A blood-covered Texas man who knocked on doors in a neighborhood begging for help was then shot by a homeowner after forcing his way into a property, according to police.

The Houston Police Department says the man is in critical condition at a hospital in the city following the confrontation, ABC13 Houston reported.

The incident began shortly after midnight on Monday when witnesses reported seeing two men running near Campden Hill. One man was reportedly wearing a mask, while the other was bleeding from the head.

According to investigators, the bloodied man began a frantic circuit of the neighborhood, knocking on the doors of several homes. Video footage obtained by ABC13 captured the man shouting for help and banging on a door before he eventually reached a property in the 4800 block.

Authorities say the man kicked in the front door and forced his way inside the house, where he was subsequently shot by the homeowner.

According to KHOU 11, a CBS affiliate in Houston, Lt. J.P. Horelica stated that investigators believe both suspects are in their early 20s.

The masked man was described as wearing a black hoodie and a jumpsuit. He fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction and remains unidentified.

Police have not yet determined the cause of the man’s initial injuries or whether he had been assaulted before the break-in.

Residents of the quiet suburb expressed shock at the violence.

Gerald Conkrite, a neighbor, told reporters that such events are a rarity for the area.

“We don’t have that over here,” Conkrite told ABC13. “It don’t work like that over here no more.”

KHOU 11 reported that investigators are also asking residents to review home-surveillance footage from the neighborhood to track the suspects’ movements before the shooting.

Peter Roderick, City of York Council’s public health director, said there had been no cases of meningococcal disease, the bacterial infection which causes meningitis and septicaemia, recorded locally.

But he added people should look out for the symptoms of both infections and get vaccinated, particularly if they are of student age.

It comes as the peak of the meningitis outbreak which has killed two people in Kent is now thought to have passed, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

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A total of 29 confirmed and suspected cases linked to the MenB strain outbreak in and around the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus were recorded as of Monday, March 23.

York official Mr Roderick said spotting the symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia and getting the MenACWY vaccine were the two key things he wanted to impress on people.

He added in a Facebook message on Monday people could contact their GP and get the vaccine which is available up to the age of 25.

Many people have had vaccines as children or teenagers but immunity can vary.

The onset of meningitis, the inflammation of the lining of the brain, can be sudden.

Symptoms include a rash that does not fade when pressed with glass, a sudden high fever, severe and worsening headaches, a stiff neck and vomiting and diarrhoea.

People waiting for meningitis vaccines at the University of Kent (Image: PA)

Joint and muscle pain, a dislike of bright lights, very cold hands and feet, seizures, confusion and delirium and extreme tiredness and difficultly waking can also be signs of infection.

People who develop symptoms themselves or know someone who has should contact 999 or go to A&E urgently.

Mr Roderick also said people should ensure they and their children have had the MMR vaccine, following a rise in cases locally and nationally.

MMR vaccines are available for people of all ages.

The council said any child or young person not fully vaccinated may have to stay away from school, college or university for up to 21 days following exposure to measles.

Mr Roderick added people should be on the look out for the symptoms of measles.

It typically starts with cold-like symptoms including a high temperature, a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, coughing and red, sore and watering eyes.

Small white spots can appear on the inside of the mouth a few days later and the illness is also characterised by a red, blotchy rash.

Measles can spread very easily and it can lead to serious problems in some people and is particularly dangerous for children.

Anyone concerned about themselves or their child should contact their GP or the NHS’ 111 line in the first instance.

In the Premier League, he has made 310 appearances for Liverpool, with 189 goals and 92 assists. This total of 281 goal contributions is the biggest for one club in Premier League history, five more than Wayne Rooney for Manchester United.

Salah possessed the selfish, ruthless streak that is common among all the greats, but the assists figure alone demonstrates he was also a team contributor.

