Police in Ireland have stepped in to reassure the public after alarming AI-generated images of a character resembling Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat spread widely online

Police have been compelled to issue a statement following the emergence of disturbing images that seemingly depicted someone dressed as Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat menacing a residential area.

The unsettling photographs surfaced from Limerick in Ireland, showing an eerie cat-like figure lurking through streets and loitering in residents’ driveways, sparking concern among both locals and social media users. Fortunately for those left unnerved, Gardaí officials have now confirmed the pictures are fabricated and were in fact artificially generated by an unidentified hoaxer.

The images, which initially surfaced on Facebook though were believed at the time to have come from photo-sharing platform Snapchat, were paired with bogus and deceptive claims that officers were looking into the sinister real-world cartoon character, the Irish Mirror reports.

The prank wasn’t confined to Limerick either, with doctored images of the figure appearing in locations including Glanmire, Cork, Cahir, Tipperary, Curracloe, Wexford, and Broadford Park in Dublin, all contributing to the mounting panic online.

Notably, one regional police force even deemed it necessary to tackle the matter head-on, issuing a firm statement to reassure residents that the entire episode was complete nonsense.

A spokesperson for Wexford Garda stated: “In an unusual turn of events we are hearing a lot about an illusive Dr Seuss character doing the rounds online, apparently causing havoc in neighbourhoods and towns across the country.

“Fortunately, we can rule out the issue, which is essentially an AI prompt that places the character into images/videos of familiar places. To be clear, the Cat in the Hat was not in your driveway while you were out and he is not currently hiding out in Curracloe.”

Remarkably, this isn’t the first occasion officers have been forced to issue alerts about misleading AI-generated trends.

Last year, police forces across the UK became involved after a viral stunt featuring a fabricated “AI homeless man” supposedly invited into people’s homes resulted in numerous emergency calls from individuals who’d been duped by what turned out to be an elaborate wind-up.

Dorset Police disclosed they’d taken a call from one “extremely concerned parent” who’d been convinced by their daughter that an unknown man was present in their family residence while she was home alone, only for officers to establish the entire incident was an AI-generated hoax.

A force spokesperson advised: “: “If you receive a message and pictures similar to the above antics from friends or family, please attempt to check it isn’t a prank before dialling 999.”

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The US Supreme Court has temporarily allowed construction of the White House ballroom to move forward.

The decision on Friday by Chief Justice John Roberts, issued as a stay, will allow US President Donald Trump’s $400m (£297m) project to continue as the high court mulls over a case aiming to halt it entirely.

The stay will remain in place pending further action from the court.

The case, originally filed by a preservation group that argues the project would become irreversible unless stopped immediately, was appealed to the high court after a federal appeals court had ordered work to halt earlier this month.

The appeals court ruled that Trump was a “temporary tenant” of the White House and could not make the alterations without congressional approval. It gave the administration two weeks to appeal the decision.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a preservation group, has led the lawsuit against the ballroom, arguing it is causing irreversible damage to a historical building.

“We are aware of the administrative stay,” the group told the BBC on Friday. “To be clear, this is not a final decision on the merits of the government’s stay application, and we await further action.”

The court’s decision represents a victory – albeit perhaps a temporary one – for Trump, who has long argued that the White House needs a larger events space, and more recently, that it was vital for national security.

Had the Supreme Court not issued a stay, or chosen to rule against the Trump administration, the White House would have been legally obligated to halt construction on Friday.

The president has asserted that the new ballroom is needed to “accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits”, and has also said that it is “vital for National Security”.

Government lawyers have argued the additional security complex and features included in the ballroom project are needed to protect the White House complex from drones, ballistic missiles, biohazards and other threats – changes essential to protecting the president, his family, and staff.

In an emergency filing to the high court before the stay, the US Solicitor General D John Sauer argued construction on the ballroom had to continue for safety reasons.

While initially billed as a 650-person ballroom that would incorporate the existing building when it was announced in July 2025, revised plans later expanded it to have a capacity of 900, and then about 1,000, with the entire structure of the East Wing being demolished in the process.

A six-year-old girl has died in hospital just days after three members of her family drowned at Shoreham-by-Sea.

Saja El-Khawas, six, was pulled out of the water and taken to hospital after the group came into trouble while swimming close to the shore in West Sussex, on Tuesday. 

But the youngster, who was in critical condition, has now died, a law firm acting for the hospital and the Palestinian Forum in Britain reported.

Her older sister Sara El-Khawas, 14, and her parents, Hassan El-Khawas, 55, and Zeina Alayn, 37, died during the tragedy. 

