water

In 2013, Coronation Street aired a dramatic episode which saw some of the residents take part in a Full Monty-style striptease and now one former star has revealed the lengths some actors went to on set

One former Coronation Street actor has recalled the great lengths his co-stars went to to appear in a set of scenes inspired by The Full Monty.

In 2013, the world’s longest-running TV soap aired a dramatic episode which saw the famed Rovers Return Inn go up in flames, but, as it was all going on, some of the Weatherfield lads, including Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) and Karl Munro (John Michie), had been approached to do a striptease as a fundraiser nearby at Nick’s Bistro.

Now, Tony Hirst, who played fireman Paul Kershaw, has recalled that some of his co-stars “stopped drinking water” and hit the gym in a bid to look as in shape as possible.

“I remember doing a Full Monty style scene on Coronation Street where we had to be naked,” he began.

“Some of the younger lads purposefully didn’t drink water for two days beforehand so they wouldn’t be bloated, and others were in the gym, trying to look as buff as possible,” he told The Sun.

Just before the striptease reached its finale, Norris Cole burst in to tell everyone that the pub was on fire.

At the time, the Rovers Return was owned by Stella Price, who was played by EastEnders star Michelle Collins, and Karl was her former partner whom she had thrown out after discovering he had had an affair with Sunita Alahan (Shoba Gulati). She then struck up a relationship with Jason, and tried to frame him by setting the pub ablaze in an attempt to win Stella back.

The blaze resulted in the deaths of Sunita as well as Paul’s colleague Toni Griffiths, and Karl was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for his crimes.

Meanwhile, actor Tony Hirst was first introduced to Coronation Street during the soap’s 50th anniversary in December 2010 and was on the scene when an an explosion destroyed the viaduct and caused a tram to come crashing down onto the backstreet.

Almost a year later, he returned to help Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) when she got her head stuck in some railings at Underworld factory and quickly became a love interest for him.

It soon transpired that he was actually married to a woman named Lesley (Judy Holt), but she had Alzheimer’s and despite Eileen’s best efforts to look after her, she electrocuted herself when she put a toaster under a running tap.

Following Lesley’s death, Paul and Eileen continued their relationship for more than a year but they called it quits in August 2013 and he departed Weatherfield for good.

Prior to his stint on Coronation Street, Tony played Mike Barnes on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. Over the course of his career, he has appeared in Casualty, Holby City and Brassic.

Last year, he played the recurring role of Jerry in Riot Women and also narrates a host of programmes such as How It’s Made and Benefits Street. The soap star recently confirmed that he is now filming new episodes of mystery crime drama Patience for Channel 4.

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Naivasha, Kenya – For communities living around Naivasha, water is not an abstract resource. It sustains families, livestock, farms and schools.

That reality has taken on new significance after plans for a major Microsoft-G42 data centre in Olkaria, near Lake Naivasha, stalled in May 2026 over concerns about available power capacity.

Microsoft and United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company G42 announced the project in 2024 as part of a $1bn digital investment package for Kenya. The proposed facility was to run on geothermal energy and eventually scale to as much as 1 gigawatt of capacity.

The uncertainty has also prompted questions about what another major industrial user could mean for water in a region where residents already report shortages.

Microsoft and G42 said the proposed data centre campus would run entirely on renewable geothermal energy and incorporate water conservation technology. The companies did not disclose a project-specific water consumption figure in their 2024 announcement.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) communications director Frank David Ochieng told Al Jazeera that the data centre remains at the design stage and that he could not comment further until the project is ready to proceed.

For residents like Musa Olorkedienye, who spoke to Al Jazeera, water scarcity is already a daily concern. He says communities around Olkaria have seen changes in access to water, including the loss of reliable piped supplies that residents previously received from KenGen.

“Currently, we are relying on water vendors to get water, our animals are walking for kilometres, and we fear things could get worse as demand for water rises,” Olorkedienye says.

Pastoralist Isaac Leshishi, who also spoke to Al Jazeera, says increasingly harsh weather is adding to the pressure.

Why Olkaria?

The choice of Olkaria was closely tied to energy. The area is home to Kenya’s major geothermal operations, making it an attractive location for a power-intensive facility.

KenGen operates the Olkaria geothermal complex, while Microsoft and G42 planned to power the proposed data centre entirely with geothermal energy.

A lake under pressure

Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya’s Rift Valley whose catchment supports agriculture, tourism, livestock and domestic water use. Its basin also hosts geothermal development and other economic activity.

Grace Kimani, a patrol leader with Lake Naivasha and Oloiden, told Al Jazeera that the reservoir is under growing pressure from population growth, agriculture, water abstraction, climate variability, pollution and ecosystem degradation.

“The planned Microsoft-G42 data centre in Olkaria could bring jobs and investment, but its water demand raises concerns about adding pressure to already competing needs, particularly during dry periods,” she said.

Kimani said there is limited public information about the project’s expected water demand, source and cooling technology. She said transparency and an assessment of its cumulative impact on water resources would be important.

She also called for water-efficient or water-free cooling, water recycling and the use of treated wastewater, as well as sustainable abstraction limits and community involvement in monitoring.

Silas Wanjala of the Lake Naivasha Riparian Association, who spoke to Al Jazeera, said the region is heavily dependent on groundwater and that declining water flows are adding to the pressure.

“These industries, especially EcoCloud, which deal with data, will consume a lot of water at a time when rivers are drying, and demand for water is on the rise,” Wanjala said.

Olkaria EcoCloud Data Centre is a local partner in the G42-led development. In 2024, the Kenya News Agency reported that G42, Microsoft and EcoCloud signed a letter of intent for the wider data-centre initiative, with EcoCloud described as a local partner that had previously signed a memorandum of understanding with G42.

Wanjala points to past fluctuations in Lake Naivasha as a warning.

“This lake in 2010 nearly dried up due to over-abstraction, and this could be repeated due to high demand for water by these investors in Olkaria,” he says.

His concern comes against a wider backdrop of water scarcity in Kenya. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations says Kenya has about 527 cubic metres (527,000 litres) of freshwater available per person, below the 1,000-cubic-metre threshold for water scarcity, and estimates availability could fall to about 475 cubic metres per person by 2030.

The figures do not show what effect the proposed data centre would have on Lake Naivasha. They provide context, however, for why the prospect of another major water user is drawing scrutiny in a region where demand is already high.

How much water would it use?

The amount of water the proposed Microsoft-G42 facility itself would require remains unclear.

The project announcement provides no projected consumption figure.

Existing industrial use offers some context.

A KenGen environmental and social impact assessment records that 195,165 cubic metres of water were abstracted from Lake Naivasha in July 2023 for domestic and commercial uses at Olkaria and for operations and domestic use at Eburru.

Of that total, 153,918 cubic metres were used for commercial operations at Olkaria. The assessment records the abstraction as within Water Resources Authority (WRA) permitted levels.

Those figures relate to existing KenGen operations, not the proposed data centre.

For farmer Eskimos Kobia, who spoke to Al Jazeera, the potential competition extends beyond households and livestock. He says farmers, pastoralists, schools and investors will all face greater pressure as demand increases.

Kimani said climate variability has also led to fluctuations in lake levels, with periods of flooding followed by prolonged dry conditions.

“Water quality is affected by agricultural run-off, untreated wastewater in some areas and invasive species,” she says.

Investment versus local concerns

Not everyone in Naivasha opposes the investment.

Absolom Mukhuusi of the Naivasha Professional Association, who spoke to Al Jazeera, says the technology sector could bring jobs, infrastructure and new businesses to the area. But he says economic benefits should not come at the expense of local communities.

“Even as we welcome the investors, our biggest fear is what happens to our water bodies and communities as water is diverted to Olkaria for the heavy users,” he says.

Could technology help?

Geologist Kenyatta Otieno, who spoke to Al Jazeera, sees another potential benefit.

He recalls the pressure large flower farms once placed on the lake’s ecosystem, saying many have since left or scaled back their operations.

Otieno says the proposed centre would have included a resource centre to monitor lake levels and weather patterns. Such monitoring, he says, could help identify the highest water level over time and guide riparian land zoning.

“The centre being built with water conservation in mind would be futuristic as Naivasha is generally a water-scarce area. It would be a model for future development,” Otieno said.

Kenya already has regulators responsible for managing competing demands. The WRA regulates water abstraction and issues water-use permits, while the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) oversees environmental impact assessments under the country’s environmental regulatory framework.

Attempts by Al Jazeera to obtain comments from WRA and NEMA officials were unsuccessful. Efforts to reach Microsoft-G42 officials and Kenyan government officials for comment on the project’s status and water requirements were also unsuccessful.

For now, the project’s eventual scale, design and water requirements remain unclear, according to KenGen.

“We are now competing with the multibillion [-dollar] companies for water, and we fear that we shall be the losers in the long run,” Leshishi said.

THREE fab theme parks, three unique experiences – which one will you pick?

From magical fairy-tale worlds to high-octane thrills and waterpark adventures, there’s something for every family.

Efteling, The Netherlands

Lifestyle Editor Catherine Bennion-Pedley and her family fell for fairy-tale fun in Kaatsheuvel.

As we whizz past trolls swinging from trees and down to the sparkling rainforest floor, the kids are completely spellbound.

From this ride, Droomvlucht, we head back into daylight to find fairies twirling around the lawn, bubbles filling the air.

Efteling is the very definition of enchanting. From musical toadstools to talking bins that suck up litter through their mouths, we find ourselves staring in awe at all the quaint details.

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The Fairytale Forest brings much-loved stories to life through animatronics, and Poppy, seven, and Raffy, five, are delighted by a donkey that poos out gold coins when you pop in 50 cents.

