despite having a small sensor, the DJI Lito 1 produces impressive image quality and offers sports features and functionality you’d expect in a more expensive drone. Pros +Competitively priced +Obstacle avoidance +Decent image quality Cons -Small sensor -No LiDAR -No Log footage Why you can trust Space. com Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test and review products. Key specs Camera: 48MP 1/2-inch CMOS Video resolution: Up to 4K Frame rates: 4K 100 FPS / 2.7K vertical up to 60 FPS / FHD up to 100 FPS Battery: 2590 mAh up to 36 minutes flight Charger type: USB-C cable/battery charging hub Modes: Cine, Normal, Sport Video transmission range: 9.3 miles (IC) / 4.97 miles (CE/SRRC/MIC) Dimensions: : Folded 5.67 x 3.70 x 2.44 in / 144 x 94 x 62 mm / Unfolded 7.20 x 9.88 x 3.11 in / 183 x 251 x 79 mm Weight: 8.78 oz / 249 g The drone market is hotter than ever, with newbie and slightly more experienced drone pilots now able to enjoy some seriously impressive features on low-cost drones. The new DJI Lito series replaces the older Mini series, with the exception of the DJI Mini 5 Pro, which is DJI’s flagship sub-250 g drone. There are two models available and in this review, we are going to take a look at the DJI Lito 1. The Lito 1 may be the entry-level Lito model, but it still comes with a feature we’ve been waiting to see on a beginner drone for ages - 5-lux omnidirectional obstacle sensing, otherwise known as collision avoidance. This is a feature that, up until now, has only been available on more advanced and expensive drones, despite being a feature that beginners can truly benefit from. The DJI Lito 1 is an inexpensive sub-250 g beginner drone. ( Abbott)There are also intelligent flight modes, including ActiveTrack, QuickShots, MasterShots, Hyperlapse, and Panorama, that help you to capture professional-looking photos and videos at the touch of a button. The subject tracking modes are particularly impressive, especially for an entry-level drone, thanks to the omnidirectional obstacle sensing. The Lito 1 features a 48MP 1/2-inch CMOS sensor with video capture available up to 4K at 100 FPS and photos in JPEG and Raw format. Video can only be captured in the normal profile, which is perfect for beginners because it can be used straight out of camera with no need for color grading. Back to top DJI Lito 1: Design DJI Lito 1 has two obstacle avoidance sensors. ( Abbott)Sub-250 g drone Compact folding design Respectable battery life The Lito 1 is a small, lightweight camera drone that looks much like other DJI ‘mini’ drones, with a folding design that makes it even more compact for travel and storage.
NASA fuels its next-gen Roman Space Telescope for August launch
By comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope, in its 35 years of service, has created over 400 terabytes in total. At present, the Roman Space Telescope's launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to occur on Aug. 30 at a. m. And considering the project is sort of the gold-standard for telescope-building, as the team says it's nine months ahead of schedule and under budget, hopes are high that this launch date will stick. Fueling of the observatory took place on Saturday (July 25) and involved pumping it up with what's known as hydrazine fuel. Hydrazine fuel is a classic sort of fuel used in NASA spacecraft as it's highly efficient; however, because its extremely toxic and unstable, there have been attempts to move away from this sort of fuel and replace it with something less hazardous. The Roman Space Telescope's inauguration into NASA's fleet of observatories will mark a pretty big moment for the advancement of astronomy. Roman's specs are quite impressive; thanks to that showy data-generation figure discussed above, the telescope is expected to further our knowledge of intriguing phenomena like dark matter, dark energy, supernova explosions and even the hunt for habitable exoplanets. It will work as a complement to other major telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). For example, while Roman can't see as far as the JWST, it does have the same sort of infrared vision that enables such deep space probing. What it can do that the JWST cannot, though, is see a much wider swath of space at once. Members of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope propellant, safety, and quality assurance team pose for a photo on July 20 prior to technicians loading propellant into the observatory. (/Sydney Rohde (Rocz))One of Roman's instruments, named Wide Field Instrument (WFI), will be able to create images of the infrared universe 50 times wider than the JWST's images. This means that while the JWST is zooming in on a particular object of interest, Roman could meanwhile be compiling future targets for the JWST or catching anything fleeting that the JWST would've missed due to its highly narrow view. As another example, to help with dark universe studies, this ultra-wide view should allow Roman to study lots of galaxy movements at once. That's great because the only way we even know dark matter and dark energy exist (aka one of the best ways we have of studying the two) is . "So we're going to see thousands of supernovae, and some of these are going to be further away than any supernovae we've ever seen before," Dominic Benford, program scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope previously told Space. com.
