Exclusive: High levels of banned ‘forever chemical’ have been detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sites

A string of toxic pollution hotspots has been uncovered across Cumbria and Lancashire, with high levels of the banned cancer-causing “forever chemical” Pfos detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sites.

The contamination, spread across a large area, was uncovered by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian after a freedom of information request revealed high concentrations of Pfos in Environment Agency samples taken in January 2025.

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© Photograph: David C Tomlinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: David C Tomlinson/Getty Images

© Photograph: David C Tomlinson/Getty Images

Andrew Ferguson of the F.T.C. said in a letter to Apple that it might be violating consumer protection law by stifling conservative speech in its news aggregation service.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Byelection candidate accused of indulging ‘alt right fantasy’ by suggesting women need ‘biological reality’ check

Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection has been accused of wanting a “Handmaid’s Tale future” after unearthed YouTube footage revealed he called for “young girls and women” to be given a “biological reality” check.

In a clip posted to his personal YouTube channel in November 2024, Matt Goodwin stated that “many women in Britain are having children much too late in life”.

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© Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian

© Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian

© Photograph: Mark Waugh/The Guardian

In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature’s release.

© Lucia Vazquez for The New York Times

As Iranian authorities restore some online services after crushing antigovernment demonstrations, they are using a technological dragnet to target attendees of the protests.

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Proponents of vaccines warn that the efforts will further dismantle the immunization infrastructure and lead to more outbreaks of disease.

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Her departure follows months of mounting tension over her division’s work to determine whether companies violated antitrust laws.

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Bar blockers | Unlikely book recommendation | Ask AI | The proliferation of potholes | Divine intervention

Queues in pubs (Letters, 6 February)? Hallelujah! Now perhaps elderly women of 5ft 1in will be able to get a drink. I’m not sure which are worse, the big blokes who wave their £20 notes over your head or the ones who, having bought a drink, just stay leaning on the bar. Queueing? Bring it on. Mine’s a large house red, please.
Rosemary Chamberlin
Bristol

• Paul Dacre’s characterisation of a certain book as “written to appeal to a certain section of the Guardian readership” was presumably intended as a put-down, but I took it as a recommendation (Flashes of anger but Paul Dacre keeps his head before court cut-off, 11 February). Can we get more of the same from this unlikely source of advice?
Mark de Brunner
Harrogate, North Yorkshire

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© Photograph: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

© Photograph: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

© Photograph: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

Supporters raise £73,000 to secure future of Welsh valleys chapel where beloved hymn was first sung

The Welsh valleys chapel where the beloved hymn Cwm Rhondda – also known as Bread of Heaven – was first sung is safe in the hands of local people after a successful fundraising campaign.

A community group has taken ownership of Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd, after raising more than £70,000.

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© Photograph: Welsh government

© Photograph: Welsh government

© Photograph: Welsh government

The Environmental Protection Agency rejected the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being. It means the agency can no longer regulate them.

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The Trump administration has repealed the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change.

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Anthropic and OpenAI now have their own well-funded political groups that will square off in the midterm elections over artificial intelligence safety and regulation.

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A federal law taking effect in November severely limits the amount of THC, the euphoric cannabis compound, allowed in over-the-counter items. Many groups are fighting back.

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The cost of maintaining, installing and removing the temporary modular bridge at the site of the LaSalle Causeway is costing Canadian taxpayers $10.5 million, the Whig-Standard has learned. Read More

The company, long focused on cars and trucks, plans to begin manufacturing large batteries used by utilities, data centers, other businesses and homeowners.

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Ford Motor shut down a battery factory and laid off 1,600 workers after President Trump and Republicans gutted government support for electric vehicles.

© Jon Cherry for The New York Times

The states, all led by Democrats, claim the cuts were intended as retribution and will harm efforts to control H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted infections.

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Mr. Trump is trying to revive coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. At the White House, coal executives awarded him a trophy as the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.”

