A member of rap trio Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at court for allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation.The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News
Month: August 2025
“It’s an interesting moment,” was how one government source described the High Court ruling that will force an Essex hotel to be emptied of asylum seekers within weeks.The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News
NOTN- Juneau officials reflected on the city’s response to this month’s glacial outburst flood, saying while the emergency actions were effective more work is needed to strengthen protections.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said “We’ve been getting a fair amount of expressions of concern that we’re early in congratulating the people that worked on it, expressing our appreciation and thanks, and we have, because it was a great response to a tragic event. At the same time, I think we are all capable of holding two truths at once, we have work to do. We have a long road ahead of us, the barrier project was far from perfect.”
Following a damage assessment of the city, it was revealed that 16 houses experienced minor water damage while six homes suffered major impacts, primarily on View Drive.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said damage repairs could cost up to a million dollars. “We’re not standing around patting ourselves on the back. We’re just thankful that the houses didn’t get flooded to the number that happened last year, and we are continuing to look for not just another phase of our short term, but also our long term solution.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the temporary flood barriers helped protect Juneau neighborhoods during last week’s flood.
The Corps shipped more than 37,000 feet of barrier wall, 112,000 sandbags, and other materials from Illinois to Juneau, where they were placed in phases along 2.5 miles of the river.
Floodwaters peaked at 16.6 ft., the highest on record.
“The HESCO worked.” Said Mayor Weldon, “and yes, there’s water in people’s yards on the other side, but the difference in height is pretty tremendous.”
NOTN- Juneau’s proposal to adopt ranked choice voting in municipal elections is headed for another public hearing in November.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the Assembly held its first hearing on the measure last night and advanced it to the Nov. 3 meeting.
“We had our first public hearing on it last night.” Said Barr, “an information release went out yesterday as well to help people understand how it would work in local elections.”
Under the proposal, voters could rank candidates in single-seat races, like for mayor or assembly. If no one wins a majority outright, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated and ballots are redistributed until one candidate secures over 50 percent.
The change would not apply to multimember races, like the school board, which would stay under the current system.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said testimony so far has been split for and against the proposal.
“We had four people, two for it and two against it.” Said Weldon,”We’re keeping that on our radar.”
The city is weighing potential benefits and considerations, saying ranked- choice voting could add more consistency for voters and may increase the number of people willing to run for office, however they also note transitioning to a new election process could be difficult on voters and election staff, and counting could be more complex than the current voting system.
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
The Alaska State Legislature is planning a brief session without taking any action on Tuesday, and legislative leaders say they’ve already completed their intended work for the special session, which ends on Aug. 31.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the 30-day session, which began on Aug. 2, for legislators to address his education policy priorities and to create a new Alaska Department of Agriculture. The Legislature convened — one senator flying back from U.S. National Guard duty in Poland — and within hours voted to override two of the governor’s vetoes. Lawmakers then adjourned until Tuesday.
Legislators voted to leave the session open and not officially close out the special session to prevent Dunleavy from calling them into another one.
On Tuesday, just “a handful” of legislators are expected to be present for what’s known as a “technical session,” said House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, reached by phone Monday in his district.
Edgmon said he was planning to fly back to Juneau to facilitate proceedings in the House on Tuesday, but said it will be brief.
He said the Legislature’s votes to override two of the governor’s vetoes, including restoring $51 million for K-12 schools, was a success – and their only goal for the special session.
“But the specter of the governor calling us right back in seems to be very prominent,” Edgmon said. “And we had to do what we had to do in terms of allowing members to go back home, go back to their districts, not being Juneau, drawing per diem, costing the state money — with the stated intention, of course, of looking at the governor’s bills, continuing to consider the governor’s bills and the subject matter next session, as we started to do last session.”
The governor introduced three bills on Aug. 2, related to education policy, and Edgmon said they have been referred to related committees.
Edgmon said he’s had no communication from the governor’s office since the veto override votes.
“I wish we had a better relationship with the governor, to where we could plan things out, work jointly in terms of any outcomes for a special session. The governor is acting unilaterally, which, of course, is his prerogative, should he choose. But that does not bode well in terms of any kind of a positive result for special session,” he said.
