Archie York’s mum, Katherine Errington, issued a plea earlier this month for an end to destructive anti-social behaviour at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington.

A new nature trail is being created through the area in memory of Archie, who lost his life in the tragic Violet Close explosion in Benwell in October 2024.

Katherine’s call for the perpetrators to respect her beloved son’s memory has now been backed by the Prime Minister.

Vandalism at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington, Newcastle, where a nature trail is being created in memory of Benwell explosion victim Archie York. Photo: Woolsington Parish Council. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

On a visit to Newcastle today (Thursday, April 23), the Labour leader described the attacks as “awful”.

The Prime Minister spoke on St George’s Day about the importance of  “service, generosity, and respect” in England.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It must be particularly hurtful to his family and his loved ones, and actually everybody who cares about him and has decency. We do need to tackle this head-on.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer at the Newcastle United Foundation’s NUCASTLE centre in Diana Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, on April 23, 2026. Photo: LDRS. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

“I think the way we do that is to make sure we have many more community neighbourhood police and we give them more powers to deal with anti-social behaviour. But this particular act is really despicable and I think all decent, tolerant people would look at this with real abhorrence.”

The “Forever 7” nature trail will be completed next month, in time to mark what would have been Archie’s ninth birthday in May.

But his family and Woolsington Parish Council were left concerned that the tribute could be ruined, after a series of incidents around the ponds.

A memorial bench dedicated to Archie was damaged by a disposable barbecue, motorbikes and quadbikes have been seen tearing up grass, and wooden gates into the park have been ripped off and set alight in a bonfire.

Katherine called the anti-social behaviour “disgusting” and said it felt like “a threat to us as a family”.

She wants the nature trail to become a peaceful place where families from across Tyneside can enjoy spending time together, just as Archie did.

Her son was killed in an explosion caused by an illegal cannabis shatter lab that was being operated in the flat beneath his family home.

Katherine welcomed Sir Keir’s support and said that the attacks on the nature reserve seemed to have eased since her appeal.

She told the LDRS: “The response has been really good and I think having Archie’s walk on the Parish ponds will hopefully mean that there is lower vandalism and ant-social behaviour there. That would be really positive.”

Sir Keir has hailed the Government’s flagship Pride in Place programme, which will see £80 million of funding allocated for long-term improvements to communities in Newcastle over the next decade. 

The areas earmarked for cash include Fawdon, Red House Farm, North Kenton, Throckley, Walbottle, Newburn, Walker, Elswick, Byker, and Benwell.

The Friday letters page is unimpressed by Shigeru Miyamoto’s recent comments, as a reader looks forward to not hearing any more about Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Anniversary release
There’s been some talk of Bethesda and their… failings lately but nobody seems to be talking about The Elder Scrolls 6. It’s been so long since Skyrim I don’t even know if younger gamers even know what it is anymore. And we still don’t have anything close to a release date.

I had hoped that after Starfield came out on PS5 that Bethesda would switch track and announce something, but we already know it won’t be the big game during the Xbox summer showcase. It might get a smaller slot, but I know I wouldn’t bet on that right now.

I’m still holding out that there’s hope it could be released next year but I think the safer bet would be 2028 or later. The 20th anniversary of Skyrim is in 2031 and there’s a genuine chance its sequel might not be out until then. Considering how little Bethesda has done in that time that is incredible to me, especially as Fallout 5 won’t be out until after that!
Bosley

What is it good for?
I agree it seems like ages since anyone was talking about Call Of Duty. The most obvious way back for these sort of things is some sort of nostalgia grab but they’ve already remade the Modern Warfare series once and the last Second World War one was a flop. So that means the only real answer is remaking Black Ops, but that series is so all over the place it doesn’t really seem like each game has much to do with each other, so you might as well just make another sequel.

People will always want to play soldiers, but I don’t know if they’ll always want to play Call Of Duty, now it’s kind of ruined all its major sublines. The best idea would be to make up a new one, but I don’t know what you’d base it around.

