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Tolkan, known for portraying authoritarian figures, died peacefully' in Lake Placid, New York, his agent saidJames Tolkan, known for his roles as an authoritarian figure in the Back to the Future and Top Gun films, has died. He was 94.Tolkan died Thursday in Lake Placid, New York, where he lived, his booking agent, John Alcantar, said Saturday. A brief obituary published on the Back to the Future website said Tolkan died peacefully", but no cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Teenager alleged she faced racism from teacher who told her to go back to her country' for refusing to stand for pledge of allegianceA Palestinian middle school student in Michigan who was publicly admonished for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance as part of a personal protest against the war on Gaza has settled with her school district following a lawsuit around her first amendment free speech rights.The teenager, identified as DK in court documents, said she faced racism from a teacher at the West Middle school in Canton, Michigan, after she did not participate in the pledge. The teacher reportedly told DK to go back to her country", Fox 2 Detroit reported. Continue reading...

Treasury department said Financial Times article about Scott Bessent's views on Fed oversight was manufactured'The US treasury department demanded on Friday that the Financial Times (FT) retract a report on treasury secretary Scott Bessent's views on the Federal Reserve, accusing the newspaper of publishing false claims" in a formal complaint escalated to the outlet's parent company, Nikkei Inc.The email from treasury officials, addressed to senior editors at the FT and Nikkei, disputed multiple claims in the story and criticized the headline as misrepresenting the underlying reporting. Continue reading...

Thieves made a break for 413,793 units of the company's new F1 line bars which could cause shortage before EasterA large shipment of KitKat candy bars was stolen while in transit to distributors, a major candy crime right before the Easter holiday that could cause shortages for customers.The truck carrying 413,793 units of a new chocolate range", about 12 tons of chocolate bars, was pilfered while driving through Europe on 26 March, Agence France-Presse reported. Continue reading...

Protesters decried Trump administration healthcare policies and direction of HHS under leadership of RFK JrAs tens of thousands of people assembled across the US and around the world for No Kings protests, about a thousand people gathered outside the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday morning to protest cuts to medical research and the Trump's administration's policies on health.The rally follows a tumultuous year for the research agency, with devastating cuts to multi-year funding and outright terminations of grants, especially to research related to gender and race. The White House is now poised to cut the NIH's budget by 20%, according to reporting by Roll Call on Friday, nearly one year after mass layoffs at health agencies. Continue reading...

Organisers claim half a million people are marching through central London, protesting against the rise of the far rightSome protesters have spoken to PA earmarking opposition to Reform UK, support for Palestine and anti-racism as drivers for their attendance.Paige Horsford, 34, a media and English teacher from New Romney, Kent, said she joined the Together march because she has witnessed racist incidents at her school. Continue reading...

Bill passes by 213 to 203 votes in move prolonging weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted travelUS House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and instead passed their own funding measure late on Friday, extending a weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted air travel.The stopgap bill, which proposes funding the DHS in full for eight weeks, passed by 213 to 203 votes after Republicans in the lower chamber refused to take up a Senate-passed deal that excluded money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border patrol. Continue reading...

Four people arrested as police appeal for help in identifying woman found unconscious on streetPolice in Leeds have launched a murder investigation after a young woman died after being found unconscious on the street.Officers were called at 5.55am on Saturday to Kennerleigh Avenue in Austhorpe where they found the woman with serious injuries. She was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Continue reading...

CNN team detained while reporting on aftermath of attack by settlers in West Bank, Foreign Press Association says

More than 100 charities, campaign groups and trade unions marched in a show of unity against far right politics

Exclusive: World Service director Fiona Crack says platform pursues stories ignored by the Gulf's state-owned mediaA senior BBC executive has defended BBC Arabic as a lone voice in the region covering the Israeli perspective", as she warned its critics that it pursued stories ignored by the Gulf's state-owned media.The corporation's Arabic service has come under sustained criticism in recent years, for its selection of coverage and for featuring some guests that had expressed antisemitic views on social media. There have even been calls for the service to be closed down. Continue reading...

Olivia Bailey says she wants Sure Start-style hubs that will be rolled out in England on Monday to be inclusive for allReform UK's pro-family" policies are a sham and exclude non-traditional families, the government's early years minister has said before the rollout of hundreds of new Sure Start-style family centres across England on Monday.Olivia Bailey said she wanted the hubs to be inclusive for all families and transform communities, after what she called the criminal" dismantling of Sure Start under the last Conservative government. Continue reading...

Incident in the city's 8th arrondissement reportedly involved a homemade explosive deviceFrench police prevented an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris on Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case said.The incident occurred at about 3.30am (0230 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the city's 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets away from the Champs-Elysees. Continue reading...

