US

US President Joe Biden has called for Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and bring in a number of other gun control measures. Speaking from the White House after a number of recent mass shootings, Mr Biden asked how many more deaths would be needed to force change. He said “too many everyday

Amber Heard has said she will appeal against the verdict in the multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit brought in the US by her ex-husband Johnny Depp. Heard, 36, said she was “heartbroken” and felt “disappointment beyond words” after Depp was awarded $15m (£11.9m) by a court in Virginia on Wednesday. Sources close to the actress, who won

A man has died in a suspected alligator attack while looking for frisbees in a lake. The 47-year-old was combing the water at Taylor Park Disc Golf Course in Largo, Florida, where people are warned to beware of the aggressive reptiles. “At this time, detectives believe the victim was looking for frisbees in the water

The first two of the 19 children killed in one of America’s worst school shootings, are being remembered ahead of their burials. Visitation gatherings are being held for 10-year-olds Amerie Jo Garza and Maite Rodriguez at the two funeral homes in the small Texas community of Uvalde. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, people in the

US and Canadian food regulators are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak that could be linked to fresh organic strawberries. The fruits were sold under the brand names FreshKampo and H-E-B. The produce was available at various retailers across the US, including Aldi, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart and Trader Joe’s, between 5 March and 25 April. In

A 10-year-old has been charged in Florida after allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting, US police said. In a statement, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, in Fort Myers, said it had learned on Saturday that a “threatening text message” had been sent by a student at a primary school. The local threat enforcement team

US President Joe Biden is visiting the scene of country’s largest school shooting in a decade to meet and comfort victims’ families. The president and First Lady Jill Biden will visit a memorial at the school in Uvalde, Texas, attend a church service and also meet with survivors and first responders. It comes as investigators

In a series of sheds on the edge of a Texas airfield sits the training centre that has set the national standard for how American police deal with active gunmen. It is barely a hundred miles from Uvalde, where 19 students and two teachers were shot dead at their school on Tuesday. The admission by

Donald Trump has described the most recent US school shooting as a “savage and barbaric atrocity” but has criticised those who have called for stricter gun laws. The former US president was a guest speaker at the convention in Houston of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group. The convention was taking place just

The 18-year-old who carried out a mass shooting in a Texas elementary school was given the nickname “The Yubo School Shooter” on a social media app he used. Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother before killing 19 children and two teachers this week. He did not leave a note explaining his actions, but messages Ramos sent

It was the “wrong decision” not to storm the classroom where a gunman was holed up killing primary school children, a Texas official admitted. The extraordinary admission came on Friday at a highly-charged press conference in Uvalde, Texas, where parents have been demanding answers about why 19 students and two teachers lost their lives in

Johnny Depp has won his multimillion-dollar US lawsuit against former wife Amber Heard after a Virginia jury ruled a 2018 article published in The Washington Post was defamatory. He was awarded $15m by the court – comprising $10m compensatory damages and a further $5m in punitive damages. Amber Heard was awarded $2m in her counter-suit

While statistics show most of America’s “active shooter” incidents are over within minutes, it took police in Texas up to an hour to storm the classroom where gunman Salvador Ramos massacred 19 children and two teachers. At a remarkable news briefing amid growing pressure on the authorities to explain the response time, a top official admitted

Questions are being asked about how much time elapsed before police stormed a Texas primary school classroom to end a rampage by a gunman inside. Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw said that 40 minutes to an hour had elapsed from when Salvador Ramos first opened fire on the school security officer, to

The 18-year-old who shot his grandmother before killing 21 people – including 19 children – at a Texas primary school is not believed to have left a manifesto or note explaining his actions. Those who knew him say he was bullied and didn’t have many friends. But messages Salvador Ramos sent to strangers online have

The father of one of the victims of the Texas school massacre wanted to charge into the building because the police officers were waiting outside and weren’t ” doing anything like they are supposed to”. Officials have admitted that 18-year-old Salvador Ramos was in the school for up to an hour, during which time he

