I don’t know why, but it continues to astonish me just how foolish politicians can be – and how easily persuaded they are by really bad advice from smart but tin-eared advisers. In less than a year, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have squandered the gift of the huge majority won at last year’s General Election on one key issue after another: their response to the genocide in Gaza; wantonly cruel cuts in disability benefits; failing to find creative ways of taxing wealth; dealing with the water companies – and, now, on the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. On 23 May 23, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB (with a combined membership of more than 2 million) launched a devastating attack on Labour’s whole approach to streamlining the planning system through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.Advertisement Part 3 of the bill will make it possible for developers to ignore existing environmental protections by paying money into a so-called ‘Nature Recovery Fund’, which will be used to pay for environmental projects elsewhere. Starmer and Reeves have gone out of their way, time after time, to claim that it’s these environmental safeguards that are responsible for delays and blockages in the planning process, even though they know this is completely untrue. According to the Wildlife Trusts, roughly 3 per cent of proposals for new housing are delayed for environmental reasons. As The Guardian reported: ‘the data from analysis of 17,433 planning appeals in England in 2024 found that newts were relevant in just 140 (0.8%) planning appeals, and bats were relevant in 432 (2.48%).’ ‘They pursue this path even though are no polls to show that this is what matters to Labour voters tempted by Reform’ So what makes Starmer and Reeves both stupid and totally dishonest? By all accounts the rationale of their tin-eared advisers is to demonstrate to ‘Reform-friendly’ Labour voters that the environment is as unsafe in their hands as it would be in Nigel Farage’s. That economic growth is all that matters. That caring for the natural world is a middle-class self-indulgence (‘the well-to-do prioritising the nice-to-have’ over the interests of working people). And that pouring as much concrete as possible is self-evidently the best way of achieving that growth. And they go on pursuing this ideological path even though there are no supporting polls to show that this is what really matters to Labour voters tempted by Reform’s populist bullshit.Advertisement So they lie. They dig in. They break promises left, right and centre, ready to die, apparently, in this self-constructed ditch of developer-led deceit. That’s why every single amendment put forward through the committee examining the bill was summarily dismissed by the loyal but lumpen Labour MPs on the committee. These included an amendment tabled by veteran Labour MP Barry Gardiner requiring all house builders to provide a specially designed brick (costing £35) to help cavity-nesting such as swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings – a measure that Labour in opposition enthusiastically supported! And there’s huge public support for this one small, cost-effective biodiversity regulation. To get a measure of this government’s subservient obedience to the demands of the volume housebuilders, just listen to the words of housing minister Matthew Pennycook: ‘We are not convinced that legislating to mandate the use of specific wildlife features is the right approach, whether that is done through building regulations or a freestanding legal requirement'. It’s all so demeaning. So unnecessary. And now that the mainstream environment movement, urged on primarily by the Wildlife Trusts, has realised just how high the stakes are with this Planning and Infrastructure Bill, it’s reasonable to assume that there will be a much more serious debate in the House of Lords, bringing down on ministers’ helmeted heads the righteous outrage of the entire movement. As we’ve learnt, in less than one deeply depressing year, this is a government that needs to be kicked harder and harder until they get desperate enough to make the pain go away. P.S. If you want to read a brilliant summary of ‘reasons to be outraged’ (and what to do about it), check out George Monbiot’s take on this. Jonathon Porritt is a campaigner and author and co-founder of Forum for the Future This article first appeared on his blog 2025-06-06 Jonathon Porritt comment and share

Norman Reedus has lifted the lid on his role in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina – and why Keanu Reeves didn't know he was in it.

Schemes include jobs in Liverpool, Bradford and NewcastleRachel Reeves has announced £15bn for transport projects in the north of England, the Midlands and the West Country to stimulate growth outside of the South-east. The chancellor unveiled a funding package this morning for a raft of rail, tram and bus projects ahead of the government’s spending review, due next week, which is expected to include cuts to many departmental budgets. It is also expected to be part of the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy, which will be announced later this month. Rachel Reeves delivering her speech in Manchester this morning Tram schemes have been handed the biggest investments, including £2.5bn to extend Manchester’s network to Stockport and £2.4bn to expand Birmingham’s network to the city’s planned ‘sports quarter’. A long-awaited tram network in West Yorkshire will get £2.1bn to start construction of the first two lines by 2028, along with new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield, while South Yorkshire’s tram network has been handed £2.1bn for renewal works and bus service. Liverpool has been allocated £1.6bn to improve links to locations in the city including the new Everton Stadium, and the North East will get £1.8bn to extend the Newcastle to Sunderland Metro via Washington. Other funding packages include £2bn for the East Midlands to improve road, rail and bus links between Derby and Nottingham and £800m for rail upgrades in the West of England. Some of these projects were part of former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Network North plan, which backed schemes including the West Yorkshire tram system to compensate for the decision to scrap HS2 north of Birmingham. Network North was put on ice following Labour’s election victory last year after Reeves claimed the programme had not been fully funded. The money will be part of a five-year funding allocation from 2027/28 to 2031/32.  >> Also read: It’s time for trams – and Britain needs to catch up >> Also read: Traffic in Towns: 60 years on from Colin Buchanan’s prophetic report