But there are plenty of wilder attractions, too – wooden coaster Joris En De Draak feels way faster than 47mph as it swerves around corners, and Baron 1898 drops you into freefall for almost 40 metres.

Baby Switch cards mean husband Andy and I don’t need to queue twice for rides the kids are too short for, either.

Our best foodie finds in the park are the soft-serve ice creams, which cost less than £2, and hotdogs drenched in truffle mayo with parmesan and rocket, £5.50.

But it’s the Polles Keuken eatery that is unmissable, with its musical stove and huge pancakes – my favourite is stuffed with apple slices and topped with whipped goat’s cheese, candied walnuts and rocket, £15.

Opened last year, Efteling Grand Hotel is home to gorgeous art-deco interiors and luxurious bedrooms that are the antithesis of the bright and brash themed rooms at some parks.

Chocolate coins are hidden in the coffee drawer, superb Zenology toiletries are in the bathroom and there’s a sweet elf night light built into the wardrobe.

We also get early access to some rides and use of the sauna, steam room and pretty pool with its blue and white checkerboard tiles and impressive water chandelier – although it’s not a place for swimming lengths!

Brasserie 7, with its cascading faux-flower displays, serves up quality breakfasts with fizz, as well as a delicious, albeit pricey, dinner.

The greatest thing, however, are the miming piccolos, bell boys and girls dressed in cute purple uniforms, who have us giggling through mealtimes with their comedy antics.

As the rain hits on our last day, we drop by the on-site theatre to catch illusion show Magicaluna, which is packed with stunning tricks.

It sums up the Efteling experience in its final line: “You’re never too old to wonder.” Yep, this park is magic.

Stays for up to six at Efteling Grand Hotel cost from £496 B&B, including two-day park access (Efteling.com).

Futuroscope, France

Acting Senior Designer Sasha Cunningham and her son enjoyed robot rides, tech storytelling and making a splash in Poitiers.

Strapped into the hand of a giant robotic arm with my eight-year-old son, we are thrust into the air, twisting, flipping and turning.

The robot’s movements synchronise with the pumping music and flashing lights on this Dance With Robots ride.

And as soon as we’re released, a beaming Oscar announces we have to do it again!

Made up of Futuroscope Xperiences and Aquascope water park, the resort is home to more than 40 attractions housed in geometric buildings.

We hop on a rollercoaster to Mars and even get swept into the eye of a tornado on a 5D adventure.

Brightly coloured playgrounds and beanbag chill-out zones line the paths, while the Futuropolis zone lets smaller ones operate their own rides.

After a morning of adrenalin rushes, we kick back in Europe’s largest 360-degree circular theatre for nature documentary Antarctica, listening to Benedict Cumberbatch’s narration on our headphones.

But it’s the Key To Dreams show that closes the park that’s our favourite, with its spectacular projections, lasers and 3D water effects.

Oscar’s mouth drops open once again as his bright-blue burger, £14, spirals down the rollercoaster tracks covering the ceiling and lands at our table.

We’re dining at Space Loop restaurant – advance booking is essential – where my pork mignon, £14.50, also arrives amazingly intact and we dive into meringue tart, £7, and candy-floss-topped sorbet, £3.50, for pud.

Just over the road is Hôtel Ecolodgee and our lakeside lodge.

Come morning, a basket with pastries, yoghurts, breads and juice is delivered to our door, and we arrive at neighbouring Aquascope for 9am to beat the crowds.

Each of the eight large indoor slides has its own theme – from sudden drops and light shows to the mega-twisty Spiral.

One of the most fun is Alien, where we’re flushed down a chute in a double ring, racing against another pair.

We also meet octopus Kraki, the star of Europe’s first aquatic cinema, before floating down a glowing lazy river.

Looking for a theme park that’s out of this world? This is it.

Stays for four at Hôtel Ecolodgee with two-day access to Futuroscope plus Aquascope tickets cost from £431 (Futuroscope.com).

Paultons Park, England

Our pick on home soil gets better each year, says Lifestyle Editor Catherine Bennion-Pedley.

This place is consistently voted the UK’s fave theme park for good reason, and fun new zone Valgard: Realm Of The Vikings opened in May.

Climbing vertically up 75ft to then plunge down a 95-degree drop and be whizzed upside down makes Drakon the standout.

And while smart people pack budget-friendly picnics, the Feasting Hall does serve scrumptious chicken burgers, £11.95.

The best thing about Paultons is that an average-height seven year old can go on all the rides, and only a couple rule five year olds out.

We adore flying through the air on Flight Of The Pterosaur, hurtling backwards on Velociraptor and racing down Buffalo Falls in inflatable boats.

There’s also Peppa Pig World and a mini zoo with lemurs and flamingoes.

Close by is thatched gastropub The Potter’s Heron. Recently given a serious glow-up, it’s deceivingly huge and has a lively bar.

Bedrooms are decked out in rich colours and prints, bathrooms have rainfall showers and Bramley toiletries, and a Roberts Radio, coffee machine and home-made treats complete the package.

At dinner, highlights are a prawn and crayfish cocktail with paprika and lime mayo, £9.95, and signature pistachio soufflé, £8.95.

The kids’ chicken roulade stuffed with ham and gruyère, £7, is also a hit.

The next day, the Full English sets us up nicely for exploring the New Forest before our easy drive home.

Paultons Park day tickets cost from £43 per person over a metre tall (Paultonspark.co.uk). Family rooms at The Potter’s Heron cost from £199 per night (Pottersheronampfield.com).

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Arizona, Colorado and Nevada will see reductions in their water deliveries from the Colorado River by a combined 1.25 million acre-feet per year under a new framework finalized by federal officials on Friday.

Under the new 10-year “Decision Framework” governing the operations of the drought-afflicted Lake Mead and Lake Powell reservoirs along the Colorado River Basin, Arizona implements the largest reduction in deliveries of river water — some 760,000-acre-feet in each of the next two years.

Meanwhile, California will be hit with yearly reductions of 440,000 acre-feet and Nevada would see 50,000 acre-foot declines as state and federal officials grapple with a prolonged drought during which the two reservoirs have reached their lowest-ever recorded levels.

One acre-foot is enough water for as many as four households to use for a whole year.

The cuts represent the largest ever proposed for the three “Lower Basin” states.

The combined contents of Lake Powell and Lake Mead have not been this low since before Lake Powell began filling following the closure of the gates at Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum noted in announcing the new framework.

“We are grateful for the seven basin states, the thirty basin tribes, Mexico, and many other basin stakeholders who have provided the feedback and voluntary arrangements necessary for the development of the 2027-2028 operating guidelines.” he said.

“Forty million people, millions of acres of farmland and ranchland, industries that power the American West, and some of our nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas depend on the Colorado River.”

In addition to the reduction in water deliveries, the framework allows for the three Lower Basin States to voluntarily conserve and store at least 700,000 acre-feet of water over the two-year period to protect the system.

The Colorado River Basin has been experiencing what federal officials have called an “unprecedented multidecadal drought,” resulting in historically low runoff and reservoir levels.

Conditions worsened during 2026, driven in part by the lowest observed snowpack on record during the winter of 2025-2026.

China is set to launch its Chang’e-7 unmanned, robotic space mission, possibly as early as Monday morning, to look for ice water in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon’s south pole.

This marks China’s seventh and most ambitious moon mission so far. Here is what we know about it.

What do we know about Chang’e-7?

The Chang’e‑7 launch window runs from Monday, August 24 to Monday, August 31, according to launch observers. That means the mission could lift off on any day in that period.

The Chang’e-7 comprises an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a hopper.

• The orbiter is the main spacecraft which will remain in the moon’s orbit, mapping the surface and taking images while the mission is under way. It will also relay data and communications between the other Chang’e‑7 components and Earth.
• The lander is the vessel that will touch down on the lunar surface, loaded with the necessary scientific instruments for lunar exploration, near the edge of the Shackleton Crater, a 21km-wide (13-mile-wide) pit close to the moon’s south pole. Lunar missions before this have never come this close to the pole.
• The rover is a small robotic vehicle which can drive around the landing site and which carries equipment to analyse the local environment, including rocks and soil.
• The hopper is a small robotic craft powered by solar energy, designed to “hop” – or fly – short distances from the surface of the moon and land again. It will be used to explore the Shackleton Crater.

How do we know there is water on the moon?

Over the past two decades, several space missions have established that there is water on the moon.

Since the 1960s, even before the first Apollo landing in 1969, scientists speculated that water could exist on the moon. However, when Apollo crews returned samples for testing in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they appeared to be dry.

Finally, in 2009, NASA deliberately crashed a rocket segment and its probe into a shadowed lunar crater to analyse the dust plume it kicked up. This provided one of the clearest direct confirmations that significant ice water does exist on the moon, building on earlier detections of water and hydrogen by probes.

In October 2020, NASA scientists announced that water on the moon is more widespread than previously known. They said water molecules had been found to be encapsulated within mineral grains on the lunar surface and speculated that more water is hidden in ice patches which are in permanent shadows.

NASA describes these permanent shadows as dark areas inside deep craters near the north and south poles of the moon where sunlight has not reached for millions or even billions of years. In 2018, prior to confirming it in 2020, NASA had detected water ice in shadowed parts of the moon through mapping.

Why is it important to find out more about the water on the moon?

Expanding knowledge about water on the moon is vital because ancient polar ice may have preserved a record of lunar volcanic activity and of water delivered by comets and asteroids to the Earth-moon system, offering clues to how our own oceans originally formed.

Additionally, if there is enough water on the moon that is realistically accessible, it could serve as a source of drinking water for crewed lunar missions, and could also help to keep equipment cool.

Hydrogen could also be extracted from moon water to provide fuel, while oxygen could be extracted to breathe, supporting onward missions to Mars or lunar mining.

