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Prosecution did not act in fair and impartial way in grand jury proceedings, judge rules, after West Wing actor charged with groping young boy on TV setA state court judge in New Mexico has dismissed charges of child sexual abuse against West Wing actor and director Timothy Busfield, saying the prosecution did not act in a fair and impartial manner during grand jury proceedings.Judge Joseph Montano said prosecutors could pursue new charges against Busfield. Continue reading...

Steve Hamilton was fishing in Winter Garden when he was attacked by gator, which was later killedA man fishing at a pond in Florida was killed on Friday by an alligator that was almost 12ft long in a rare kind of animal attack, according to authorities and media reports.Steve Hamilton, 71, was on the shoreline in the community of Winter Garden when the animal dragged him into the water, the Florida news outlet WOFL reported, citing local police and the state's fish and wildlife conservation commission. Continue reading...

Trump-boosting billionaire was sued over promise to give away $1m per day to random signatories of petitionElon Musk and his America Pac political action committee said recently that they agreed to settle two proposed class actions alleging the billionaire entrepreneur defrauded residents in closely contested states before the 2024 US election by promising voters a lottery-style daily $1m giveaway.The plaintiffs, Musk and America Pac told the judge overseeing the two related lawsuits in federal court in Austin, Texas, on Thursday that they have reached settlements subject to court approval. Continue reading...

Minnesota lawmaker's attorneys asked for return of seized items and the preservation of any recordings of searchIlhan Omar's attorneys have asked the US Department of Justice to return property that federal agents removed days earlier from her home during a search.The lawyers for the Minnesota Democrat contended that the seizure as neither justified nor lawful", according to a letter that the Associated Press reported on Friday. Continue reading...

As the WNBA finals kick off Saturday in San Francisco, the pro-LGBTQ+ sports fanbase push a message of inclusion in the face of anti-trans attacks

Whenever a new technology is created, it will, without exception, immediately be used to harass girls and womenYou may be familiar with rule 34 of the internet, which states that if something exists or can be imagined, there will almost certainly be online porn of it. Now let me introduce my rule 35: whenever a new technology is created, it will, without exception, immediately be used to harass girls and women.See, for example, Meta's pervert glasses". As anyone could have foreseen, putting a tiny camera and microphone into smartglasses would immediately lead to people using them to record and harass women. Lo and behold, that is exactly what happened. So-called manfluencers have filmed themselves trying to flirt with women in public spaces and then uploaded the footage to TikTok. The women in these videos are often not aware they've been recorded until their identities are shared online and they are harassed by strangers. And what's Meta doing about this? It's instituted a few bans and made some privacy updates, but doesn't seem to have an appetite to properly solve the problem. Indeed, at the Meta Connect 2026 keynote, Mark Zuckerberg did not feel the need to apologize to the women whose lives have been upended by his technology. Continue reading...

A modern-day prospector promised rural Imperial thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue - but his plan has set off a firestorm of resistanceSebastian Rucci zoomed in on a map in late 2024, looking closely at a large block of brown earth. The barren plot sandwiched between sprawling alfalfa fields and sleepy desert suburbs was exactly what he'd been searching for - the perfect place to realize his dream of building the largest artificial intelligence datacenter in California.The dusty expanse wasn't an obvious location. It was in the Sonoran desert, just north of the Mexican border, where temperatures regularly rose past 100F (37.8C). Water was scarce in the once-booming agricultural area, which gets its supply from the beleaguered Colorado River. And then, there was the city of Imperial - population 22,000 - to win over. As controversial datacenter projects have sprung up across the US, residents were naturally skeptical of a new, energy-guzzling neighbor. Continue reading...

A shooting at an elementary school in Bend on Thursday left three children and one teacher deadFor three long hours on Thursday afternoon, Joe Camarlinghi waited at a Bend, Oregon, church for word about his daughter.Camarlinghi had received an alert about a shooting at Silver Rail elementary, heard sirens and quickly headed to campus, where he was directed to the church along with other parents. Parents and teachers cried and hugged, and waited. Continue reading...

State has confirmed six measles-related deaths and county at center of outbreak lacks its own health departmentThe county at the center of Pennsylvania's measles outbreak is at a clear disadvantage because, local officials say, it lacks its own health department and it will now get special assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).As of Wednesday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 1,222 measles cases, up from 86 the week before. Six measles-associated deaths have also been confirmed by the state. Continue reading...