Ballerina is what happens when a studio wants to extend a franchise but really has no reason to do so except a financial one. Subtitled From The World of John Wick, this action thriller contains too much action and precious little thrills. Directed (maybe) by Len Wiseman of Underworld fame, Ballerina is set in the same universe as the four majestic adrenaline epics starring Keanu Reeves, and incorporates as many elements from those films as possible, including the Continental Hotel and the Ruska Roma, not to mention appearances from Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, the late, great Lance Reddick, and Mr. Reeves himself. But what is also found in ample supply in the John Wick movies and sadly missing in Ballerina is heart, character, and a sense of conviction. At the center of the movie is a miscast, utterly bland Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, whose father’s death sent her as a little girl into the custody of McShane’s Winston Scott and, eventually, the tutelage of the Director (Huston) of the Ruska Roma ballet/assassin school. It’s there that Eve goes through the usual training montage, with her inability to dance only matched by her evident aptitude at killing and fighting. Once her training is complete, Eve is sent out into the world on Ruska Roma business, but of course her main goal is avenging her dad, who was killed by members of a mysterious cult led by the enigmatic Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). No sooner can you say “she’s gone rogue” than she does just that, jetting off to Prague in pursuit of a cult member (Norman Reedus) who’s trying to get himself and his own little daughter out from under the Chancellor’s thumb, while finding herself at odds with the Director and pursued by the Chancellor’s minions at every turn. The movie’s thin “lady vengeance” premise, which we’ve seen countless times before, is reheated once again by screenwriter Shay Hatten, who has co-written the last two John Wick entries but seems lost here. Unlike John Wick himself, whose single-minded quest for revenge over the death of his dog took on mythic overtones as more layers to both John and the surreal world of elegant criminality in which he moved were revealed, Eve has nothing to define her that hasn’t been done or said before. It doesn’t help that Armas, while up to the role’s physicality, offers nothing in terms of personality—she’s an empty vessel. Which is a shame, since she’s displayed earthiness (Knives Out), complexity (Blonde), and a sexy playfulness (No Time to Die) in previous work. The rest of the non-Wick cast is forgettable as well, with Byrne’s Chancellor and his entire regime badly underdeveloped, and Reedus completely wasted in what amounts to maybe two scenes. McShane, Reddick, and Huston just go through their paces, spouting lots of portentous lines about “choice” and “fate” that ring mostly hollow, as does a late-stage twist that carries no weight because one of the characters involved barely registers. As for the Baba Yaga himself, the largely non-verbal Reeves is the “Chekhov’s gun” of the film: introduced briefly in the first act, he inevitably turns up again in the third act, parachuted in by the magic of rumored reshoots even though his contribution to the narrative amounts to absolutely nothing. It’s always nice to see him, but if you took him out, it wouldn’t drastically change the picture. Speaking of reshoots, there’s a Frankenstein nature to the proceedings that provides evidence for the reports that Wick director (and franchise torch-bearer) Chad Stahelski refilmed much of the movie after Wiseman’s first draft came up short. While the first act is a murky, enervated slog, things seem to pick up in the middle, with a more eye-catching color scheme (such as a sequence in a neon-lit club reminiscent of a similar scene in the magnificent John Wick: Chapter 4), a creative, free-flowing use of the camera, and some of the more inventive, oddball action that has become part and parcel of the franchise—most notably in a scene where de Armas and an enemy smash a pile of dinner plates over each other’s heads with manic Three Stooges-like energy. Unfortunately, there’s also a sadistic edge to a lot of the action this time as well, particularly in a climactic fight involving flamethrowers that badly wants to emulate the famous overhead apartment shot from John Wick: Chapter 4 but goes on for far too long and ultimately becomes actively unpleasant. That’s a problem with even the better action on hand in Ballerina, as if the filmmakers want to make up for the film’s deficiencies by overdoing what the series is best known for. Hatten’s script was an original piece that was rewritten to fit into the John Wick universe, with elements introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum to pave the way for the arrival of Eve and Ballerina. But this reverse engineering highlights the pitfalls of trying to create a cinematic universe without stopping to wonder whether it’s a good idea. Watching John Wick stonily fight and slaughter his way through his off-center world and its population of funky, eccentric weirdos has been fantastic fun (the threat of an arc-undermining John Wick 5 notwithstanding) because of the unique nature of the character and that world. But dropping the more conventional, cliched tropes of Ballerina into the mix, along with a protagonist (and actor) not nearly as compelling, only exemplifies that the John Wick movies are character-driven first and foremost. All the brutal action, heavy-handed callbacks, and predictable cameos in the world can’t make this Ballerina into a better dancer. Ballerina opens in theaters in the U.S. on Friday, June 6. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Like shopping on Amazon itself, Prime Video can sometimes feel like a jumble sale: a proliferation of TV and movies from every era, none of it terribly well-curated. There’s a lot to sort through, and the choices can be a little overwhelming. Presentation issues aside, there are some real gems to be found, as long as you’re willing to dig a bit—the streamer offers more than a few impressive exclusives, though they sometimes get lost amid the noise. Here are 20 of the best TV series Prime Video has to offer, including both ongoing and concluded shows.Overcompensating (2025 – ) Comedian Benito Skinner plays himself, sort of, in this buzzy comedy that sees a former high school jock facing his freshman year in college, desperately trying to convince himself and everyone else that he's as straight as they come (relatable, except for the jock part). Much of the show's appeal is in its deft blending of tones: It's a frequently raunchy college comedy, but it's simultaneously a sweet coming-of-age story about accepting yourself without worrying about what everyone else thinks. The impressive cast includes Adam DiMarco (The White Lotus) and Rish Shah (Ms. Marvel) You can stream Overcompensating here. Étoile (2025 –, renewed for season two) Amy Sherman-Palladino and David Palladino (Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) are back on TV and back in the dance world (following Bunheads) with this series about two world-renowned ballet companies (one in NYC and one in Paris) that decide to spice things up by swapping their most talented dancers. Each company is on the brink of financial disaster, and so Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby), director of the Metropolitan Ballet, and Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), director of of Le Ballet National, come up with the plan, and recruit an eccentric billionaire (Simon Callow) to pay for it. Much of the comedy comes from the mismatched natures of their swapped dancers, and there's a tangible love of ballet that keeps things light, despite the fancy title. You can stream Étoile here.Fallout (2024 – , renewed for second and third seasons) A shockingly effective video game adaptation, Fallout does post-apocalyptic TV with a lot more color and vibrancy than can typically be ascribed to the genre (in the world of Fallout, the aesthetic of the 1950s hung on for a lot longer than it did in ours). The setup is a little complicated, but not belabored in the show itself: It's 2296 on an Earth devastated two centuries earlier by a nuclear war between the United States and China, exacerbated by conflicts between capitalists and so-called communists. Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) emerges from the underground Vault where she's lived her whole life protected from the presumed ravages of the world above, hoping to find her missing father, who was kidnapped by raiders. The aboveground wasteland is dominated by various factions, each of which considers the others dangerous cults, and believes that they alone know mankind's way forward. It's also overrun by Ghouls, Gulpers, and other wild radiation monsters. Through all of this, Lucy remains just about the only human with any belief in humanity, or any desire to make things better. You can stream Fallout here.Deadloch (2023 –, renewed for a second season) Both an excellent crime procedural and an effective satire of the genre, this Australian import does about as well as setting up its central mystery as Broadchurch and its many (many) imitators. Kate Box stars as Dulcie Collins, fastidious senior sergeant of the police force in the fictional town of the title. When a body turns up dead on the beach, Dulcie is joined by Madeleine Sami's Eddie Redcliffe, a crude and generally obnoxious detective brought in to help solve the case. Unraveling the web of secrets and mysteries in the tiny Tasmanian town is appropriately addictive, with the added bonus of cop thriller tropes getting mercilessly mocked all the way. You can stream Deadlock here.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022 – , third season coming) All the talk around The Rings of Power in the lead-up to the series had to do with the cost of the planned five seasons expected to be somewhere in the billion dollar range. At that price point, it’s tempting to expect a debacle—but the resulting series is actually quite good, blending epic conflict with more grounded characters in a manner that evokes both Tolkien, and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. Set thousands of years before those tales, the series follows an ensemble cast lead by Morfydd Clark as Elven outcast Galadriel and, at the other end of the spectrum, Markella Kavenagh as Nori, a Harfoot (the people we’ll much later know as Hobbits) with a yearning for adventure who finds herself caught up in the larger struggles of a world about to see the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the idyllic island kingdom of Númenor, and the the last alliance of Elves and humans. You can stream The Rings of Power here.Reacher (2022 – , fourth season coming) Getting high marks for his portrayal of the Lee Childs’ character (from both book and TV fans) is Alan Ritchson (Titans), playing Reacher with an appropriately commanding physical presence. The first season finds the former U.S. Army military policeman visiting the rural town of Margrave, Georgia...where he’s quickly arrested for murder. His attempts to clear his name find him caught up in a complex conspiracy involving the town’s very corrupt police force, as well as shady local businessmen and politicians. Subsequent seasons find our ripped drifter reconnecting with members of his old army special-investigations unit, including Frances Neagley (Maria Stan), who's getting her own spin-off. You can stream Reacher here. The Bondsman (2025, one season) It's tempting not to include The Bondsman among Prime's best, given that it's representative of an increasingly obnoxious trend: shows that get cancelled before they ever really got a chance. This Kevin Bacon-led action horror thriller did well with critics and on the streaming charts, and it's had a consistent spot among Prime's top ten streaming shows, but it got the pink slip anyway. Nevertheless, what we did get is a lot of fun: Bacon plays Hub Halloran, a bounty hunter who dies on the job only to discover that he's been resurrected by the literal devil, for whom he now works. It comes to a moderately satisfying conclusion, despite the cancellation. You can stream The Bondsman here. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022 – , third season coming) All the talk around The Rings of Power in the lead-up to the series had to do with the cost of the planned five seasons expected to be somewhere in the billion dollar range. At that price point, it’s tempting to expect a debacle—but the resulting series is actually quite good, blending epic conflict with more grounded characters in a manner that evokes both Tolkien, and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. Set thousands of years before those tales, the series follows an ensemble cast lead by Morfydd Clark as Elven outcast Galadriel and, at the other end of the spectrum, Markella Kavenagh as Nori, a Harfoot (the people we’ll much later know as Hobbits) with a yearning for adventure who finds herself caught up in the larger struggles of a world about to see the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the idyllic island kingdom of Númenor, and the the last alliance of Elves and humans. You can stream The Rings of Power here.The Expanse (2015 – 2022, six seasons) A pick-up from the SyFy channel after that network all but got out of the original series business, The Expanse started good and only got better with each succeeding season. Starring Steven Strait, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Dominique Tipper among a sizable ensemble, the show takes place in a near-ish future in which we’ve spread out into the solar system, while largely taking all of the usual political bullshit and conflicts with us. A salvage crew comes upon an alien microorganism with the potential to upend pretty much everything, if humanity can stop fighting over scraps long enough to make it matter. The show brings a sense of gritty realism to TV sci-fi, without entirely sacrificing optimism—or, at least, the idea that well-intentioned individuals can make a difference. You can stream The Expanse here. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024 – , renewed for a second season) One-upping the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie on which it's based, Mr. & Mrs. Smith stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as a couple of spies tasked to pose as a married couple while coordinating (and sometimes competing against one another) on missions. Smartly, each episode takes on a standalone mission in a different location, while complicating the relationship between the two and gradually upping the stakes until the season finale, which sees them pitted against each other. The show is returning for season two, though it's unclear if Glover and Erskine will be returning, or if we'll be getting a new Mr. & Mrs. You can stream Mr. & Mrs. Smith here. Good Omens (2019– , conclusion coming) Michael Sheen and David Tennant are delightful as, respectively, the hopelessly naive angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, wandering the Earth for millennia and determined not to let the perpetual conflict between their two sides get in the way of their mismatched friendship. In the show’s world, from the 1990 novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, heaven and hell are are less representative of good and evil than hidebound bureaucracies, more interested in scoring points on each other than in doing anything useful for anyone down here. It’s got a sly, quirky, sometimes goofy sense of humor, even while it asks some big questions about who should get to decide what’s right and what’s wrong. Following some depressingly gross revelations about writer and showrunner Gaiman, it was announced that he'd be off the production and the third season would be reduced to a movie-length conclusion, date tbd. You can stream Good Omens here. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017 – 2023, five seasons) Mrs. Maisel was one of Prime’s first and buzziest original series, a comedy-drama from Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) about the title’s Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a New York housewife of the late 1950s who discovers a talent for stand-up comedy. Inspired by the real-life careers of comedians like Totie Fields and Joan Rivers, the show is both warm and funny, with great performances and dialogue; it also achieves something rare in being a show about comedy that’s actually funny. You can stream Mrs. Maisel here. The Boys (2019 – , fifth and final season coming) There’s a lot of superhero stuff out there, no question, but, as there was no series quite like the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic book on which this show is based, there’s nothing else quite like The Boys. The very dark satire imagines a world in which superheroes are big with the public, but whose powers don’t make them any better than the average jerk. When his girlfriend is gruesomely killed by a superhero who couldn’t really care less (collateral damage, ya know), Wee Hughie (Jack Quaid) is recruited by the title agency. Led by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), the Boys watch over the world’s superpowered individuals, putting them down when necessary and possible. A concluding fifth season is on the way, as is a second season of the live-action spin-off (Gen V). An animated miniseries (Diabolical) came out in 2022. The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019, four seasons) From a novel by Philip K. Dick (whose work has been the basis for Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, among many others), The Man in the High Castle takes place in an alternate history in which the Axis powers won World War II, and in which the United States is split down the middle; Japan governing the west and Germany the east. The title’s man in the high castle offers an alternate view, though, one in which the Allies actually won, with the potential to rally opposition to the Axis rulers. As the show progresses through its four seasons, the parallels to our increasingly authoritarian-friendly world, making it one of the more relevant shows of recent years. You can stream The Man in the High Castle here. The Wheel of Time (2021 – 2025, three seasons) An effective bit of fantasy storytelling, The Wheel of Time sees five people taken from a secluded village by Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), a powerful magic user who believes that one of them is the reborn Dragon: a being who will either heal the world, or destroy it entirely. The show has an epic sweep while smartly focusing on the very unworldly villagers, experiencing much of this at the same time as the audience. This is another mixed recommendation in that, while the show itself is quite good, it has just been cancelled following a third season that saw it really getting into its groove. The show goes through the fourth and fifth books of Robert Jordan's fantasy series, so, I suppose, you can always jump into the novels to finish the story. You can stream Wheel of Time here. The Devil’s Hour (2022 – , renewed for a third season) Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife) joins Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It, Doctor Who) for a slightly convoluted but haunting series that throws in just about every horror trope that you can think of while still managing to ground things in the two lead performances. Raine plays a social worker whose life is coming apart on almost every level: She’s caring for her aging mother, her marriage is ending, her son is withdrawn, and she wakes up at 3:33 am every morning exactly. She’s as convincing in the role as Capaldi is absolutely terrifying as a criminal linked to at least one killing who knows a lot more than he makes clear. You can stream The Devil's Hour here. Batman: Caped Crusader (2024 – , second season coming) I know, there's a lot of Batman out there. But this one's got real style, harkening back to Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s (no surprise, given that Bruce Timm developed this one too). With a 1940s-esque setting, the show dodges some of the more outlandish superhero tropes to instead focus on a Gotham City rife with crime, corrupt cops, and gang warfare. There's just enough serialization across the first season to keep things addictive. You can stream Caped Crusader here. Secret Level (2024 – , renewed for a second season) This is pretty fun: an anthology of animated shorts from various creative teams that tell stories set within the worlds of various (15 so far) video games, including Unreal, Warhammer, Sifu, Mega Man, and Honor of Kings. It's hard to find consistent threads given the variety of source material, but that's kinda the point: There's a little something for everyone, and most shorts don't demand any extensive knowledge of game lore—though, naturally, they're a bit more fun for the initiated. The voice cast includes the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, his son Patrick Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Luna, Ariana Greenblatt, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. You can stream Secret Level here. Cross (2024 – , renewed for a second season) James Patterson's Alex Cross novels have been adapted three times before, all with mixed results: Morgan Freeman played the character twice, and Tyler Perry took on the role in 2012. Here, the forensic psychologist/police detective of a few dozen novels is played by Aldis Hodge (Leverage, One Night in Miami...), and it feels like he's finally nailed it. There are plenty of cop-drama tropes at work here, but the series is fast-paced and intense, and Hodge is instantly compelling in the iconic lead role. You can stream Cross here. Fleabag (2016–2019, two seasons) Fleabag isn’t a Prime original per se, nor even a co-production, but Amazon is the show’s American distributor and still brands it as such, so we’re going to count it. There’s no quick synopsis here, but stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the title character (only ever known as Fleabag) in the comedy drama about a free-spirited, but also deeply angry single woman in living in London. Waller-Bridge won separate Emmys as the star, creator, and writer of the series (all in the same year), and co-stars Sian Clifford, Olivia Coleman, Fiona Shaw, and Kristin Scott Thomas all received well-deserved nominations. You can stream Fleabag here.

