31 h. ago Barriers prevent severe flooding in Alaska capital after glacier outburst

Officials say temporary barriers helped Juneau avoid hundreds of flooded homes from Mendenhall Glacier meltNewly installed river barriers held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage in Alaska’s capital city on Wednesday, after an ice dam at the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a huge surge of rainwater and snowmelt, officials said.Water pooled on several streets and in some yards in Juneau after the Mendenhall River crested earlier in the day, and high water was expected to persist for hours. But many residents in the flood zone had evacuated before peak water levels, and there were no damage reports similar to the past two summers, when about 300 homes were flooded. Continue reading...

Events

53 h. ago Huge new £200m UK water park being built with swimming pools, slides and attractions

North American water park giant Great Wolf Lodge has chosen the UK as the home of its first European location. The indoor resort will include a pools, slides, guest suites and more

Economics

62 h. ago World’s swankiest manhole covers? A thrilling tour of the new embankments concealing London’s £4.6bn super sewer

Built to tackle 18m tonnes of rising excrement, the Tideway project has also generated dramatic new public spaces dotted with giant artworks. Our writer takes the ‘stink tower’ tour of the capitalA group of colossal black tombstones has landed on the north bank of the Thames in London, looking like mysterious monoliths from another civilisation. They stand near Blackfriars Bridge as imposing bookends, rising almost 10 metres, folded in places to form platforms and benches, slipping down in others to become one with the pavement. Water trickles from the summit of one huge slab, running down ridges and splashing into a sunken pool. Another pair rise straight out of the river wall, hoisting wooden fenders with them from the swirling brown waters below.“I wanted to make something that comes from nowhere,” says Scottish artist Nathan Coley, as he clambers on to one of his concrete blocks, which form part of the most prominent new public artwork in Britain’s capital, set to be unveiled ne...

Economics

4 d. ago Trump’s sweeping bill looms large over Democrats and Republican as they head for recess

Republicans see it as the epitome of Trump keeping his promises, while for Democrats it’s an opportunity to return from the political wildernessEarlier this summer, Republican lawmakers gathered around Donald Trump and applauded as he sat before a desk outside the White House and put his signature on what he calls his “one, big, beautiful bill”.But there were few claps for Mike Flood this week when the Republican congressman appeared before an auditorium of his Nebraska constituents to extol the tax and spending legislation’s benefits – just boos and jeers. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump’s sweeping bill looms large over Democrats and Republicans as they head for recess

Republicans see it as the epitome of Trump keeping his promises, while for Democrats it’s an opportunity to return from the political wildernessEarlier this summer, Republican lawmakers gathered around Donald Trump and applauded as he sat before a desk outside the White House and put his signature on what he calls his “one, big, beautiful bill”.But there were few claps for Mike Flood this week when the Republican congressman appeared before an auditorium of his Nebraska constituents to extol the tax and spending legislation’s benefits – just boos and jeers. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Bank interest rates slashed despite Brits' food bills reaching £100 per week

The Bank of England's interest rate cut decision could add around £290 to the average family's annual food bill

Economics

3 w. ago Huge changes to water companies set out this week will 'make bills fair'

Ministers have told firms they must do more if they want to restore public trust - as complaints continue to rise and half of Brits feel they’re being ripped off.

Politics

3 w. ago The song of the summer is nothing? Why 2025’s charts are so stale

Experts say this year has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history – and it might signal the end of a singular seasonal smashA spectre is haunting America – the spectre of Shaboozey.Despite it coming out in April 2024, Shaboozey’s huge hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) is still, billions of streams later, at No 5 on this week’s Billboard chart. Its country-tinged refrain of “everybody at the bar gettin’ tipsy,” an interpolation from J-Kwon 2004 hit Tipsy, has stuck around well past closing time. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Asian shares mostly advance after Wall Street cruises to more records

Asian shares are mostly higher after Wall Street rose to records following better-than-expected updates on the economy and a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies

Politics

4 w. ago Drippy Thames Water boss blames rain for leaks – after bringing in drought hosepipe bans

Thousands of Brits have been slapped with hosepipe bans this particularly hot summer – despite a huge water main fault leading to streets being completely flooded

Politics