The organization We Are the Seeds began planting as part of a push to return land sovereignty to Indigenous peopleXiao Hui Star kneeled on her haunches, with her hands in the dirt as she cleared a spot to plant a flowering perennial in late summer. Surrounding her was a native garden replete with golden sunflowers, beans, squash, pawpaw and corn. She ruffled tufts of sweetgrass, which emitted a vanilla-like fragrance. Birds fluttered by and swooped down into a small bath filled with hard clam shells. Sandwiched between a brick home and a playground in west Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, the native garden featured plants endemic to the region.These are very special endangered varieties that we are rematriating back to the soil," said Star, who is part of Rhode Island's Narragansett tribe. She is also the manager of new initiatives at the Philadelphia-based organization We Are the Seeds, which hosts public events and education on Indigenous arts and culture. Who knows how many centuries it's been since a Lenape corn or a Nanticoke squash have grown in this soil." Continue reading...

Ryan Amacher, who played role in bid to damage campaign, has also made antisemitic and racist posts on social mediaAn influencer who played a key role in hoax claims that James Talarico was in a mental health facility has a long history of social media posts that favorably invoke Nazi Germany, express antisemitism and anti-Black racism, criticize miscegenation and call for remigration" of refugees.On X, the Lake Oswego, Oregon, resident Ryan Amacher, known online as Rhein Amacher, has described Muslims as sub-human", claimed that Black Africans are monkeys" with low IQ, characterized immigrants as vermin" and expressed support for the far right, including Germany's AfD and the UK's Tommy Robinson. Continue reading...

President has hit red states to drum up Republican support - and his increasingly strange performances are on full displayMontana, Tennessee, Alaska. In the run-up to an election, a Republican president typically wouldn't be campaigning in these traditionally red states.These aren't normal times, however, and Donald Trump, an unpopular president leading an unpopular party, has held rallies in those states in the last week, seeking to drum up support. But a series of eccentric performances from the president means his behavior has been the focus, rather than any of the candidates he is backing. Continue reading...

Half of the women on Trump's team have been replaced by men, while men facing misconduct allegations remainDonald Trump is not, by any measure, a feminist. He has said so himself. But the president has often pointed to his hiring and promoting of women in an attempt to stave off criticism of both his policies and personal conduct over the years.During his second term, however, there is one common characteristic among most of those who have departed the Trump administration. Continue reading...

How will Brentford and Liverpool fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream optionsBrentford are flying high in the Premier League as one of just three teams still to suffer defeat this season, although Keith Andrews surely wants his team to convert some of their draws into wins.Liverpool, on the other hand, return to league action after last weekend's humbling home defeat to Manchester City. Andoni Iraola's side responded by putting six goals past Lask in the Champions League, but the Reds are lacking balance. Continue reading...

Nicole Noren says ESPN sidelined investigations into sports betting companies as gambling partnerships reshaped the network's prioritiesEarlier this week, investigative journalist Nicole Noren did something almost impossible for someone who has spent her career behind the scenes.She made herself the story. Continue reading...

President signed the legislation championed by late senator Lindsey Graham last month but has waived the restrictions as they were due to come into effectDonald Trump has put on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest.In an executive order on Friday, the US president said he was waiving many sanctions, restrictions and duties on Russia, in a move that comes as he has been publicly criticising Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including suggesting that Ukraine needs a new leader. Continue reading...

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Justice department warns election officials of prosecution if they knowingly tabulate ballots' cast by noncitizensThe Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month's midterm elections, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution.The letter on Friday from senior justice department officials and obtained first by the Associated Press is the latest salvo in an ongoing tussle with heavily Democratic California, coming just a day after the Trump administration sued the state to prevent it from counting mail-in ballots from people the federal government has identified as likely" noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed. Continue reading...

Hot, windy weather stokes fires in southern California with mandatory evacuation orders in place for manyA fast-moving fire spread into neighborhoods in southern California on Friday as the region braces for more hot, windy weather that will amplify fire dangers through Saturday.Several structures could be seen ablaze in video footage captured by local news helicopters as firefighters worked to wrangle the more than 465 acre Norte fire, which erupted in Orange county on Friday. Continue reading...

