US

Donald Trump says a meeting is being set up between himself and Vladimir Putin – and that he and Barack Obama “probably” like each other. Republican US president-elect Mr Trump spoke to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday, saying Russian president Mr Putin “wants to meet, and we are setting it up”.

A woman from the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has offered to “fill up the hydrants myself” as she confronted state governor Gavin Newsom over his response to the disaster. Rachel Darvish, a lawyer who has lived in the Palisades all her life, was forced to flee her home along with many thousands

A series of ferocious wildfires erupted across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, fuelled by powerful winds and dry conditions. At least five people have been killed and dozens more injured, with many of the remaining fires not contained at all by the emergency services. Some 130,000 people are now under mandatory evacuation orders across

A real-life drama is unfolding just outside Hollywood. Ferocious wildfires have ballooned at an “alarming speed”, in just a matter of hours. Why? What caused the California wildfires? There are currently three wildfires torching southern California. The causes of all three are still being investigated. The majority (85%) of all forest fires across the United

Firefighters in California are battling a fast-moving wildfire which is sweeping an exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes. Officials say the wildfire is being fanned by gusts from a “life-threatening” and “destructive” wind storm hitting southern California. Image: Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP Fire crews are battling a handful of small blazes in

US president-elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out military or economic action to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland – as he said he believes NATO spending should be increased to 5% per member state. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Mr Trump made a series of sweeping claims on what his policies could look like

It’s the news story of the day here. The fact America’s Congress hasn’t been laid siege to shouldn’t be a story at all – the fact it is tells you all you need to know about US politics. In Washington DC, they’ve been preparing for this January 6th since the January 6th that came to

US president-elect Donald Trump has had his victory certified by his defeated rival, Kamala Harris. Under the tightest national security level, Ms Harris, who lost to Mr Trump following November’s election, presided over the certification of the 78-year-old Republican’s victory in Congress. After Congress went through all the certificates for the 50 US states and

New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar recorded a video of the city’s French Quarter using Meta glasses he wore while cycling in the weeks before his deadly atrocity, the FBI has said. The bureau said he had made two trips to the southern US city in October and November this year. He killed 14 people when

A major winter storm has hit America, producing heavy snow and significant ice which is expected to last days. Road conditions have become increasingly dangerous in the central US since Saturday, with snow in the most heavily affected regions – Kansas and northern Missouri – predicted to reach as high as 35.6cm. Some 60 million

Six days of funeral events are under way for the former US president Jimmy Carter. The 100-year-old Democrat, who served one term in office from 1977 to 1981, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family on 29 December. He was the oldest living former US president. A motorcade with his flag-draped

The King is deeply saddened by the death of a British man who was killed in the attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day – amid reports he was the stepson of an ex-royal nanny. Edward Pettifer, from Chelsea, west London, was fatally injured in the tragedy, the Metropolitan Police confirmed. Sky News understands

A judge has ordered US president-elect Donald Trump to be sentenced next week in his New York hush money case – but has suggested he will not jail him. In a surprise move, Trump‘s sentencing in the case has been set for 10 January – a little over a week before his inauguration on 20

Did the authorities fail the victims of the New Orleans terror attack? It’s barely in question, surely. And yet, consider the response of Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of New Orleans police when I asked if she’d let them down by not having an appropriate security plan. “That’s not correct, we would disagree with that.” “It has

The brother of a victim of the New Orleans attack has revealed what the pair last said to each other. “The last thing we ever said to each other, he told me he loved me”, Jack Bech said of his brother Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27, as he spoke with Sky News’s US correspondent James Matthews.