Matthew Uthoff and his wife, Amber Dena Snow, allegedly gave oxycodone-laced pasta dish to unknowing victimTwo people in Iowa were accused of giving a pregnant woman a lasagna laced with narcotics with the intention of causing a miscarriage, according to law enforcement.Matthew Uthoff, 35, and his wife, 36-year-old Amber Dena Snow, are accused of delivering a lasagna containing oxycodone to the pregnant individual. The couple faces several charges including delivery of a controlled substance and purposefully terminating a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant individual. Continue reading...

Raw Farm was also linked to 2024 salmonella outbreak that sickened 165 people and deaths of two cats from bird fluA California raw milk dairy that was previously linked to a fatal outbreak of bird flu in cats has now been linked to an E coli outbreak involving cheddar cheese, affecting nine people in three states.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an alert that more than half of the people sickened so far are children under age five. Three people have been hospitalized after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli - O157:H7 - with one developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can lead to kidney failure. Continue reading...

Kristi Noem was replaced by Markwayne Mullin as DHS secretary and Gregory Bovino was demoted, signally a change in tone even as arrests have continuedThroughout last year, Donald Trump delivered on his signature campaign promise of mass deportation in draconian and theatrical style. Hardline figures such as Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and Gregory Bovino, the border patrol commander, became the face of Trump's crackdown, defending a strategy of large-scale raids that sent immigration agents flooding into US cities, terrorizing communities and clashing with protesters.Then in January, immigration officers killed two US citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, in a matter of three weeks. The killings spurred a sweeping backlash that has led Democratic members of Congress to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for more than a month in an attempt to rein in ICE. Even Trump said maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch". Continue reading...

Murder investigation launched after man, 26, killed in central London on Friday nightThe Metropolitan police have launched a murder investigation after a man was stabbed in central London on Friday night.Officers were called to Abbey Orchard Street, Westminster, at 10.17pm after receiving reports that a man had been stabbed. The scene of the incident is near Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey. Continue reading...

More use of two-way charging will earn money for owners and could avoid the need to expand North Sea oil drillingThe Iran war has sent petrol and diesel prices to their highest levels in years, sparked warnings of fuel rationing across Europe and triggered calls for Britain to drill more North Sea oil and gas. But analysis suggests the UK is looking for solutions in the wrong places - and that one of them is sitting on people's driveways or parked in the street.If more drivers switched electric vehicles, Britain would sharply reduce its petrol and diesel consumption, with every car charged from the grid rather than the pump extending the country's fuel reserves - and experts say the potential impact goes far beyond that. Continue reading...

Survivors tell coastguard smugglers ordered victims to be thrown overboard after running out of food and water22 people hoping to reach Europe from north Africa have died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat, survivors told the Greek coastguard.The coastguard said on Friday that 26 people, including a woman and a minor, were rescued by a European border agency vessel off the island of Crete. Continue reading...

AI-generated footage depicts group of men performing a corrido, singing phrases including return to your roots'An AI-generated video from the US embassy in Mexico encouraging migrants to self-deport" has sparked disbelief and outrage online.The video posted this week on official embassy social media accounts depicts a group of men wearing black caps and sporting tattoos performing a kind of traditional Mexican ballad known as a corrido. Continue reading...

Prime minister is scrambling to clean up her government after youth vote powered a damaging referendum defeatFilippo Michelini was having a drink at San Calisto, a popular bar in Rome's Trastevere neighbourhood on Wednesday night. As he chatted to his friends, Giorgia Meloni's far-right government was reeling from a failed referendum, and her beleaguered tourism minister, Daniela Santanche, had just resigned.Michelini, a 29-year-old computer scientist who lives in Brussels, was spending a few days in the Italian capital after returning home last weekend to cast his ballot in the plebiscite on judicial changes. Continue reading...

More than 850 public demonstrations of support held since start of war and at least 1,400 arrests, research reveals

Amanda Smith was reunited with her mother, Michele Hundley Smith, on Thursday after decades-long search

Members of the UK public join the search after specialist dog units and thermal drones have yet to locate herBarely 24 hours after nine-month-old capybaras Samba and Tango were brought to Marwell zoo near Winchester, they had made a break for it through a hole in their temporary enclosure. The siblings were transferred to Hampshire from Jimmy's farm and wildlife park in Suffolk on 16 March after being outshone by other capybaras.Tango was quickly found, but her sister Samba remains at large, and the mission to find her has attracted national and international coverage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Findings cast doubt on claims new drilling would help cut bills and boost energy security, researchers sayHundreds of licences granted for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea under the Conservatives have so far produced only 36 days' worth of gas, according to analysis.Research by the energy consultancy Voar and the campaign group Uplift found that between 2010 and 2024, the government handed out hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences in seven licensing rounds. Continue reading...

