US

A British-born terrorist has been jailed for life in the US for his role in the killings of Western hostages in Syria. Alexanda Kotey, originally from Paddington, west London, was one of four so-called Islamic State militants nicknamed The Beatles by their captives due to their English accents. The group, said to include ringleader Mohammed

The graphic video of James Foley’s murder was, for many in America and elsewhere, a grim introduction to the brutal world of Islamic State. Taken hostage while covering the civil war in Syria, the 40-year-old freelance journalist from Illinois was held for two years and became the first US citizen to be killed by the

Amber Heard’s now famous opinion column on domestic violence was drafted for her, and the actress wanted to include details about her marriage against legal advice, a jury has been told – as more details on the day Johnny Depp severed his finger were also revealed in court. Jurors in the libel lawsuit filed by

Olivia Wilde has been served with legal papers on behalf of her ex-fiancee Jason Sudeikis while on stage in Las Vegas. The director, 38, was promoting her new film at CinemaCon when she was handed a brown envelope. A person approached the stage at Caesars Palace from the seats and slid an envelope marked “personal

Shocking video released by US police captures the moment pupils get flung across their school bus, as it is hit by a car officers believe was racing another at up to 110mph. The footage released by police in Albuquerque, New Mexico shows 23 middle-school children (aged around 11- 13 years) chatting happily inside the bus

Police interview footage shows the moment Alec Baldwin put his hand over his mouth and sat in silence after being told Halyna Hutchins had died after being shot on the set of Rust. The cinematographer died after a prop gun held by Baldwin was discharged during rehearsals for the western film in New Mexico in

US Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19. A statement from her press secretary said she had “exhibited no symptoms” and will isolate while continuing to work. “She has not been a close contact to the President or First Lady due to their respective recent travel schedules,” the statement added. “She will follow

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has asked whether Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter will give China “a bit of leverage” over the platform. Twitter is blocked in China but Mr Musk‘s electric car business Tesla is dependent on the company’s plant in Shanghai and sales across the country for its global profits. Explaining the motivation

Twitter has reached an agreement for the billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media platform in a $44bn (£34.6bn) deal. The announcement follows, what were reported to be, extensive discussions between Musk and Twitter’s board starting on Sunday that stretched into Monday. Musk announced an offer to buy the social media platform on 14

Twitter is facing increasing pressure from shareholders to seek a deal with Elon Musk. The world’s richest man has offered to buy the social network for $43bn (£33.5bn) – and has accused the company of failing to uphold free speech. Twitter recently adopted a “poison pill” strategy in an attempt to resist a hostile takeover,

A Philadelphia toddler who was shot several times when his father brought him to a drug deal as protection, has died. Yaseem Jenkins, who was just 11 months at the time of the shooting, died on Tuesday, according to a statement by his family. Philadelphia’s district attorney said they are awaiting an inquest report to

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian presidential adviser. He met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and was expected to discuss the country’s request for more weapons to repel the Russian invasion. This is the first visit by a senior US official since Russia invaded Ukraine 60 days ago – and

A woman had to be rescued by firefighters after falling into a toilet while trying to find her mobile phone that had accidentally been dropped into it. The woman, who was not named, was at the top of Mount Walker in the Olympic National Forest, northwest of Seattle, Washington State, when the incident occurred near

The European Union could fine big tech companies billions of pounds as part of a new landmark deal to tackle hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful online content. The new Digital Services Act will force companies including Facebook, Google, and Amazon to police themselves harder and make it easier for users to flag problems. EU

Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, figures suggest. More people aged one to 19 died from gun-related injuries in 2020 than in vehicle crashes or drugs overdoses, according to analysis of federal data by researchers at the University of Michigan. More than 4,300 died of

A passenger who was punched in the face by Mike Tyson threw a water bottle at him before the confrontation, his representatives have claimed. Mobile phone footage shows Tyson, 55, hitting a man in a seat behind him. Reps for the former world heavyweight champion said: “Unfortunately, Mr Tyson had an incident on a flight