War doesn’t seem like so much fun right now, given what’s going on in the world, so this really has hit at the worst time for Activision and I’m not surprised it’s sci-fi games that are more popular at the moment.
McReady

Piratical sequel
I’m so looking forward to not having to hear about Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced anymore. In fact, it’s a shame it wasn’t a shadow drop, so we could’ve put a lid on it right now. The graphics look better but at the same time there’s nothing that’s blowing me away or that looks any different than the bullshots they had when it first came out.

If the combat and stealth is better that’s great but I’m not sure why they didn’t just make a sequel. They had two for Assassin’s Creed 2 and I would’ve thought a brand new pirate game would’ve been a lot more exciting than a remake of one that was good in its time but not really anything anyone would play nowadays.
Tony T.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Remaking history
I can’t say I remember anything about a white ZX Spectrum back in the day but then I was very young then and I’m not sure how rumours spread in those days, via the mags I guess?

44 years of the Speccy certainly makes me feel old but at the same time I’m glad it’s being remembered still. It won’t be long till it can think about its 50th anniversary and that’s crazy to me. That’s almost as long as the games industry as a whole, so it’s kind of nice to have known it since the beginning.

I am interested in the new replica, which isn’t quite as expensive as I expected, but I do worry how playable these games are going to be nowadays. I can’t help thinking that most of them would be better off as a remake, to improve things like controls and difficulty. It’d still be 2D and on an indie budget but I’m not sure there’s really the call for it.
The Bishop

15 minute reward
Replying go Woz G, about the play a PC game reward points. You don’t need a PC, create a GeForce Now account – it’s free – then link your Xbox account on the GeForce Now site.

All you need do then, is play one of the available Game Pass game on the GeForce Now service, such as Ori And The Will Of The Wisps for 15 minutes to get your reward points.

It even works if you do this with the Edge browser on your Xbox console. Been using this method for quite a while to get the PC daily reward points.
Aidax89

Keeping the British end up
RE: the letter on Thursday, about the lack of government promotion for GTA specifically, and the UK gaming industry as a whole; just wanted to offer an alternative view.

Firstly, of all the games ever made, GTA doesn’t need additional publicity. In fact, even though it’s a behemoth of a franchise, GTA likes to give off an anti-establishment vibe so wouldn’t welcome that sort of endorsement.

Secondly, the government (irrespective of political leaning) has given support to the industry, but not necessarily in an in your face way. For instance, just last week it announced a £30 million package for UK developers.

Furthermore, there’s tax breaks aimed specifically at the industry via the VGEC (Video Game Expenditure Credit) and historically governments of different colours have offered similar incentives to the gaming and film sectors, which bring in billions of pounds annually (although obviously not all the developers are UK owned).

And finally, there are a huge amount of UK developers at work today! Yeah, it may not be obvious that some titles are homemade due to the worldwide market, digital distribution, and the cross-border collaboration we now have, but the UK is the third biggest country for game development (by revenue) and the sixth largest market.
TheThruthSoul (PSN ID)

Free advertising
Nocturnal is free on Steam until Sunday, 26th April at 3pm. I have had this on my wishlist for a while but never thought it would be free.

I nearly bought it two or three weeks ago! I wonder if they are having it be free to promote Nocturnal 2.
Andrew J.

Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Advertisement

The death of cinema
I found Miyamoto’s comments on the Mario movie critical backlash quite amusing, but I’m surprised he would come out with something as arrogant as ‘helping to revitalise the film industry’ and hope it was something lost in translation.

I haven’t seen the Galaxy film but have seen the first one and sadly agree with the critics. Found it near unwatchable and closer to the death of cinema than its revitalisation – and I’m a big Nintendo fan. If you’d told me in 2017, playing Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Super Mario Odessey, games that seem to fundamentally understand the appeal of exploring virtual worlds in a creative way, that 10 years later Nintendo would jump on cultural brain rot bandwagon… well disappointed wouldn’t cover it.

We are getting a lot of video game movies now, and I’m just hoping that following the success of Mario and Minecraft producers haven’t given up trying to craft anything that resembles an actual film. Though the trailers for the latest Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter suggest they have. Do audiences for these things really just want to clap like seals waiting for fish at ‘recognisable things’? Even Fallout stumbles into that trap. Heaven forbid an actual artist crafts a great story around these things that might not please everyone, when did we become so culturally conservative?