May 22, 20255 min readDisaster-Struck States Waiting for Weeks for Trump’s Sign-Off on FEMA AidStates and cities struck by deadly tornadoes and floods are begging the Trump administration for disaster aidBy Thomas Frank & E&E News A man is comforted by a family friend while cleaning up the debris of his house on May 18, 2025 in the community of Sunshine Hills outside of London, Kentucky. A tornado struck the neighborhood of Sunshine Hills just after midnight on May 17, 2025 in London, Kentucky. Michael Swensen/Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Public officials have started pleading with the Trump administration for help in recovering from deadly disasters as President Donald Trump triggers frustration in states struck by tornadoes, floods and storms by taking no action on requests for aid.Trump has left states, counties and tribes in limbo as he delays making decisions on formal requests for millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. Some areas that are still reeling from extreme weather are unable to start cleanup.“We’re at a standstill and waiting on a declaration from FEMA,” said Royce McKee, emergency management director in Walthall County, Mississippi, which was hit by tornadoes in mid-March.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.The county of 13,000 people can’t afford to clean up acres of debris, McKee said, and is waiting for Trump to act on a disaster request that was submitted by Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, on April 1 after the tornadoes killed seven people, destroyed or damaged 671 homes, and caused $18.2 million in public damage.“I’m disappointed, especially for the people that lost their houses,” McKee said.Trump himself assailed FEMA in January for being “very slow.”The frustration over Trump’s handling of disasters is the latest upheaval involving FEMA. Trump recently canceled two FEMA grant programs that gave states billions of dollars a year to pay for protective measures against disasters. The move drew protests from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.On May 8, Trump fired FEMA leader Cameron Hamilton and replaced him with David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer who has no experience in emergency management.At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to push Trump to approve three disaster requests that Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, had sent to Trump beginning April 2.“We are desperate for assistance in Missouri,” Hawley said as Noem pledged to help. Her department oversees FEMA.St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, whose city was badly damaged by tornadoes earlier this week, told MSNBC: “What we need right now is federal assistance. This is where FEMA and the federal government have got to come in and help communities. Our city can’t shoulder this alone.”U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press on January 24, 2025 as he prepares to travel to North Carolina, California, Nevada and Florida over the weekend.Kent Nishimura/Getty ImagesTrump has not acted on 17 disaster requests, a high number for this time of year, according to a FEMA daily report released Wednesday. On the same date eight years ago, during Trump’s first presidency, only three disaster requests were awaiting presidential action, the FEMA report from May 21, 2017, shows.Eleven of the 17 pending disaster requests were sent to Trump more than a month ago.“This looks to me like, until FEMA’s role is clarified, then we’re just going to sit on it,” said a former senior FEMA official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.Trump has indicated that he wants to shrink the agency, which distributes about $45 billion in disaster aid a year, helps with as many as 100 disasters at a time and, he said, “has been a very big disappointment.”“It’s very bureaucratic and very slow,” Trump said in January during a visit to disaster-stricken western North Carolina.The Trump administration has made no announcements about how it is handling requests for disaster aid, leaving governors, local officials and individuals uncertain about what to expect.“A disaster survivor that’s waiting for relief — that’s the hard part about this,” the former FEMA official said.In a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the administration wants state and local governments “to invest in their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and recovery less prolonged.”Trump handles disaster requests “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” Jackson said.'Death and destruction'Despite the absence of an announced policy change, Trump’s actions on a handful of disasters indicate that he is making it harder for states to receive FEMA aid for cleanup and rebuilding.There is no indication of partisan considerations in Trump’s actions. Only three of the 17 pending disaster requests came from Democratic governors. Trump made national headlines in April when he denied a request by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who was the White House press secretary during his first presidency.The denial of Sanders’ request for aid to clean up debris and repair electric cooperatives after a tornado outbreak in mid-March exemplifies Trump’s new direction. Sanders calculated that the tornadoes caused $11.6 million in public damage, which is more than enough to qualify for FEMA aid.Under long-standing FEMA policy, the agency sets a population-based damage threshold that states must exceed in order to get money for cleanup and rebuilding. In Arkansas, the threshold is slightly more than $5.8 million — and the state’s damage was twice that amount.Sanders appealed the denial, but Trump again rejected her request for repair money, although he did agree to help 249 households pay for temporary housing and minor home repairs with FEMA aid. The federal funding will amount to about $1 million.Trump took the same action on aid requests from West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrissey, a Republican, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, after flooding struck their states in February and April, respectively. In both cases, Trump approved money for households and rejected their funding requests for public rebuilding.When Trump rejected Washington state’s April request for aid to help rebuild public infrastructure following a November flood, Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, noted that the damage easily exceeded the threshold to qualify for federal money.