US

Hurricane Ian is gaining strength and now on course north to South Carolina after devastating a large cross-section of Florida. Emergency crews were wading through water and using boats on Thursday to rescue stranded Florida residents after the storm front tore a coast-to-coast path of destruction across the state, leaving behind deadly floodwaters, downed power

Locals woke to a storm which had exploded into a behemoth overnight. It is as if Hurricane Ian was designed for destruction, not just bringing 155mph wind but storm surge – a tsunami-like wall of water – up to 12 feet high in places.  Fort Myers, a town on the Caloosahatchee River, was among the

One of the most powerful storms in US history has barrelled into Florida’s southwest coast with sustained winds of up to 150mph (241kph) and torrential rain. Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa as an “extremely dangerous” category four storm but was close to being the maximum level of five (when there are winds of

Hurricane Ian has knocked out power across all of Cuba, leaving 11 million people without electricity, after it slammed into the island’s western tip. Cuba‘s Electric Union said power was initially knocked out for about one million people in the country’s western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed. The hurricane made landfall as a

Residents and holidaymakers in Florida have been warned not to be complacent, as storm-in-a-century Hurricane Ian’s 140mph winds are expected to affect the whole state. After making landfall in Cuba as a powerful Category 3 storm, it is now feared it will be upgraded to Category 4 as it intensifies while crossing the Gulf’s warm

A combined Chinese and Russian naval convoy, including a guided missile cruiser and a destroyer have been spotted close to an Alaskan island by the US Coastguard. Two other Chinese naval ships and three Russian naval vessels were sighted in the Bering Sea in a single formation 86 miles (138 km) from Kiska Island by

Tropical storm Ian has strengthened into a hurricane set to unleash significant winds, flash floods and mudslides in Florida, Cuba and Jamaica, weather experts have warned. The weather system is about 90 miles (150km) southwest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC)

The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth has arrived in New York for its deployment to the United States to host an Anglo-American military conference. The ship dropped anchor within sight of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour yesterday. It set sail for the US from Portsmouth on 7 September in place of

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida as Tropical Storm Ian heads towards the US coast and is forecast to become a major hurricane. Governor Ron DeSantis expanded a previous warning on Saturday to cover the whole state and urged people to prepare for landfall. It activates the state’s national guard and frees

Abortions have effectively been banned in Arizona after a judge lifted an injunction that had blocked prosecutions for nearly 50 years. Women will have to leave the state to get the procedure done and some clinics will have to shut down. Anyone who performs abortions could now face criminal charges and the only exception is

Sir Elton John has played for Joe Biden and about 2,000 fans on the White House lawn as part of his farewell tour, with the singer in tears as the president awarded him a medal. Introducing the star, Mr Biden said: “Like so many Americans, our family loves his music. It’s clear Elton John’s music

Officials in Alabama have halted the lethal injection execution of a prisoner on death row because they couldn’t find a vein before the midnight deadline. Alabama corrections commissioner John Hamm said the decision to call off the scheduled execution of Alan Miller was made after it became clear they could not get the process under

A Florida highway was forced to temporarily close after a multi-vehicle crash caused thousands of cans of beer to cover the road. The semi-trailer had been carrying cases of Coors Light when it crashed and spilled its load all over the busy road. All lanes of Interstate 75, which is around 30 miles north of

A NASA-built spacecraft will deliberately crash into an asteroid as part of a test mission later this month. The spacecraft, known as Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), is expected to collide with a 170-metre wide (560ft) asteroid named Dimorphos at 12.14am UK time on 27 September. Dimorphos is no threat to Earth but it has

The US central bank has imposed its third major interest rate rise in a row. The Federal Reserve has once again hiked rates by 0.75 percentage points in an effort to curb soaring inflation. The widely-expected rise will mean more expensive borrowing for the likes of mortgage holders and those paying credit card debt. American

The US president says Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the United Nations charter with its “brutal, needless war” in Ukraine. Delivering a forceful condemnation of Russia’s invasion to the international body, Joe Biden said reports of abuses against civilians in Ukraine “should make your blood run cold”. He also said President Vladimir