He put down his marker in a stellar first season, scoring 44 goals and contributing 14 assists in 52 appearances. The campaign ended in tears, however, after he injured his shoulder when challenged by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final, lasting only 31 minutes of a 3-1 loss in Kiev.

He only had to wait a year for Champions League final redemption, scoring an early penalty when Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in Madrid.

Salah formed one part of an attacking trident that was as potent as anything in world football at the time, alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

He raided from the right, Mane patrolled the left, while Firmino could play as a striker or drop deep to add subtle brushstrokes to a fluid, devastating combination.

It was the perfect marriage of pressing, power, skill, pace and threat. Salah and Mane were not always compatible as personalities but on the pitch they were perfectly in tune with each other, aided by the graceful Brazilian Firmino.

Salah’s consistency and fitness was remarkable. His lowest goals total in a full season before this current campaign came in 2019-20 when he ‘only’ scored 23 as Liverpool won the title for the first time in 30 years.

In his Liverpool career, Salah’s win rate from 310 Premier League appearances is 63.9%, while from his total of 435 games it is 62.7% – a reflection of glorious years for club and player.

Detectives remained at two scenes in north Manchester following the fatal incident

A murder investigation has been launched after a man who was found unconscious in the street in north Manchester tragically died.

Police and paramedics had been called to Crescent Road in Crumpsall at around 11.50pm on Monday to concerns for the welfare of a man. He was found unconscious in the road and taken to hospital, but was later pronounced dead.

Scenes were put in place overnight and throughout Tuesday (March 23) on Wellington Road and Crescent Road, with forensics officers and detectives seen conducting investigations. An evidence tent was also erected on the pavement with officers seen manning the cordon.

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Flowers have since been laid at the scene of the incident. Pictures showed police tape blocking off the area with multiple police cars in attendance.

A man was arrested on suspicion of murder and has been taken into custody to be questioned by detectives, who are still trying to piece together the circumstances surrounding the incident. Two scenes on Wellington Road and Crescent Road remain in place while officers ‘explore all lines of enquiry’.

Detective Inspector Chris Chadderton from the City of Manchester Division said: “This is a tragic incident in which a man has sadly lost his life, and our thoughts are firmly with his loved ones.

“We have a team of detectives working to piece together the events leading up to his death and are continuing to explore all available lines of enquiry. We urge anyone who may have seen anything, or has CCTV, doorbell, mobile or dashcam footage from around the time of the incident, to please contact us as this could be vital to our investigation.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 0161 856 1146 quoting log 3923 of 23/03/2026. Information can also be shared using the ‘report tool’ or LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Imagine a man wants to buy a new shirt for work that he plans to wear once a week for at least the next five years. When browsing for options, he finds one shirt from a lower-quality brand priced at £20 and one shirt from a high-quality brand for £50. Which one should he buy?

From his previous experience with the two brands, he knows that if he plans to wear the shirt once a week (so roughly 50 times per year) the lower-quality shirt will last him about a year. After that, he will need to replace it. The high-quality shirt will be good for at least four years. But clearly, the high-quality shirt is also more expensive.

Our theoretical shopper would probably conclude that the high-quality shirt makes more economic sense. Taking into account the purchase price relative to how many times he can wear the shirt, it would cost him only 25 pence for each time he would wear it, compared to the lower-quality shirt at 40 pence.

This is the logic of “cost per wear”. Some fashion blogs and small businesses have started using this concept to make the case for high-quality clothing. The rationale is simple – higher-quality clothing should last longer, making a higher purchase price worthwhile in the long run. Cost per wear is calculated by dividing the garment price by the number of times the consumer expects to wear it.

Essentially, cost per wear works much like unit pricing in supermarkets. These measures already help consumers compare things like the price of a product per 100g, per chocolate bar in a multipack, or per laundry load. But this same logic isn’t yet applied to clothes in a retail setting.

The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental harm, accounting for up to 8% of the world’s carbon emissions, causing immense water pollution due to textile treatments such as dyeing, and producing millions of tonnes of textile waste annually.