Could anyone ‘own’ the water on the moon?

The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty bans any nation from claiming sovereignty over the moon or owning it as territory. It does not explicitly prohibit commercial operations, but it requires private activities in space to be authorised and supervised by states and leaves key questions about resource ownership unresolved.

Which recent space missions have searched for frozen water on the moon?

In 2023, Russia’s lunar spacecraft, Luna-25, was launched to look for frozen water in the moon’s south pole. However, the Luna-25 spun out of control and crashed. The crash prevented any scientific data collection or water discovery.

Racing against the Luna-25 mission was India’s Chandrayaan-3, which also aimed to expand knowledge of lunar water ice. Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed in August 2023 and found critical new evidence of water on the surface of the moon’s south pole through soil temperature readings.

Why is exploring the moon’s south pole a challenge?

Attempted landings at the moon’s south pole have failed before because of its challenging terrain, which is full of craters and deep trenches.

The south pole is far from the equatorial region targeted by previous missions, including the crewed Apollo landings.

What is different about the Chang’e-7 mission?

The upcoming Chang’e-7 is aiming to expand knowledge about where, exactly, water is located in the craters of the moon, how deep it is, what form it is in and whether it is indeed possible to access it.

The Chang’e-7’s six-legged hopper has been designed to jump into and out of the deep, shadowed craters near the south pole that are hard for traditional rovers to reach, to look for water ice and other resources.

No previous space mission has used a dedicated hopper to jump in and out of lunar craters in this way.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — The Panama government blamed low rainfall caused by El Niño for a decision to cut the number of vessels permitted to transit the 51-mile-long Panama Canal by more than 11%, despite being in the middle of the wet season.

Shipping lines were notified by the Panama Canal Authority on Thursday that as of Sept. 15, it was slashing the number of daily ship movements through the canal from 36 to 32 to ensure there was no disruption to traffic and to conserve water for human consumption.

The authority said the step was necessary “to support the long-term sustainability of transit operations,” even though it had already implemented other water-saving measures and the rainy season had finally arrived.

With the sea-warning El Niño weather cycle expected to be one of the most intense on record, Britain’s Met Office said Central America, along with tropical South America and countries in the western Pacific, was at significant risk of low rainfall in this year’s wet season.

With vessels already lining up to transit the canal, in some cases for weeks, fears were growing of a knock on impact from the delays and extra costs on goods prices, including fuel and medicine.

One container ship reportedly paid $4 million to jump to the front of the line.

San Francisco-based freight-forwarding firm Flexport, which had 30 containers on the ship, told CNN that the delays at the Pacific end were the longest in three months, when there was significant backlog due to a surge in demand from maritime traffic displaced by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The ripple effects are significant through supply chains and all the way to consumer prices at stores,” said Benjamin Gedan, senior fellow and director of the Latin American program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

The canal relies on fresh water from Lake Gatun to feed 12 sets of locks that use water compartments to move vessels up or down as they navigate the topography of the Panama Isthmus.

Extreme drought during El Niños in 2023 and 2024, forced Panama to impose deep cuts in the number of ships transiting daily — 24 compared with 36 in normal times — after water levels in Lake Gatun retreated to historic lows.

Out on a wooden platform extending over San Diego’s Mission Bay, young women sway from side to side, riding an imaginary wave to the beats. Steps away, a man does the “Crank Dat” dance as a young child bounces on his shoulders in gleeful entrancement. Vendors weave through the packed crowd hawking cans of beer, hard seltzer and jalapeño-tequila and cherry vodka Jell-O shots, served in plastic syringes.

“Take a sip of water now,” Soulja Boy tells the crowd after performing his booty-shaking anthem “Donk.” He still has an hour to go.

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Much of the audience looks like clones of the star rapper, dressed in extremely oversized white tees, baggy denim, thick gold chains, tilted snapbacks and white-framed sunglasses with words written across the lenses. As the sun dips below the horizon, a fleet of onlookers on jet skis and boats idle on the water to catch a peek of the vivacious scene.

The concert has all of the energy of a 2000s MTV “Spring Break” or BET Spring Bling special. Except here, parents can bring their kids along for the festivities and check out a penguin exhibit or ride a roller coaster all in the same night.

“Usually I just come here for the rides and watching animals, but the concert is time for the parents to have fun,” says Ricky Roman of San Diego.

It’s all part of SeaWorld San Diego’s Summer Spectacular, an annual concert series that just wrapped up at the park’s Bayside Amphitheater. The lineup was packed with beloved hip-hop and R&B throwback artists like Too $hort, Ginuwine, Ashanti, Warren G and E-40. What began as a way to reintroduce locals and entice newcomers to the 62-year-old marine park, which is known for its shows and programming focusing on aquatic life, has turned into a multigenerational phenomenon and one of the season’s most anticipated events.

Paul Wall co-headlined a July concert with Soulja Boy at SeaWorld San Diego’s summer concert series.

“The people watching is crazy,” says Bootleg Kev, a hip-hop radio personality who hosted the recent Soulja Boy concert, which was co-headlined by Houston rapper Paul Wall.

He describes the vibe of the event. “It’s in the middle of the water, Shamu is like feet away. There’s a lot of parents in here getting twisted. There’s hella babies.” (It should be noted that Summer Spectacular does not feature killer whales or any live animals.)

Though SeaWorld has hosted the event since 2019, it’s taken years to find the right formula and the concert series has only recently taken off.

“There were certain acts that just filled the house and certain ones that didn’t,” says the park’s president, Tyler Carter, adding that early performances swung drastically from hip-hop to Christian rock entertainers. But after hosting a successful show with rappers and teen sensations Bow Wow and Soulja Boy (who’ve performed at SeaWorld multiple times), Carter and his team wondered, “How do we lean into the nostalgia that Southern California millennials love?” he says. The answer was hip-hop, R&B and pop acts from the late 1990s and early aughts.

Their hypothesis was confirmed when footage of a Ying Yang Twins performance went viral in 2025. Executives had found an unexpected pairing that works: Inviting people to the theme park — a place many associate with childhood and simpler times — to experience the music they grew up listening to.

SeaWorld has faced a number of challenges since the 2010s, many stemming from the intense public criticism over its captive orca breeding program, which the company ended in 2016. SeaWorld’s parent company, United Parks & Resorts, has reported a general decline in attendance, revenue and earnings across its parks, most recently in the 2025 fiscal year. Park officials say the concert series, which also takes place at SeaWorld’s Orlando and San Antonio locations, has helped boost ticket sales and brand awareness.

What helps make the event effective is its lower barrier of entry. While tickets to throwback concerts or festivals can easily cost upward of $100 a ticket, SeaWorld’s shows are included with a regular park ticket (starts at $99.99) or an annual pass. Seating is first come, first served, but guests can purchase a reserved spot to guarantee a prime spot. Given that the shows happen every week throughout the summer, many annual pass holders attend each one.

“It’s lowkey a free concert,” says pass holder Juanita Jones, a San Diego resident who was wearing a custom graphic tee with her and Soulja Boy’s faces imprinted on it. She and her friends get a personalized shirt made for every show.

Although SeaWorld has been hosting the summer shows since 2019, they have only recently taken off.

Ricky Roman grew up going to SeaWorld and now takes his two children to the park on a weekly basis. But on this day, which was also his 29th birthday, he decided to leave his kids at home.

“Usually I just come here for the rides and watching animals, but the concert is time for the parents to have fun,” he says.

Jackson flew in from Washington, D.C., with a group of college friends to celebrate a 40th birthday at the show, after seeing several unfiltered videos from the past shows — most notably a clip of a mother twerking on a bleacher seat with a baby strapped to her chest in a carrier during a Ying Yang Twins performance in June.

SeaWorld executives encourage attendees to come early or stay after the concert to check out the many animal exhibits at the marine park.

“We’re millennials and we’ve been seeing this on TikTok. We were like, ‘It’s starting to look like it’s getting out of hand. Let’s go before this gets out of control,’” she says, laughing.

While some people go solely for the concerts, others come early or stay late to explore the park, which stays open roughly two to three hours after the show. Even the headliners check out the marine life, Carter says.

“When the Ying Yang Twins were here, I was riding rollercoasters with them,” he says. “I ended up taking Baby Bash’s kids around during sound check and we rode Shipwreck Rapids three times in a row and were soaking wet, having a blast.”

While the concerts have been mostly welcomed by locals, outside protests still occasionally find their way to the amphitheater. During Ashanti’s July performance, PETA activists sailed a 49-foot yacht displaying a “SeaWorld Kills” banner in protest of animal welfare at the park and Miami rapper Trina received letters regarding her performance last year.

SeaWorld officials, however, encourage critics to check it out for themselves.

“Our animal care team does an incredible job caring for these animals,” says Carter, noting that the park performs “significant amounts of rescues” per year.

Carter and Jackie Plaza, the park’s vice president of marketing, are already planning for next season’s lineup that will be announced in January. In the meantime, SeaWorld fans can check out its other music programming including the Bayside Bands, Brew & BBQ concerts, which feature performances from Uncle Kracker on Aug. 22 and Skillet on Aug. 29.

As attendees make their way out of the venue, excitement lingers through the air. Groups of friends are still singing the words to their favorite Soulja Boy songs and parents are strapping their antsy toddlers into strollers. A lengthy line begins to form in front of the amphitheater where an orca show will happen.

“That was wild,” one guest says.

A friend agrees. “Now, let’s go see some animals.”

Audience members are splashed during an “Orca Encounter” live presentation at SeaWorld San Diego.

A NEW Therme resort is under construction in the UK and is making huge strides towards opening.

Therme Manchester is set to be complete by 2028 and will have everything from huge swimming pools, waterslides and even beaches.