One teacher and three children killed after Griffin J John II, 16, barged into elementary school and began shooting

President appears at rally for struggling Mike Collins, dismisses critics and touts most successful' two-year runAt a rally in north Georgia, Donald Trump again claimed that the 2020 election in Georgia was fraudulent, alleging that the election of US senator Jon Ossoff was illegitimate.Ossoff, who faces US congressman Mike Collins in November, does not represent Georgia's values, Trump said. Continue reading...

Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem died after reportedly passing out' and falling off Goliath rollercoaster in GeorgiaThe family of a man who was ejected from a rollercoaster at a Six Flags amusement park in Georgia and died has publicly questioned whether the death could have been prevented.Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem was riding the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta alongside his niece during a family trip to celebrate her birthday when he was thrown from the ride. His niece witnessed her uncle's death, a relative told the Atlanta ABC News affiliate WSB-TV. Continue reading...

Father of five-year-old Rhoam Summer says family broken and lost', while seven-year-old and 54-year-old in hospitalAuthorities are investigating a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, where a 16-year-old shooter killed four people before being shot dead by a bystander.The shooting took place on Thursday afternoon at Silver Rail elementary school, about 125 miles (200km) south-east of Portland. Continue reading...

Kaylub Giamanco, who was reportedly driving home when he heard gunshots, not seeking recognition', family saysDetails are beginning to emerge about Kaylub Giamanco, the man who brought the deadly shooting at elementary school in Bend, Oregon on Thursday, to an end by fatally shooting the 16-year-old suspect in the midst of a violent rampage.Whie police have declined to release the man's identity, Giamanco's family issued a statement on Friday confirming that he shot and killed the suspect, identified Friday as Griffin J John II, a former Silver Rail student. Continue reading...

Her abrupt firing after just five days reopened the contest for one of the Trump administration's most prominent rolesThe White House is without a press secretary again after the ousting of Katie Zacharia, just five days into her appointment as Donald Trump's spokesperson.Zacharia's departure comes just months after Karoline Leavitt unexpectedly resigned as the White House press secretary to focus on her family. Continue reading...

Zacharia hosted widely panned first briefing on Tuesday and faced scrutiny after admitting she didn't pass bar examDonald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired on Friday, just five days after she assumed the role, according to a White House official.The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the personnel decision that had not yet been formally announced. Zacharia, a little-known conservative political commentator prior to her selection as the president's chief spokesperson, came under immediate scrutiny after a widely panned inaugural briefing on Tuesday. The 14-minute exchange was soon followed by a barrage of questions over her legal credentials after she admitted she did not pass the bar exam. Continue reading...

In civil suit, Jane Doe' alleged billionaire raped her after being handed off' by Jeffrey Epstein. Black denied the allegations and called claims a fabricationA federal judge has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Leon Black after the plaintiff in the case, who had accused the private equity billionaire of rape, said she was medically incapable of continuing" and at risk of acute psychiatric crisis", including suicide.The woman known only as Jane Doe", who claimed in a lawsuit that was first filed in July 2023 that she had been handed off" to Black by his associate Jeffrey Epstein and then sexually assaulted by him, had been acting without a lawyer in the case. Doe has alleged that the assault occurred in 2002, when she was a teenager. Continue reading...

Guyger, convicted of murder of Botham Jean in Dallas in 2018, served seven years of 10-year sentenceThe former Dallas police officer who was convicted of murdering Botham Jean after entering his apartment and shooting him in 2018 was released from prison on Friday morning after spending seven years in prison.Amber Guyger, 38, regained her freedom a little more than two weeks after the Texas board of pardons and paroles approved her release, despite opposition from Jean's family. Continue reading...

In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, admitted that she did not pass the bar exam, after facing scrutiny about her legal career before becoming the top spokesperson for Trump. Zacharia had previously said she practiced law before entering politics, and Trump had described her as an attorney. Zacharia earned a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the school. Nearly all licensed US lawyers first obtain a law degree, but law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without being admitted to a state bar. In China, the law requires practicing lawyers to be Chinese nationals. Foreign staff can advise and consult on legal matters but not practice law. Continue reading...