“There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washington’s application met all of them,” Ferguson said after Trump’s denial. Communities “have been waiting for months” for federal aid, “and this decision will cause further delay.”On Tuesday, Beshear sent Trump a new disaster request after tornadoes killed 19 Kentucky residents and caused extensive property damage. Beshear is seeking an “expedited major disaster” declaration, which presidents typically approve in a day or two.“This tornado event is devastating. There’s no other way to describe the death and destruction this has brought to the community,” Beshear said at a news briefing Tuesday.Although the request did not calculate the cost of the damage, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said Tuesday, “We met a number that is clearly easy for anyone to see that this disaster needs some federal assistance.”Beshear said Trump called him Sunday after the outbreak and "pledged to be there for the people of Kentucky."Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

Projects named in deal include Euston station and Smithfield Market in BirminghamThe Crown Estate is buying a 50% share in six Lendlease projects in the UK including the Australian developer’s schemes at Euston station in London and Birmingham’s Smithfield Market. The joint venture between the King’s property company and the Sydney-based firm, which earlier this year sold its UK construction business to private equity which has since renamed it Bovis, could create up to 26,000 new homes and 900,000 sq m of offices and laboratories across the six sites, which also include Lendlease’s plots at Silvertown Quays in London’s Royal Docks, at Thamesmead Waterside, along the High Road West next to Tottenham Hotspur’s ground and at Stratford Cross. The deal was announced this morning at the Treasury and chancellor Rachel Reeves said it would “boost home ownership and make Britain a global hub for life sciences”. Pictured (l-r) are investment minister Baroness Gustafsson, The Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad, Lendlease chief Tony Lombardo and chancellor Rachel Reeves She added: “[Our plans] includes creating the right environment for organisations like The Crown Estate and Lendlease to partner, helping us to unlock capital to get Britain building and get Britain growing.” The Crown Estate, which is head by former Lendlease Europe chief Dan Labbad, who left the firm six years ago after more than 20 years to join the Crown Estate, is one of the UK’s largest landowners and manages £16bn-worth of both rural and urban land and property around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its profits are paid to the Treasury and in 2024 it reported making £1.1bn. The deal is set to have a gross development value of £24bn and is expected to see Lendlease, which has rejigged its business to concentrate on its domestic market, make AUS$300m (£144m) from the sale. Labbad, who signed the agreement with Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo, said: “As a country, we face challenges to unlock growth. To support this, we need to spark investment in sectors like science, technology, and housing, alongside deep collaboration across communities, government, and the private sector. “This joint venture is an example of how The Crown Estate is harnessing its mandate to act in the UK’s long-term national interest, supported by new investment powers, and stepping up its ambition to support inclusive growth for the nation.” The deal will see Lendlease act as development manager for the work. The six developments in the JV 60 acres above and around Euston Station in London, with the potential to deliver circa 4.3m sq ft of commercial space and 2,000 new homes 60 acres in Silvertown in London, with the potential to deliver circa 1.3m sq ft of commercial and 6,300 new homes 40 acres in Smithfield in Birmingham, with the potential to deliver over 2m sq ft of commercial space and 3,400 new homes The Smithfield scheme in Birmingham is planned to have more than 3,000 homes Three land plots in Stratford Cross, London, with the potential to deliver over 1.6m sq ft of commercial space 250 acres of residential space in Thamesmead Waterfront, London, with the potential to deliver over 11,000 homes and 880,000 sq ft of commercial space 27 acres in High Road West in Haringey, London, with the potential to deliver over 100,000 sq ft commercial space and around 2,800 new homes

For many creatives, there are few times in life that are more thrilling and filled with possibilities than the summer you graduate. At the same time, there's usually a fair bit of anxiety, and in 2025, there are good reasons for that. If you're a creative graduate preparing to enter the workforce, you face a rapidly changing landscape shaped by technological advancements, shifting work paradigms and unprecedented challenges. In short, you'll be navigating uncharted waters as you transition from structured academic environments to the professional world. To help bridge this gap, we've gathered industry-leading advice from established leaders across various disciplines. These veterans have weathered economic shifts, tech revolutions, and cultural transformations throughout their careers. As such, their collective wisdom offers a compass for any graduate at a time of extraordinary opportunity and complexity. 1. Be kind to yourself First things first. You'll want to get into decent-paid work straight away, but in the current job market, that might not happen. That completely sucks, of course, but the important thing is that you don't beat yourself up over it. Creative director Charlie Bowden acknowledges the challenges of getting your foot in the door, even with a degree. "Converting an internship into a job is hard and may take longer than you'd like," he cautions. "So be kind to yourself. The best work comes when you're happy." Adrian Carroll, creative director at D8, agrees. "Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't land a role straight away," he stresses. "It's an incredibly tough market for graduates at the moment. Fewer people are setting up agencies, and more people are opting to freelance, which is tough if you don't have much experience." 