The Therme Group has announced that they have reached their first milestone of 12 tower cranes being built.

It said the progress marked “the start of an exciting new phase of construction for Therme Manchester“.

On social media it continued: “Over the coming months, these cranes will play a key role in bringing our vision to life. Creating an amazing destination where wellbeing, relaxation and fun come together.

“This is just the beginning. Stay tuned as we continue to build something extraordinary!”

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One excited person commented: “Wow!!! Can’t wait!! We are watching the process everyday when we pass.”

Another added: “Can’t wait, no more going to Germany to the amazing spa.”

The Therme Group also announced it would be teaming up with Marriott International.

In terms of booking, Marriott Bonvoy members will be offered exclusive travel and lodging packages linked directly to Therme destinations – which when it opens will include Manchester.

The £500m resort will be set across 28 acres making it the “largest water-based wellbeing destination in Europe.”

Inside the resort, visitors can expect a large-scale waterpark with more than 25 waterslides as well as a wave pool.

It will be heated to 33C and will have lots of spa and wellness facilities that will be split into three distinct zones called Play, Relax and Restore.

The Play zone will focus on ‘next-generation’ water fun, as well as a a warm water pool, steam rooms, saunas as well as lounging and family dining experiences.

This zone will also have an outdoor beach.

In the Relax zone – which will be adults-only – there will be a “focus on premium wellbeing experiences” as well as indoor and outdoor pools, waterfall showers, mineral baths, steam rooms, saunas and casual dining.

Finally, in the Restore Zone – the second adults-only area – there will be “industry leading health, nutrition and wellbeing therapies”, “sauna rituals”, experience showers, wellbeing consultations and dining.

Therme Manchester is set to become “UK’s largest paid-for tourist attraction” and see just over three million people each year.

This will be the first Therme site in the UK, joining one in Erding, Germany and one in Bucharest, Romania.

Aug. 16 (UPI) — Lake Powell, a vital man-made water reservoir on the Colorado River, has fallen to its lowest level on record as the U.S. West endures a severe, long-lasting drought, official statistics show.

The lake’s levels fell to 3519.91 feet on Saturday — low enough to break the record of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, according to a reading published Sunday by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Federal officials say the effects of long-term drought had reduced Colorado River Basin system storage to about 36% of capacity as of April. This was due to a combination of the lowest snowpack on record last winter and record-breaking heat in March, which intensified drought conditions across the river basin.

The situation has set off widespread concerns over elevated risks to the essential water and power infrastructure that supplies more than 40 million people across the West.

The lake, which spans Utah and Arizona, is a reservoir created by the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz.

The Bureau of Reclamation in April predicted Lake Powell’s water year minimum probable inflow at just 2.78 million acre-feet — only 29% of historical average and one of the lowest on record.

It also warned lake could decline to below 3,490 feet — the minimum power pool level — by this summer without major intervention.

If Glen Canyon Dam declines below that level, water releases would be restricted, creating “uncertainty for users, downstream impacts, instability in regional power and water supplies, and a reduction in power generation.”

Another vital reservoir in the Colorado River Basin, Lake Mead, is also currently at its lowest level since it was created in the 1930s.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of the Interior remain “committed to reducing the collective risk of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead falling below critical elevations to protect critical infrastructure to continue to meet the water and hydropower needs of the basin,” a spokesman told CNN on Sunday.

The Russian River was running low and slowly. A few miles outside Guerneville at Steelhead Beach, several men stepped into the water, laden with flotation devices. A duck, a flamingo, a unicorn …

“Don’t you know?” asked Anna Deurloo, standing by me on the shore. “It’s Lazy Bear Week! That’s why the river is full of bears: big hairy men with beards. And Speedos.”

Deurloo, who lives in Guerneville, had made glittery bandannas for her crew of bears to wear at the annual celebration. Out on the water, Joe Souza of Long Beach adjusted his blinged-out headgear, hollering that he’d been coming to Guerneville every summer for more than 20 years.

“It’s a nice place to meet our friends from all over the country,” Souza said, “and get tricked into this river.”

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1. Steelhead Beach is a popular starting place for warm-weather floats down the Russian River. 2. Families play in the Russian River near Johnson’s Beach. 3. The view from Korbel Winery includes vineyards and forest along the Russian River. (Photographs by Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

When the weather is warm, the Russian River draws dawdlers of all kinds, including LGBTQ+ vacationers, longtime locals and Bay Area families. On summer weekends, thousands show up in Guerneville with kayaks, canoes, inner tubes — just about anything that will float, preferably with a cooler attached. Then they spend hours gliding downstream past scenery that might as well be a Northern California highlight reel: vineyards, redwood forests and eventually a beach scene full of driftwood and sea stacks.

They know that time is of the essence. Many places on the river in and around Guerneville shut down November through early May because it gets cold and rainy and the river can run high and fast.

But for now through early October, with little rain and seasonal dams controlling the water’s flow, this might be California’s laziest river.

Still, for plenty of Californians, including me, this corner of Sonoma County is little-known territory. I’ve just gotten my first good look at the area, which is about 85 miles north of San Francisco, and I’m glad I arrived when I did.

For years, as Sonoma County’s wine country has grown ever more pricey and elegant, the communities of the lower Russian River have clung to their rustic, quirky and more affordable ways, in part because of the area’s vulnerability to changing seasons.

But the riverside scene is evolving. Since the pandemic, several new or revamped lodgings have boosted glamping and other upscale elements in a territory once better known for old cabins. At privately owned Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville, where parking was free in the old days, the fee is up to $10 a day. In the Johnson’s Beach lodgings, long known for summer-camp vibes, some rooms now come equipped with luxury linens and a French press. On the menu at the River Electric, there’s a “high-low dog” — a hot dog with black caviar — for $40. In other words, the lower Russian River is edging up-market.

“There’s a lot more new blood up here. A lot of new people in the last five years,” said Robert Baba, who runs Ideal Hardware in Forestville.

“Prices are going up and hotels are getting more posh,” said Michael Rex, owner of Guerneville’s Russian River Bookstore. But still, he said, “there’s a lot to do here where you don’t have to spend a dime.”

Here’s what I found in four days as a Russian River rookie.

River guide Keith Chandler prepares to kayak at the Russian River estuary at Jenner on the Sonoma County coast.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Forestville: Stepping into the river

If you want to imagine time standing still, start at Burke’s Canoe Trips, which has been renting canoes and kayaks for decades. At Burke’s, which sits at the edge of Forestville (population: about 3,300), most customers rent a watercraft ($95 per canoe, $60 per kayak) before noon, drift 10 miles down river to Guerneville, then catch a Burke’s bus back to where they began.

The river water is shallow, often 3 to 5 feet deep. The beaches are pebbly. The redwood groves begin within stone-skipping distance of the Burke’s property and follow the river downstream. Drinking water and sunblock are vital. Sightings of blue heron, egrets and river otters are common. (Burke’s also has camping with hot showers and fire rings, at $20 per person per night.)

Canoes await paddlers at Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville along the Russian River.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

A cat sleeps alongside a Jesus statue and beach gear at Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville along the Russian River.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

“People know that no matter how the world is doing, when they come to the river, it’s going to be like it used to be,” said Linda Burke, second-generation owner of the business.

“It could be 1946 when you’re paddling,” said Ted Schroeder, longtime manager at Burke’s.

But even at Burke’s, things change: Demand is up for kayaks, down for the metal canoes, which are heavier.

Along Front Street, Forestville’s tiny commercial core, you could get a corn dog for $3.30 at Carr’s Drive-Inn, which looks like a time capsule from 1979. Or you could get some wood-fired pizza on the big, bright patio of Sonoma Pizza Co., which opened in 2022; or maybe a cup of organic ice cream at Angela’s (since 2023).

If you want to go luxe, you can eat or sleep at the Farmhouse Inn, a 6-acre property on River Road that includes 18 rooms and cottages, a pool and some spa services amid lushly landscaped grounds. Its restaurant occupies an 1873 farmhouse. (Nightly rates start around $440.)

For a lot of people, however, Forestville is just a place to slip into the lazy river — often at Steelhead Beach, half a mile downriver from Burke’s.

Glamping tents are a central part of Dawn Ranch, near the Russian River in Guerneville, Calif.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

As glampers arrive, Guerneville gets fancier

Guerneville (population: about 4,500) is the hub of human activity on the Lower Russian River. River Road becomes Main Street there, and in summer its shops and restaurants buzz with people. Riverfront recreation at Johnson’s Beach is a block away. A network of redwood forest trails awaits 2 miles up the road in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve.

Be warned, however, that on weekends, Guerneville is often short on parking. Consider parking for the day ($10) in the big dirt lot at Johnson’s Beach, which has food, drinks, rental kayaks, canoes and inner tubes, campsites, historic bungalows, modern tiny cabins, canvas cabanas and a four-bedroom lodge. There are about 35 units in all, open mid-April through October. (The bare campsites start at $55, historic bungalows at $165.)

“It’s a lazy river and walkable to town, so we can camp and eat at restaurants,” said Kim Loda of Oakland as her son, Axel, 10, showed off his juggling skills near the Johnson’s Beach snack bar. “I don’t know why my family didn’t bring me here growing up.”

The River Electric, a resort along the Russian River in Guerneville, Calif., includes glamping tents.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Guerneville grew up as a 19th century logging settlement, prospered as a weekend getaway for San Franciscans arriving by ferry and train in the 1920s, slumped in the ‘30s and suffered extensive flooding in the 1960s. It entered a new chapter in the late 1970s, when a handful of gay entrepreneurs began buying up and revamping rustic resorts and bars.