Anyway, we’ve got a proven movie maker in Alex Garland on Elden Ring. Someone who seems to understand games too, using his experience playing Resident Evil to craft 28 Days Later. So hopefully something good will come from that and we’ll get a proper, self-contained movie.
Marc

GC: Yeah, that whole bit from Miyamoto was pretty awful; we were very disappointed. We also admire Alex Garland, but we’d say that if you truly understood games you wouldn’t want to make a movie adaptation in the first place, which we argued was Nintendo’s approach with the Mario movies – which don’t seem to be intended as traditional films at all.

Inbox also-rans
Just been on to pre-order Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynched. There are two choices, the cheaper on has PS5 Pro support, yet the expensive one doesn’t. Is that right or has someone messed up?
David

GC: The Deluxe Edition doesn’t say PS5 Pro Enhanced on the PlayStation Store, but that must be a mistake.

Dammit, now I’m addicted to Vampire Crawlers! It already took me months to get over Vampire Survivors so I guess I’ll at least be saving a lot on new releases for now.
Statler

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Call Of Duty still popular?

MORE: Games Inbox: Did you know GTA 6 was made in the UK?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will there ever be a Last Of Us Part 3?

York Council has agreed to extend the deadline for works on Bootham Park Hospital to August to avoid planning permission to redevelop it into a 172-bed retirement complex expiring.

Developers Stonehouse Projects Ltd and DRK Planning Ltd wrote to the council saying they were set to start on works required at the site under planning permission granted in 2023.

But York Central’s Labour MP Rachael Maskell said the Government should intervene to keep the historic psychiatric hospital in community hands, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying ministers would look into the case.

A spokesperson for NHS Property Services which owns the site, off Bootham, said they were obliged to sell it to get the best value for the health service.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Moves by the developers and Ms Maskell’s call at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, April 22, come after plans to turn the site into a luxury retirement complex were approved in 2023.

The 7.23 hectare site, including the Grade I-listed 18th Century hospital building designed by architect John Carr, was put on the market weeks after planning permission was granted.

It is currently listed for sale by Savills and the estate agent said it represented an exceptional and landmark opportunity for redevelopment.

The hospital itself closed in 2015 and has since stood empty.

Developers Stonehouse and DRK Planning have applied to discharge conditions required under the 2023 permission including site remediation, tree protection and biodiversity and bats schemes.

Council officials have agreed to a time extension until Friday, August 14 to allow the developer to complete the works.

York Central MP Ms Maskell told the House of Commons on Wednesday the site had been given in trust to the people of York when it was built in 1777.

She added £5.5 million had been squandered on maintaining it since the hospital closed in 2015.

Speaking after her intervention, Ms Maskell said she had long campaigned for the building to be kept in public hands for the public good.

Former Bootham Park Hospital site, York .Picture Frank Dwyer

The MP said: “I highlighted the case to the Prime Minister, noting the costs to the public of keeping the building empty for the last 11 years, this is almost the same as the original sale price.

“Now, if there is any chance of keeping this asset in public hands, I want the Government to pursue it and am following up my question by meeting the responsible Government Ministers.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir said he knew the site was hugely significant for the people of York and ministers would be happy to work on the case.

A spokesperson for owners NHS Property Services Ltd said funds raised by the site would be reinvested into the health service.

The spokesperson said: “It is now under offer and when completed would secure public access and local schools with sports’ facilities and a new cycle path, whilst enabling a long-term viable use for a heritage building.

“The planning permission allows for the former Bootham Hospital to be converted to retirement living.

“During our marketing, NHSPS incurred substantial costs to ensure its security and maintenance due to its heritage status.”

Bootham Park Hospital was the fifth public mental hospital when it was built in the 1770s and was originally known as the York Lunatic Asylum.

William Gallas has advised Mikel Arteta to replace two Arsenal players this summer and believes new additions could help get the best out of Viktor Gyokeres.

Gyokeres has endured a mixed first season at the Emirates Stadium following last summer’s £64m move from Sporting, scoring 18 goals but receiving criticism for his general play.

A number of pundits have questioned if Gyokeres is good enough to lead the line for title-chasing Arsenal, with Jamie Carragher recently claiming Arsenal needed to sign an upgrade in the summer.