All of the victims in the Texas primary school shooting were in one classroom, according to a state public safety official. The gunman barricaded himself inside a classroom, “shooting anyone that was in his way,” the official said. Police and others responding to Tuesday’s attack broke windows at the school in an effort to allow

Victims killed in the school shooting at a US primary school in Texas have started to be named, including two teachers and three students. An 18-year-old gunman, who was later named as Salvador Ramos, crashed a vehicle before entering Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde, around 80 miles (130km) from San Antonio. Texas

14 children and one teacher have been killed in a shooting at a primary school in Texas, the state governor has said. The attack happened at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde, around 80 miles west of San Antonio. Governor Greg Abbott identified the gunman as Salvador Ramos,18, who lived in the city

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being sued by the US District of Columbia which is seeking to hold him personally liable for the Cambridge Analytica scandal that breached millions of people’s personal data. The political consultancy was accused in 2018 of illegally harvesting the personal data of as many as 87 million Facebook users. The

Amber Heard’s loss of earnings could be as high as $50m due to negative statements made by Johnny Depp and his attorney, an industry expert has told her libel trial. Entertainment industry expert Kathryn Arnold made the claim as it emerged British supermodel Kate Moss, who dated Depp in the 1990s, is expected to appear

President Joe Biden has said that the US would intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan. “That’s the commitment we made,” Mr Biden told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo. The remarks seem to be a departure from the US’s longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” in its response to a potential Chinese invasion. Washington must

Two people died and more than 40 others were injured after a tornado ripped through a US mobile home park. The tornado struck Gaylord, a town of about 4,200 people, roughly 230 miles northwest of Detroit in Michigan on Friday. In a region where tornadoes are rare, the National Weather Service said there had been

Russia has published a list of 963 Americans who have been “permanently banned” from entering the country in response to US sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine. Actor Morgan Freeman, 84, is among the names on the list, apparently as a result of appearing in a video clip in 2017 that accused the Russian

Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter Aimee is “lucky” to be alive after escaping a fatal fire in Los Angeles, her mother Sharon has said. 26-year-old music producer Nathan Avery Edwards, who worked under the name Avery Drift, is reported to have died in the blaze at a recording studio building in Hollywood. More than 75 firefighters tackled

In the leafy suburb of Potomac in Maryland a group of mums is mobilising. Facing nationwide shortages of infant formula, the Nappy Network charity is stepping up. For a couple of months, they’ve been holding a weekly formula drive and the logo says it all: “Bring what you can, take what you need.” Here, parents

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has denied claims he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016, calling them “wild accusations”. It comes as Business Insider reported on Thursday Mr Musk‘s SpaceX paid $250,000 (£200,000) in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment claim from an unnamed private jet attendant who accused the Tesla

Actor Johnny Depp’s ex girlfriend Ellen Barkin, has described a “jealous” and “controlling man” who was “angry and demanding”. Speaking during day 29 of the libel trial involving Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, Ms Barkin said she and Johnny – who she had starred in the film Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas with

George W Bush has accidentally condemned the “unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq”, an operation he ordered himself in 2003. The former US president, 75, quickly corrected himself to say he had meant to refer to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He made the gaffe during a speech in Texas on Wednesday in which he

US President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to boost production of baby formula. The Defense Production Act is a 1950 law which allows the government to direct manufacturing production for national defence. This means that businesses supplying ingredients to formula manufacturers will have to fulfil those orders first before dealing with orders

A former Minneapolis police officer has pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. As part of the plea deal, Thomas Lane will have a count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder dismissed. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill has agreed to a three-year jail

In Buffalo there is bewilderment and there is a deep sadness. The personal tragedy here is felt across America. The arrival of President Biden marks a moment of national mourning. He paused by the makeshift memorials at the scene of the shooting and put his hand to his heart. He knows what happened here echoes

Joe Biden has called on all Americans to reject the “poison” of white supremacy following a racially-motivated mass shooting at a US supermarket. The US president and the first lady have paid their respects at a makeshift memorial after the deadly attack in and around the store in the city of Buffalo. Mr Biden and