Using cost per wear in shops or online retail spaces could reduce the environmental impact of fashion – the more frequently a garment can be worn, the more efficiently the consumed resources are used. And of course the longer that garment remains in use, the less often it needs to be replaced.

The problem is that most shoppers don’t know how long a garment will last. Without a prompt in stores or online, many consumers do not even consider clothing longevity when buying.

But standardised fabric-testing methods exist already. These methods assess the durability of fabric according to the number of abrasion cycles (that is, the number of rubs against an abrasive surface) it can tolerate before showing signs of wear. This could easily be applied to clothing, allowing retailers to include cost per wear labels alongside the purchase price.

In research I carried out with Lucia Reisch from Cambridge Judge Business School, we tested this idea. In a number of experiments, we showed participants from online panels a lower-quality, cheaper garment (a sweater, for example) and a higher-quality, more expensive version. We then asked which they would prefer.

Fast fashion suddenly wasn’t so affordable

When we included information on the cost per wear for both options – or even just the high-quality option (showing a lower cost per wear compared to a poorer-quality option, or a reference value), participants were more likely to choose the more expensive, high-quality option.

The effect was stronger when participants were shopping for everyday wear over occasion wear, when they could compare the cost per wear between options, and when the cost per wear information was said to be certified by an independent third party. Participants then trusted the information more, and we found that this could outperform a general durability claim made by a brand.

Our studies showed that cost per wear can make cheap fashion suddenly appear more expensive to shoppers – the high-quality options were viewed as better financial investments. And by choosing the more economical, high-quality option, participants were also choosing the greener option.

Cost per wear can increase the perception of affordability for more expensive, high‐quality clothing. But of course many shoppers will still not be able to afford the higher purchase price even though they know it would make more long-term economic sense.

And cost per wear only reflects the durability of an item as one dimension of sustainability. It does not reflect ethical considerations, such as the conditions workers face in the production process, or ecological aspects such as the use of natural or synthetic fibres.

Brands and retailers must also be willing to display cost per wear labels without regulation. High-quality brands may arguably have a greater incentive to do so than fast fashion brands.

However, the concept of cost per wear is still worth pursuing. It can prompt shoppers at the point of purchase to consider a garment’s durability and how often they might wear it. And ideally, it would motivate them to ditch fast fashion and choose greener options – even if just to save money in the long run.

The pink jacket is stylish and has two pockets for added utility feel

Even though the weather in spring will slowly start to improve, you might often get caught out on some days when it is a lot colder than expected. It is good to have a few light jackets in your springtime wardrobe for those days.

Tesco F&F has just released the F&F Textured Pocket Front Zip Up Jacket in Pink that would look very stylish with a range of outfits. The textured jacket has been designed with a “cool collared neckline and zip fastening” and comes in both a baby pink and cream.

The jacket is ideal for layering and has two front flap pockets to “add a utility-inspired feel”. The chic jacket is currently being sold for £35 with Clubcard members being able to get 25% off the item at the moment.

The pink jacket was posted in a video to the Tesco F&F Instagram page, which currently has 887K followers. The post was captioned: “Layering up in Spring Pastels. Shop our latest Spring collection. #FandFClothing #StyleItOut.”

Fans of the F&F clothing brand have already taken to social media to share their opinions on the cute spring item. One commenter said: “Oh my goodness, the bouclé jacket!!”

If you want to get your hands on the jacket or any other item for springtime, you can go to the Tesco website to browse all of its clothing. You can also go in person to a Tesco store with a clothing department.

Boden has plenty of alternative options if this jacket is not quite what you are looking for. There is this Stamford Linen Blazer that reviews say has a “good fit and design” or this Marylebone Ponte Blazer, which is a good option if you need something for work.