Mysterious deaths of 14 elephants in Kenya prompts urgent inquiry
It is estimated that more than 2,000 elephants roam in and around Amboseli National Park An urgent investigation has been launched into the mysterious deaths of 14 elephants in southern Kenya near the Amboseli National Park. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) told the BBC that experts were examining the carcasses and said that tissue samples had been sent to laboratories to determine whether the deaths were caused by disease, poisoning or another factor. The park and its surrounds are known as the Amboseli ecosystem, a vast area that straddles the border with Tanzania, which is famous for its wildlife. Officials say this is the first time in decades that elephant mortalities on this scale have been recorded in the region where they have successfully cracked down on poaching. KWS says there is currently no evidence pointing to a single cause of death. The carcasses include elephants of different ages and sexes, suggesting the deaths are not limited to a single family or demographic. The wildlife agency's head of communication, Duncan Wanyama, told local media the bodies had been found at different locations surrounding the Amboseli National Park, around 15km (nine miles) to 30km from its boundaries. According to figures from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, which monitors the movements of the animals, there were more than 2,000 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem as of 2025. Craig the beer-ambassador elephant dies aged 54 Tourist pouring beer down elephant's trunk in Kenya sparks anger 'I'm afraid that elephants will kill me' Go to BBCAfrica. com, external for more news from the African continent. Twitter @BBCAfrica, external, on Facebook at BBC Africa, external or on Instagram at bbcafrica, external
Jaguar makes epic 2100-kilometre journey across the Amazon
The jaguar, known as Gaspar, having his GPS collar fitted Leandro Silveira A male jaguar has made an unprecedented trek, skirting 2100 kilometres of the southern edge of the Amazon rainforest. The journey – which crossed highways, farms, ranches and other human-modified landscapes – expands our knowledge of what these big cats are capable of. The previous dispersal record for a tagged jaguar was about 60 to 100 kilometres, says Jon Morant at University College Dublin in Ireland. Knowing these animals are capable of travelling much longer distances reveals further challenges in protecting them. “Individuals that are travelling so far are more exposed to human-related risks like hunting or killing because of attacks on livestock,” says Morant. He and his colleagues have been tracking jaguars in Brazil via GPS collars as part of a larger ongoing project that started in 1999. The researchers wanted to better understand how jaguars use their environments along the Araguaia river, a potential wildlife corridor connecting the Cerrado grasslands with the Amazon. They captured the male, dubbed Gaspar, as part of this work, fitting him with a collar on . The 8-year-old jaguar then spent some time in his established range, about 700 square kilometres along the Araguaia river, before setting out on a massive southward trek, skirting the border of the Amazon to inland Cerrado. The researchers recorded that Gaspar travelled 2122 kilometres, until his collar stopped transmitting locations in late Novemeber 2025, but that is as the crow flies. The actual distance is probably much more, says Morant. While Gaspar mostly stuck to forested areas, he also crossed through heavily modified human landscapes, such as farms, ranches and roads. Dispersals, albeit shorter ones, are common in individuals aged 1 to 3 years old that are looking to establish a new territory, but it is unclear why an older adult like Gaspar made this move. He might have been searching for better food resources, mating opportunities or a better habitat in general, says Morant. “Beyond the extraordinary distance travelled, I find [it] especially intriguing that he apparently did not establish a territory despite more than a year of continuous movement through areas that were, at least in part, potentially suitable for jaguars,” says Jose Garcia Herrera at the Spanish National Research Council. The findings also reveal an additional challenge in protecting such wide-ranging cats. In these human-modified areas, jaguars face threats from poaching, as ranchers often kill them to protect livestock. “Maybe we need to rethink how protected areas are framed and organised,” says Morant.