Katie Zacharia had a rough start as she fumbled first press conference and faced questions from media about her professional background

Newly released video by the Park City police department shows the moment K-9 dog Bruno jumped from a freeway overpass while inspecting a suspicious package on 15 September. An independent review found that the handler, officer Wayne Henderson, deployed Bruno in line with standard K-9 tactics. Bruno was air-lifted to a veterinary hospital after the incident and has been released to recover at home.

The old certainties have gone. We will have to spend whatever it takes to protect ourselves in this new and dangerous worldDonald Trump must find it oddly frustrating. He keeps showing the world exactly who he is, and yet the world keeps refusing to believe it. As clearly as he can, he is announcing that he is not the leader of the free world, that he is not even a reliable member of the democratic west, that he is in fact an ally of its enemies - but the west, including Britain, either doesn't fully get the message or can't quite bring itself to draw the obvious conclusion.Trump had another go this week, finding multiple ways to declare that in the war between Russia and Ukraine, he is no mediator or peace broker but a partner of Vladimir Putin. In fairness to him, the US president had loudly issued that declaration within weeks of his return to the White House when, in February 2025, he delivered an on-camera dressing down of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, seeking to humiliate the Ukrainian leader by telling him you don't have the cards", even as JD Vance demanded their visitor show gratitude. That should have made Trump's position sufficiently plain, but in the past few days he has all but put it up in lights.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistUS midterms: Trump, war and America's future

Polls show that Democrats and Republicans in battleground states want to hear more from candidates about the climate crisisMost Americans feel unease or alarm about the climate crisis and, in both red and blue states, want to know how political leaders are going to fix it. But in midterm election campaigns across the US, candidates have responded to this desire with near silence.People in the US have this year endured a record hot summer as well as soaring costs, equating to roughly $2,000 per household, in extra energy and mortgage payments, due to the country's dependence on a fossil fuel supply scrambled by Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran. Continue reading...

Court filing alleges physical abuse by guards', filthy living conditions' and disease outbreaks at Camp East Montana

Bomb-sniffing dog Bruno is recovering after surgery having broken several bones while responding to suspect packageVideo of the moment a police dog named Bruno leapt from a freeway overpass and received serious injuries has been released by authorities in Utah, as the animal continues to recover at home.Bruno, a bomb-sniffing dog, suffered two broken legs and a fractured jaw in the September incident as he helped Utah state troopers investigate a suspicious package found abandoned on the roadside in Summit county. Continue reading...

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was asked by Sky News at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, if he felt he was being made a 'scapegoat' by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for domestic problems including high diesel prices before midterm elections. Zelenskyy paused for 15 seconds, before he eventually smiled and said: 'This is my answer.'

The Brewers turned LA's stars into ghosts during their four-game NLCS sweep, destroying the team that destroyed baseball' and revealing the sport's hard truthMilwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy had just watched his club dismantle Los Angeles for a fourth straight National League Championship Series game. Standing with his team in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse, he was ready to celebrate. But before popping his champagne and setting off a stream of celebratory suds, Murphy had a message.They got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We got a bunch of gamers." Continue reading...

A teenage gunman opened fire in the city of Bend, killing four people and leaving two more in critical condition, before he was shot and killed by a bystanderA 16-year-old gunman opened fire at the Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, authorities said, killing three children and a teacher.The student victims are aged five, eight and 11. Their names have not yet been released, and authorities said their families had been notified.The 16-year-old shooter was found dead at the scene. Police said that an armed bystander pursued the suspect and shot him inside the school shortly before officers arrived.Two other victims, a seven-year-old and a 54-year-old, have been hospitalized. As of Friday morning they remained in critical condition, according to police.Police arrived at the school at 1.02pm local time after receiving multiple reports of a shooting. One 911 caller reported an individual armed with a long gun firing upon their car. Police said the gunman forced entry into the building by shooting at locked doors, but did not identify the make of the firearm they used.The teenage shooter was a resident of the town, police said, but their name has not been released. Police have yet to provide a motive for the shooting and said they were still investigating if he had ties to the school.The attack has rocked the small city of Bend, which is home to 100,000 residents and is located on the Deschutes River, about 170 miles south-east of Portland. All public schools in the district, and campuses of Oregon State University-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College, will be closed on Friday.Hundreds gathered at nearby Drake Park on Thursday night at a somber candlelight ceremony to remember the victims. Some attenders called on authorities to harden gun laws in Oregon, already some of the tightest in the nation.Officials have praised the swift actions of law enforcement officers and of the community member who intervened. The Oregon governor, Tina Kotek, praised the intervention as heroic and extended her thoughts to the bystander. Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden," she said on Thursday evening.The FBI is helping local authorities investigate the shooting, according to the agency's director, Kash Patel. Continue reading...