If these jackets are not quite inline with your style, New Look also has some pieces in stock you might like. There is this Premium Tan Double Breasted Mac Trench Coat, which can be styled to create a very trendy look, or this Off White Flap Pocket Cotton Shacket that comes in a range of colours.

Sarah Gillis, owner of The Copper Kettle in Reeth, has seen her popular Swaledale café selected as an official stop on the 2026 MARK Bike & Brew Passport.

The initiative, run by the charity Motorbiker Acts of Random Kindness (MARK), encourages riders to visit independent biker-friendly venues while raising money for local causes.

The Copper Kettle in Reeth (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Out of 296 participating cafés across England and Wales, The Copper Kettle holds the distinction of being the second most northern stop on the route this year.

The scheme invites bikers to collect stamps at venues along the trail, helping to fund community projects including food banks, hospices and veterans’ support, while also promoting mental health awareness within the motorcycling community.

Sarah said: “Being the second most northern stop out of nearly 300 cafés is a real badge of honour for us.

“Reeth has always been a favourite for bikers, but being part of the MARK family adds a deeper purpose.

“It’s about more than just a pit stop; it’s about supporting mental health and being part of a community that looks out for one another.

“We’re ready to put the kettle on for everyone riding north this year.”

The café is expected to welcome an influx of visitors when the 2026 riding season officially begins on April 1, as bikers travel to tick off one of the northernmost locations on the national map.

MARK, which achieved full charity status in 2025, was founded by riders aiming to channel the biking community’s passion into acts of kindness and support.

Its Bike & Brew Passport scheme has grown into a nationwide network of cafés and “rider hubs” offering welcoming spaces for bikers to connect.

Funds raised through the initiative support a range of grassroots causes, while the organisation also delivers mental health first aid training and installs life-saving equipment such as defibrillators in biker-friendly venues.

Residents and visiting riders are being encouraged to stop by The Copper Kettle to see the passport scheme in action and support a business helping to put Reeth on the national charity map.

The quarterly survey of more than 100 founders across the region found that 71 per cent are optimistic about their business prospects over the next 12 months, with many reporting strong pipelines, new opportunities, and encouraging levels of demand.

In contrast, the findings also highlight significant pressures facing SMEs.

Elaine Stroud, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, (Image: Supplied)

Around 70 per cent of entrepreneurs cite rising costs as their biggest concern, with employment costs, including recent increases in minimum wage and National Insurance contributions, most frequently mentioned.

More broadly, nearly half of respondents say government policy and regulatory uncertainty are affecting business confidence.

Changes to employment legislation, taxation, and the overall regulatory environment are creating additional challenges for founders planning their next stage of growth.

Cash flow pressures appear to have eased since the previous survey (December 2025), with the proportion of entrepreneurs naming them as a key challenge falling from 33 per cent to 25 per cent, but the underlying picture remains complex.

About four in ten entrepreneurs report difficulties converting pipeline opportunities into revenue, citing slower client decision-making and payment terms that extend well beyond traditional timeframes.

Despite these challenges, the survey points to a resilient entrepreneurial community.

Three-quarters of respondents expect their turnover to increase over the next 12 months, and more than half anticipate expanding their workforce during the same period.

Elaine Stroud, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said: “Entrepreneurs are naturally optimistic people, and that optimism really comes through in this survey.

“Many founders across the North East are seeing strong sales pipelines, new opportunities, and encouraging momentum.

“At the same time, rising employment costs and economic uncertainty are clearly creating pressure, but what stands out is the resilience of the region’s entrepreneurial community.

“Even in a challenging environment, founders continue to invest, adapt, and look for new opportunities.

“And that entrepreneurial energy remains a key driver of growth for the North East economy.”

The survey also highlights the growing role of technology in business operations.

More than 90 per cent of respondents say they are now using Artificial Intelligence in some form, most commonly to support productivity, data analysis, marketing, and operational efficiency.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum Pulse Survey is conducted quarterly to capture the views of founders and business leaders across the North East region and provide insight into the opportunities and challenges shaping the region’s economy.