The family were British citizens of Palestinian origin who came to the UK from the Rashidieh Camp in southern Lebanon, the Palestinian embassy said. 

The camp is on the Mediterranean coast and one of the most populous Palestinian refugee camps in the country.

It is understood that the family had travelled down from their home in north-west London to visit Shoreham for the day.

Floral tributes were left at Shoreham beach following the tragedy.   

Zeina Alayn, 37, died alongside her husband and two daughters at Shoreham-by-Sea

Hassan El-Khawas, 55, who died alongside his wife and children, was a Palestinian refugee

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Eldest daughter Sara El-Khawas, 14, was described by her school as a ‘sweet girl’ who was ‘well-liked’ by her classmates and teachers

The family lived in a first-floor, two-bedroom council flat, with neighbours describing them as a ‘warm, close family’.

Sam, who lives on the ground floor of the building, said the family had lived there for ten years and spoke little about their life before coming to the UK.

‘Hassan was a lovely man and I often saw him in the shared garden we have. I saw him a couple of days ago and he said they were going down to the seaside for a day trip,’ he said.

‘They’ve been in the flat for quite a few years and two of their youngest kids were born since they’ve been living there. They were a warm, close family and what’s happened is devastating.’

Ahmed, another neighbour, said: ‘All I know is that they were in a refugee camp before coming to the UK which was more than ten years ago. Hassan worked as a builder and was a down to earth guy who was always smiling and friendly.’

Eyewitnesses claimed one of the girls got tangled in a fishing net, sparking the tragedy. A fisherman pulled one of the children out before raising the alarm.

Joe Chrisp, 24, said: ‘One of the local fishermen said it was two adults, two kids.

‘One of the kids apparently got caught in a fishing net.’

Floral tributes and a lantern were left at the scene after the tragedy on Tuesday

The investigation into the incident remains open, but police believe it was a tragic accident with no third-party involvement.

In a tribute to the family, the Palestinian Forum in Britain mourned their passing earlier this week.

‘With hearts believing in God’s decree, the Palestinian Forum in Britain mourns Mr Hossam El-Khawas, his virtuous wife, and their daughter – from the Rashidieh refugee camp in Lebanon – following their drowning in the Sussex area,’ it said.

‘We pray for the recovery of their second daughter, who was transferred to the hospital.’

The forum added: ‘We also request help in reaching out to the family (for those who know them) so we can fulfill our collective duty together. 

‘May God bestow His vast mercy upon them, welcome them into His spacious gardens, and grant their loved ones patience and solace. Indeed, to God we belong and to Him we shall return.’

This is a breaking news story. More to follow. 

The Green Dragon, on Finkle Street in Stockton town centre, closed in May 2023 after nearly seven years under its previous management.

Now, new owners say they are preparing the venue for its return, promising a traditional pub where local people, regulars and new faces can come together.

In a post shared online, they said: “Something exciting is happening in the heart of Stockton and we’re absolutely delighted to finally share it with you.

“We are so pleased to be taking on The Green Dragon and cannot wait to welcome you through our doors.”

The owners said they wanted to create a “proper local” where people could enjoy a drink, catch up with friends and feel at home.

They said: “We’re passionate about making our pub one of the best traditional pubs. We’ll make sure we excel with good company and creating somewhere that feels like a proper local, somewhere you can walk in, have a drink, meet friends, make new ones and feel right at home.

“There’s lots happening behind the scenes as we get everything ready, and we’re putting our heart and soul into making sure The Green Dragon is perfect and a place we can be proud of.”

Regulars voiced their upset when the pub’s closure was announced in 2023, with one customer describing it as their favourite pub and another saying major events in their life since 1990 had been marked at the venue.

The new owners have not yet revealed an opening date, but said customers would not have to wait “forever” for its return.

They added: “Make sure you like and follow the page because we’ll be sharing updates, sneak peeks and, of course, the big opening date as soon as we’re ready to announce it.

“The Green Dragon. Traditional pub. Proper welcome. Stockton on Tees. Watch this space, the dragon is waking up.”

CEUTA, Spain (AP) — Against the murmur of prayers, body bags were lowered into graves marked only with numbers. Gravediggers placed the first four victims in cinderblock plots while a small group of locals watched at a cemetery on the tip of North Africa.

The dead, whose identities are unknown, were among the more than 90 migrants who lost their lives during Spain’s deadliest border crisis three weeks ago. Fueled by misinformation, poverty and a lack of opportunities, more than 72,000 people poured into Ceuta, a Spanish territory that neighbors Morocco.