First, in 1978, was a riverside getaway called Fife’s. Another early gay-owned venture was the Rainbow Cattle Company bar, still in business on River Road, a.k.a. Main Street. (Every week on Give Back Tuesday, the bar stages raffles, offers $5 dinners and earmarks 10% of revenue for charities.)

When the 1980s and 1990s arrived, Guerneville suffered deeply — from the AIDS epidemic and from repeated floods.

Nimble & Finn’s sells ice cream inside the Guerneville Bank Club building in Guerneville, Calif.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Yet a generation later, the community has gained ground.

Since 2008, entrepreneur Crista Luedtke has built a series of businesses, including Boon Eat+Drink and Boon Hotel+Spa. The Guerneville Social Club, “Russian River’s First Queer-Owned Social Club,” is due to open with a restaurant, bar and shop in 2027. Lazy Bear gatherings have been staged every July since 1996 by the nonprofit Lazy Bear Fund to raise money toward LGBTQ+ community health. There’s also a Russian River Pride parade Sept. 19.

Cars park along Main Street on July 30 in Guerneville.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Timing my visit to avoid weekend crowds, I ate a dinner of chicken in tasty mole negro at Three Cultures Kitchen, which opened last year. I got ice cream at Nimble & Finn’s, lunch at Coffee Bazaar and a $15 sandwich to go at the Korbel Winery, which offers a deli, tasting room, wine shop and free tours at its scenic site about 3 miles west of Guerneville. I also browsed at Russian River Books & Letters.

“I ended up here because of the pandemic. It just went on and on, so I decided to open the bookstore,” said bookshop owner Michael Rex. Since that time, Rex said, he’s seen a growing number of remote workers.

Most notable among the new and renovated Guerneville resorts: Dawn Ranch and the River Electric, both with a glamping focus, both with docks on the river.

Dawn Ranch, dramatically upgraded in 2023, is a 22-acre, all-ages property that once held the Fife’s resort. The verdant grounds feature 86 cabins, cottages, chalets and glamping tents (open year-round) that share bathrooms and showers. There’s an upstairs restaurant, spa services, a pool and boathouse bar, along with a dock and private beach at the end of the short trail that feels like a secret path.

The tents, which start at about $300 nightly, have furniture, electricity and Wi-Fi, but if you show up on a 93-degree afternoon, as I did, your un-air-conditioned tent will be about the same temperature. That’s when it’s time to jump in the pool or river.

The Russian River runs past a dock at Dawn Ranch in Guerneville, Calif.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

The River Electric is sited on long-idle, flood-prone 12-acre expanse of riverside land that old-timers remember as the site of J’s Amusement Park in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. In 2025, the current owners unveiled a newfangled resort with a restaurant, two pools (one of them round) and 46 furnished, electrified tent units, which start at about $260 nightly.

The resort stays open until Oct. 31. Then, by design, most of the resort will be carted away or submerged when the river rises.

“Everything except the concrete, we take off-site, Which is wild,” said River Electric’s Jessica Baker, who gave me a tour. The resort also sells day passes for $38 and hosts many weddings and special events.

Yet another glamping option is Guerneville’s Autocamp Sonoma, which opened in 2016. It doesn’t have river frontage, but it includes 25 Airstream trailers and 10 glamping tents in the shadow of a redwood grove.

Stand-up paddle-boarders are common at the Russian River estuary, next to Jenner on the Sonoma County coast.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

This is how the river ends: with roaring wind on an empty beach

Heading west from Guerneville, you roll through Monte Rio, seeing more redwoods, cabins and glimpses of river.

You might spot the 11-room Inn on the Russian River, a recently upgraded property whose riverside perch includes a private dock and summer rates of roughly $260 to $430 nightly.

Kayakers often come across harbor seals in the Russian River estuary at Jenner on the Sonoma County coast.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

What you’ll need to imagine is the Bohemian Grove, which hides in the nearby forest, serving as a haven for the rich, powerful, famous and all-male members of the Bohemian Club since the 19th century.

Gathering every July at that 2,700-acre compound, club members, who have included Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and Bob Weir, are said to stage a ritual “cremation of care,” burning an effigy of “care” in front of a 40-foot owl statue. (Suddenly, Burning Man seems a little less original.)

Anyway, a casual tuber or kayaker can’t float all the way to the Pacific from Forestville. (Obstacles include seasonal dams at Johnson’s Beach and Vacation Beach.) But if you drive the river road past Monte Rio and the historic but touristy shops at Duncans Mills, you reach the coastal hamlet of Jenner. That’s where the water flows into the Pacific, where the Russian River goes from mild (in summer) to wild.

To see the converging waters and feel the roaring wind, you can drive to Goat Rock Road and Goat Rock Beach. Or you could stop for a snack at Cafe Aquatica, whose patio fronts the water’s edge.

Or you could do both, followed by a night at River’s End, where a restaurant and five woodsy guest rooms enjoy sweeping views of the river, sea and sea stacks.

Kayakers paddle through sunset on the Russian River estuary, which looks out at the sea and sea stacks near Jenner.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

I did that. And on my last morning along the river, I got up early and met Keith Chandler of Jenner-based Watertreks Ecotours at water’s edge. Then we paddled around the estuary on a pre-breakfast kayak tour.

“I never get tired of this,” Chandler told me.

Some tours go out by night, focusing on bioluminescent plankton. We skirted Penny Island, where native Pomo people lived and farmed for generations before immigrants from Europe arrived. In fact, Chandler’s boss, Suki Waters, is part Pomo. Jenner might be small, but river, sea, natives and newcomers all converge there.

For a good chunk of this morning, however, there was just two of us in a kayak, sidling up to egrets, cormorants and harbor seals, watching pelicans glide in formation over the long, empty beach where the Russian River ends.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Police in Jharkhand, India used tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators who were demanding investigations into recruitment for government jobs on Monday.

Thousands of protesters were met with police wielding batons as they marched to the state legislature building. Protesters pushed past some police barricades and there were injuries on both sides.

The protest was sparked by allegations of irregularities in recruitment drives for government jobs. Protesters called for India’s Central Bureau of Investigations to probe the allegations.

Young adults in Jharkhand, the poorest state in India, have taken to the streets in an outcry over allegations that they are not being given a fair chance to compete for highly coveted government roles.

Demonstrators say there have been grading errors and financial irregularities in recruitment exams. They have also called for the cancellation of three recruitment exams, which the Jharkhand government agreed to on Sunday.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a political party in the state, also agreed to speed up the investigations that demonstrators asked for.

Government jobs are highly sought after in India. Recruitment for job listings can result in hundreds of thousands of applications for 500 to around 2,000 openings.

One recruitment push for 2,025 jobs received about 640,000 applications. Another drive for 510 jobs received 322,000 applications.

In May, India scrapped the results of its medical college-entrance exam, a test that requires students to spend years studying. The exam was scrapped after its question papers were leaked, which has happened multiple times throughout the country.

In July, protests erupted in the capital city New Delhi with demonstrators marching on Parliament and calling for the resignation of India’s top education chief. Law enforcement activity heightened as a result, leading to allegations of police brutality.

AFTER spending years working in travel, I’ve realised some of Europe’s best purpose-built family resorts are the ones you’ve probably never even heard of.

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the classics, I’ve found stacks of alternative resorts that deliver everything families love about those hot spots – but they are a lot quieter, and a fraction of the price.

Think wide beaches, shallow water, proper family hotels, and massive waterparks – just without the overwhelming crowds or the inflated peak-summer price tag.

So, I’ve narrowed it down to eight resorts that hit all the non-negotiables for parents: short UK flights, quick airport transfers, walkable beaches, and stress-free dining with toddlers in tow.

8. Petrovac, Montenegro

If you want to try something genuinely different without sacrificing convenience, Petrovac is a proper hidden gem.

Tucked along Montenegro’s coast, it’s practically built for families with young kids.

The whole resort centres around a calm, horseshoe-shaped bay protected by small offshore islands that keep the sea remarkably still and safe for paddling.

There’s a completely pedestrianised, traffic-free promenade where kids can run around freely while you finish dinner, lined with casual, welcoming tavernas where children are treated like royalty.

Tivat Airport sits just 40 minutes down the coast, meaning you aren’t subjecting tired kids to a massive transfer coach journey after landing.

I found seven nights at the four-star Hotel Rivijera from £568pp, based on a family of four flying direct from London Gatwick on August 22 on a bed and breakfast basis.

Montenegro deal

Hotel Rivijera, Petrovac

• Seven nights
• Gatwick flights
• Bed and breakfast

From £568pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

7. Cala’n Bosch, Menorca

Menorca is the undisputed king of low-stress family travel, but Cala’n Bosch is the specific resort I recommend time and time again.

Everything revolves around a central marina packed with seafood spots and ice cream parlours, where children can watch the boats coming and going while you enjoy a relaxed meal.

The beaches are sheltered, slope very gently, and stay shallow for ages, making them ideal for little swimmers.

Plus, the whole resort is exceptionally compact and flat, so you can easily walk everywhere without ever needing a hire car or bus.

You’ve got Aquarock Waterpark right in the centre of the resort for a change of scenery, and Mahón Airport is under 45 minutes away.

A family of four can bag seven nights at Club Ciudadela from £493pp, with flights from Manchester on August 25 on a self-catering basis.

Menorca deal

Club Ciudadela, Cala’n Bosch

• Seven nights
• Manchester flights
• Self catered

From £493pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

6. Nessebar, Bulgaria

Most people looking at Bulgaria default straight to Sunny Beach.

But just ten minutes down the coast sits Nessebar – a historic, UNESCO-listed town that delivers the exact same value with a much calmer atmosphere for parents.

It serves up the best of both worlds: a charming, stone-paved old town packed with ice cream parlours and bakeries, flanked by long, wide stretches of soft, golden sand that slopes gently into the sea.