2. Build your personal brand In a crowded jobs market, you need to stand out. That can be challenging for many creatives, especially if you're shy or introverted. But the important thing to understand, according to Simon Manchipp, founding partner at SomeOne, is this: "YOU ARE A BRAND. Like it or not." With that in mind, he recommends you: "Get your story straight. Make it stick. Website. Insta. LinkedIn. Behance. They should sing the same song—and it should sound like you. SHOW WORK. NOT PROMISES. Don't tell us what you want to do; show us what you did. Projects are better than platitudes. Side hustles count. So do failed ones. Especially failed ones." 3. Craft a portfolio with cut-through When it comes to your portfolio, Alex Rexworthy, co-founder and design director at Outlaw, advises showcasing development alongside final work. "Show your process, not just a flashy render," he urges. "Take the reader on a journey through each project in your portfolio. Start with the brief, share your initial ideas, and explain how you arrived at the final result." Above all, encourages Cat How, founder and ECD at How Studio, make an impact. "Go big, or go home," she says. "This is your time to shine, so you owe it to yourself to be OUTRAGEOUS." 4. Stay true to your vision When you're struggling to get work, it's natural to want to apply for everything and maybe even pretend to be someone you're not. But Paul Leon, creative director at U037, reckons you'll ultimately be more successful if you focus on your authentic creative path. "Focus on what you really want to do and head for that," he advises. "If you feel something's not right for you, don't be afraid to speak up, and don't be afraid to say no. Value yourself: the journey is where all the good stuff happens. Detours, etc, are fine." When applying for a job at an agency, you obviously need to do your research. But Charlie notes that you need to look beyond an agency's portfolio. "Consider the culture, not just the work," he explains. "Certain agencies make great work, but their culture may not be right for you. Internships are a great way of getting a gauge of this, but so is asking to come in for coffee and a crit, so you can see what the agency is like first-hand." 5. Embrace the beginner's mindset You need confidence to succeed in life, but that confidence shouldn't spill over into overconfidence or the idea that you already know it all; you don't. With that in mind, Kiser Barnes, partner and chief creative officer at Red Antler, stresses the importance of humility paired with curiosity. "Be humble and stay wildly curious," he says. "Finishing school feels like reaching the peak… until you realise you're right back at the bottom of a new hill again. That's okay. The people who thrive in this industry are the ones most open to learning, evolving and collaborating." Barrington Reeves, creative director at Too Gallus, offers similar advice. "Be ready to learn," he urges. "The change from education to commercial can sometimes be daunting. But although you've just been through a full course of education, the real learning begins now. " Part of that means adapting to commercial timeframes. "Don't be discouraged by the pace of change and iteration," he stresses. "While university might teach you to nurture and grow an idea over a prolonged period of time, in the commercial market, it is an incredible skill to be able to think—and fail—fast." 6. Develop leadership skills early Being humble doesn't mean you can't have one eye on the future and start developing your leadership skills. With that in mind, Ashleigh Hansberger, co-founder and COO at Motto, suggests you: "Start studying business and leadership now. Leadership isn't about title; it's about behaviour. That means building discipline, making clear decisions, being accountable, and taking responsibility for your actions and impact. "Practise your own leadership development early," she adds. "Read about it. Reflect on it. Try it. Accumulate experience and wisdom through the unglamorous work of getting 1% better every day. That's how you grow into someone people want to follow." 7. Master your craft while embracing technology Emerging technologies might be disrupting everything right now, with negative consequences for employment. But Kiser encourages graduates to engage with them all the same. "Don't be afraid of AI—tinker with it, play with it, understand it," he says. "Use your fresh perspective to imagine better ways of working. The world doesn't need more copies of what already exists. It needs people who can push the whole system forward." Matthew Schneider, director of product marketing at LucidLink, takes a similar line. "Know your craft, but don't be afraid of new tech," he advises. "When I started, a single video editing system cost well over $100k; now, a subscription to professional editing software might cost as little as $20 monthly." And the moral of this story? "Now people have access to great tools, what sets you apart is how you use them and the story you ultimately tell with them," Matthew explains. "Growing up an aspiring filmmaker myself, my mother would always tell me, 'It's not the story; it's the storytelling'. She's right!" Tom Munckton, ECD at Fold7Design, similarly notes the accelerating pace of industry evolution right now. "The industry used to shift annually; now it feels more like monthly—with processes and project delivery being challenged by AI and other democratising factors," he says. Ultimately, though, he recommends focusing on creative direction over specific tools. "Regardless of the tool or method you use right now or in the future, confidence will come from being clear about the type of work you want to make and making constant steps towards that," he reasons. 8. Embrace discomfort as growth Finding all this stressful and frightening? Many creative people feel like they don't "belong" in normal society, but the good news is that agencies are generally pretty friendly places and are probably filled with other people who've felt like outsiders themselves. Take Claire Parker, group creative partner at The Chase. "I never fitted in at school—couldn't do maths, couldn't spell—but I could create," she recalls. "The world needs curious minds like yours. Creativity isn't about having all the answers; it's about asking better questions. "Stay interested, stay committed, and back yourself even when you feel out of your depth," she adds. "In fact, especially then, as David Bowie said, 'Always go a little further into the water'. That's where the magic happens. Be more Bowie."