Jeff Turner, the governor’s communications director, said by email Monday, “lawmakers should not need an incentive to improve public education policy,” and that it was the Legislature’s decision to not take up the governor’s bills during this special session.
Turner pointed to the governor’s comments on an Anchorage-based commercial radio show on Aug. 14, where Dunleavy criticized the Legislature’s veto override restoring school funding, and said additional funding is “not going to change the performance outcomes.”
The House and Senate are scheduled to gavel in at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
A new joint legislative education funding task force is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Aug 25, where its six members are expected to examine how the state funds schools, as well as Dunleavy’s educational policy items.
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Pennsylvania spends roughly US$200,000 a year for each juvenile it incarcerates, according to a 2021 report from the bipartisan Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force.
That’s 50 times the cost to deliver evidence-based family therapy that could prevent kids from entering the justice system in the first place.
In Philadelphia, juvenile incarceration involves confinement in the city‑run Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center or other residential placement facility.
Young people leave these facilities with lower chances of graduating high school, frayed mental health and a higher likelihood of rearrest or being shot.
The social, emotional and economic costs of incarcerating young people are compounded in Philadelphia where, on any given day, dozens of youth may be held in the Juvenile Justice Services Center after they have been sentenced because a secure facility bed is not available.
That waiting time, which can be months, is punitive and unjust because it is not credited toward their sentence.
Drawing on almost 35 years of work in Philadelphia and other cities to understand what makes neighborhoods safer, I believe the surest returns come from prevention strategies aimed at young people who are not yet enmeshed in robberies, shootings and gang activity.
Homicides in Philadelphia are at their lowest levels in 25 years. In my view, this is an opportunity to redirect even youth who are already involved in violence away from the costly and counterproductive cycle of incarceration and into targeted, relationship-focused intervention programs that are humane, voluntary and effective.
At least two such programs exist here in Philadelphia – but on a modest scale.
School-based case management at Bartram High
In Southwest Philly, John Bartram High School’s Youth Violence Reduction Initiative launched in 2023.
It was designed by former School Safety Chief and now Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, School Safety Officer and Program Manager Kevin Rosa, criminal justice researcher Brandy Blasko and me.
Students who have been involved in fights or show other risk factors for violence and street gang involvement are referred to the program.
The initative’s core idea is simple: Earn students’ trust through consistent, credible mentorship and step in when needed. Stepping in means teaching conflict resolution skills, running engaging workshops, buying a meal, or intervening when a fight is brewing or a student is on the verge of being expelled.
Each week a team of administrators, counselors, school safety officers and community outreach workers, most of whom are based in the school, review every participant’s progress. They track follow-through on referrals and coordinate communication with families and school staff.
The tightly managed, relationship-driven safety net gives students quicker access to help and makes the school climate calmer and safer.
Prior to 2023, on average, five Bartram High students were victims of firearm assault – at least one fatally – each school year.
At the 2025 National Conference on Juvenile Justice, program leaders presented evidence of an 80% decrease in firearm assaults by students and a 31% decrease in student-on-student assaults that did not involve guns. They also reported a 92% decrease in gang-involved group assaults, a 67% drop in student-on-staff assaults and a 62% drop in school incidents involving police.
More rigorous analysis needs to be done to verify that the program itself produced these results and some other factor wasn’t involved.
The program costs roughly $120,000 to serve 30 to 35 teenagers over a school year. That covers two full-time case managers, one part-time program manager and a small discretionary fund. The fund can be used for things such as local trips to museums, paying guest speakers and incentives for participant milestones.
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Community-based support in West and Southwest Philly
The nonprofit YEAH Philly launched its Violent Crime Initiative in late 2020 for young people ages 15–24 from West and Southwest Philadelphia who have been charged with a violent or gun-related offense.
It takes the same relationship-based playbook the Youth Violence Reduction Initiative uses and amplifies it.
Court advocacy, cash stipends and intensive case management stay on tap for as long as a young person wants them. Since its inception, the voluntary program has served almost 200 people. Currently, 22 Philly youth receive Violent Crime Initiative services.