It gives families that proper, classic beach holiday feeling, but with dirt-cheap dining and a far less chaotic night-time vibe than its noisy neighbor.

Burgas Airport is a breeze at just 25 minutes away, and Aqua Paradise – one of Eastern Europe’s biggest waterparks – is right on your doorstep too.

There were plenty of hotels to choose from, but in terms of value, I couldn’t get away from this one: seven nights all-inclusive at the Sol Nessebar Resort from just £675pp, based on a family of four flying from Manchester on August 25.

Bulgaria deal

Sol Nessebar Resort, Nessebar

• Seven nights
• Manchester flights
• All inclusive

From £675pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

5. Gouves, Crete

Gouves is one of those places families stumble across by accident and then end up booking for five years straight.

Sitting just 15 minutes from Heraklion Airport, it delivers one of the shortest transfers anywhere in the Greek islands – a total lifesaver after a four-hour flight with young kids.

Trust me, I know this one from experience.

The resort layout is super-relaxed, with flat, quiet roads lined with family-run tavernas and mini-marts, alongside sheltered sea walls that break up the waves and create pancake-flat, shallow swimming lagoons.

For easy day trips, you’ve got Dinosauria Park and Watercity Waterpark all sitting less than a 10-minute drive down the road.

And the best part is the price, because I managed to find seven nights with breakfast at the Despo Hotel from £398pp, with direct flights for a family of four from London Gatwick on August 25.

Crete deal

Despo Hotel, Gouves

• Seven nights
• Gatwick flights
• Bed and Breakfast

From £398pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

4. Tigaki, Kos

Kos often gets overshadowed by Crete and Rhodes, but Tigaki deserves way more attention for families with buggies and toddlers.

The sand beach stretches uninterrupted for miles and the water stays waist-deep forever.

The entire resort is completely flat making it an absolute dream for pushchairs, scooters, and little legs that get tired quickly.

It has that quintessential, laid-back Greek island charm where parents can relax while the kids play safely on the sand right in front of the taverna tables.

Kos Airport is barely 20 minutes away, and the massive Lido Water Park is right down the road when you want a break from the ocean.

For just £580pp, I found seven nights all-inclusive for a family of four at Hotel K Ilios and Farming, flying direct from London Gatwick on August 19.

Kos deal

Hitel K Ilios and Farming, Tigaki

• Seven nights
• Gatwick flights
• All inclusive

From £580pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

3. Cala Millor, Majorca

Cala Millor on Majorca’s east coast is the ultimate substitute for a stress-free Spanish break.

It’s home to an enormous, Blue Flag sandy bay with crystal-clear, shallow water, backed by a massive, palm-shaded pedestrian promenade lined with wooden playgrounds, shaded cafes, and flat cycling paths.

It’s made for effortless family days out, giving you all the incredible facilities, beach games, and amenities of the island’s famous mega-resorts, but with a much more relaxed, authentic island feel.

Palma Airport is also around an hour’s transfer.

It’s a little further than other resorts, but all via the main highway, making it a stress-free, fairly straight drive.

And I’ve picked out seven nights at the four-star Garbi Cala Millor from £548pp, based on a family of four flying direct from Gatwick on August 20 and staying half board.

Majorca deal

Hotel Garbi Cala Millor

• Seven nights
• Gatwick flights
• Half board

From £548pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

2. Porec, Croatia

If you fancy trading standard package resorts for quaint old towns, Porec in Croatia is easily one of the best family bets in Europe.

The centre is completely pedestrianised and packed with waterfront pizzerias and street performers that keep kids mesmerised.

Instead of scorched, open sand, the coastline here is lined with lush, fragrant pine forests that run right down to the clear swimming bays.

This means tons of natural shade so young kids can swim and play all day without getting overheated.

Pula Airport is less than 45 minutes away, and Aquacolors Porec – one of Croatia’s biggest waterparks – is sitting right outside town.

And I found a deal for a family of four, spending seven nights at Hotel Istra Plava Laguna from £513pp, with flights direct from London Luton on August 25 on a half board basis.

Croatia deal

Hotel Istra Plava Laguna, Porec

• Seven nights
• Luton flights
• Half board

From £513pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

1. La Pineda, Spain

If Salou has always appealed for the theme parks and beaches, but you wish the town itself was quieter and easier to navigate with children, La Pineda is an absolute cheat code.

Sitting just five minutes down the Costa Dorada coast, it boasts a massive beach with super-shallow water, backed by a flat, green promenade that’s ideal for pushchairs and evening strolls.

It’s ideal for families who want a chilled base, but still want easy access to world-class attractions.

Reus Airport is an absolute dream at just 15 minutes away, and you’ve got Aquopolis waterpark right inside the resort itself.

There is also PortAventura World theme park that’s a quick 10-minute taxi ride down the road (named one of the best in the world).

I clocked seven nights at Hotel Best Sol D’Or from £473pp, for a family of four departing Birmingham on August 25 on a room-only basis.

Spain deal

Hotel Best Sol D’or, La Pineda

• Seven nights
• Birmingham flights
• Room only

From £473pp. BOOK HERE

If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

Thames Water paid its finance chief a £1m signing-on fee in July as the company struggles with a mountain of debt and faces temporary nationalisation.

Steve Buck joined the company in April 2025 but it is understood the seven-figure payment was not made until last month after the company had taken legal advice over its contractual obligations.

The existence of the payment, first reported by Sky News,, external was revealed in a letter from the Thames Water chairman to MPs on the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

In the letter,, external Sir Adrian Montague said he understood customers would see large payments to senior leaders as “unjust” but argued they were necessary to stop staff leaving.

The letter said: “The majority of the team were brought in recently to fix the problems the company faces and are not responsible for causing those problems.

“These talented and experienced individuals have opportunities for roles outside Thames Water and, in many cases, have been actively approached by other companies.

“These roles would be less in the public gaze, less difficult and more remunerative.”

Sir Adrian described the payment to Buck as a “necessary incentive” and said the money had come from emergency funding provided by Thames Water’s lenders.

He said the company is facing recruitment and retention difficulties and warned the problem would “persist” if it was nationalised or put into special administration.

Alistair Carmichael, Lib Dem MP and chair of the Environment Committee, said: “Money should be going into improving services, not remunerating already well-paid senior executives.

“The government were clear in the early days that they wanted this to stop. It is obvious that they have not succeeded in this. We need to hear now from them about what they intend to do about it.”

The utility company owes roughly £20bn and has been working with creditors and government officials to find a way forward.

Failure to reach a deal could lead to Thames Water being forced into a “special administration regime”, a form of temporary nationalisation intended to keep the business operating until a viable solution can be found.

This would see government-appointed officials temporarily running the company – including funding its operations and upgrading infrastructure as well as dealing with any outstanding debts following a restructuring of the business.

If the company was subsequently sold to a private buyer, the government would be able to recoup some taxpayer cash.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said he would like to see “greater public control” of key water and energy utilities.

In the past year, Thames Water boss Chris Weston saw his pay increase 14% to £1.63m while other directors received bonuses totalling £4.1m.

Speaking on the BBC Big Boss interview late last month, Weston acknowledged there was anger about Thames Water pay, but argued that the company needed to be able attract “capable people to help turn this company around”.

“If we’re not prepared to pay market rates, then they won’t come to us and they won’t stay with us,” he said.

A THEME park in the UK has been forced to close at short notice due to a water outage.

Chessington World of Adventures confirmed that anyone heading to the park will have their tickets “revalidated” for a future visit.

The water outage was reported by Thames Water, which said a burst water main was affecting the KT9 area.

While repairs are underway, the park will be closed for the rest of the day.

Chessington said in a statement: “Due to a water outage in the local area affecting our operations, Chessington is closed today.

“All tickets booked for today will be automatically revalidated under our Return Promise and can be used on a future date.

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“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

Families had already arrived at the park for the day with the park opening at 10am before closing after just one hour.

However, one dad called it “utter shambles” as many were forced to wait outside of the gate.

Another said they had spent “hundreds on an overnight stay and fast passes” before the park closed.

The theme park is one of the most popular in the UK, with around 1.5million visitors a year.

And with the summer holidays in full swing, this is likely to affect thousands of people.

Anyone who had plans to visit the park today has been told not to go.

The Return Promise allows families to visit the theme park on a different day, in the event that the park has to close.

It isn’t the only chaos for Brits going holiday today, with train disruption affecting anyone going to both London Gatwick and London Heathrow airports this morning.

And Catania Airport in Sicily has been forced to suspend flights following a weekend of chaos caused by the eruption of Mount Etna.

Chris Young grew up in Clarksville, Tenn., in the direst imaginable circumstances — unimaginable, in fact, to many of us.

He never knew his father. His mother was a crack addict with a habit of stabbing her romantic partners. While his mom was in prison, Young and his older brother, Robert, mostly fended for themselves, often in a home that lacked electricity and running water. Young, tormented by sickle-cell disease, saw many of those closest to him die by homicide or suicide.

The two boys weren’t totally bereft. They had a grandfather, cousins, friends and a stepfather. A neighbor provided showers, until his water bill got too high; another supplied hot meals. A woman known as Big Mama offered shelter and tough love. But it wasn’t nearly enough. Desperate for money, the teenage Young — smart, entrepreneurial, dreaming of a rap career — became a gun-toting drug dealer.

Young’s searing memoir, “The Wound Is Where the Light Enters,” chronicles this bitter childhood and its devastating consequences. The evocative title is a quotation from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi.

Unlike some prison memoirs, this isn’t an innocence story. But it is no less an indictment of the U.S. justice system — its laws, its courts and its brutal prisons. “The constant state of heightened agitation and awareness that it takes to survive a single day in a federal penitentiary is enough to drive a man insane,” Young writes. “At every turn, the system is designed to crush your humanity. You’re an animal in there and are expected to act like one.”