Gallas believes Gyokeres can be a success at his former club but only if Arsenal ‘change their style’ and start providing him with better and more regular service.

Arteta has Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke at his disposal on the right wing but Gallas fears both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left are stagnating.

Gallas is surprised by Martinelli’s subdued season – the Brazilian has scored just once in the Premier League – and has described Trossard as a ‘squad player’.

‘Who would I sign for Arsenal? To be honest, I think they’ve got a good squad and they can do the same performance for next season,’ Gallas told BoyleSports.

‘Even up front they’ve got the wingers but the only thing is maybe they still need one world class striker or to change the style of the team.

‘When Arsenal play on the counter-attack, I think sometimes the midfielders have to look for Viktor Gyokeres to give him the ball at the first opportunity.

‘Gyokeres always asks for the ball in front, in the space, but he doesn’t get the ball, because the midfielder wants to keep the ball. That is the style of Arsenal. 

‘Gyokeres has scored goals but he hasn’t scored enough goals so he has to reach a minimum 20 goals next season and it will be difficult for him if Arsenal are going to play the same way because he doesn’t really dominate the league physically like he did in Portugal. 

‘Maybe you need a left winger because I don’t know what has happened to Gabriel Martinelli, he’s just not what he was, and Leandro Trossard is a good squad player but you need something else.

‘Would I prefer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola for Arsenal? Barcola.

‘When you’ve got a striker like Gyokeres, you need players to give him the ball to score the goals, and that’s why maybe some of Arsenal’s style has to change, or Arsenal need to change their striker.’

Gyokeres was left out of the starting XI for Arsenal’s top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City last weekend and was only introduced for the final six minutes of the match.

The Swede will look to help return Arsenal to winning ways when they host Newcastle at the Emirates on Saturday evening.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Ryan Giggs tells Michael Carrick to sign £70m midfielder: ‘He looks a Man Utd player’

MORE: Micky van de Ven transfer choice revealed between Manchester United and Liverpool

MORE: Jadon Sancho makes decision over next club ahead of Manchester United exit

The remaining four teams continued their journey to the next checkpoint in Georgia

Advertisement

Two stars from Race Across the World encountered difficulties during the most recent instalment of the BBC programme.

The popular travel competition features five adventurous teams undertaking the journey of a lifetime, covering more than 12,000km across southern Europe and Central Asia. They must pass through seven checkpoints en route to Hatgal in isolated northern Mongolia.

Without mobile phones or internet connectivity, and equipped solely with the equivalent of the airfare to fly the route, they must depend on resourcefulness, determination and the generosity of strangers to cross the finishing line first.

After the departure of cousins Puja and Roshni last week, the remaining four teams pressed on with their expedition to the next checkpoint on Thursday (23rd April). They were required to travel to Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi – amongst the world’s most ancient continuously occupied settlements.

As they departed Halfeti, the teams faced a crucial choice. They could either head north towards the Black Sea coastline, or venture east through Türkiye’s parched interior, reports the Mirror.

Advertisement

Competition frontrunners Harrison and Katie saw their lead reduced to fewer than ten hours, with the pursuing teams detecting a chance to capitalise.

Following their departure from the checkpoint, Harrison and Katie became the only team to travel north, searching for their first homestay of the race, and undertaking an arduous 14-hour overnight bus journey that could provide them with a vital edge. In contrast, the remaining three teams headed east, encountering challenging bus connections that forced one duo to change their route to remain competitive.

As the episode progressed, the journey began to affect Mark, who suddenly became unwell – bringing his and Margo’s journey to a temporary standstill, just 200km from the checkpoint in Georgia.

“I’m not feeling too good, I must admit,” Mark stated, with his sister-in-law responding: “You’re the priority. Even if we lose like, you know, hours.”

She continued: “There’s no point in me sitting in the hotel while you’re ill, is there?” Margo subsequently ventured out to explore the local surroundings alone, while Mark rested in bed.

“We came here mainly, Akhaltsikhe, for Mark, but now it’s going to be Margo’s day. I am sorry Mark’s sick. It’s disappointing in race terms, and I do fear we’re going to be trailing in fourth place,” Margo revealed.

