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Closures scheduled to take place on the M25, A12 and Dartford Crossing may affect some Essex drivers this weekend. Be aware.

There were concerns about traffic and parking whereas others think the road improvements included in the plans will help traffic

Stocking up the freezer with ice cream is an absolute must to get us through the scorching summer days.

President Donald Trump took a victory lap Thursday night in Iowa after Congress passed his 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' where he pledged to give the United States a big, beautiful birthday.

Beeftopia shares a report from CBS News: The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot. That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government's plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before. The targeted pest is the flesh-eating larva of the New World Screwworm fly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies -- sterilizing them with radiation before releasing them. They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized and don't hatch. There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out. It is more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying the pest into oblivion, and it is how the U.S. and other nations north of Panama eradicated the same pest decades ago. Sterile flies from a factory in Panama kept the flies contained there for years, but the pest appeared in southern Mexico late last year. [...] The USDA expects a new screwworm fly factory to be up and running in southern Mexico by July 2026. It plans to open a fly distribution center in southern Texas by the end of the year so that it can import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary. The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species, unable to survive Midwestern or Great Plains winters, so it was a seasonal scourge. Still, the U.S. and Mexico bred and released more than 94 billion sterile flies from 1962 through 1975 to eradicate the pest, according to the USDA. The numbers need to be large enough that females in the wild can't help but hook up with sterile males for mating. One biological trait gives fly fighters a crucial wing up: Females mate only once in their weekslong adult lives. "A similar approach to certain species of mosquito is being debated," adds Beeftopia. "The impact on ecosystems is unclear."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The service will take place in São Cosme in his home city of Porto, northern Portugal - where just two weeks ago the 28-year-old married his childhood sweetheart Rute.

If you come out of a coma in 2026, this is the machine you might see staring down at you

Taiwanese tech manufacturer Foxconn and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries have revealed a jointly developed robotic nursing assistant they hope to start selling in 2026.…

The bizarre figure was spotted prowling around hills and along paths near Wallasey Beach in the Wirral last week and has terrified locals.

Beau Lyons, 27, flew into a rage on a 'mini bar crawl' with his partner Shaunnia Connolly and their friends while they celebrated a birthday in Newport, South Wales.

Ex Superintendent Novlett Williams is now taking the force to an employment tribunal, accusing it of racial and sexual discrimination, harassment, and victimisation.

Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba said the victims, a 68-year-old and a 67-year-old, were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf.

BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: A new academic study has found that the 2016 Wells Fargo scandal pushed many consumers toward fintech lenders instead of traditional banks. The research, published in the Journal of Financial Economics, suggests that it was a lack of trust rather than interest rates or fees that drove this behavioral shift. Conducted by Keer Yang, an assistant professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, the study looked closely at what happened after the Wells Fargo fraud erupted into national headlines. Bank employees were caught creating millions of unauthorized accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals. The company faced $3 billion in penalties and a massive public backlash. Yang analyzed Google Trends data, Gallup polls, media coverage, and financial transaction datasets to draw a clear conclusion. In geographic areas with a strong Wells Fargo presence, consumers became measurably more likely to take out mortgages through fintech lenders. This change occurred even though loan costs were nearly identical between traditional banks and digital lenders. In other words, it was not about money. It was about trust. That simple fact hits hard. When big institutions lose public confidence, people do not just complain. They start moving their money elsewhere. According to the study, fintech mortgage use increased from just 2 percent of the market in 2010 to 8 percent in 2016. In regions more heavily exposed to the Wells Fargo brand, fintech adoption rose an additional 4 percent compared to areas with less exposure. Yang writes, "Therefore it is trust, not the interest rate, that affects the borrower's probability of choosing a fintech lender." [...] Notably, while customers may have been more willing to switch mortgage providers, they were less likely to move their deposits. Yang attributes that to FDIC insurance, which gives consumers a sense of security regardless of the bank's reputation. This study also gives weight to something many of us already suspected. People are not necessarily drawn to fintech because it is cheaper. They are drawn to it because they feel burned by the traditional system and want a fresh start with something that seems more modern and less manipulative.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It can be worn out as a casual 'fit or to the gym!

Michael Madsen's poignant final post saw him reflect on a surprising new career venture just four months before his shock death at 67.

The pair began dating in 2016 and got engaged on Valentine's Day 2019, before welcoming their daughter four-year-old daughter Daisy Dove into the world.

Electric vehicles claimed a dominant 96.9% market share in Norway in June 2025, with the Tesla Model Y alone accounting for over 27% of all new car registrations. Mobility Portal Europe reports: According to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (OFV), 17,799 new electric cars were registered in Norway in June out of a total of 18,376 new registrations. In this context, electric vehicles (EVs) held a market share of 96.9%. Compared to June 2024 -- when EVs made up 80% of all new registrations -- this technology increased by 3,790 units. In addition, in May 2025, Norway recorded 4,415 new EV registrations. Last month, only 577 new registrations were for vehicles without fully electric drive systems. Among these were 152 plug-in hybrids (an 83.7% drop compared to June 2024) and 223 other types of hybrids (an 89.1% decline). Over the year, hybrids lost market share, falling from 17% to 2%. Pure combustion engines also further reduced their market presence: 142 new diesel vehicles represented 0.8% of the market share, down from 2% a year earlier, and 57 new petrol vehicles made up 0.3% of the market, compared to 1% in June 2024. "Several campaigns with 0% or very low interest rates on new car purchases significantly boosted sales. The first interest rate cut by Norges Bank helped ensure that many people bought their dream car," said Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, Director of OFV. "It remained to be seen whether Tesla could maintain its strong position, and for how long."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Despite officially being branded a terrorist organisation, in an astonishing move, elected MPs will be able to openly back the extremist group from the safety of the Commons chamber.

The couple confirmed their happy news on Sunday, with Boris declaring 'the best is yet to come' in an Instagram post that showed Lilian sweetly cradling her baby bump.

Amazon Prime Day is exclusively for Prime members - find out how to sign up below

'I just wore this precious dress and got so many compliments'