Environment
View All 10Almost 4,000 people evacuated from tourist sites near Bordeaux as wildfires rage in France and Spain
Firefighters work to put out a wildfire at Le Grand Crohot, near the Cap Ferret peninsula, in France’s Gironde department on Tuesday. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters View image in fullscreen Firefighters work to put out a wildfire at Le Grand Crohot, near the Cap Ferret peninsula, in France’s Gironde department on Tuesday. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters Almost 4,000 people evacuated from tourist sites near Bordeaux as wildfires rage in France and Spain Return of winds and extreme heat threaten firefighters’ attempts to bring blazes under control Nearly 4,000 people have been evacuated from tourist sites on France’s Atlantic coast as the return of winds and extreme heat jeopardises firefighters’ battles to contain wildfires raging in France and Spain. The precautionary evacuation order in France, which covers campsites, holiday villages and other tourist accommodation around the resort of Lacanau to the west of Bordeaux, exacerbated a wildfire emergency described , Emmanuel Macron, as the “toughest” situation the country had dealt with since the second world war. On a visit to a crisis centre in Bordeaux on Tuesday, Macron warned that “the coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out”. View image in fullscreen Emmanuel Macron with firefighters on a visit to the fire and rescue operational centre in Bordeaux on Monday. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/EPAIn Spain, meanwhile, a woman who had been injured in a wildfire in the southern province of Almería this month died in hospital, bringing the death toll from that blaze to 14. The woman, who was not named, died at Seville’s Virgen del Rocío university hospital where she had been treated since suffering severe injuries in the wildfire, a hospital spokeswoman told AFP, without giving further details. In France, Rémi Lassoureille, a fire commander in the Gironde department, was quoted , which has destroyed 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of forest, was “relatively under control”, although firefighters feared a “potential flare-up of the fire on its north-west flank towards Lacanau”. “That is why we decided to evacuate the campsites,” he said. Map showing burnt areas near French coast west of BordeauxOther large fires have been contained in the nearby Landes, where thousands of evacuees were allowed to return home, and the Écrins massif in the French Alps, although one in the Gros Bessillon massif in the Var area of south-east France has not yet been fully brought under control. Wildfires in France, Spain and Italy have forced the evacuation of about 330,000 people over the past week, with Spain entering Europe’s fourth intense heatwave of the summer attempting to contain some of the worst forest fires in the country’s history. ‘Ash fell from the sky’: Tourists describe fleeing ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires in France The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country faced “difficult hours, complex hours” before the new heatwave, which is forecast to begin on Wednesday and warned about the urgency of responding to the climate emergency.
Analysis: Wind and solar power overtake fossil fuels in Germany for first time ever
More of Germany’s electricity came from wind and solar power than fossil fuels for the first time ever in 2025. Together, wind and solar power generated 225 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity – accounting for 44% of the total in 2025 – with just 217TWh (43%) coming from fossil fuels. Solar and onshore wind have grown rapidly under Germany’s “Energiewende” strategy over the past two decades, as the nation transitions away from both coal and nuclear power. Renewables have recently faced mounting opposition from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the current coalition government has been trying to develop new gas-power plants. Nevertheless, Carbon Brief analysis of Energy Institute data – shown in the chart below – illustrates how wind and solar have continued growing, emerging as the nation’s largest power source. The success of renewables in Germany mirrors the EU as a whole, which also saw wind and solar overtake fossil-fuel power generation in 2025 for the first time. “Other renewables” includes hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal and other renewable sources not otherwise stated. Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, 2026. Germany has various targets in place that require a rapid expansion of wind and solar power, including cutting economy-wide emissions to net-zero by 2045. The nation is also aiming to increase renewables’ share of electricity consumption to 80% by 2030 to achieve a “largely climate neutral” power system by 2035. It aims to decarbonise its electricity entirely once coal power has been phased out, which has a deadline of “no later than” 2038. (The renewables targets also include electricity generated from hydropower and bioenergy. The latter produces a relatively large share of Germany’s power – roughly a tenth in 2025.) Germany has to rely on renewables more than neighbours, such as France and the UK, to achieve its climate goals. This is due to its phaseout of nuclear power, which is a key part of the “Energiewende” strategy. Nuclear power has long faced widespread public opposition in Germany. This year, the centre-right chancellor Friedrich Merz described the nuclear phaseout as a “strategic mistake”, but the government has ruled out a return to conventional nuclear power. The country has an official coal phaseout date of 2038, but experts say the country is on track to eliminate coal from its power supply years earlier. This is despite some pressure to temporarily slow the transition away from coal during the recent energy crisis. (Very few outside the AfD are calling to scrap the coal phaseout altogether, but the government will publish a review of the timelines in August.) While coal generation has fallen quickly, even as nuclear was being phased out, some argue that coal could have been cut more quickly if nuclear had remained. Gas-power expansion has also been framed ’s transition away from coal and nuclear power, to support a renewables-heavy grid.
