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To those of us who aren’t astronomers, it’s hard to see what the big deal is. An image of points of light, coloured blobs and spirals of galaxies of the kind we’re familiar with. But in fact, this image is something very different indeed. Compared to the previous picture of this region of space captured

The “deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date” has been revealed. The picture was made public by NASA and is the first to be taken by the world’s most advanced telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). “We’re looking back more than 13 billion years… and we’re going further… this is

Mass shootings in America have become so common that an official handbook has been prepared to help mayors to cope when there is a shooting in their community. As the first funerals take place for the victims of the Independence Day mass shooting near Chicago in Illinois, the mayor of the city where it happened,

Sopranos actor Tony Sirico has died at the age of 79, his family said. Sirico played the role of Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri in the popular HBO show, appearing in all six seasons. He died on Friday morning, according to a Facebook post by his brother Robert. The post said: “It is with great sadness, but

Amber Heard’s lawyers have made another call for a re-trial of her defamation case with Johnny Depp. In documents filed on Friday, the actress’s legal team said that one of the people originally summoned to serve as a juror in the trial had not appeared and had been replaced by someone else. The documents, reported

Elon Musk has pulled out of a deal to take over Twitter for $44bn (£36.5bn). In a statement provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, representatives for Mr Musk said Twitter breached terms of an agreement and “appears to have made false and misleading representations”. They said Twitter had also failed to provide data

A woman has been left feeling “very relieved and excited” after firefighters dived into a river to retrieve her huge diamond ring after it fell overboard. During a trip on a yacht along the Charles River in Massachusetts, US, the woman dropped the impressive piece of jewellery into the water below. The dive team from

Ahead of the biggest premiere the world of astronomy has ever seen, NASA has published the cosmic A-list that will be appearing through the lens of its colossal new space telescope. And it’s not just stars. There are galaxies, a planet too, and what promises to be the deepest view back in time that humanity

Ghislaine Maxwell has officially appealed against her conviction and sentence in the United States for sex trafficking. The 60-year-old was found guilty of luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the Southern

Derek Chauvin has been given a 21-year jail sentence for violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin will serve the federal sentence at the same time he serves his 22-and-a-half year sentence on state charges of murder and manslaughter. The former police officer pinned George Floyd to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner shop for more

Jerry Harris, star of Netflix TV series Cheer, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in the US for crimes relating to indecent images of children and soliciting sex from minors. The 22-year-old previously pleaded guilty to one count of travelling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of

The man charged with killing seven people in a shooting on an Independence Day parade in Chicago has confessed to police that he fired on the crowd. Robert E Crimo III faces seven counts of murder over the shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, and news of the confession – which was

A two-year-old has been left an orphan after both of his parents were killed when a rooftop sniper opened fire on the Fourth of July parade in Chicago. Irina McCarthy, 35, and Kevin McCarthy, 37, were among at least seven killed in the attack on Monday, in which around 50 people also suffered gunshot wounds

The man suspected of shooting dead six people in Chicago was dressed as a woman to hide his facial tattoos, in a bid to blend in as he escaped the scene, police have said. Robert E Crimo III, 21, was arrested after the shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of

The man suspected of killing at least six people and seriously injuring more than 30 at a Fourth of July parade in Chicago has been arrested, police have said. A Highland Park police spokesperson said the suspect, Robert E Crimo III, 22, was spotted by a patrol who tried to initiate a traffic stop. The

Police have named the man suspected of killing at least six people and seriously injuring dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb. Highland Park police confirmed the suspect is Robert E Crimo III, aged 22. The attacker, who is still believed to be on the run, opened fire on the

Jeff Bezos has clashed with US President Joe Biden’s administration on Twitter over the cost of petrol for American consumers. Mr Biden had tweeted this weekend that “this is a time of war and global peril” and that the companies running gas stations were acting out of greed. “Bring down the price you are charging

Police have released bodycam footage showing the moment a black man was shot up to 60 times after he fled a traffic stop. Eight police officers in Akron, Ohio, were involved in the shooting of Jayland Walker, 25, last week after a pursuit by car and on foot. Police say they believed Walker was armed

A third officer has died after a shooting in the US when police tried to execute an arrest warrant on a man accused of domestic violence. Jacob Russell Chaffins, a police dog handler and army veteran, had been rushed to hospital following the shooting in Kentucky but did not survive, his department said. Officers had

Britney Spears’ father has denied claims he set up hidden recording devices in her bedroom during her conservatorship. Jamie Spears had been accused of planting the devices during the months of testimony that led to the end of his control over his daughter’s estate. He allegedly hid a device in Britney’s room behind furniture, along