Flexible funding enables case managers to address nearly any support need that arises, going well beyond standard program budgets. This could mean a young person receives full tuition support for a two-year dental technician program while also attending intensive remedial writing workshops. Meanwhile, a partnership with Project HOME can secure them subsidized housing at Kate’s Place in Center City.
The approach emphasizes connection, case management and skill-building – key elements shown to help young people thrive when supported by caring, consistent adults.
I analyzed arrest data following a cohort of 93 young people who received Violent Crime Initiative services between January 2020 and April 2025. Among participants with two or more prior arrests, the rearrest rate was 60%. That’s compared to over 80% documented in a 2023 report prepared for the Philadelphia district attorney’s office that analyzed data on Philadelphia juveniles arrested in 2016. However, we haven’t been collecting data on all of the Violent Crime Initiative participants for as long, so the two figures are not perfectly comparable.
The power of credible, caring adults
Fostering deep engagement with positive role models is not a feel-good add-on. It is evidence-based public safety policy.
Research shows clearly that one of the most reliable turning points for high-risk youth is a stable, caring relationship with an adult who refuses to give up on them. This can be a teacher, coach, grandparent or any other trusted adult who provides consistent positive support and guidance and opens doors to new opportunities.
My own research on how and why young people leave street gangs underscores just how powerful such relationships can be. I also led a three-study synthesis with colleagues from Arizona State University and the University of Colorado-Boulder that reviewed research involving 784 former gang members in 13 U.S. cities. We wanted to understand what actually moves young people out of gang life.
The clearest pattern was positive relationships. “Push” forces, such as fatigue from violence or pressure from police, opened the exit door for many. But lasting change required equally strong “pulls” toward stable, positive relationships.
Data-sharing enables early intervention
After decades of evaluating both successful and failed public safety initiatives, I can say the biggest hurdle to developing cost-effective policies that reduce youth violence is the lack of coordinated, cross-agency use of data.
Cities need more than justice system records to guide their efforts. They need integrated information from schools, housing, behavioral health and community services.
With the right tools, early warning signs such as chronic school absence, school and neighborhood fights, and gun carrying can be flagged and young people matched with evidence-based programs and services they choose to participate in, rather than being mandated by the court, before a major crisis occurs.
Philadelphia already has the technical backbone for this work.
The Integrated Data for Evidence & Action or, “IDEA,” warehouse is a secure, city-run system that links administrative records across agencies. It allows officials to analyze patterns of risk across education, justice, housing and health systems, and it is used to support policy priorities such as Mayor Cherelle Parker’s public safety goal of reducing homicides by 20%.
Philadelphia also uses multidisciplinary planning meetings to configure services after a juvenile is released from incarceration – but only after incarceration. The meetings bring together the young people and their families with probation officers; attorneys; school, court and community representatives; behavioral health clinicians; and case management teams to coordinate supports that ease reentry and reduce recidivism.
Philadelphia city leaders could apply this coordinated approach earlier in a young person’s life and replace expensive and counterproductive confinement with voluntary, relationship-centered programming, using data from the IDEA warehouse to address early risk, pilot new ideas and track outcomes in real time.
Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.
Caterina G. Roman consults for the Office of School Safety within the School District of Philadelphia which runs the Youth Violence Reduction Initiative. She is also supported by the Neubauer Family Foundation as the evaluation partner for YEAH Philly’s Violence Crime Initiative. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Everytown for Gun Safety’s Community Safety Fund.
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After twenty-seven years, two series, and a pair of movies, the Sex and the City franchise came to an end last week.
And in the eyes of many viewers, the Carrie Bradshaw saga concluded not with a bang — but with a whimper.
And Just Like That … never connected with audiences quite the way that Sex and the City did, and many viewers were openly disappointed by the series finale.
In fairness, the episode was probably written and filmed with the belief that it would only be a season finale.
Despite showrunner Michael Patrick King’s claims to the contrary, it seems that AJLT was abruptly canceled amid low ratings.
Whatever the case, the episode seemed to disappoint more viewers than it entertained, and many of them have been quite vocal about the matter on social media.
Some have gone so far as to say that it was the worst episode of the entire series. Others said it was such a let-down that they now felt they would be unable to go back and enjoy the rest of the SATC franchise.