More than £2m from Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region will go towards the development of the Cynon Gateway link road

More than £2m of extra funding will go towards plans for a link road in the Cynon Valley. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has confirmed that £2.01m has been awarded by Welsh Government through the Cardiff Capital Region towards the further development of the Cynon Gateway Link Road.

The Welsh Government funding is provided through the Cardiff Capital Region Regional Transport Fund 26/27, with the goal to make local transport more accessible for everyone and help people get around more easily.

The funding is in addition to the £603,000 set aside for the project within the council’s highways and engineering 2026/27 capital programme agreed by cabinet on March 18.

The council says that the scheme is a key part of Cardiff Capital Region’s five-year Regional Transport Plan, and that it will help to improve connectivity in the north of the Cynon Valley to support the area’s long term growth.

The Cynon Gateway Link Road is a 1.2km link road that will connect the A4059 Aberdare Bypass to the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road.

The aim is to strengthen north-south transport links between Llwydcoed and Penywaun, improve access across the area, and help ease congestion on local routes.

The scheme also forms part of wider plans to improve transport connectivity and support economic growth in the Cynon Valley.

As the council has continued to work on the scheme in recent years, AtkinsRéalis was appointed in September 2025 to support delivery of the project. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

In February 2023, the scheme was put on hold due to the Welsh Government’s roads review but in August 2024 it was announced that revised plans were being drawn up with a view to going ahead with it.

Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and cabinet member for infrastructure and investment, said: “This is positive news for Rhondda Cynon Taf and especially for the north of the Cynon Valley.

“The Cynon Gateway Link Road is an important project that has the potential to improve connections, tackle long-standing transport challenges and support future investment in the area.

“We welcome this significant £2.01m from Welsh Government and Cardiff Capital Region, which builds on the council funding already committed to the project for 2026/27.

“It means we can continue moving this major scheme forward and keepup the momentum behind a project that is important for local communities and the wider regional economy.

“Over the last decade, the council has made substantial investment in highways, transport and wider infrastructure right across Rhondda Cynon Taf.

“We’ve taken a long-term approach because we know that good infrastructure matters. Whether that is maintaining roads, repairing structures, delivering flood alleviation, improving active travel, or developing major future transport schemes like this one.

“Our investment programme has grown substantially over the past decade, and that continued commitment is helping us deliver the improvements our communities need now while planning properly for the future.”

On November 14 1985, a letter announcing the discovery of a superstable species of carbon appeared in the science journal Nature. Even the letter’s title, C₆₀: Buckminsterfullerene, caused a stir among the journal’s scholarly readers.

Molecules are usually named with sterile precision. This one was named after the American architect and futurist Richard Buckminster Fuller (Bucky to his friends), whose geodesic domes had become icons of modern design in the 1950s and 60s.

Fuller’s spherical domes were designed to be lightweight yet strong, with each triangular element distributing stress evenly across a curved framework. C₆₀ was the atomic analogue of these domes, built not from steel struts but carbon atoms – each joined by strong bonds with three of its neighbours to create a tiny spherical cage.

This new allotrope of carbon was so stable and symmetric that it redrew the map of molecular architecture. It kicked off a scientific sprint that led, barely a decade later, to the 1996 Nobel prize in chemistry for English scientist Harold Kroto and his American colleagues Robert Curl and Richard Smalley for their discovery.

Fullerenes (now nicknamed Buckyballs) had always existed on Earth – in candle soot, volcanic emissions and ancient minerals. But their scientific discovery emerged from an attempt to simulate the chemistry of carbon-rich red giant stars.

The discovery opened the era of nanotechnology – the manufacture and manipulation of materials at previously impossibly small scales. But this is not the only way Fuller’s name is remembered in science.

Who was Buckminster Fuller?