But not everyone does. “The Wound Is Where the Light Enters” not only reveals the system’s horrors, but also celebrates the redemptive power of hope, intellect and community.

By the time Young was swept up in a federal drug investigation, he already had two felony drug convictions. His involvement in the federal conspiracy case, as he tells it, was marginal. He was no kingpin and had never met most of the people being charged.

But he faced a zealous prosecutor, with only court-appointed attorneys at his side. Worse yet, he was up against a harsh “three-strikes” law that replaced judicial discretion with mandatory minimum sentences.

Young’s own pride and sense of justice also came into play. He could have pleaded guilty, perhaps even cooperated, and received a finite (though still hefty) prison sentence. Instead, determined to argue his case, he opted for a trial at which conviction was all but certain. Then, against advice, he presented a meticulously crafted and rehearsed speech at his sentencing hearing.

The 26-year-old Young, who’d already spent four years behind bars, had used that time productively. A former straight-A student who had dropped out of high school, he had embarked on a program of self-education, reading deeply in African American history, Greek philosophy, finance and other subjects. “Every day,” he writes, “I left the library with new language to put to my thoughts.”

Young told the court about his chaotic upbringing and his recent scholarly pursuits. “He spoke of the things he could do if he did not have to die in prison. He told me of the possibilities that would never be,” the trial judge, Kevin H. Sharp, writes in the book’s foreword. “It was impossible to listen to someone so full of compassion, intelligence, and, above all, promise, and not question the system that had not just allowed this to happen but required it.”

Sharp sentenced Young to life without the possibility of parole, as the law mandated. But two years later, he stepped down from the bench and joined Young’s defense team.

Young describes his childhood mostly from the perspective of a boy — alternately bewildered, hurting, depressed and “mad all the time.” His account of his incarceration, with its mind-numbing routines, gang hegemony and intermittent violence, is equally gripping.

At McCreary, the tense high-security federal prison in Kentucky known as Misery Mountain, Young meditated, adhered to a workout routine, read prodigiously, taught GED classes to fellow inmates and maintained ties to his few surviving loved ones. And he kept hoping. “The system’s control over my body was absolute,” Young writes. “Its control over my mind was not.”

In 2015, the sickle cell-related disintegration of his hips prompted Young’s transfer to a low-security prison, Federal Medical Center Lexington. Here the surroundings are less bleak, the library better, the prisoners friendlier. Young teaches himself to code and envisions an app that will focus on mental health and suicide prevention. Yet he still must fight to obtain the hip replacement surgery he so desperately needs.

By now, his case has attracted sympathetic press attention and more effective lawyers. Even so, his story takes a dark turn. From Lexington, he is sent to his most terrifying prison yet, known as Bloody Beaumont, where COVID-19 adds another layer of threat. A judge reduces his sentence, but, for reasons never entirely clear, he is suddenly thrown into the prison’s “hole,” its barbarous solitary confinement cells.

It is from that hell that Young, more than a decade after his arrest, emerges to freedom — earning a degree in economics and public policy from Southern Methodist University, pursuing a consulting career and writing this indelible book. For his 2021 grant of executive clemency, he has his lawyers and reality-TV star Kim Kardashian to thank — as well as President Trump.

Klein, a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia, has been a three-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing.

Hungary says a heatwave is forcing the shutdown of its largest nuclear power plant for the first time in 44 years. Scorching temperatures and drought have caused record-low water levels in the Danube river, disrupting reactor cooling systems.

July 31 (UPI) — Federal officials on Friday released an updated framework for the Colorado River, requiring Arizona, California and Nevada to significantly reduce their water use in the coming years.

The plan, released by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation, reduces the water available for use by the three states by 3 million acre-feet in the coming decade.

One acre-foot is enough water for as many as four households to use for a whole year. The cuts represent the largest proposed cuts for those states to date

“The [report] contains a framework that includes sideboards that are unacceptable for the state of Arizona,” the Arizona Department of Water Resources said in a statement to The Colorado Sun. “Such reductions would devastate Arizona’s water users and its economy.”

The Colorado River’s resources are divided among seven states, combined into two groups: Upper Basin states include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, while Lower Basin states are Arizona, California and Nevada.

Upper Basin states have a target for voluntary cuts of up to 200,000 acre-feet per year, or 5% of their annual water use.

The Colorado River provides water for some 40 million people.

Federal officials said drought conditions over the past 25 years have dwindled the water capacity available to the states that rely on the river.

“The department has a responsibility to ensure the Colorado River system remains reliable and resilient for the millions of Americans, communities and industries that depend on it,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the Basin States to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions.”

Aug. 1 (UPI) — At least seven states have suffered cyberattacks on water systems as cities and states work to keep the water supplies safe.

There has been no indication that any water supply is unsafe to drink, the New York Times reported. Minnesota first reported a cyberattack and now Michigan has also reported attacks.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency said in a release that it’s “observing a significant increase in cyber threat actors targeting programmable logic controllers in the Water and Wastewater Systems sector. CISA urges critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other operational technology from the Internet as soon as possible. Threat actors targeting exposed PLCs have modified passwords to lock out operators and disconnected the PLCs by changing their IP addresses. This activity has resulted in boil-water notices and sustained manual operations.”

Officials told The Times that Iran has increased cyberattacks on American systems, but that the water attacks haven’t been definitively declared to have come from Iran. But Iran has targeted water systems in the United States in the past. Because there’s no financial motive, an attack by hacking criminals is less likely, The Times said.

Michigan had “a small number of reports from Michigan communities indicating activity consistent with what federal agencies described,” Dale George, director of communications for Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, told CBS News.

“All systems continued to operate safely, issues were addressed by local operators, and there are no known impacts that posed a public health concern,” George added.

CBS reported that more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota were affected.

On Friday, President Donald Trump blamed Minnesota and Gov. Tim Walz for the attacks.

“I think that Minnesota is behind it,” Trump said during a televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David. “You know who’s behind it? Minnesota. Because they’re grossly incompetent. I think the governor’s behind it. I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together.”

“They like to say, ‘Oh, it was Iran.’ Iran should be so lucky. Iran’s got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota,” the president said.

Walz responded to the jabs from Trump in a post on X.

“DOGE took an ax to CISA and left the U.S. exposed to cyber attacks. Thankfully, our experts in Minnesota were able to identify the vulnerability quickly and work with local communities to stop it,” Walz said.

Braham, Minn., Mayor Nate George said federal and local officials don’t doubt the source.

“We’re getting bits and pieces of information from the state of Minnesota and the FBI,” George told The Times. “They are pretty sure it’s Iranian actors” but are reluctant to say so publicly.

Passengers at both terminals of Gatwick Airport are being affected by a water supply issue, with toilets reported to be out of order and restaurants closed.

In a statement on X, the airport in West Sussex apologised for the disruption, external and said a problem in the Horley area was affecting supplies and was under investigation.

Bottled water is being made available to passengers and staff and contingency measures have also been put in place, it said.

SES Water, which covers parts of Kent, Surrey and south London, as well as the airport, has said its service is resuming after an earlier power outage at its treatment works.

It said complications caused by a power outage at its Bough Beech water treatment works meant some customers had experienced low water pressure or a temporary loss of supply.

A spokesperson had earlier confirmed that Gatwick Airport was affected.

In an update just before 13:45 BST, they said: “Our Bough Beech water treatment works are back up and running.

“We now need to treat the water before returning services to normal as quickly as we possibly can.”

Gatwick said the supply issue was continuing to cause disruption on Sunday afternoon.

In a statement, it said: “There is currently no water supply in either terminal.

“Our staff are on hand to support passengers and provide assistance where needed, some restaurant partners have opened to provide additional seating.”

The airport said it was working closely with the water company to restore supplies as quickly as possible.

AMARILLO, Texas — When Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, began her campaign last year, candidates weren’t talking about — or hearing about — data centers that power artificial intelligence.

But with barely three months until November’s contest, the perceived threat to rural life, ranchland and dwindling water supplies could become a defining issue for her long-shot challenge to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, dividing conservative rural areas that have traditionally served as a counterweight to Democrats’ urban strongholds.

The backlash to energy-guzzling server warehouses is also shaping other statewide campaigns from Arizona to Ohio to New York, and even giving Democrats a glimmer of hope in Texas, where Republicans have dominated for three decades.

“There is this little issue that I recently started hearing about that I wanted to tell you about, in case you don’t know,” Hinojosa quipped to a Democratic Party-organized crowd of about 160 seated on fold-out chairs at an Amarillo social club in Texas’ panhandle. “It’s this issue of data centers.”

The crowd booed, and she went on: “They are owned by the richest men in the world. We’re all footing the bill. There are no rules. It is the wild west of data centers.”

The fast growth of massive data centers has already upended races for local offices across the country, often uniting conservatives and liberals in revolting against projects in their midst.

People don’t like the secrecy surrounding the projects or the prospect of air, noise, water and light pollution. They fear electric bills going up, wells going dry and losing open space, farmland or forest.

Now the ripple effects have spread to top-of-the-ticket races, where incumbents and challengers are trying to show that they hear an angry electorate.

In Ohio, Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown aired a television advertisement attacking Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted as the “face of data centers in Ohio” as people gather signatures for a statewide referendum to outright ban their construction.

In Wisconsin, a Democratic candidate for governor, Francesca Hong, is pledging to “tax the rich, fund our schools and stop AI data centers” as she campaigns for her party’s nomination in a crowded primary.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is facing heat from some voters who feel like he’s been too welcoming to tech behemoths. Sam Burleigh, a Democrat whose rural community is fighting off data center projects, accused Shapiro of “allowing these data centers to come in and take over acres and acres of prime farmland.”