A 31-year-old British man, a mother of a four-year-old boy and a Princeton University football player are among the victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans. The city’s coroner confirmed the names of all but two of the 14 people killed after a man drove a pick-up truck into crowds on New

A Tesla cybertruck explosion outside one of Donald Trump’s US hotels is being investigated as a potential terror attack. The driver, who was inside the vehicle when it caught fire, died in the incident and seven other people were injured. The blast happened as the truck was just outside the president-elect’s hotel in Las Vegas,

At least 10 people have been killed after a vehicle struck a crowd celebrating the New Year in New Orleans, emergency officials have said. Another 30 people have been injured in the incident, which took place on the corner of the popular Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter of the city. It happened at around

“If somebody tells you they don’t care how their show or book is received, they’re just flat out lying to you.” Harlan Coben – one of the world’s most successful crime writers – doesn’t mince his words: “Every writer you’ve ever interviewed wants two things, better reviews and a bigger audience.” The 62-year-old American author

A woman who died this month after being set on fire inside a New York subway train has been identified by police as a 57-year-old woman from New Jersey. The woman, Debrina Kawam, was registered to an address in Toms River, New Jersey, according to New York Police Department (NYPD). Officials had previously said they

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a settlement after eight years in one of the longest and most bitter divorces in Hollywood history. In a statement, Jolie’s attorney James Simon said: “More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr Pitt. “She and the children left all of the properties they had

Former US president Jimmy Carter has died aged 100. The Carter Centre said its founder, who was the oldest living former US president, died in Plains, the town where he was born in Georgia. Mr Carter, a Democrat, became the 39th US president when he defeated former president Gerald Ford in 1976. The Georgia native

Joe Biden believes he could have beaten Donald Trump in last month’s US presidential election if he had stayed in the race, it has been reported. The White House incumbent – who is set to hand over the keys to Mr Trump next month – withdrew from the race in July amid pressure over his

The US attorney general tried to block Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams from fundraising in the country in 1995 over a belief the IRA was still trying to source weapons, newly released records show. Janet Reno, the attorney general at the time, had previously opposed then-US president Bill Clinton‘s decision to grant visas for Mr

Bodycam footage showing prison officers fatally beating an inmate has been released by New York’s attorney general. Prison officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in New York punched and kicked 43-year-old Robert Brooks repeatedly while he was handcuffed on an infirmary bed. He died in hospital on 10 December, a day after the attack. The incident

Elon Musk is facing censorship accusations after prominent right-wing accounts claimed they lost access to premium features on X when they criticised his views on immigration. On Friday night, Musk called some anti-immigration Republicans “contemptible fools”, adding they were “hateful, unrepentant racists” who would “absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are

The world’s best golfer has suffered a freak injury while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to undergo surgery. Scottie Scheffler sustained a puncture wound after cutting the palm of his right hand on broken glass. The world number one required surgery as small glass fragments remained in the palm after the accident. The injury has

A pizza delivery woman stabbed a pregnant customer over a $2 tip, authorities in the US say. Brianna Alvelo, 22, is charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing the woman multiple times at a motel in Kissimmee, Florida. The victim, her boyfriend and her five-year-old daughter were staying at the Riviera Motel to celebrate a

Donald Trump has suggested the US could take control of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts. The president-elect wished a merry Christmas to all on his Truth Social platform, “including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal”. In

A killer whale mother who carried her dead calf for 17 days in an apparent show of grief has given birth to a new calf, scientists have said. The orca, named Tahlequah and known to researchers as J35, had carried her dead infant for more than 1,000 miles in 2018. But last Friday the whale

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch may have dementia and a competency hearing is needed to assess whether he can face sex charges, defence lawyers have said. Mike Jeffries, 80 and who was CEO of glitzy retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for more than two decades, is free on $10m (£7.7m) bond after pleading not

Donald Trump says that when he takes power next month he will direct the US Justice Department to “vigorously pursue” the death penalty. The US president-elect, 78, said he would do so to protect Americans from what he called “violent rapists, murderers and monsters”. Mr Trump was responding to President Joe Biden’s decision to commute

Denmark has announced plans to boost its defence spending for Greenland with a “stronger presence in the Arctic” – a few hours after Donald Trump repeated his call for the US to buy the vast island. Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package would amount to a “double-digit billion amount” in krone, or