Hotter streets, harsher politics: glassy cities bake, Trump calls affordability a ‘hoax’ and pivots to immigration, UK watchdog slams asylum system, Apalachee High shooting case advances

Glassy facades, hotter streets University of Adelaide researchers are probing how shiny building skins heat the air outside, not just their already studied indoor comfort and energy efficiency effects. Translation, those mirror-box towers may be roasting the sidewalk too. Urban design by magnifying glass, brought to you by developers who think shade is a lifestyle choice. Trump says affordability is a hoax, pivots to immigration at Poconos rally In a Mount Pocono casino ballroom, Trump declared inflation no longer a problem and accused Democrats of weaponizing affordability, then detoured into immigration, reviving his 2018 vulgar description of certain countries and musing about more immigrants from Scandinavia. He waved a chart comparing Biden-era prices to his own, despite inflation ticking up since his April tariffs while voters keep groaning about groceries, utilities, and rent. He still promised no higher priority than making America affordable again. The base cheered, the carpeting sparkled, and skeptics remained unconvinced, especially as Miami elected Democrat Eileen Higgins over Trump-endorsed Emilio Gonzalez. Monroe County may be on board, but the rest of Pennsylvania wants more than Nordic fan fiction. NAO blasts UK asylum system costs and outcomes, White calls it meltdown Mark White says the asylum system is in absolute meltdown after a scathing National Audit Office report that reads like a case study in dysfunction. The NAO pegs 2024 to 2025 costs at about £4.9 billion, with £3.4 billion on accommodation, roughly £2 billion of that on hotels, while just £45 million goes to detention and removals. In a 5,000 case sample from January 2023, 35 percent got protection, 9 percent were removed, and 56 percent are unresolved, including many refused applicants still in the country generating significant costs. White argues hurried backlog blitzes produced flimsy decisions and more appeals, and that politicians are now flirting with ECHR reform instead of fixing process and capacity. The Home Office cites nearly 50,000 removals of people without legal status. Bureaucracy keeps shoveling cash into hotels, then wonders why the fire keeps burning. Apalachee High School shooting case advances with new court appearance Colt Gray, 15, appeared in court looking different from his booking photo, with dark slicked-back hair, glasses, and a collared shirt with khakis. He has pleaded not guilty to 55 counts, including four felony murder charges, in the September 4, 2024 shooting at Georgia’s Apalachee High School that left four people dead, teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and nine others wounded. A medical evaluation is underway and expected by the end of February to inform the defense. The next hearing is set for March 18, 2026. His father, Colin Gray, faces 29 counts, including second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, with potential exposure of up to 180 years. Authorities had visited the family multiple times in 2023 and flagged the teen after an online threat report in May of that year.