The quiet death of Marshalls.

Visiting cat becomes its new station mouser.

Source r/uktrains

One of Alaska's main news outlets is reporting that Musk has given $1.5 million to a PAC to get rid of Alaska's democratic voting system of ranked-choiced voting. For outsiders, RCV is a system of a open primary, then the top four get ranked-choiced, and in Alaska all votes are ranked-choiced including the president.

Not surprisedly, despite RCV being popular in Alaska, all the major Republicans are against it including former HOR representative candidate Kelly Tshubaka, AK Governor Mike Dunleavy, US Senator Dan Sullivan and former Governor Sarah Palin.

To Alaskans here, vote No on 2.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbN9Ma6sg5m/?igsh=MXRsMTlhbWhrb2VsNA==

Although I am not a royalist in my opinion, it was wonderful that Queen Máxima opened this year's World Pride in Amsterdam and the fact she was clearly enjoying herself.

Found this in r/EUnews

Elon is questioning why a man who was sentenced for 13½ years for being involved in a mafia-link organisation being in prison.

https://preview.redd.it/6edrqxadqzah1.png?width=745&format=png&auto=webp&s=ffdae617cb727d76985e5a8cc7387b9127d3de5c

Eurostar cancels many London-Amsterdam trains after Rotterdam rail fire

Eurostar has canceled multiple London–Amsterdam services after a fire in a cable duct near Rotterdam Stadion caused a major power failure that shut down rail traffic south of Rotterdam. Power is expected to return on Thursday, with full restoration and testing to follow.

"We’re very sorry that, due to a fire near station Rotterdam Centraal, train services across the Netherlands are currently severely disrupted and extremely limited. As a result, our trains are subject to significant delays and cancellations, and we’re unfortunately unable to offer alternative travel options," Eurostar stated on its website.

The disruption began Monday when a fire broke out in a cable duct near Rotterdam Stadion. It triggered a power outage across key rail infrastructure in the Rotterdam area. The outage disabled signaling and switch systems between Rotterdam Centraal and destinations including Dordrecht and Breda. Rail traffic toward the Kijfhoek freight yard was also halted.

NS said the fire was likely caused by overheating in the cable duct. The operator initially expected repairs to take only through the day. ProRail later extended the timeline, with power restoration now expected on Thursday, July 2, at about 6:15 p.m.

ProRail reported extensive damage in the affected section. About 299 cables run through the cable duct. Around 100 cables must be repaired individually. The work includes sorting, welding, and testing each cable. A 20-meter stretch of infrastructure was heavily damaged. Five trains were briefly stranded in the affected zone before being cleared.

Replacement transport has been deployed. NS is running limited bus services between Rotterdam and Dordrecht and between Rotterdam and Zwijndrecht. Travelers heading to Breda are being advised to reroute via Utrecht or use replacement buses before continuing their journey.

Rotterdam Centraal saw large passenger crowds on Monday as cancellations spread across the network. Eurostar has advised passengers not to travel to or from the Netherlands until services are restored and stable.

Rachel Reeves’ decision to slash VAT on “children’s meals” this summer is opening up all manner of exciting possibilities for the capital’s restaurants. The tax guidance makes it clear that the legal definition of a “children’s meal” is essentially a meal that’s smaller than normal, cheaper than normal, and marketed as a ‘children’s meal’ on the menu. There’s nothing in the rules about it having to be ordered or eaten by a child. (The FT’s ever-wonderful Alphaville blog explains this in a bit more depth.)

All of this opens up some exciting possibilities for discount small plates dining this summer. Restaurant Kitty Fisher’s announced: “We are thrilled to announce we are going to be offering A KIDS’ MENU this summer featuring lobster, steak au poivre, oysters, offal, snails and all the other good stuff KIDS love.”

Going one step further, the Blue Stoops in Kensington announced a ‘Chancellor’s Children’s Menu,’ offering up snail salad, oysters, anchovy butter toast, and a ‘tax break tart’ for dessert.

Jamie Allsopp, the pub’s founder and a former hedge fund manager, said he’d introduced the grown-up children’s menu so that “everybody can feel the benefit of this new policy, and enjoy some of the best seasonal ingredients prepared by London’s finest chefs at a price that is fair, reasonable, and equitable.”