Few 20th-century figures are as hard to classify as Fuller. He was, at the least, an inventor, designer, engineer, writer, philosopher and futurist. Born in Massachusetts in 1895, his formal education was brief and rather turbulent – he was expelled twice from Harvard University. Yet this did not lessen his ambition to redesign the world.

Fuller could be eccentric and sometimes controversial. His early enterprises frequently failed, yet his charisma and boundless optimism made him a compelling public figure. The result was a remarkable portfolio of inventions and concepts, showcasing bold prototypes and radical ideas.

His earliest geodesic domes were built from lightweight materials, typically steel tubular struts connected in a triangular lattice and clad with acrylic panels. They capitalised on the structural advantage of symmetry: enclosing a vast space with relatively little material and remaining exceptionally strong.

Fuller patented the design in 1951. Despite initial scepticism from some in the architectural establishment, geodesic domes soon found practical applications. The US Marine Corps used them for rapidly deployable radar stations in Arctic conditions.

One of the most famous examples is the giant dome built for the Expo 67 international exposition in the Canadian city of Montreal. Known today as the Montreal Biosphere, the structure became one of the most recognisable symbols of futuristic architecture in the 1960s.

Alongside his designs, Fuller spent much of his life developing Synergetics, a philosophical-geometric framework exploring how structures and energies interact in nature. At the heart of this work was “ephemeralisation” — a term Fuller coined to describe the process of achieving ever greater results with fewer materials and less energy.

In later life, he became a global intellectual celebrity, delivering thousands of lectures around the world. Fuller captivated audiences with a unique vision of design, technology and planetary stewardship — once delivering a marathon series of lectures entitled “Everything I know”. It ran for 42 hours.

The power of symmetry

Symmetry is among science’s most powerful unifying codes and one of its most versatile interpretive tools. It reveals surprising equivalences between forms that differ in size but not in structure.

In the 1960s, footballs adopted a similar geometry to Fuller’s geodesic dome: a combination of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons stitched into a resilient mesh to absorb force and rolls with minimal deformation. Indeed, a diagram of a football was used to illustrate the announcement of C₆₀: Buckminsterfullerene.

This series is dedicated to lesser-known, highly influential scientists who have had a powerful influence on the careers and research paths of many others, including the authors of these articles.

A growing family of atom-thin, superstrong materials has emerged since that 1985 Nature letter. These include the tiny-in-diameter but much longer carbon nanotubes in 1991, and the one-atom thick graphene in 2004 – both of which are now widely used in electronics, sensors, composites and energy devices.

When added to polymer composites or metal alloys, these tiny carbon cages strengthen and lighten materials, enhancing performance in everything from aircraft components and solar panels to medical tools including MRI scanners.

Doing more with less

The structure of fullerenes naturally realises Fuller’s principle of ephemeralisation – the ability to do more and more with less and less.

Fuller imagined technological progress as a path toward efficiency, elegance, sustainability and abundance. He applied ephemeralisation across his designs, harnessing science and geometry to achieve maximum performance with minimal resources.

Beyond geodesic domes, his innovations included the Dymaxion House – a prefabricated, environmentally efficient home designed for easy mass production and transport – and the Dymaxion Car. Patented in 1933, its streamlined aerodynamic bodywork was designed to carry more passengers while improving both fuel efficiency and top speed.

Fuller also imagined radical solutions for extreme environments. These included the Undersea Island – a submerged base anchored by crisscrossing cables to stay rock steady in storms – and the suspension building system, which inverted the idea of a suspension bridge into an arched dome that created vast interior space with minimal material.

Fuller died in 1983 after a lifetime spent redesigning the world – and reimagining how humanity might live. Two years later, chemistry paid him an unexpected tribute: a perfectly symmetrical carbon molecule was named after him, recognising his lifelong dedication to geometrical efficiency.

In the nanosized Buckyball, Fuller’s aspirational social ideas are encapsulated in a molecule that embodies minimalism, efficiency and intelligent design.