Analysis: 84% of nations miss deadline to identify ‘nature-harming’ subsidies by 2025
Most countries failed to meet a 2025 target to identify all of their subsidies that could be “harmful” to biodiversity, according to Carbon Brief analysis. The findings also reveal that 32 countries spend an estimated $270bn on biodiversity-harming subsidies and other incentives each year. This is the “tip of the iceberg”, one expert notes, with “trillions” spent globally. In 2022, almost every country in the world agreed on a set of “goals” and “targets” aiming to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. One of these targets asked countries to identify all subsidies that damage biodiversity by 2025, before phasing out or reforming at least $500bn of these incentives by 2030. The subsidies can be found in a range of sectors, including fossil fuels, agriculture, forestry, mining and fishing. Just 21 countries appear to have met the 2025 goal, Carbon Brief finds, based on analysis of 134 national reports submitted to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by . Five of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries were among those that met the deadline. Country progress Carbon Brief’s analysis looks at the number of countries that have met the 2025 target to identify their use of nature-harming subsidies. However, the metrics to determine which countries have “met” this target are not explicitly defined. Carbon Brief included any country that says it has completed the process of identifying its subsidies. In almost every case, these countries also included a total figure for the value of those subsidies. The analysis finds that 21 countries say they have identified their harmful subsidies, as shown in the map below (yellow). This amounts to 16% of the countries that have submitted national reports so far. A further 11 countries, plus the EU, have provided figures for some of their subsidies, such as only those in a specific sector (dark blue). Of the 134 national reports submitted to the CBD, 66 make reference to beginning the process (medium blue), while the remaining 68 do not (light blue). The final 62 countries party to the CBD have yet to submit a national report (light grey). (Every country in the world participates in the CBD, except for the US and the Holy See – the governing body of the Catholic church, which is seated in Vatican City.) Countries that have identified all of their harmful subsidies (yellow); provided figures for some sectors (dark blue); begun the process, but not provided any numbers (medium blue); not begun the process (light blue); and not submitted a national report to the CBD (light grey).
Could ‘Godzilla’ El Niño bring the hottest year on record? – video explainer
The Earth keeps getting hotter and experts fear this year's El Niño, nicknamed 'Godzilla' because of its predicted intensity, could raise global temperatures 3.6C. Environment correspondent Damien Gayle spoke to climate scientists to understand how the weather phenomenon and the climate crisis pose a huge threat to the planet ‘Super’ El Niño could cause global food price shock lasting into 2028, analysts say El Niño is back with a vengeance – and fears of ‘Godzilla’ strength may be the least of our worries Explore more on these topicsEl Niño southern oscillation Climate crisis Most viewed Most viewed
Weather
View All 8Today: Light Cloud, Minimum Temperature: 15°C (60°F) Maximum Temperature: 25°C (77°F)
This video can not be played Today will see a mostly cloudy start, but dry. In the afternoon, it will remain cloudy with patches of light rain, but many will escape dry. Tonight will be rather cloudy, with patchy light rain gradually progressing to the east and south, but many will escape dry. Rain will clear by dawn. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy and dry to start, but becoming largely sunny by noon. In the afternoon, it will turn patchy cloud at times before turning largely sunny again. Outlook for Friday to Sunday Friday will be a dry and mostly sunny day. Areas of cloud will move in at times in the afternoon, however. Saturday will start sunny and dry, turning partly cloudy for a time in the afternoon before becoming largely sunny again. Sunday could be sunny to start, but cloud will build in in the afternoon. It could be a dry day. Average wind speed 3 Miles per hour, South South Westerly3Average wind speed 5 Kilometres per hour, South South Westerly5 Humidity: Humidity: 94%,94% Visibility: Visibility, not available,-- Pressure: Pressure: 1014 millibars, Steady,1014mb, Steady Observation station: Manchester Airport (53.350° North, 2.283° West)Observation station: Manchester Airport (53.350° N, 2.283° W) Our favourite Weather Watchers photos nearby Report for Whitefield, Borough of Bury Georgie Reported , Rochdale jol1yReported by jol1y Report for Standish, Wigan Northern Rambler Reported , Wigan OutnaboutReported by Outnabout
Thursday: Sunny Intervals, Minimum Temperature: 10°C (50°F) Maximum Temperature: 20°C (68°F)
This video can not be played Today will see a mostly cloudy start, but dry. In the afternoon, it will remain cloudy with patches of light rain, but many will escape dry. Tonight will be rather cloudy, with patchy light rain gradually progressing to the east and south, but many will escape dry. Rain will clear by dawn. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy and dry to start, but becoming largely sunny by noon. In the afternoon, it will turn patchy cloud at times before turning largely sunny again. Outlook for Friday to Sunday Friday will be a dry and mostly sunny day. Areas of cloud will move in at times in the afternoon, however. Saturday will start sunny and dry, turning partly cloudy for a time in the afternoon before becoming largely sunny again. Sunday could be sunny to start, but cloud will build in in the afternoon. It could be a dry day. Average wind speed 3 Miles per hour, South South Westerly3Average wind speed 5 Kilometres per hour, South South Westerly5 Humidity: Humidity: 94%,94% Visibility: Visibility, not available,-- Pressure: Pressure: 1014 millibars, Steady,1014mb, Steady Observation station: Manchester Airport (53.350° North, 2.283° West)Observation station: Manchester Airport (53.350° N, 2.283° W) Our favourite Weather Watchers photos nearby Report for Whitefield, Borough of Bury Georgie Reported , Rochdale jol1yReported by jol1y Report for Standish, Wigan Northern Rambler Reported , Wigan OutnaboutReported by Outnabout