At a Muslim cemetery in Ceuta, 18 migrants were laid to rest on Friday. An Islamic cleric read prayers and chants praising God while funeral workers worked quickly to lower the white body bags and cover them with soil. More migrants are expected to be buried soon.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, a left-leaning nongovernmental organization, called for the burials in Ceuta to be halted until every effort had been made to identify the bodies and repatriate them to Morocco, the country of origin for most of the migrants who made the perilous journey.

Many of those who died drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.

In a statement, the NGO asked Morocco’s foreign ministry to ensure that “the bodies are returned to the families so they can be buried with dignity.”

It called the burials in Ceuta a “new human tragedy,” adding to the “disaster of displacement and missing persons.”

A spokesperson for Ceuta’s city government said last week the paperwork to repatriate the bodies of the deceased was complete, but that Morocco’s government hadn’t accepted it.

Morocco’s foreign ministry didn’t respond to questions from The Associated Press about the burials that started on Friday in Ceuta or suggestions that Morocco is blocking the repatriation of identified migrant bodies.

While most of those who crossed into Ceuta in late July returned to Morocco almost immediately, local authorities say that up to 10,000 migrants — including women and children — could still be in the small Spanish city, prolonging a humanitarian crisis as authorities and locals struggle to shelter and attend to them. Spain’s national government cites a lower figure of around 5,000 people.

Moroccan and Spanish authorities have blamed social media rumors and human smuggling networks for the deadly event, while migrants cited unemployment and low wages as reasons for why they made the journey.

And not just any trader – a household name, no less. It’s always a pleasure to be at my neighbour’s house when “the Ringtons man” calls. Ringtons tea and coffee business is 119 years old – a mere 22 years older than Betty, who lives over the road from me.

As vans whizz up and down our lane and drivers race to and fro leaving cardboard boxes on doorsteps, the Ringtons man – aka Lee – knocks on Betty’s door with a basket full of goodies from beverages to biscuits and cakes, from which she takes her pick – she’s very partial to ginger snaps.

Of course, Lee arrives by van, but once he’s in the street, the basket takes over.It’s a lovely, nostalgic scene to witness, like something from another era, and takes me back to my childhood when many goods were brought to our North Yorkshire village by local traders. There was Eric the butcher whose van drew up on the high street every Saturday afternoon. I used to love climbing the steps into the back of it and watching Eric cutting meat for my mum. Often, Eric would walk down our path with a pre-ordered joint of beef Mum had ordered for Sunday dinner.

Our village had a visiting grocery van that sold everything, from cereal to soap. I loved its little wooden shelves. I have a vague memory of a bread van too, and a weekly fishmonger’s van also pulled up in the high street, in a different spot to Eric. These traders were always on time, and drew many customers, who chatted while waiting their turn.

In those days everyone had their milk delivered. In common with everybody in the village, ours came from Bert Smith, the milkman who lived locally. We would hear the glass bottles clinking as he left them on our doorstep while we were getting up for school.

A local coalman, who travelled in the van with his pet Alsatian, brought fuel for the fire and coke for the boiler, heaving it onto his back before tipping it into the bunker.

My parents knew all these traders by name, as did everyone. When they called, they often spent half an hour chatting, passing on titbits from neighbouring communities. Sometimes, they would stop for a cup of tea.

There are more delivery vans on our roads than ever before

Today’s world brings different types of home delivery. Our streets now have more vans coming and going than ever before, dropping off goods of every type and size. But whereas in the past it was the trader who brought them to your street, now it’s specialist fleets of delivery personnel. Nowadays people order their entire supermarket shop online, waiting at home for it to be dropped off.

There is little time for social niceties. Most drivers work on strict, computer-planned routes with tight delivery time slots. They may have a quick chat, but are under pressure to deliver their quota within certain deadlines.

Buying online brings a blink-and-you-miss-it delivery, all very impersonal. We rarely get to meet the people behind the goods and few people know those making deliveries by name.

The decades did roll back a little during the pandemic, when local traders started home delivery rounds to help people out. It kindled memories of an almost forgotten way of life.

It’s not all disappeared. Our street does have a milkman who delivers to a handful of homes, bizarrely, around 11pm after we have gone to bed. I am ashamed to say that we don’t use him.

Todays way of life moves at a different pace. We have almost instant access to everything, and that’s what we want. But we have lost a special sense of community along the way.

East Cambridgeshire District Council approved plans to convert the church in Burwell despite concerns around parking

Plans to convert a village church into a nursery have been approved despite concerns from neighbours around parking. Clarence House Day Nurseries applied to turn Burwell United Reform Church into a nursery as church attendance has “declined”.

They said the new use would allow the “underutilised” High Street building to continue to host “community-oriented activity”.