“Not a lot we can do about it, so I’m not going to get upset about it. I’m just going to go and eat some dumplings and drink some wine, because if you can’t do anything about it, you’ve just got to live your best life.”

Back at the hotel, Mark remarked: “I’m feeling pretty ropey this morning. I had TT troubles all night. Tummy trouble. So, I haven’t slept at all.

“It is frustrating. I would have loved to get to Tbilisi this evening. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we wait and see if I can recover.”

Despite encountering difficulties, Mark and Margo successfully surged to the front of the pack for the first time at the midway stage, while former leaders Katie and Harrison dropped to the bottom of the rankings.

Race Across the World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

According to the RSPCA eight out of 10 dogs don’t cope well with being left alone. This can manifest in behaviours including destroying furniture, going to the toilet inside, or endless barking

While some dogs cope with being left at home alone quite happily, and may take the opportunity to have a quiet nap, ready to awake full of energy when their owners return home, for others it’s much more difficult. According to the RSPCA, eight out of 10 dogs display some signs of separation-related behaviour, also known as separation anxiety.

This can manifest in a number of ways, including destroying furniture, annoying the neighbours with endless barking, whining, or howling, or going to the toilet indoors, as well as a number of other sings which are less easy to spot.

One vet has said there are three common mistakes many pet owners make when leaving their furry friends at home alone which are actually making their separation anxiety worse. Amir Anwary, who has almost one million followers on TikTok, laid out his advice on the social media platform.

Opening his video, Amir said: “I’m a veterinarian and I had a client bring her dog into the vet clinic today who was struggling with severe separation anxiety. There were a few things that this owner was doing that was actually making her dog’s separation anxiety a lot worse. So these are three mistakes pet owners make when dealing with their dogs that have separation anxiety that you should not be making.”

The first mistake many pet owners make is thinking that separation anxiety is bad behaviour and punishing and disciplining their dogs for it.

Amir said: “If you see your dog displaying any sort of destructive behaviour, whether it is biting shoes, burying in the garden, they’re peeing all over the house when you’re gone, or they’re doing anything like that, in most cases it is not them being naughty, it is that they are struggling with severe anxiety. They don’t need to be punished, they need to be helped.”

The second mistake Amir said pet owners make is treating leaving and returning back home as “very emotional events”. “When you leave your house and you go to your dog and you say ‘I’m so sorry, oh my God, I have to go now, you’re going to be fine’, you already make them sad,” he said.

“So your dog is assuming that something absolutely terrible is going to happen. And then you arrive back home and you’re so happy to see them – ‘hello boy!’ – and you’re super joyful, now they think that they’ve survived this absolutely terrible thing.

“The more you do this, the more you reinforce the behaviour that being left alone at home is something terrible that they need to survive. So take the emotion out of you leaving and you getting back home.”

And the third mistake is avoiding professional help. “So many pet owners think their dog’s anxiety is going to get better over time,” he said.

“Go to someone with anxiety and ask them if their anxiety gets better over time without help. It gets worse, guys, it gets worse.

“There are professionals out there, behaviourists that can help you. Veterinarians can prescribe medical treatments that can help a lot with dogs suffering with anxiety, so make sure you seek some form of treatment.”

How to deal with separation anxiety in dogs

The RSPCA has provided a number of tips of how to help a dog suffering with separation anxiety. These include:

• Make sure they have exciting things to occupy themselves while you’re out. A long-lasting chew, or a ball stuffed with treats the animal has to work to get out are ideal.
• Take them for a walk before you leave so they have a chance to go to the toilet and exercise. Leave a gap of half an hour between when you get back from the walk and when you leave, and make sure they are fed.
• Minimise disturbances by closing the curtains, putting them in a quiet room, or leaving the TV or radio on to muffle noise from outside.
• Get a dog sitter or dog walking service to keep your pet company.

President Donald Trump’s administration has reclassified medical marijuana, which is already licensed in most states, as a less dangerous drug.

The order signed Thursday by the nation’s acting attorney general is a first step toward broader federal acceptance of one of the nation’s most commonly used drugs.

The action could facilitate new research on medicinal uses and make the marijuana industry more profitable. But it does not legalize marijuana under federal law.