Sarah Jessica Parker breaks silence on fan reactions to series finale
Needless to say, this is not the sort of response that Sarah Jessica Parker and company were hoping for.
But while the SATC/AJLT team might have wished for a more favorable response, it seems that Parker is unconcerned about the harsh cricitism.
“I don’t think I have the constitution to have spent a lot of time thinking about that,” she told the New York Times in a recent interview.
“We always worked incredibly hard to tell stories that were interesting or real. I guess I don’t really care,” Parker continued, adding:
“And the reason I don’t care is because it has been so enormously successful, and the connections it has made with audiences have been very meaningful.”
That may sound dismissive of disappointed fans, but it seems that Parker is attempting to focus on her pride in the work that she and her costars did over the years.
As Page Six reports, AJLT premiered to strong ratings, but the show’s viewership shrank rapidly, likely in response to a rather uneven product.
“This is the worst show ever. Honestly, this is ‘from hero to zero.’ It’s just so forced,” former Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel said on TikTok after the finale.
“And just like that SUCKS. 25 pounds of disaster in a 5-pound bag — and yep, it explodes,” she added, seemingly in response to the amount of time the finale devoted to an overflowing toilet.
Yeah, even though she’s defending the finale, SJP probably wishes the writers had done a few things differently …
Sarah Jessica Parker Blasts ‘And Just Like That …’ Haters: We Did Our … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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Ryan Edwards is newly divorced, but not single.
Months ago, he became engaged to Amanda Conner. She is also already the mother of his youngest child.
However, the two were unable to wed so long as his legal ties to Mackenzie Standifer remained.
The court has officially signed off on the divorce. Now, one assumes, the countdown to Ryan’s new marriage begins.
Ryan Edwards and Mackenzie Standifer are no longer married!
According to a report from The Sun, Ryan Edwards and Mackenzie Standifer are officially, truly, permanently divorced.
At a hearing on Friday, August 15, the court granted a dissolution of their marriage.
This divorce has been a long time coming.
Mackenzie first filed to end their union in February of 2023.
Though both Ryan and Mackenzie were reportedly present in the courtroom for their divorce hearing, the restraining order appears to remain in effect.
The lengthy divorce battle was fraught with bitter drama between the exes.
In fact, some of the conflict played out between Mackenzie and Amanda Conner, Ryan’s current fiancee.
Aside from Mackenzie herself, no one is happier about this than Amanda Conner
The day that Ryan Edwards became officially no longer married in any legal sense, Amanda took to her Instagram Story to express her delight.
“Today is a day we shall cherish & celebrate,” she wrote in the now-deleted post.
She set the news to a song by Mark Chesnutt.
“Goin’ Through the Big D” seems to be, despite potentially NSFW innuendo, about divorce.
Ryan and Amanda have not been able to marry.
To be fair, they have only been engaged since January of this year.
It is normal for engagements to last this long or much longer.
However, knowing that they must wait to legally tie the knot until this long, bitter legal battle concluded must have been a weight upon their minds.
All’s well that ends … finally?
Prior to the court awarding Ryan Edwards and Mackenzie Standifer their long-awaited divorce, Mackenzie submitted documentation to the court to show that she had followed through on court-ordered parenting classes.
Ryan had the same requirement.
Reports did not seem to cite any evidence that he had done the same.
By the way, though Ryan’s filing for reduced child support suggested that Teen Mom: The Next Chapter was ending, multiple stars have reportedly filmed since then.
So it’s possible that his time on MTV is over, no matter what becomes of the show. We’ll see.
Ryan Edwards & Mackenzie Standifer: Officially Divorced! Finally! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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Bugs and sex appeal don’t usually go hand-in-hand.
But as the anticipation for her Life of a Showgirl album continues to ramp up, Taylor Swift just dropped some surprising new artwork — and you might never look at insects the same way again!
Yes, Taylor is striking a seductive pose on the cover of The Life of a Showgirl: The Shiny Bug Collection, a vinyl edition that will be available on her website for the next 48 hours.
‘Shiny Bug’ in massive demand
In other words, despite the fact that the album still doesn’t come out for six weeks, there’s currently a mad dash for limited edition presales.
