'There appeared to be multiple warnings signs'

According to the reporter Amelia Hill, residents of southwest England used to be able to pay their land rent with their catch of European eel. She continues: songs were sung about the eel, lanes and canals and beaches were named after the eel; but those days are nearly gone. With eel populations down 99% in […] The post Activists Use Folklore to Inspire Conservation Effort to Resurrect a Ghost of England’s Past appeared first on Good News Network.

Books Horror Six Horror Stories Set in Theme Parks and Carnivals  Thrills, chills, and spooky carnival music abound in these movies and short stories… By Lorna Wallace | Published on September 15, 2025 Credit: New Line Cinema Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: New Line Cinema Theme parks and carnivals are known first and foremost as places of fun, but it’s undeniable that they can also be pretty frightening. Not only do they often feature rides that are calibrated to thrill, shock, and scare us at every turn, but screams of fear and screams of joy are virtually indistinguishable on any rollercoaster or fairground ride. With (playful) terror already baked into the theme park and carnival experience, it’s only fitting that some authors have chosen these settings as the perfect backdrop for scary stories.Personally, I have a particular affinity for stories about theme parks and carnivals. I’ve been on more than a few theme park-focused vacations, my favorite book—Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)—is about a very spooky carnival, and throughout university I worked at the amusement rides section of the local safari park. The rides were admittedly not at all scary—they were all kid-friendly, like spinning teacups, bumper cars, and a carousel (though that calliope music still haunts me to this day…)—but even the tamest rides can easily be given a sinister edge in the hands of a skilled horror writer.I’m not the only one who enjoys this kind of story—Reactor already has lists of novels set at theme parks and carnival-related books—so I’m instead going to focus on a selection of scary short stories and movies. Here are six picks that might make you think twice before you take that end-of-summer trip to a theme park or traveling carnival… “The Companion” by Ramsey Campbell (1976) Stone is a fairground enthusiast who regularly ventures around the UK in his quest to visit as many of them as possible. One October night, he’s at a fairly run-down fairground in Merseyside, on the North West coast of England, and decides to ride the carousel. He then learns from the ride’s attendant that the abandoned remnants of the original funfair are only five minutes away. Exploring a derelict fairground in the dark—and during the spookiest month of the year, no less—isn’t my idea of a good time, but Stone can’t resist. The horror of “The Companion” slowly creeps in bit by bit. The atmosphere feels vaguely unsettling from the start, and eventually builds to a final section—and particularly a final sentence—that is perfectly spine-chilling in an old-school, kids-scaring-each-other-at-a-sleepover kind of way. “Skullpocket” by Nathan Ballingrud (2014) “Skullpocket” is a dark, weird, and whimsical short story. There are three timelines in the tale, which are woven together, rather than being told in chronological order. The main through-line is set on the opening night of the annual Skullpocket Fair and sees a priest visit the mansion of Jonathan Wormcake—a ghoul who is now near death but who many years ago played an integral part in the creation of the Fair. The other two threads explore the priest’s and Wormcake’s childhood experiences of the creepy carnival and its less-creepy predecessor. That might all sound like a bit too much for one short story to handle, but Ballingrud pulls it off with macabre style. The characters are complex, the worldbuilding is rich and imaginative, and all three storylines swing seamlessly between horror, beauty, and tragedy. “Zimmer Land” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (2018) The lack of ghosts, monsters, and/or gore might make “Zimmer Land” seem like the least scary of all of the stories on this list, but it engages with real-life horrors in a near-future setting, and that can be easily as scary as supernatural creatures and copious amounts of blood. Main character Isaiah is an employee at Zimmer Land—a Westworld-esque park full of simulations that allow visitors “to explore problem-solving, justice, and judgment.” In non-corporate speak, the park allows white patrons to play out their racist and murderous fantasies. Isaiah works on the Cassidy Lane set, where he dons a mecha-suit—which beefs him up and offers protection—and then loiters outside the mock suburban houses. The customer plays a homeowner who gets to see how they would react in such a situation: call the cops, shoot to kill, or fight with fists? “Zimmer Land” offers cutting commentary on the intersection of racism and capitalism, and the grotesque theme park feels all the more terrifying in not seeming all that far-fetched. Ghoulies II (1987) Now onto this movie portion of this list, with Ghoulies II up first. You don’t need to have seen the first Ghoulies (1985)—which, while fun in a so-bad-it’s-good kind of way, is definitely light on ghoulie screen time—to enjoy the second. The titular ghoulies hitch a ride with a traveling carnival and proceed to take over the haunted house attraction, tormenting everyone who passes through. That’s pretty much it as far as plot, with the main driving force of the film being the ghoulies themselves and their interactions with the carnival setting and patrons. The creepy little monsters—which are vaguely reminiscent of different animals, including a rat, a monkey, and a toad—are comically brought to life via both puppetry and stop motion. Ghoulies II may not reach the heights of other horror movies that feature chaotic little creatures—think Gremlins and Critters—but it’s still a lot of fun and the climax of the film is a truly over-the-top showstopper. Final Destination 3 (2006) Although it’s only the opening section of Final Destination 3 that is set in an amusement park, it’s so iconic that I had to include it, here… High school senior Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is having fun at a theme park with a handful of her classmates. A group of them decide to go on a rollercoaster called the Devil’s Flight (with horror icon Tony Todd voicing the gigantic Devil statue at the ride’s entrance). If you’ve ever seen a Final Destination film then you know what’s coming next: Wendy has a premonition in which an unlucky chain of events leads to the coaster derailing and everyone dying in nightmarishly gory ways. Although the rest of the film takes places around the fictional town of McKinley—with Death tracking down everyone who was saved by the premonition—we continually get to revisit the theme park through the photographics that Wendy took that night, as she uses the clues in the photos to try and outwit Death. Zombieland (2009) What could possibly make rollercoasters even more thrilling? Zombies of course! Like Final Destination 3, Zombieland is only partly set at a theme park, but it makes such great use of the setting that it earns a spot on this list. The majority of the film is essentially a road trip through a zombie-infested America and it all culminates at Pacific Playland. Zombie-killing expert Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is in his element when hordes of the undead descend upon the now-lit-up park. While Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) attempts to rescue Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin)—who are trapped at the top of a tower drop ride—Tallahassee serves as a distraction. While he’s technically putting himself at risk by drawing so much undead attention, Tallahassee’s joyous laughter proves that he’s having the time of his life going on all of the rides while doing what he does best: taking out a horde of ravenous zombies. If you’ve got any theme park, carnival, or fairground-related horror story recommendations of your own, please feel free to leave them in the comments below! As fun as it was to operate the rides, it’s much easier on the feet to watch and read about them instead, so I’m always on the lookout for more stories that take advantage of this type of setting…[end-mark] The post Six Horror Stories Set in Theme Parks and Carnivals  appeared first on Reactor.