Attacker also killed a teacher and was shot dead by a community member. Plus, NAZA film-makers describe Israel's attempts to retaliate

The US vice-president is following the Donald Trump playbook, attacking the Democrats, attempting to make jokes and even swearing more. Jonathan Freedland talks to Arwa Mahdawi about why Vance is making such an effort to court voters Continue reading...

With his war in Iran and siding with Russia, it's hard to think of someone who has done more to make the world a safer placeIt might have been more, shall we say, diplomatic if Donald Trump had taken some deep breaths after finding out he had been overlooked for the Nobel peace prize for the second year running before virtually declaring war on Norway. But maybe we should just be grateful he refrained from rubbishing the South African human rights activist Navi Pillay, who picked up the award, and shelved his plans to livestream the execution of the Norwegian prize committee. There again, you can understand his frustration. It's hard to think of someone who has done more to make the world a safer place. Where would we be had not The Donald started a war with Iran which he shows no sign of knowing how to finish and which has forced up the price of global energy? And it was so good to see him intervening so positively in Russia's war with Ukraine by appearing to side with the aggressor. These are just the things everyone is looking for in a Nobel peace laureate. The president is also put out that no one has noticed he has personally ended eight global conflicts; though it would be helpful if he could let us know which ones. Are they ones he has personally started - Trump appears disappointed that Argentina hasn't invaded the Falklands again - or ones that only he knows about. During a press conference at Chequers in 2025, he claimed to have brought about a lasting peace between Albania and Azerbaijan. Maybe there are other wars going on we just don't know about. Perhaps Australia and New Zealand have been bombing each other for years with neither side noticing. And perhaps the border between France and Italy has been a no-go zone ever since the fight between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Still, Trump looks a cert to retain Gianni Infantino's Fifa peace prize - if only because it seems likely to be scrapped, making him the only winner. Continue reading...

Coalition has planned more than 3,000 events on Saturday to encourage voting before election dayThe coalition that has drawn millions of Americans into the streets to fight for democracy over the past two years is shifting its strategy this weekend.On Saturday, No Kings organizers and partners will hold thousands of events across all 50 states and Washington DC to get people to the polls early for the US midterm elections. With high-stakes races that will determine control of Congress, organizers say getting out the vote before election day can ease burdens on election workers and build confidence in voters, allowing them to avoid hiccups such as long lines and potential election threats. Continue reading...

Thousands of vetted and approved refugees are suffering as Trump restricts quotas and prioritizes white South AfricansDonald Trump plans to once more severely restrict the number of refugees admitted to the US, announcing a limit of just 17,500 people in fiscal year 2027 - and that, again, those let in will be primarily" white South Africans.Refugee rights groups are alarmed and infuriated at the decision last month by the US president to exclude almost every other demographic. Continue reading...

The media-savvy Democratic senator is defying predictions of a tight re-election battle. But he insists he has zero interest' in a presidential run in 2028Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he declared during a debate this week. Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he told a local TV station last month. Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he told MS Now - twice - in August.The Democratic US senator for Georgia said as much to CNN. And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And MS Now, again. And in his second Senate debate on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

The mixed martial arts organization has had links to the US president for years. Now it could be involved in training federal agentsIn the lead-up to UFC Freedom 250 - the cagefighting spectacle that took place on the South Lawn of the White House to mark Donald Trump's 80th birthday this past summer - the FBI announced that a handful of UFC fighters would visit the bureau for an exclusive training seminar for federal agents.Taking place at the FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the March seminar put roughly 300 federal agents and academy students through specialized hand-to-hand combat training with seven past and current UFC fighters, including former middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who was pictured giving attendees advice on warding off attackers. Continue reading...

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