The woman is nothing if not a master of marketing.
Taylor limited comments on the Instagram post announcing the new edition, which is probably a smart idea.
In the past, even Swifties have been critical of Taylor for creating false scarcity and cynically cashing in with multiple “limited edition” pressings of the same album.
Plus, the Showgirl artwork has proven divisive thus far, and Taylor probably feels like she doesn’t need any more criticism from fans who haven’t even heard the album yet.
Judging an album by its cover
Many online commenters have been critical of the original TLOAS cover, which seems to reference the famous painting of Hamlet’s sister, Ophelia, by John Everett Millais.
(One of the tracks on the album is titled “The Fate of Ophelia,” so the comparisons are not as random as they initially seem.)
The Shiny Bug Collection cover sticks with the unfortunate “Showtime channel” font that drew so much criticism when Tay dropped the original artwork.
And it seems that once again, fans are divided on the outfit and overall look that Taylor selected.
“Wtf is with all these covers? NONE of them look good,” one user commented on Reddit.
“Why does she look like she’s trying to see if the waxer got it all? I’ve hit sexier poses at the gynecologist,” another joked.
“The pose is once again SO bad. It’s like when people jokingly hit this pose ‘trying’ to be sexy and yet even those are sexier than how she’s doing it,” a third chimed in, adding:
“Yet again there is no neck in the photo, why is she so far away from the wall? Why is she seemingly hunched up? She looks so awkward and uncomfortable. The colors are terrible, the lighting is bad, why not use one of the better brighter other photos she took?”
You get the idea. Some folks don’t like the cover art; others are complaining about Taylor’s endless reissues of the same album, a habit that seems to serve little purpose other than lining her already fat pockets.
But at the end of the day, there’s a real demand for this sort of product, and we’re sure the Shiny Bug Collection will sell out in a matter of hours.
Here’s hoping that the bizarre title will be explained by some future lyrics.
Taylor Swift Rocks Fishnets, Strikes Sultry Pose on Surprise Cover For ‘The Life of … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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Did Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet really break up?
Despite being two of the highest profile people on the planet, Kylie and Timothée have kept many things private.
They didn’t announce that they were dating. It was ages before their red carpet debut.
So no one expects a breakup announcement. With split rumors circulating, what does Kylie have to say?
Why do people say that Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet
On Friday, August 15, People reported that Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet had not seen each other in “weeks.”
Additionally, the actor had apparently missed her birthday — August 10 — amidst his busy work schedule.
The report claimed that the two were trying to make “it work” despite these obstacles.
However, many felt that this was the soft launch of a breakup.
Kylie and Timmy — an affectionate nickname from the actor’s fans, though possibly an excuse to avoid writing “Timothée” in full — began dating in 2023.
At first, their entanglement consisted entirely of reports of home visits. Much remained shrouded in mystery.
However, as time passed, the famous hotties began making public appearances together.
Then there was their makeout session at the Golden Globes in January 2024.
Why so much time apart?
Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet are both busy professionals.
While we hesitate to call being an A-list actor a “normal” job by any metric, it is at least a reasonably understandable profession.
Timmy has been filming another Dune film in Budapest.
Filming schedules can be grueling and allow little time for travel.
Meanwhile, Kylie has reportedly been busy working, too. Among other things, she is a reality star.
(And Timmy has not appeared on The Kardashians, which many joke must be heartbreaking for Kris)
Kylie is also, lest we forget, a mother of two.
Though she has functionally unlimited resources for childcare, she obviously wants to spend time with Stormi and Aire. You know, like a parent.
Have Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet actually broken up?
As we acknowledged, it’s unlikely that these two would put out a statement to announce their split when it happens. They have kept things low-key despite their public status.
However, in the wake of the report on their time apart and the ensuing breakup rumors, Kylie publicly “liked” an Instagram post by Timmy. And some of her relatives have similarly interacted with other recent posts of his.
We’re not saying that every “like” on social media is all that deep. But that’s not really breakup behavior.
If anything, it sounds like maybe Kylie wanted to silently quash some split rumors without actually saying anything.
Kylie Jenner & Timothée Chalamet Split? The Rumor & The Truth was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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