Soon, the House of Representatives will lose one of its fiercest foreign policy and homeland security hawks when Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas retires.  “It’s been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress. I’m looking now for a new challenge,” McCaul said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” as he discussed his intention not to seek reelection. “I’m looking for a new challenge in the same space—that would be national security, foreign policy, but just in a different realm.” McCaul, 63, took office in 2005 and has since championed legislation to take a strong-armed approach against threats to America’s security. A former chair of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, he has helped shape Congress’ responses to national security issues since the presidency of George W. Bush. He explained on the ABC broadcast that the September 11 attacks on the United States essentially kickstarted his career in politics and his focus on threats from abroad. BREAKING: Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul announced on @ThisWeekABC that he will not seek reelection in 2026.“It's been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress. I’m looking now for a new challenge.”Read more: https://t.co/4zQmchkZaj pic.twitter.com/DJYCDJurjf— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 14, 2025 “It changed my life and many others’, but I became a counterterrorism federal prosecutor within the Justice Department. I entered Congress, I chaired the Homeland Security committee, I saw the rise of ISIS and the caliphate,” he said. “As chairman of Foreign Affairs [committee], I saw Afghanistan fall and [Vladimir] Putin invade Ukraine and the Middle East on fire, and then the threat from Chairman Xi [Jinping] in China and the IndoPacific.” McCaul has been a consistent advocate of military aid to Ukraine, has compared Xi of China and Putin of Russia to Adolf Hitler, and has crafted bipartisan legislation to require the Department of Homeland Security to focus more intently on cybersecurity. Besides representing the loss of a major homeland security hawk, McCaul’s departure is part of a major reshuffling of Texas’ congressional representation.  Recent redistricting could lead to five Democrat districts being flipped to Republicans, and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is running to become attorney general of the Lone Star State. The post Rep. McCaul, a Long-Time Foreign Policy Hawk, to Retire appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The White House has finally produced a framework deal to save TikTok after Congress banned usage of the Chinese-owned app in the United States, a White House official tells The Daily Signal. “President [Donald] Trump and Vice President [JD] Vance provided the leadership and foresight necessary to produce a framework deal that fulfills another campaign promise and saves TikTok,” a spokesman for Vance told The Daily Signal. “Hundreds of millions of Americans will now be able to continue safely enjoying the highly popular app thanks to the president’s decisive leadership.” This comes just two days before the Sept. 17 deadline that could have banned TikTok in the United States. The Trump administration has not yet named the U.S.-backed buyer. On Sunday, Vance participated in a call with Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer regarding the latter two’s meeting in Madrid Sunday with Chinese officials about the TikTok deal framework, according to a White House official. Vance and Trump both supported giving the U.S. delegation the necessary leverage to deliver a framework for a TikTok deal. Vance himself was very involved in developing a strategy to reach the TikTok deal framework leading up to the U.S.-China summit in Madrid. The White House has three-times extended the deadline to reach a deal with Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American-backed owner. Congress passed a law April 24, 2024, requiring ByteDance to divest its stake in the U.S. assets of TikTok due to national security concerns. The vice president’s counsel, who has been heavily involved in negotiations on behalf of Vance, played an important role in the Madrid talks, the White House official said. Trump posted on TruthSocial that the meeting in Madrid went “VERY WELL.” “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save,” he wrote. “They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!” The post How Vance, Trump Orchestrated Deal to Save TikTok appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The steady spread of facial recognition technology onto Britain’s streets is drawing alarm from those who see it as a step toward mass surveillance, even as police leaders celebrate it as a powerful new weapon against crime. Live Facial Recognition (LFR) is a system that scans people’s faces in public spaces and compares them against watchlists. Civil liberties groups warn it normalizes biometric monitoring of ordinary citizens, while the Metropolitan Police insist it is already producing results. Britain’s senior police leadership is promoting these biometric and artificial intelligence systems as central to the future of policing, with commissioner Sir Mark Rowley arguing that such tools are already transforming the way the Met operates. Speaking to the TechUK trade association, Rowley described Live Facial Recognition (LFR) as a “game-changing tool” and pointed to more than 700 arrests linked to its use so far this year. Camera vans stationed on streets have been deployed to flag people wanted for serious crimes or those breaking license conditions. Rowley highlighted a recent deployment at the Notting Hill Carnival, where he joined officers using LFR. “Every officer I spoke to was energized by the potential,” he said to The Sun. According to the commissioner, the weekend brought 61 arrests, including individuals sought in cases of serious violence and offenses against women and girls. Rowley claimed that the technology played “a critical role” in making the carnival safer. Beyond facial recognition, Rowley spoke of expanding the Met’s reliance on drones. “From searching for missing people, to arriving quickly at serious traffic incidents, or replacing the expensive and noisy helicopter at large public events,” he said, “done well, drones will be another tool to help officers make faster, more informed decisions on the ground.” The commissioner also promoted the V100 program, which draws on data analysis to focus resources on those considered the highest risk to women. He said this initiative has already led to the conviction of more than 160 offenders he described as “the most prolific and predatory” in London. Artificial Intelligence is being tested in other areas too, particularly to review CCTV footage. Rowley noted the labour involved in manually tracing suspects through crowded areas. “Take Oxford Street, with 27 junctions—a trawl to identify a suspect’s route can take two days,” he explained. “Now imagine telling AI to find clips of a male wearing a red baseball cap between X and Y hours, and getting results in hours. That’s game-changing.” While the Met portrays these systems as advances in crime prevention, their deployment raises questions about surveillance creeping deeper into everyday life. Expansions in facial recognition, drone monitoring, and algorithmic analysis are often introduced as matters of efficiency and safety, but they risk building an infrastructure of constant observation where privacy rights are gradually eroded. Shaun Thompson’s case has already been cited by campaigners as evidence of the risks that come with rolling out facial recognition on public streets. He was mistakenly identified by the technology, stopped, and treated as though he were a wanted suspect before the error was realized. Incidents like this highlight the danger of false matches and the lack of safeguards around biometric surveillance. For ordinary people, the impact is clear: even if you have done nothing wrong, you can still find yourself pulled into a system that treats you as guilty first and asks questions later. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UK Met Police Chief Mark Rowley Hails Facial Recognition, Outlines Drone and AI Policing Plans appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Memphis Mayor: Natl Guard? Didn't Ask for Them But I'll Be Happy to Use Them