Elissa Coulon / « Le Monde » « S’il te plaît, ChatGPT » : pourquoi est-on poli avec les IA ? Publié aujourd’hui à 07h00 Article réservé aux abonnés DécryptageUne grande partie des utilisateurs font preuve de politesse en s’adressant à ChatGPT, Siri, Alexa et autres agents conversationnels. A tort ou à raison ? « Je ne saurais pas l’expliquer, mais je me sens mal si je ne dis pas “s’il te plaît” à ChatGPT… Ça me paraît impoli compte tenu du service que l’IA me rend. » Pauline Blanquet a 25 ans. Comme elle, de nombreux utilisateurs font preuve de courtoisie avec ChatGPT, Siri, Alexa et autres agents conversationnels. Ils seraient même majoritaires : en 2019, le Pew Research Center estimait que 54 % des propriétaires américains d’enceintes connectées leur disaient « s’il te plaît » ; plus récemment, un sondage du groupe de presse tech Future évaluait à 67 % la proportion d’Américains polis avec des chatbots. « Je sais pourtant qu’il ne s’agit que d’un robot, reconnaît en soupirant la jeune Boulonnaise, mais je ne peux pas m’en empêcher. » Comment l’expliquer, alors qu’il ne lui viendrait pas à l’idée de remercier d’autres outils, comme son tournevis ou son grille-pain ? La différence réside dans les signaux « humains » envoyés par la machine. C’est ce que démontraient dès 1996 deux chercheurs de Stanford, Clifford Nass et Byron Reeves : si un appareil imite suffisamment certains comportements sociaux, « il sera traité comme un humain, même si les gens savent que c’est idiot ». Ainsi, face à un chatbot poli, nous avons tendance à respecter des normes sociales, développe la sociologue du numérique Valérie Beaudouin, directrice d’études à l’Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales. « Quand on analyse les conversations humaines, si je vous dis “bonjour”, vous me dites “bonjour”. Or, les chatbots sont formatés pour commencer par une phrase comme “bonjour, que puis-je faire pour vous ?”. Nous sommes donc incités à être polis, car ne pas le faire serait enfreindre les règles de la conversation. » « Je deviens un horrible personnage » Il vous reste 74.97% de cet article à lire. La suite est réservée aux abonnés.

SIGGRAPH 2025 will open its conference on August 10 by honoring Pixar’s Toy Story, the world’s first fully computer-animated feature film, with a 30th anniversary tribute. Presented by SIGGRAPH’s Computer Animation Festival in partnership with ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneers, the celebration will begin with a featured introduction by Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and a pioneering figure in computer graphics. In “Pioneers Featured Speaker: Catmull Story: To SIGGRAPH and Beyond,” Catmull will share personal reflections on the breakthroughs, challenges, and triumphs that made Toy Story possible. Following the talk and a live audience Q&A, attendees will enjoy trivia and giveaways before a special 4K screening of the iconic film. Catmull explains that the technical hurdles to make the film were tremendous, but SIGGRAPH's annual gathering helped Pixar find answers, with innovations like new illumination models from Cornell, early ray tracing from the University of North Carolina, stochastic sampling methods developed at Lucasfilm, and advancements that led to the creation of Pixar’s “RenderMan.” “SIGGRAPH wasn’t just a conference; it was our lifeline," said Catmull. “We published everything we did because we believed in growing the field together. The breakthroughs shared openly at SIGGRAPH — on lighting, shading, rendering — they became the building blocks that we stitched together to make Toy Story.” Before Woody and Buzz became household names, Pixar presented early test footage at SIGGRAPH. “Showing work-in-progress footage at the conference was a milestone moment for us at Pixar,” said Bill Reeves, supervising technical director of Toy Story. “We didn't know how it would be received. Everyone sat in silence as we waited for the footage to finish. When it ended, and the applause exploded in the room, it was a mind-blowing moment for us. We were in shock. We were excited. We knew we were on to something big. The audience at SIGGRAPH that day gave us a much-needed boost of confidence." “Looking back on making Toy Story, I realize now that none of us really knew what we were doing," added Pete Docter, supervising animator on Toy Story and Pixar’s current CCO. “At the time it didn’t feel that way; the young, talented team was brimming with confidence and optimism, too inexperienced to seriously consider that the whole thing might fail. Maybe that was why it worked! What we did understand early on was that the film’s success would depend on the strength of its story and characters. Without that, even the world’s first fully computer-animated feature would just be a gimmick. Thirty years later, people around the world are still enjoying ‘Toy Story’ and its sequels, shorts, and theme park attractions — so I guess we got something right!” “Toy Story’s place in history is a remarkable milestone for computer graphics,” said Dawn Fidrick, SIGGRAPH 2025 Computer Animation Festival Director. “It showed CG wasn’t just about producing images — it proved CG images could create the illusion of life, emotion, and storytelling. It paved the way for everything that followed.” Source: SIGGRAPH 2025 Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.