US

An unvaccinated couple with four children died on the same day after contracting COVID-19. Alvaro and Sylvia Fernandez, of Loma Linda in Southern California, died without hours of each other on 19 December, their family said. Mr Fernandez, 44, was hesitant about getting a COVID vaccination so had not got his jab before developing symptoms

Emergency services searching for people missing after wildfires swept through communities in Colorado will use cadaver dogs to hunt through layers of fresh snow covering the smouldering debris. Three people are missing and nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged in the fires, the cause of which is still unknown. For those who escaped

New York City’s new mayor Eric Adams, a retired captain in the New York Police Department, called in an assault he witnessed during one of his first media engagements. Adams became the second black mayor of New York City when he was sworn into office on Saturday morning after holding a ceremony in Times Square.

Tributes have been paid to veteran actress Betty White who has died less than three weeks before her 100th birthday. The Golden Girls star, whose career spanned eight decades, reportedly died at her home on New Year’s Eve. Her death was confirmed by her longtime agent and close friend, Jeff Witjas. He told Associated Press

Ghislaine Maxwell has been “scapegoated” for the crimes of her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein and “was not given a fair trial”, her brother has told Sky News. The British former socialite was this week found guilty of recruiting underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex

Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial was billed as the moment, after years of waiting, when we would get answers. In reality, the woman at the centre of the case revealed almost nothing, and the courtroom drama, scheduled to last six weeks, was over in three. Maxwell did not take the stand, and her defence offered little

A past settlement between sex offender Jeffey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which could be key to a legal case involving Prince Andrew, is set to be made public next week. The 2009 agreement between Epstein and Ms Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, will be released on or around 3 January following an order by US judges.

The judge in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial wants jurors to work more days and longer hours because of a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in New York. Judge Alison Nathan said a positive COVID-19 case among jurors would endanger “our ability to complete this trial” and asked them to work every day

John Madden, a Super Bowl winning NFL coach and later a legendary sports broadcaster, has died at the of 85, the league as announced. He died unexpectedly, with no cause of death given. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement: “On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike,

Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of recruiting underage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein. The 60-year-old former socialite and ex-girlfriend of billionaire financier Epstein is now facing the prospect of years in prison. As the verdicts were read out in court in New York, Maxwell appeared to show little reaction behind a

The Los Angeles Police Department has released the bodycam footage from an incident that led to an innocent teenager being fatally shot as officers opened fire on a suspect. Valentina Orellana-Peralta, 14, was in the changing room at the Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood on 23 December, when a bullet struck her through a

What is thought to be a time-capsule has been discovered under the remains of a plinth that held a statue of a Confederate leader in Virginia. Crews wrapping up the removal of the Robert E Lee statue in Richmond in the state made the discovery on Monday, with the likely contents said to be long

Sarah Weddington, who won a landmark court case to make abortions legal across the US, has died at the age of 76. The Texas lawyer passed away in her sleep early on Boxing Day morning at her home in Austin, her former student and colleague Susan Hays said. She had been in poor health for

Around 8,000 flights were cancelled globally between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day as airlines experienced staff shortages due to COVID-19. Approximately 3,000 of the cancelled flights were in or out of the United States, where the highly transmissible Omicron COVID variant is causing a surge in infections, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com The website’s tally

A surfer has been killed in an “apparent shark attack” off the central coast of California on Christmas Eve, authorities have said. The surfer, whose identity has not yet been released, was found in the water near Morro Rock, about 200 miles (320km) north of Los Angeles. in Los Angeles, California, at around 10.45am on

Scientists say a “new era of astronomy” could be brought in as they prepare to launch the James Webb Telescope today. The device is expected to profoundly transform scientists’ understanding of the universe and our place in it. NASA, which produced the $10bn infrared telescope in partnership with the European and Canadian space agencies, has

A White House Christmas event took an awkward turn on Friday when a caller dropped a vulgar anti-Biden slogan into a conversation with the US president.  Joe Biden was hosting a traditional festive phone call with children tracking Father Christmas’ sleigh when their father told the president “Let’s go Brandon”. Mr Biden, apparently unaware of

A 14-year-old girl has been shot and killed in a Los Angeles clothing shop’s dressing room after police opened fire on an assault suspect. Police also shot and killed the suspect at the Burlington shop in the North Hollywood area of San Fernando Valley, police said. A man had been acting erratically and threatening to

A former US police officer who said she mistakenly fired her gun instead of her Taser in the fatal shooting of a man has been found guilty of manslaughter. Kimberly Potter was convicted over the death of 20-year-old motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April in Minneapolis. Potter, 49, was found guilty of

Five suspects have been arrested after US congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked in Philadelphia. The Democrat representative for Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district was held at gunpoint as her car was stolen on Wednesday afternoon. She was unharmed in the incident which is said to have occurred as she walked to her sport utility vehicle