Here are some things to know about the issue:

What’s the federal policy on marijuana?

Possessing marijuana is a federal crime punishable by fines and prison time. Selling or cultivating marijuana is a more serious offense, punishable by prison sentences of five years to life, depending on the quantity of the drug. That will not change under the new Department of Justice order.

Rather, the order changes the way that state-licensed medical marijuana is regulated by the federal government.

It shifts medical marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance — alongside drugs such as heroin and LSD that have a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical use — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III, alongside substances such as ketamine and some anabolic steroids. Schedule III drugs are defined as having moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.

Marijuana that’s sold for recreational purposes — even in states that legally allow it — will remain a Class I drug under Thursday’s order. But the Department of Justice has scheduled a hearing June 29 to consider a general reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III.

What does reclassification mean for cannabis shops?

Federal income tax deductions for business expenses aren’t available to enterprises involved in “trafficking” any Schedule I or II drug.

Changing medical marijuana to a Schedule III drug could save millions of dollars for businesses licensed to sell it by allowing them to claim tax deductions for expenses such as advertising, marketing, rent and labor costs associated with sales.

But many licensed businesses sell cannabis both for medical and recreational purposes, making it hard to distinguish which costs could be tax-deductible.

“In a lot of ways, it’s kind of nonsensical because these medical products are the same cannabis, the same methods of creation,” said Chicago attorney Irina Dashevsky, who oversees cannabis-related business for the Greenspoon Marder law firm.

“From a business perspective, there’s a lot of complications,” added Rachel Gillette, a Denver attorney who leads that cannabis industry practice at the Holland & Hart law firm. “It just makes it extremely messy.”

Also unclear is whether the tax deductions will apply only from the date of the order. The Justice Department has recommended that the Treasury Department apply them retroactively to the full tax years for which businesses operated under a state medical marijuana license.

Public views of marijuana generally have grown more positive over time, though not among everyone. Support for marijuana legalization rose from just 23% in 1985 to 64% last year, according to polling from Gallup.

That’s down slightly from 70% support just a couple years earlier, primarily because of declining enthusiasm among Republicans. Support among Republicans for legalizing marijuana dropped from 55% to 40% since 2023, Gallup said. By comparison, support shifted only slightly among Democrats, from 87% to 85% during that same period, and inched down from 69% to 66% among independents.

More than 20 Republican U.S. senators, several of them staunch Trump allies, signed a letter last year urging the president to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug. They asserted that marijuana remains dangerous and argued that reclassifying it would “undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again.”

How has marijuana use changed?

The medical use of marijuana already is allowed in 40 states and Washington, D.C. Over the past dozen years, the number of jurisdictions legalizing recreational marijuana for adults rose rapidly to 24 states and Washington, D.C.

As more states have embraced marijuana, more people have used it.

More than 64 million Americans ages 12 and older — 22% of people — used marijuana during the previous year, according to a 2024 national survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That was up from 19% of people in 2021.

Reclassifying marijuana could cause that figure to grow.

Dr. Smita Das, an addiction psychiatrist at Stanford University, said cannabis use disorder has been on the rise in the U.S.

“We’ve already had kind of a decrease in risk perception related to cannabis over the years with the state legalization, both for medical and recreational purposes, and this will probably just add to that,” Das said.

___

Associated Press medical writer Laura Ungar contributed to this report.

Singer D4vd’s phone was filled with a “significant amount” of child pornography, prosecutors have claimed, as more details come to light in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is accused of killing Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in the trunk of the musician’s apparently abandoned Tesla in a Hollywood tow lot last September.

The 21-year-old singer was in a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez, and he turned to murder when she threatened to “expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a Monday press release.

Prosecutors alleged during a court hearing Thursday that D4vd had a “significant amount” of child porn on his phone, according to several news outlets. That is part of the 40 terabytes of evidence prosecutors said they had.

D4vd was arrested last week and charged Monday with murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his lawyers have vowed to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

The singer is accused of engaging in three or more acts of “substantial sexual conduct” with Rivas Hernandez between September 2023 and September 2024, several news outlets have reported, citing official documents.

Rivas Hernandez, of Lake Elsinore, California, was first reported missing in February 2024. She was 13 years old at the time.

