- Why winter cold spells are getting milder
Remember the Beast from the East? Hold on to that memory. Leeds researcher Weronika Osmolska finds winter cold spells across the northern hemisphere are getting rarer, milder and shorter, and not in the way scientists predicted. - Could AI really kill all humans? Most scenarios require physical access, making AI armageddon unlikely
Rogue AI can’t pipette a virus or walk a USB stick into a power station. It can, however, get 32 students to write about Madagascar for no reason. Sheffield professor Alessandro Di Nuovo and senior lecturer Samuele Vinanzi on the danger nobody’s selling. - Strictly’s live tour waltzes into Leeds in February
Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood reunite on the judging panel, with tickets on sale from 9am on Friday 25 September. - Cash for parcels: police warn of a growing trend targeting students
Criminals are paying people to take in packages that may hold drugs, weapons or stolen goods, and whoever takes them in could end up with a criminal record. - Face-covering powers set for rival protests in Sheffield
Police say wearing an identity-concealing covering in a designated area on Saturday may be an offence, as a rightwing group and anti-fascist campaigners plan rival demonstrations. - Grand Theft Auto: players are voting, debating, protesting and making political decisions
Car theft, gunfights and a surprisingly well-run democracy. As GTA VI heads for release in November, a Leeds researcher explains why players keep inventing politics the game never asked for. - Two further arrests in High Green explosive substances investigation
South Yorkshire Police have arrested a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s in connection with the investigation into potential explosive substances in High Green, as the officer leading the inquiry confirms it remains active and urges the public not to speculate. - Leeds hospital’s Wellbeing Garden marks first birthday with mosaic and chai
A year after opening behind Gledhow Wing at St James’s, the White Rose Wellbeing Garden marked its anniversary with a mosaic-making session run by the Royal Horticultural Society, as staff and patients describe a green space that’s become part of both everyday relief and recovery at the hospital. - Selby Park’s 30-year-old crazy golf makes way for £353,000 heritage course
Diggers have moved into Selby Park as North Yorkshire Council begins a £353,000 revamp that will replace the town’s much-loved but ageing crazy golf course with a nine-hole adventure trail tracing Selby’s history from Viking settlers to the railway age. - New Huddersfield police station completes decade-long Kirklees rebuild
A new two-storey police station just off Broadway has opened its doors to Huddersfield residents, marking the final step in a programme running more than ten years to replace ageing police buildings across Kirklees. - Martin House hosts first children’s palliative care conference for more than 70 professionals
Healthcare professionals from across the region gathered at Martin House’s newly redeveloped Boston Spa hospice this week for its first dedicated conference on children’s palliative care, taking in case studies, hands-on workshops and a tour of the transformed building. - Friends’ 50-year campaign has made Carlton Marsh one of Yorkshire’s richest nature reserves
What started in 1975 as three wildlife enthusiasts lobbying Barnsley Council to protect a patch of wetland known locally as Carlton Swamps has grown into a reserve with more than 2,000 recorded species, marking its 50th anniversary this year. - Xscape Yorkshire rolls out abuse-prevention training as retail staff face 1,600 attacks a day nationally
Landsec has expanded its partnership with the Retail Trust to Xscape Yorkshire and 12 other UK sites, offering free de-escalation and resilience training to shop-floor, security and cleaning staff, as new figures show retail workers nationally face more than 1,600 incidents of abuse or violence every day. - £20m expansion planned for Seacroft Community Diagnostic Centre
A £20 million expansion of Seacroft’s Community Diagnostic Centre has been unveiled, adding two MRI scanners and more treatment rooms, with construction starting in 2027 and the upgraded centre opening in spring/summer 2028. - Angels of Freedom founder reflects on belonging ahead of new Leeds home
Rob Wilson of LGBTQ+ community organisation Angels of Freedom reflects on what belonging means to him, drawing on his own recovery from alcohol dependency, ahead of the group’s move into Woodhouse Community Centre. - Leeds Arts Centre opens new season with cardboard-built monster spectacle
Leeds Arts Centre opens its 2026/27 season with She Kills Monsters, running 14 to 17 October, featuring ten hand-built cardboard monsters created by the company’s “Monster Squad” over just three days. - Yorkshire Dales reports progress on 21 of 40 National Park objectives
The Yorkshire Dales National Park’s first annual progress report shows good progress on 21 of 40 objectives in its 2025-30 Management Plan, including £1.5m in farm grants and peatland restoration across 2,275 hectares. - Repair plans progress for Middleham Bridge after lorry collision
North Yorkshire Council has set out repair plans for Middleham Bridge, closed since an HGV collision earlier this month, with temporary repairs expected by the end of October and permanent work starting spring 2027. - Full cast announced for Leeds Playhouse’s Grinch musical this Christmas
Leeds Playhouse has announced the full cast for Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, led by West End star Joel Montague, running in the Quarry Theatre from 19 November to 16 January. - £9.6m Woodhall Sports Hub opens to players in Calverley, Leeds
A new £9.6 million community sports facility, Woodhall Sports Hub, has opened in Calverley, backed by Leeds City Council and the Football Foundation, with two further Leeds hubs planned at Holbeck and Green Park.
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