Park staff have collected over 13,000 pieces of trash from the park's hydrothermal areas so far this year.

If it looks like a duck...

FBI Director Kash Patel announced newfound evidence that strengthens the case against Charlie Kirk's suspected assassin. Patel confirmed that the FBI found and processed DNA evidence from the towel wrapped around the firearm found discarded in a wooded area near the Utah Valley University campus, as well as on a screwdriver found on the rooftop where the shooter is believed to have been. Both samples were identified as a positive match to the suspect in custody, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, according to Patel. 'He claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk.'"I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody," Patel told "Fox & Friends" Monday.This development will be instrumental in building the case against Robinson, who is likely facing charges for aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm. RELATED: Alleged bomb plot near Charlie Kirk assassination lands Pakistani native and son with terrorism charges Photo by Trent Nelson/the Salt Lake Tribune/Getty ImagesAlthough Robinson has not confessed or made clear his motive for allegedly assassinating Kirk, the facts surrounding the case appear to suggest a political or ideological motivation. In recent days, it was confirmed that Robinson was living with his trans-identifying boyfriend, a biological male who claimed to be a woman. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also revealed the writing inscribed on bullet casings found at the crime scene, one of which read, "Hey fascist! Catch!""His family has collectively told investigators that he subscribed to left-wing ideology, and even more so in these last couple of years," Patel said. RELATED: TPUSA plans historic memorial for Charlie Kirk Photo by Office of the Governor of Utah via Getty Images"He claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and he was going to do it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for," Patel added. Editor's note: The FBI declined a request for further comment from Blaze News.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!