Donald Trump and three of his children have been served with a lawsuit alleging “years of bank, tax and insurance fraud”. New York attorney general Letitia James is suing the former US president, his family, and the Trump Organisation. If successful, it could halt Mr Trump’s ability to do business in the state for years

Dramatic cockpit video shows a military jet striking a vulture moments before it plummets to the ground in Texas. The newly released clip shows the large bird flying into the Navy T-45C Goshawk and being ingested into one of its engines during an incident in September last year. Sirens blare and in less than 30

The actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather has accepted an apology from the Oscars almost 50 years after she was booed off stage. In 1973 she took to the stage in a traditional buckskin dress to turn down an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando and then made a speech about the film industry’s mistreatment of

A judge has ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning his murder conviction, which was the subject of the popular Serial podcast. Mr Syed was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee, who was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park

American President Joe Biden has said US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion – his strongest words yet on the issue. Asked in a TV interview whether America would defend the self-ruled island, claimed by China, he replied bluntly: “Yes, if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.” The US

Joe Biden has said the UK was fortunate to have had the Queen for 70 years, adding: “We all were, the world’s better for her.” The US president and First Lady Jill visited Westminster Hall to pay their respects to the Queen lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday. Mr Biden said it

President Biden and his wife Jill are expected to pay their respects to the Queen on Sunday after flying into the UK for Her Majesty’s funeral. The couple, who joined the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle in June 2021, will visit Westminster Hall, where the Queen’s coffin is lying in state. They will then

The Phantom of the Opera – Broadway’s longest-running show in history – is scheduled to close its doors after 35 years. The musical, which has been an iconic fixture since 1988, will play its final performance on 18 February 2023, a spokesperson said. It is the biggest victim yet of the post-pandemic cooling of theatre

In January 1960 a letter arrived at the White House in Washington.  It was for the president, and it contained a recipe for drop scones. “Dear Mr President,” it read. “Seeing a picture of you in today’s newspaper standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail reminded me that I had never sent you the

A mother charged with drowning her three children at New York’s Coney Island beach has been arraigned on murder charges. Erin Merdy faces three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of depraved indifference to human life, and three counts of murder where the victims are under 11 years old. Merdy’s children – seven-year-old Zachary Merdy,

The iconic jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan during the opening match of the 1998 NBA finals has sold at auction for a record-breaking $10.1m (£8.86m). The Chicago Bulls vest was famously worn during a sporting season dubbed The Last Dance, which saw Jordan win his sixth and final NBA title. It has become

Two buses of migrants from the US-Mexico border were dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’s home, as three Republican governors continue to use the tactic to wage a bitter political battle. Texas governor Greg Abbot has been transporting migrants out of Texas to cities with Democrat mayors as part of a political strategy because

Baltimore prosecutors have filed a motion seeking a new trial for Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction was the subject of the hugely popular Serial podcast. Syed was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He has maintained his innocence and been appealing his

The billionaire owner of Patagonia has given his business away to an environmental trust and non-profit. The company will continue to produce outdoor clothing, camping supplies, and other goods, but now all profits will go to organisations to fight the climate crisis. Yvon Chouinard, founder of the company and reluctant billionaire, said when announcing the

A prisoner on death row in Alabama could be executed next week using a new, untried method that deprives the body of oxygen. James Houts, a deputy state attorney general, told a federal judge that it is “very likely” nitrogen hypoxia could be available for Alan Miller’s execution next week. The technique was approved by

A ‘sensitive’ diplomatic cable released by the US has revealed more than £260 million has been secretly spent by Russia to try to influence politicians and other officials in more than two dozen countries. The US State Department took the unusual step of releasing the cable, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, that was

The rocket company owned by the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has suffered its first launch failure – with an escape system flinging the crew capsule to safety. Pictures show flames shooting from the engine about a minute into flight and the capsule firing off from the rocket’s nose. It later landed in the Texan desert