Johnny Depp has faced hours of tough questioning from Amber Heard’s lawyer during his libel trial – with graphic texts about his ex-wife and photos of messages written in paint and blood from his severed finger shown in court. Facing cross-examination on the seventh day of the hearing – and Depp‘s third on the witness

The Florida Senate has passed a bill that would dissolve the special taxing district that allows Walt Disney Co to self-govern in its theme park area. The Republican-led Senate voted 23 to 16 to back the measure. The bill comes amid a feud with the giant over its opposition to a contentious new state law

A report into the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the film set of Rust by actor Alec Baldwin has found that management “knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed”. New Mexico workplace safety regulators have issued the maximum possible fine against the film production company for firearms safety failures. They said that

More than 700 homes have been evacuated as a “wall of fire” including flames as high as 100ft (30m), swept across parts of Arizona. The fires, driven by winds of up to 50mph, laid waste to an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff in northern Arizona.

The body of a young boy has been found hidden inside a suitcase in Indiana. The child, who has not yet been identified, was found by a mushroom hunter in the middle of a wooded area in Washington County over the weekend. State police said the hard suitcase featured a distinctive Las Vegas design on

People are no longer required to wear a face mask on public transport in the US after a federal judge voided a national mandate, in a decision that has been described as “disappointing” by the White House. The judge, in Tampa, Florida, ruled that the national mask mandate, which covered airlines, airports, mass transit, and

A series of pictures showing Johnny Depp with apparent lacerations, bruising and scratches to his face alleged to have been caused by Amber Heard has been shown to the court on day four of the libel trial between the actor and his former wife. Depp is now scheduled to give evidence on Tuesday, according to

Art Rupe – the music executive who helped R&B go mainstream – has died aged 104. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member founded Specialty Records in Los Angeles in 1946 – giving an early break to the likes of Sam Cooke, Little Richard and John Lee Hooker. Rupe died on Friday at his

Several people have been injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in South Carolina, US police said. The Columbia Police Department said those injured at the Columbiana Centre during the incident were receiving medical attention, but the extent of the injuries was currently unknown. Columbia Police Deputy Chief Melron Kelly told the State newspaper

A portable nuclear device containing radioactive material that could be a danger to public safety has gone missing in the US state of Pennsylvania. Authorities are currently searching for the device, which belongs to local construction inspection company KAKS and Company LLC. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the device, a portable nuclear

An autistic teenager who disappeared two-and-a-half years ago in California has been found almost 800 miles (1287km) away in Utah. Connerjack Oswalt was 17 when he went missing from his family’s home in Clearlake on 28 September 2019. He was found by police officers on Saturday, sleeping outside a shop in Summit County, Utah. The

The first prisoner to be executed in South Carolina in more than 10 years has chosen to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, is also the first inmate in the US state to select his execution method after a law was enacted last year making electrocution the

Elon Musk is “not sure” whether his attempt to take over Twitter for $41bn will succeed, he has told a conference in Vancouver. The meme-posting billionaire added that he had a “Plan B” if his offer to buy to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share was turned down – and criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s model of

The families of the victims endured harrowing testimony about life and death in captivity at the hands of the so-called IS Beatles. When the guilty verdict in the trial of ‘IS Beatle’ El Shafee Elsheikh was read out, Diane Foley, whose son James was 40 when he was murdered, closed her eyes tightly and tilted

Police in the US have released footage of an incident where a black man was fatally shot in the back of the head by a police officer. Patrick Lyoya, 26, was stopped earlier this month for driving with a licence plate that did not match the vehicle, when he tried to run from the unidentified

A man arrested and charged with a terrorism offence after an attack on the New York subway called police himself and told them to come and get him, officials say. Ten people were shot and wounded, and a dozen others were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries on Tuesday, when a gunman set off

IS “Beatle” El Shafee Elsheikh has been found guilty of hostage-taking and conspiring to murder journalists and aid workers in Syria. The 33-year-old former British national was found to be part of an Islamic State terrorist cell that operated in Iraq and Syria, and whose members were nicknamed “The Beatles” because of their UK accents.