Her family reported her missing several times over the following months before she vanished for good in April 2025. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the teen was last seen entering D4vd’s Hollywood Hills home.

”I am a parent of three children, and a parent’s nightmare is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back,” Hochman told reporters at a news conference Monday.

Rivas Hernandez’s dismembered and decomposed body was found months later, on September 8, 2025 — the day after what would’ve been her 15th birthday — inside the Tesla trunk.

Her autopsy, which was made public Wednesday, revealed that she died from “multiple penetrating injuries.” D4vd used a “sharp instrument” to murder Rivas Hernandez, prosecutors have claimed.

The teen’s autopsy was limited by “extensive postmortem changes,” according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office, which noted in its report that her body was so degraded her eye color couldn’t be determined.

D4vd went viral on TikTok in 2022 with his hit song “Romantic Homicide,” which reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. His last two U.S. tour stops and his European leg were canceled amid the investigation into Rivas Hernandez’s death.

The musician is currently being held without bail. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to bring the case to trial is set for May 1. Prosecutors are yet to decide whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.

Fire crews are battling a massive blaze mere hours after the fire service issued an urgent wildfire warning for the weekend

Advertisement

Fire crews are battling a wildfire in Aberdeen mere hours after the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) issued an urgent bushfire warning for the region across the coming weekend.

Six firefighting appliances and specialist vehicles were dispatched to the brushfire at nature reserve Kincorth Hill on Thursday evening, April 23.

Emergency services rushed to the nature reserve, known locally as ‘The Gramps”, after receiving calls that alerted them to the fire shortly after 6pm. Smoke could be seen stretching for miles over the Scottish city, while nearby residents took to social media to report they were “choking” on the fumes and the smell of burning, according to The Sun.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We’ve received a call regarding an incident at Gramps on Kincorth Hill in Aberdeen.

Advertisement

Crews were still at the scene in Aberdeen two hours later, according to an update shared by the SFRS at 8:40pm advised nearby residents “to keep their windows and doors closed as a precaution”.

The Gramps overlooks Scotland’s ‘Silver City’, and offers panoramic views of the city, the North Sea, and the surrounding countryside.

Mere hours before the wildfire broke out, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), in conjunction with the Scottish Wildfire Forum (SWF), issued wildfire warnings for large areas of Scotland for the coming weekend, spanning Western Scotland and “Central and Eastern Scotland.

The SFRS warning states: “Western Scotland: starting Thursday, 23 April, there is a very high risk of wildfire. From Friday, 24 April to Sunday, 26 April, the warning will increase to an extreme risk of wildfire.

“Central and Eastern Scotland: from Friday, 24 April to Sunday, 26 April there will be a very high risk of wildfire. “

Head of Prevention and Protection for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deputy assistant chief officer Kenny Barbour said: “Wildfires have the potential to destroy property, landscapes and wildlife, which is why it is so important that members of the public use extreme caution under these conditions.

“People living in the impacted areas should avoid lighting outdoor fires and be mindful that one spark can spread, causing a large amount of damage. Remember, there’s no such thing as a harmless fire.”

Mr Barbour added: “Share wildfire warnings with your family, friends, and visitors. And if anyone spots a large outdoor fire, please report it immediately by calling 999, providing your location, and any other relevant information so we can respond quickly.”

Wildfires are usually sparked by humans, with only a spark needed to start a wildfire. A cigarette butt out of a car window or coals from an unextinguished campfire are prime examples of intended fire starters.

BBC Scotland weather presenter Gillian Smart echoed concerns from Scottish fire crews, confirming that conditions this week are ideal conditions for wildfires.

“The current dry spell – combined with strong sunshine at this time of year, and the brisk winds we’ve had at times this week – make for a dangerous mix in terms of wildfire risk,” she said, as per the BBC.

“All of these factors can really dry out vegetation.”

She added: “Spring generally presents ideal conditions for wildfires, with the combination of new growth and typically drier ground. And with high pressure remaining in charge into next week, and very little rain in the forecast, the risk will be ongoing.”

Last month, the Scottish government warned that the northern nation was facing a grim wildfire season, with a ban on campfires and barbecues introduced in early April to the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to reduce the fire threat.