Neighbours raised concerns that nearby Hall Street could be used for parking and asked for a condition to be put in place forbidding staff and parents from parking there.

They said: “There are several elderly residents living on Hall Lane who rely on unrestricted access to their driveways. Additionally, on-street parking could result in driveways being partially or fully obstructed, causing significant inconvenience and potential safety concerns.”

They were also concerned this could lead to reduced visibility and pose a safety risk for children catching the bus to school or walking with their parents to and from Burwell Primary School.

But East Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning officer said in their report that this wouldn’t be necessary as the highway authority didn’t raise any objections.

Neighbours also asked for the nursery to operate as a “strictly non-smoking and non-vaping site for staff, parents and visitors”.

They said: “We are particularly concerned that the side passageway may become an informal smoking or vaping area. Such use could result in a nuisance from smoke, odour and litter, negatively affecting neighbouring properties and residents.”

The planning officer’s report said they can only attach conditions which are “necessary, relevant, precise and reasonable” which they didn’t feel this met. They added that there are laws to control smoking in enclosed spaces and the lack of this condition wouldn’t stop the nursery from operating a smoke-free operation.

Permission was granted under the conditions that the nursery only open between 7.30am and 6pm Monday to Friday and not on weekends or bank holidays.

​A large mural on a Grade-II listed building in Scarborough town centre will be extended as part of council efforts to boost civic pride and enhance the local environment.

​However, concerns about the scheme were raised by local residents who questioned the artistic quality of the design.

​The existing mural at 3, West Square, Scarborough, faces Westborough and will be extended towards the gable-end elevation.

Proposed West Square Mural Extension, Scarborough. Nyc

​Speaking at a council meeting last week, local resident Susan Millar objected to the plans as she said the design lacked “sufficient artistic quality, creativity and visual impact when compared with other large-scale public artworks elsewhere in the region”.

​She added that the mural made “poor use of the available wall space” and that it occupied “only part of the elevation and that sections of the artwork are obscured by existing street furniture”.

“The entire project should be reconsidered and opened to tender for alternative artistic proposals,” she told the planning committee meeting, adding: “Public art should benefit both residents and visitors, foster civic pride and contribute positively to the appearance of a prominent gateway location opposite the Railway Station.”

Members of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Planning Committee debated the artistic merits of the mural, with several members stating that it would be “a positive addition that enhanced the appearance of West Square”.

​However, council planners reminded councillors that the application, submitted by North Yorkshire Council, was for listed building consent and they had not been tasked with making a judgement on the design.

​An officer said: “The committee is not acting as an arbiter of artistic merit, and wider concerns regarding the process through which the mural was originally commissioned are beyond the remit of the committee.”

​The existing mural is eight metres wide and 11m high, while the extension will be 6.5 metres wide and around four metres high.

​North Yorkshire Council said the aim of the proposed works is to enhance the town centre public realm by fostering a “stronger sense of civic pride”.

​Councillors voted to approve the application with five votes in favour and one against.

​

By TARA ANSON-WALSH, FOOTBALL REPORTER and WILL GRIFFEE

Updated: 20:25 BST, 21 August 2026

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 20:07 BST, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 20:18 BST, 21 August 2026

The brother of Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has broken his silence to reveal the late actress’s final moments.

Brian administered Narcan to the star after he and his brother, Zach, found her unconscious in an AirBnB in Greenville, South Carolina, Zach told TMZ.

Zach said he was calling 911 while Brian gave Panettiere the medication, which is typically administered to reverse an opioid overdose.

The 38-year-old said he, Brian and the actress were planning to get lunch and go indoor golfing after he attended church.

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He called and texted Panettiere and his brother as he was leaving the Sunday service, but didn’t hear back form them, he recalled. 

Zach assumed the pair were sleeping so he drove back to the rental, but he didn’t have the door code to the unit so he couldn’t get in.

‘I knocked loudly which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull out couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious,’ he said.

‘I immediately called 911 and Brian gave her Narcan. We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived.’

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‘At that point we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life,’ he added.

Brian Hickerson administered Narcan to Hayden Panettiere, pictured together, after he and his brother Zach found her unconscious in an AirBnB in Greenville, South Carolina

Zach Hickerson called 911 as Brian administered the drug

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Zach says he is ‘beyond heartbroken and devastated’ by Panettiere’s death.

He shared how over the past eight years the actress had become one of my ‘dearest and closest friends,’ adding they she was someone he loved and cared for deeply.

He urged for an end to the ‘assumptions, speculations and accusations’ that are swirling around the star’s death.

Zach claimed the ‘truth’ will come out once police have completed their investigation. 

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This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.