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

The agency is racing to repeal a scientific finding that requires it to fight global warming. Experts say the goal is to get the matter before the justices while President Trump is still in office.

© Kent Nishimura/Reuters

It remains to be seen whether the three big nuclear powers are headed into a new arms race, or whether President Trump is trying to spur negotiations on a new accord now that a last Cold War treaty has expired.

© U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, via Associated Press

Federal officials had warned that the new product from the online provider of weight loss drugs might be illegal.

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People may be able to pay less for prescriptions with their insurance rather than via the new government website. The Trump drugstore is meant to help people buy medications using their own money.

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More than 800 employees delivered a petition to management, condemning the Trump administration’s use of Google technology in immigration enforcement.

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The internet and a new film have breathed life into old conspiracy theories about one of the world’s most famous landmarks.

TrumpRx is aimed at helping patients use their own money to buy medicines. But researchers who study drug pricing warned that many patients could pay too much if they use the site.

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The price of Bitcoin is now lower than when President Trump was elected in 2024, raising concerns of a new “crypto winter" in the industry.

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Food makers will now be able to claim that their products have “no artificial colors,” so long as they use dyes that are not petroleum-based.

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The company’s data will be essential for many states to comply with new work requirements for the health insurance program that take effect next year.

© Tami Chappell/Reuters

Federal agencies are delaying approvals for renewable energy projects on both federal land and private property at a time when electricity demand is going up.

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The Trump administration announced that the company, a pharmacy benefit manager, had agreed to make significant changes to its practices.

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The legislation will impose new restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, giant companies like CVS Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts that oversee prescription drug benefits.

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Senators asked Ted Sarandos about whether the acquisition would raise prices, squeeze talent and degrade the moviegoing experience.

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A group of cryptocurrency investors backing a memecoin hopes the statue will soon be installed at one of Mr. Trump’s golf courses in Florida.

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The “Project Vault” initiative is intended to reduce U.S. reliance on China for key technology components.

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Technological advances and an erosion of trust have transformed the way news unfolds online, distorting shared reality.

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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said addiction is a “spiritual disease” that calls out for the involvement of religious organizations.

© Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times

Jenna Norton, a National Institutes of Health employee, has been an outspoken critic of the administration’s research cuts and has been on paid leave.

© Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The court ruled that construction can restart on a wind farm off the coast of New York State. The Trump administration had ordered work to stop in December.

© Angus Mordant for The New York Times

Energy experts said governors and legislatures had tools to keep electricity prices from rising further, and might even be able to lower them.

© Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

Agents use facial recognition, social media monitoring and other tech tools not only to identify undocumented immigrants but also to track protesters, current and former officials said.

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The new panel, which advises the government on research and service priorities for people with autism, includes many members who have argued that vaccines cause the disorder.

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

The union for Canada’s public employees is sounding the alarm on what it says is a health-care crisis in Ontario. Read More

A $20 million agency project will aid companies prospecting the sea for critical minerals.

© Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

The lawsuit accuses the companies of raising prices by working against solar and wind power and by downplaying the risks of climate change.

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The United States is the only country to pull out of the global agreement among nations to fight climate change. European diplomats say the U.S. reputation is suffering.

© Paul Ratje for The New York Times

Executives, investors and engineers are speaking out against the Trump administration after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in moves reminiscent of Silicon Valley a decade ago.

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The agency says that victims of an investment offering involving Gemini Trust got their money back, though after a regulatory action brought by the New York attorney general.

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His containment strategy helped wipe out the disease in the 1970s, one of the world’s greatest public health triumphs. He also led the C.D.C. and promoted childhood vaccination worldwide.

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U.S. trade policy has devastated the Canadian auto industry and pushed the country to reach an agreement that will make it easier for Chinese companies to sell cars there.

© Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Several big companies and investment firms are part of the new American TikTok. Many have ties to one another and President Trump.

© Andres Kudacki for The New York Times