US

A Chinese “spy” balloon that was shot down over the US was likely heading to Guam and then Hawaii, a US official has said. What the US has described as a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the South Carolina coast on 4 February. Two other objects have also been shot down, on

Hollywood actress Raquel Welch has died at the age of 82. The US star “passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness”, her management company said. Her career spanned more than 50 years and included 30 films and scores of TV series and appearances. Welch won a best actress Golden Globe in 1975

A white supremacist mass murderer, whose sentencing hearing was disrupted by an audience member rushing towards him, has been jailed for life without parole. Payton Gendron, 19, admitted killing 10 black people in a racially motivated attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022, as well as domestic terrorism charges. Gendron was

A woman accused of murder and mutilating a corpse has been pictured attacking her lawyer during a court hearing in the US. Taylor Schabusiness appeared in court in Wisconsin on Tuesday when she lunged at her lawyer Quinn Jolly. Mr Jolly had asked the judge in the case for an additional two weeks for a

Nikki Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, has announced she will run for the Republican’s 2024 presidential nomination – becoming the first major challenger to Donald Trump. Haley, who served in the UN role under Trump’s previous administration, is the second Republican candidate to announce her candidacy after her former boss launched his own campaign

At least three people have been killed after a shooting at a US university – with the gunman apparently dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A manhunt was launched for the attacker who had fled on foot and was described as a short black male in a cap, red shoes and a jean jacket. Police

China has claimed US high-altitude balloons have flown over its airspace more than 10 times over the past year. Beijing has made the claim after Washington accused China of operating a fleet of surveillance balloons around the world. The development comes a day after US jets shot down a fourth flying object that the Pentagon

The unidentified objects shot down over Alaska and Canada in recent days do not resemble the Chinese “spy” balloon downed near South Carolina a week ago, the White House has said. A spokesperson for its National Security Council said they were “much smaller” but added: “We will not definitivelycharacterise them until we can recover the

The US has shot down another unidentified object that it says flew near sensitive military sites and could have been used for spying. It was downed over Lake Huron in Michigan at 2.42pm local time on Sunday on President Biden‘s orders. A US F-16 jet fired a missile at about 20,000ft amid concerns that its

A US F-22 stealth fighter jet has shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada – the second incident of its type in as many days. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the latest shootdown had occurred over the mountainous and sparsely-populated territory of Yukon in the northwest. Canada’s Defence Minister Anita Anand would not

Alec Baldwin is attempting to have one of the charges of involuntary manslaughter, which could see him jailed for five years, thrown out by a US court. Lawyers for the actor argued that New Mexico prosecutors had committed an “unconstitutional and elementary legal error” by charging him under a statute that did not exist at

The US has shot down an unknown object flying in its airspace, off the coastline of Alaska – just days after it downed a Chinese “spy” balloon. The object, shot down on the order of President Joe Biden, was flying at a high altitude of about 40,000ft and was the size of a small car,

A 14-year-old girl who was reported missing in 2021 has been found pregnant in the closet of a Michigan home. A US Marshals fugitive team found the teen – who was in a distraught state – at about 5:30pm on Tuesday in Port Huron, Michigan, Deputy Marshal Robert Watson said. “She was pretty upset, she

Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been restored after he was banned in the wake of the deadly Capitol riot two years ago. Users of the social media sites can again see the former US president’s pages, with the last post on his Facebook made on 6 January 2021, when he wrote: “I am

Burt Bacharach, one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, has died aged 94. The US musician composed more than 500 songs during his career and was behind hits such as I Say A Little Prayer, Walk On By, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, and Do You Know The Way To San Jose. Bacharach

Chinese “spy” balloons have been spotted in skies above countries across five continents, according to US officials. The US has also been in touch with its allies on the issue of the balloons, according to the White House. It comes after US fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spying device off the coast of

Joe Biden came out punching on Capitol Hill in a way that belied learned expectation. On the big occasion, he didn’t fluff his lines or miss his targets – unlike the Joe Biden of so many other occasions. For too many, to watch him is to write him off. Too much about this 80-year-old president

Joe Biden has vowed to work with political rivals in his latest State of the Union address. The US president was speaking before Congress for the first time since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last month. While he acknowledged that America’s democracy is bruised, Mr Biden stressed it is “unbowed and unbroken”.

Rail crews in Ohio have been burning off toxic chemicals from a freight train that derailed last week, after ordering nearly 2,000 residents to evacuate their homes. The train, operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad and consisting of three locomotives and 150 freight cars, was travelling from Illinois to Pennsylvania when it derailed shortly before 9pm

A suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the US over the weekend was 60m (200ft) tall – comparable to a 20-storey building. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), told reporters that the balloon was also carrying a load similar in size to a commercial plane. He added that