NWS confirms EF3 tornado in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley
Tornado damage caused by EF3 in Appleton, Wisconsin on July 27, 2026. Credit: NWS The destructive tornado that tore through Wisconsin’s Fox Valley on Monday, July 27, was rated an EF3 with estimated peak winds of 225 km/h (140 mph) after preliminary surveys , July 28. The tornado caused extensive damage across parts of Appleton, Fox Crossing, and Menasha after developing around midday as severe thunderstorms swept across eastern Wisconsin. “Clusters of thunderstorms, including a few supercells, moved southeastward across northern into eastern Wisconsin during the morning and early afternoon,” the NWS said. Damaging straight-line winds downed trees and power lines across portions of Vilas, Oneida and Forest counties, while numerous communities, including Eagle River, Hiles and Three Lakes, reported storm damage before the tornado developed farther south. The tornado formed at CDT approximately 3 km (2 miles) west-northwest of Appleton in Outagamie County before tracking southward through Fox Crossing and into Menasha. It damaged homes, businesses, and multiple trees before dissipating over Lake Winnebago at approximately CDT. Preliminary survey results indicate maximum winds reached 225 km/h (140 mph), supporting the preliminary EF3 rating. In addition to the tornado, the storm system produced widespread large hail across eastern Wisconsin. The NWS documented numerous reports of hail measuring over 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, including an exceptional report of hail approximately 11.4 cm (4.5 inches) in diameter northwest of Gresham in Shawano County. Hail measuring up to over 7 cm (3 inches) was also reported near Algoma, Sturgeon Bay, and Belle Plaine, while several other communities recorded hail ranging from 2 to 7 cm (1 to 3 inches). Earlier, Menasha declared a local State of Disaster as emergency crews responded to heavily damaged neighborhoods, gas leaks, and widespread infrastructure damage following a broader outbreak of severe thunderstorms. Local State of Disaster declared after tornado tears through Menasha, Appleton and Neenah, Wisconsin References: 1 July 27, 2026 Severe Storms and Tornado Summary – NWS – July 28, 2026 Rishav Kothari I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Wildfire smoke from Pacific Northwest fires spreads across much of the U.S., reaching the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast
Wildfire smoke from the Northwest is once again stretching across much of the U. S., bringing hazy skies from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and even parts of the Southeast. As large wildfires continue to burn across the Northwest, smoke is riding the jet stream thousands of miles east, creating air quality concerns closer to the fires while painting milky skies and vivid sunrises and sunsets farther downwind. Credit: Akawa Butte Fire Smoke produced , with the broad plume extending from the Pacific Northwest through the northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast on July 27-28. NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System, EPA’s AirNow Fire and Smoke Map and NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Smoke model indicate long-range eastward transport of wildfire smoke under persistent upper-level westerly flow associated with the jet stream. The smoke is being generated -caused wildfires that ignited following a severe thunderstorm outbreak across Oregon and Washington in mid-July. According to FOX Weather, many of the largest ongoing fires were sparked during that lightning outbreak, with hot, dry weather and gusty winds allowing them to spread rapidly across the Pacific Northwest. Among the largest incidents is the Rowe Creek Complex in central Oregon. The lightning-caused fire had grown to more than 80 937 ha (200 000 acres) by July 27, producing an expansive smoke plume visible in satellite imagery. The Rowe Creek Complex is one of the major contributors to the widespread haze affecting much of the United States. Wildfire activity remains exceptionally high across the Northwest. According to the National Interagency Fire Center’s National Fire News issued on July 27, the United States remains at National Preparedness Level 5, the highest level of national wildfire readiness. Firefighters are responding to 95 large fires nationwide, including 13 new large incidents reported during the previous day. More than 25 700 firefighters and support personnel are assigned to suppression efforts across the country, while more than 1.62 million ha (4 million acres) have burned so far this year. The Northwest Geographic Area alone continues to account for dozens of large active fires. According to FOX Weather, the Northwest is battling more than 30 large active fires that have collectively burned nearly 404 686 ha (1 million acres), with the majority located in Oregon. Critical fire weather conditions have fueled rapid wildfire growth across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Great Basin, where hot, dry weather and gusty winds continue to challenge firefighting efforts. Air quality impacts remain greatest near the source region.
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