Texas is fertile ground for data centers

Any political unrest may be felt most acutely in Texas.

The state is poised to overtake northern Virginia as the largest global data center market by 2030, according to a report by commercial real estate giant JLL. It has lots of land, lots of energy and a friendly regulatory environment under Republican leadership.

In rural west Texas and its panhandle, gargantuan data centers are under construction, including one near Amarillo touted as the world’s largest. Some come with designs for natural gas-fired turbines to power them.

Rumors are flying about others popping up — Google, which is building four data centers in northwest Texas, sponsored moderated conversations with officials and business elite in Lubbock and Amarillo in recent weeks — and it is sowing an outcry across small cities, tiny towns and sprawling ranches where people vote overwhelmingly Republican.

Google says its investments are advancing American innovation, fortifying cybersecurity and boosting energy capacity, while President Trump has made data centers a top priority to help the U.S. compete against China for AI superiority.

But tech giants and developers can be secretive about their plans, making it impossible to know what will be built or what sort of pollution they’ll create, critics say. Some worry that data centers will destroy rural Texas’ low cost of living and sully sunsets and sweeping views that stretch toward the horizon.

Others say construction and an influx of workers are already causing havoc for ranchers and towns, driving up rents, snapping up farmland, illuminating the night sky, clogging roads and turning parts of rural Texas into industrial zones.

Opposition crosses partisan divide

Democrats are prominent among the data center critics, but so are Republicans, including Texas’ sitting agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller. They say there are many more Republicans who are quieter because they fear publicly opposing their governor and party.

“They’re upset with Greg Abbott,” said Suzanne Bellsnyder, a former Republican activist from Spearman who writes a syndicated column that advocates for rural Texas. “Whether that translates into voting against him, I don’t know.”

Abbott has aggressively advocated for big projects in Texas and, in November, he helped make Google’s announcement of a $40-billion investment there, saying, “Texas is the epicenter of AI development.”

Compounding that, Texas counties don’t have zoning authority — precisely the local land planning authority that communities around the country are increasingly using to fight off data centers.

Abbott seems to recognize that data centers are dividing his base. In recent weeks, he ordered regulators to take steps to ensure Texans weren’t paying higher electricity bills because of data centers and promised to push a legislative agenda next year to impose regulations on data centers.

At an East Texas campaign stop, Abbott said that includes taking away the state’s billion-dollar-plus-per-year tax break and preventing data centers from being built in “rural Texas neighborhoods.”

Hinojosa and others derided Abbott’s words about “rural Texas neighborhoods” as meaningless — “doublespeak that makes no sense to anyone,” Hinojosa said — and lacking urgency or seriousness.

“Now we have this gold rush of data centers in our communities,” Hinojosa said in an interview, adding that “people want a say, and I think that’s fair.”

As governor, she said she’d block a permit for a data center if it wasn’t a good deal for Texans or residents hadn’t gotten a say in the matter.

Abbott tries to soothe concerns

Abbott’s campaign season turnabout on data centers doesn’t seem to have soothed many.

Of great concern is the prospect that data centers will consume massive amounts of water and worsen drought conditions for ranchers and farmers in a state where water shortages already crippled the sugar cane industry.

“Oh, I guarantee you, it’s on everybody’s mind,” said Giles Dalby, a cattle rancher and a Republican county commissioner in west Texas.

Dalby, who raises Angus and Brangus cattle on ranchland that’s been in his family for 125 years, pointed to fast-growing cities where water authorities have had to go to greater lengths to procure water, including the “water wars” between San Antonio and ranchers several years ago.

Texas is increasingly steamrolling over landowner rights in the quest for public water, Dalby said, and that could mean that data centers get in line ahead of ranchers when shortages or rationing worsen.

Clayton Tucker, a rancher and the Democratic nominee for state agriculture commissioner, said his campaign events are consumed by talk of data centers. It doesn’t matter whether he’s meeting with Democrats or Republicans.

“This is the most cross-partisan issue I’ve ever seen in my life,” Tucker said.

Meanwhile, protest groups are springing up, including one in Lubbock that is led by Republicans. The founders, Stephen Sanders and Hallie Bertrand, like some other Republican opponents of data centers, say it’s possible or even certain they won’t vote for Abbott, although they may not necessarily vote for Hinojosa.

There is still time for Abbott to push through major legislation before the election and “be a hero,” Sanders said.

The big question is whether enough rural voters will turn against Abbott to give Hinojosa a shot. It’s hard to tell, Bertrand said, especially when some know nothing about the issue.

“They’ll just hit that button, Republican all the way down,” Bertrand said. “But I think it’s a step towards something that we have not seen in Texas in a long time, with people on the right switching to the left. Or scooting a little closer to the middle, maybe.”

Levy writes for the Associated Press.

An ITV star has revealed a difficult filming stunt left her being ‘hauled’ out of water.

An ITV star has opened up about filming a difficult scene.

Ahead of the new series of Van Der Valk airing, star Maimie McCoy recalled filming a difficult stunt in water, where she was unable to move and had to be “hauled” out.

The All Creatures Great and Small actress is returning to her role as Inspecteur Lucienne Hassell opposite Marc Warren’s Commissaris Piet van der Valk in the fourth series of Van der Valk.

A loose reimagining of the 1972 series, and based on Nicolas Freeling’s crime thriller novels, the detective drama tracks Dutch detective Van Der Valk and his team as they crack three further murders in Amsterdam.

Shot on location in and around the city, the latest series promises to be more explosive than ever, with Maimie sharing what shooting certain scenes was truly like, reports Yorkshire Live.

In a press pack ahead of the new series airing, Maimie revealed one moment where she had to be hauled out of water.

She explained: “There’s quite a little community where I swim down in the Amstel. So I did suggest it, thinking we’d just be shooting in the summer again. And then they were like, ‘We’ll be shooting at the end of October.’

“And there was a lot of panic about how cold it would be and I was like, “I’m good, I’m hardy.” And then I went in the day before we shot it and thought, ‘This is a bit colder than I was expecting.’

“But we did a great scene. It’s at the beginning of episode two. Lucienne is totally away from everybody and just having a moment of reflection for herself.

“It’s almost a meditation to her and a real calm away from the job that they’re doing. I think it’ll be a lovely contrast.

“But they had to haul me out of the water, because I was fine swimming, and then I realised that I had no body strength left.“

The new series features Van Der Valk and his team taking on three mysteries, with the first following the death of a whistleblower under police protection, and the second uncovering the death of an environmental campaigner on the eve of a global conference, with a famous singer who was thought to have died by suicide considered as a suspect.

The series finale has Van Der Valk’s team hunting down the truth behind a scientist searching for a potential breakthrough in cancer treatment being found dead, and the possible link to a pharmaceuticals billionaire.

Teasing the new episodes, writer Chris Murray shared: ““We are 100% series that this is the best series of Van Der Valk we’ve done so far.

“Three strong, contrasting, resolving films flooded with our distinctive team dynamic but this time with the added spice of Piet’s combative ex-girlfriend turning up at the same time as one of our team has to confront their own mortality.”

Marc Warren added: “Chris Murray, the writer and showrunner, when we did the first scene this season, he said it felt like slipping on a comfortable jumper. We just fitted into it very easily.

“There’s a general feeling of knowing where we’re at and being very relaxed and comfortable with it. But maybe there’s a few more smiles. I felt very relaxed with it. I don’t think about it too much.”

He went on: “What it felt like, and I felt it really strongly in episode one, it felt like a bigger show. It seemed like we had more crew and there was more going on. In episode one particularly it was quite an intricate show, lots of cars and explosions and stunts, and it felt like the whole show had gone up a level. It’s a very impressive episode.”

Van Der Valk returns on Sunday, August 2, at 8pm on ITV

FINDING a pretty UK beach devoid of crowds can often feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But in Devon there is a beach spot I will always head to for both peace and feeling as if I’ve been transported to another country.

Elberry Cove sits on the South West Coast Path between Paignton and Brixham.

Instead of the busier Broadsands Beach next door, head along the South West Coast Path for 15 minutes from Broadsands Beach car park and you’ll reach the cove.

Alternatively, you could head down Elberry Lane where you will find a path down to the beach, which is less rocky and steep.

Every time I have visited, that moment where the beach comes into view makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and as if I have been picked up and dumped on some remote Greek island.

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The beach features a mixture of shingle and pebbles, so I would recommend bringing a chair as well as beach shoes.

And then as you head down to the water, you’ll find crystal clear water that is actually relatively warm.

At the eastern end of the cove there is even a ruin of an 18th-century bathhouse, that was built for Lord Churston.

It essentially let him swim directly into the sea through a gated doorway.

The bathhouse also had an early version of a hot tub, which was heated by a fire.

The cove is even believed to have connections to the famous crime author Agatha Christie, who grew up in the area, and used it as a setting in her novel The ABC Murders.

The cove is a designated waterskiing area too, which means when sitting on the beach you can watch them whizz up and down.

You can swim off the beach, but make sure to not enter the ski lane.

The cove is home to large eelgrass beds as well, which are where many seahorses breed.

I’ve even been lucky enough to spot seals from the beach.

And I’m not the only one who thinks the beach is special…

One recent visitor said in a review: “This picturesque location boasts mesmerizing blue-green waters reminiscent of a tropical paradise.

“Personally, I consider it to be the most captivating spot in the region.”

Another visitor said: “Elberry Cove is the kind of place that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled into a secret.”

Don’t expect a cafe or toilets at the beach (you’ll need to go back to Broadsands for that) and dogs are permitted year-round.

With all the lovely weather in the UK right now, you know where you’ll find me…