Zoe Ball to reunite with veteran BBC colleagues at Greatest Hits today after quitting £520k-a-year gig following loss of her mother, perimenopausal anxiety and Strictly job rejection
Zoe is making her grand return to radio after leaving BBC Radio 2 at the height of her success, quitting the Breakfast Show in 2024 and her afternoon show a year later.
JK Rowling keeps the name of her £112million superyacht under wraps amid fears it will attract pro-transgender activists
It appears JK Rowling is erring on the side of caution by covering up the name of her £112million superyacht during a trip to Los Angeles.
Where a Massive Solar Storm Could Take Down the US Power Grid for Millions
A new study published Friday in AGU Advances "depicts the most advanced picture yet of how a rare but massive solar storm could affect some US industries and electric systems more than others," reports CNN.
"During a 250-year solar storm, the East Coast would have widespread potential for grid failure."
Researchers modeled what a Carrington Event — a 1-in-150-year geomagnetic storm or even rarer — could mean for the modern day. They estimate the US economy would lose about $1.5 billion to $2 billion per day from direct and indirect costs, as millions of people face power outages. The findings show the most vulnerable areas are the Northeast and the Northern Plains, especially locations at higher latitudes.
No one knows when the next big storm will hit. While the most severe geomagnetic storms are labeled as once-in-a-century or rarer, these events don't follow a fixed schedule. "That timing only averages out on very long timescales," said Anna Kelbert, a geophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who was not involved in the study but previously studied solar storm effects on power grids. "The event can occur at any time, as soon as a week from now, or centuries later...." [Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado], said the sun is now coming down from a period of heightened activity, which is also when some of the biggest storms to hit Earth have occurred in the past. "We still need a lot of work to be ready...."
"We haven't really seen events like this size in the modern era, where we've had all of this high technology and we've had the power grid of this size," said Ed Oughton, researcher at George Mason University and lead author of the new study... Because the US grid's actual structure is proprietary for security reasons, the team used engineering models to create various network and transformer setups including the 10,464 substations and 16,256 transmission lines found across the country... The grid structure also contributes to higher risk in some areas. For instance, the eastern US is linked together in a single grid interconnection. A voltage issue in Maine, if not isolated early, could cascade through the grid to Washington, DC. The West works similarly, whereas the Texas interconnection operates mostly within the state...
Power is restored over time depending on any alternative electrical paths that could bypass the substation or availabilities of spare transformers, for instance. "This nationwide analysis shows that we are currently ill-prepared to face a major magnetic storm, and that the societal impacts would be catastrophic," Kelbert said.
"The study estimates power disruptions for 5.1 million people and 135,000 businesses," according to the article, and "The outages could last from hours to days to weeks depending on the damage and resources available to get back online, said Oughton."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese student who is in jail after drugging and raping 10 women in London and China may face new charges
Zhenhao Zou, 29, is already serving a life sentence after being convicted of raping women. The Met has now passed a file of evidence to the CPS to consider further charges.
After being rejected from 500 jobs, I've finally found a great role at 60. This is how I did it - as well as the experts' top tricks to land that dream job whatever your age
Losing her job was a blow for 60-year-old Caroline Madden two years ago but she felt confident in picking up another role within weeks.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian put on united front as they support daughter North, 13, at her debut solo concert
The exes were spotted cheering on the 13-year-old at her sold-out, one-night performance at The Vic Theatre, albeit from opposite sides of the VIP balcony.
A&E staff facing physical violence, racism and aggression on a daily or weekly basis, health leaders reveal
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned the crisis has become 'normalised' and is being fuelled by long waits for care and a shortage of staff.
'The Brits have lost it!': Foreign Secretary Miliband accused of 'Jew hate' over video rant about Gaza medical supply block
Mike Huckabee, the American envoy to Israel, said the UK Government was engaging in 'Jew hate'.
Tyson Fury claims Anthony Joshua fight is OFF in another social media rant: Gypsy King accuses AJ of 's***ing his pants' in talks over Battle of Britain deal
The two British heavyweights had seemed set to finally face off later this year, but Fury had suggested his rival was stalling over the contractual agreements of the bout.
Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz beam as they make low-key departure from Venice Film Festival after loved-up red carpet appearance
Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they made a low-key departure from Venice Film Festival on Sunday.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are joined by Andy Burnham at church service near Balmoral
The royal couple were spotted travelling in the back of a black Rolls Royce with the Prime Minister's Range Rover following close behind.
Maya Jama reveals what she looks for in a gentleman as she says they must 'know how to treat a woman' and have their 'stuff under control' following split from ex Ruben Dias
Maya Jama has revealed what she is really looking for in a gentleman as she said they 'must know how to treat a woman.'
Ketamine overtakes 'speed' in popularity as an illegal party drug as police seizures soar
Home Office figures reveal forces recorded 1,845 offences of possessing the veterinary tranquilliser in 2025-26, up 151 per cent from 735 in 2020-21.
Pete Hegseth became so obsessed with a 'selfie' that he had a highly-respected four-star general FIRED
General Christopher Donahue, 57, was fired after he was pictured evacuating Afghanistan following a deadly attack by a lone ISIS suicide-bomber.
Gen Z graduates want to come into the office unlike reluctant millennial mums and dads
Gen Z graduates are keener to come into the office than millennial mums and dads who have become used to working from home, a top PwC executive has revealed.
Jamie Vardy returns to England! Striker and wife Rebekah to move back from Italy as he signs surprise deal at Burnley - who are rock bottom of the Championship
Jamie Vardy will be back playing his football in England after signing a contract at Burnley until the end of the season.
Nicole Kidman cuts a casually chic figure as she jets out of Sydney with teen daughter Faith after a whirlwind visit for Practical Magic 2 screening
Nicole Kidman is already heading home after delighting her fans by making a surprise appearance at the Practical Magic 2 screening in Sydney.
The evidence Epstein did NOT kill himself: Lawyer and pathologist reveal details they claim indicate the paedophile WAS murdered in jail in new documentary
The official ruling is that the convicted paedophile died by suicide after hanging himself in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
TiVo Will Start Charging Fees For Its Automatic Commercial Break-Skipping Feature 'SkipMode'
TiVo is notifying customers about changes to "one of its longest-standing and most popular DVR features," reports the blog Cord Cutter News:
Starting November 2, 2026, the current version of SkipMode that allows users to jump over commercial breaks with a single button press on the remote will no longer be available. The company is instead preparing to test a new paid add-on called Premium Auto Commercial Skip.
SkipMode has been a core part of the TiVo experience for years. After a supported show finished recording, the service added markers that let viewers leap from the end of one program segment directly to the start of the next, bypassing the ads in between. On newer TiVo Experience 4 devices, users could even set the feature to automatic so commercials were skipped without any remote interaction. The feature was limited to popular prime-time programming on major networks, typically appearing a short time after a show aired.
Under the new plan, that one-button and automatic functionality will disappear from the standard service. Viewers will still be able to skip commercials the traditional way by using the 30-second skip button or the fast-forward control on their remotes. Those manual methods have existed on TiVo boxes for more than two decades and do not rely on the company's commercial-detection data.
In November, TiVo will offer a 30-day free trial of the new Premium Auto Commercial Skip service. After the trial ends, customers who want to keep the automatic or one-button skip capability will need to add it to their accounts for an extra monthly fee.
The company has not yet published the price.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo for sharing the article.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Two cyclists are dead after car ploughed into group near Gravesend: Three people arrested
Emergency services rushed to the scene on Sole Street in Cobham, Kent, after a Ford Focus ploughed into the group of bike-riders shortly before 8am on Sunday.