Labour revives Northern Powerhouse Rail project with pledge of £45bn funds

Long-awaited plans for better railways across the north of England have been given government backing with an undertaking to “reverse years of chronic underinvestment” by spending up to £45bn building Northern Powerhouse Rail.Just over £1bn has been allocated to work up a detailed three-stage plan to connect cities from Liverpool to Newcastle, which could fulfil most of the demands of northern leaders, in a series of long-term projects.However, mayors may have to raise local funding to pay for parts of the scheme, with the Treasury imposing a £45bn cap as it seeks to avoid the huge overspend that has blighted the construction of HS2.The government also “set out its intention” to build a Birmingham-Manchester line after the completion of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), although it insisted this was “not a reinstatement of HS2”.It said NPR would form the backbone of a wider growth plan, with faster, more frequent train services transforming connections between cities

Only shoppers can save a nation of shopkeepers | Letters

I fear that John Harris is partially buying into Reform UK’s rhetoric about the decline of the high street (The UK’s high streets have reached a tipping point – and Reform will reap the benefits, 11 January).The decline of small businesses in our high streets is largely the result of consumer choice. That’s why supermarkets exist. They sell goods more cheaply and have a range that would be equivalent to numerous shops. The majority of the population prefers to drive and do it all in one go, regardless of income

Musk’s AI tool Grok will be integrated into Pentagon networks, Hegseth says

Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the US military will begin integrating Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, into Pentagon networks.Speaking at the SpaceX headquarters in Texas on Monday evening, the US defense secretary said that the integration of Grok into military systems would go live later this month. “Very soon we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” Hegseth said.Hegseth also unveiled a new “AI acceleration strategy” at the Department of Defense that he said will “unleash experimentation, eliminate bureaucratic barriers, focus on investments, and demonstrate the execution approach needed to ensure we lead in military AI and that it grows more dominant into the future”.In December, it was announced that the defense department had selected Google’s Gemini, another AI model, to power the military’s new internal AI platform, known as GenAI

Can X be banned under UK law and what are the other options?

The UK government is threatening Elon Musk’s X with the nuclear option under the country’s online safety laws: a ban. The social media platform is under pressure from ministers after it allowed the Grok AI tool, which is integrated within the app, to generate indecent images of unsuspecting women and children.The government has said it will support the media regulator Ofcom, which has launched an investigation into X, if it decides to push ahead with a ban. But is such a move likely?The Online Safety Act (OSA) contains a provision that allows Ofcom to seek a court order imposing “business disruption measures” on a website or app that is in breach of the legislation. These measures are in effect a block on the recipient operating in the UK

The hidden hierarchy of tennis practice courts: ‘I was back in the park, smelling the weed’

The unwritten rule in professional tournaments? Do not hog the practice court. But as leading players testify – the reality is very differentOn a cool Wednesday afternoon before the US Open last year, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev were busy fine-tuning their games in an intense practice set at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, semi-finalists in the mixed doubles tournament, were scheduled to take their place at the hour and the American pair duly arrived a couple of minutes before their allotted slot.An amusing scene soon unfolded. Medvedev and Zverev were clearly desperate to continue playing for a little longer, but their court time had run out

Pittsburgh Steelers part ways with head coach Mike Tomlin after 19 seasons

Head coach Mike Tomlin is leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons, the team confirmed on Tuesday.“Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years. It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “He guided the franchise to our sixth Super Bowl championship and made the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, including winning the AFC North eight times in his career.”Rooney added that the decision was ultimately down to Tomlin, saying the head coach had “decided to step down”