Concern that supply chain disruption could hit health essentials - and prices - from painkillers to cancer treatment

From 6 April, low-income families can claim universal credit payments for all children living in the householdThe two-child benefit policy has been described as a cap on childhood" and as it comes to an end, Claire* hopes to throw a birthday party for her son.It is a celebration most children may take for granted, but Claire and her partner run out of money at the end of every month, skipping meals so that their three children can eat. Her son, now in his final year at primary school, has never had a party. Continue reading...

Decision to choose small, wealthy - but very Catholic - state for first European trip has baffled some Vatican observersPope Leo will travel to Monaco, the semi-enclave famous for casinos and superyachts, on Saturday on his first European trip since being elected pontiff, causing bemusement among some Vatican observers, not least because it comes 488 years after the last papal visit.Leo will travel from the Vatican by helicopter for the one-day trip, and will be greeted at Monaco's heliport by Prince Albert and his wife, Princess Charlene, before being taken to the palace, which has been the residence of the Grimaldi dynasty since the 13th century. It is the first time a pontiff has visited Monaco since Pope Paul III in 1538. Continue reading...

Missile fired from Yemen the first since the Iran war began and came hours after the US secretary set a new timeline for the conflict

At least 77 people killed in anti-corruption youth uprising in September, which began over a brief social media banNepal's former prime minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested early on Saturday morning over his role in the deaths of dozens of people who took part in the gen Z protest that toppled his government last year.Police detained the three-time former prime minister at his residence in the capital Kathmandu, and also arrested his former home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak. Continue reading...

Major gas infrastructure hit by outages as weather system continues south-east

Fears grow that Tehran may start activating sleeper cells across Middle East as part of war with US and Israel

This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog hereMore now on India slashing taxes on diesel and petrol amid the global disruption in energy supplies: finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move would provide protection to consumers from rise in prices".The country is one of the world's largest crude oil importers and relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85% of its oil needs, with Russia being the biggest supplier. Continue reading...

PM did not rule out later fuel rationing or work-from-home measures but said he strongly preferred voluntary arrangements'

Mayor of Hartford has fired a white police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a mental health crisis nine times

Man was arrested in connection with plan to assassinate Nerdeen Kiswani, following sting by undercover NYPD officer

The Handala Hack Team published more than 300 emails from Kash Patel's inbox between 2010 and 2019

President offered new federal loan guarantees and an update to renewable fuel standards to boost US agricultureDonald Trump is offering aid to farmers and food suppliers as they face a fresh set of challenges amid the US-Israel war on Iran, the White House announced Friday.After a White House event with farmers on Friday, Trump introduced several new measures, including new federal loan guarantees and an update to renewable fuel standards, meant to boost US agriculture as the conflict in Iran continues. Continue reading...

Looksmaxxer' influencer and his girlfriend are suspected of involvement in attack on 19-year-old woman, officials say

FAA investigating after plane carrying 162 passengers forced to change course to prevent collisionA United flight came within a few hundred feet of a US military helicopter near John Wayne airport in southern California, triggering an alarm directing the airline pilots to change course.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday that it is investigating the incident that happened at about 8.40pm Tuesday when a military Black Hawk helicopter returning from a training mission crossed into the plane's path. The pilots of the passenger plane carrying 162 passengers and six crew members stopped their descent and leveled off to avoid a collision. Continue reading...

Order comes after House Republicans rejected a Senatepassed deal to fund key DHS subagencies, including the TSA

Chad Bianco, running for governor, previously confiscated 650,000 ballots for baseless voter fraud investigation

Law firm is preparing claim on behalf of 30,000 consumers who fear the FCA's redress scheme will shortchange themLloyds Banking Group is facing a court battle with 30,000 aggrieved car loan customers who are to abandon the City regulator's official redress scheme amid fears it will shortchange consumers and favour lenders.The claims law firm Courmacs Legal is planning to file a 66m omnibus claim on behalf of borrowers who believe they were financially harmed by car loan contracts set up by Lloyds' motor finance arm, Black Horse. Continue reading...

Claimants say lost documents hide scale of alleged unlawful information gathering at publisher of the Daily MailThe amount of lost or destroyed documents relating to the Daily Mail publisher's use of private investigators is stark in the extreme", the high court has heard.However, the thin surviving evidence of payments to private investigators contains conspicuous and often shocking evidence", according to lawyers for a group of claimants accusing the publisher of using unlawful techniques. Continue reading...

Party announces Corey Edwards' decision to quit Senedd election campaign on grounds of mental healthA Reform UK candidate for the Welsh Senedd elections in May has announced he is standing down because of his mental health, after a photograph emerged of him apparently making a Nazi salute as an imitation of Adolf Hitler.The announcement by Reform comes a day after Nigel Farage defended Corey Edwards, its lead candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, saying he might have instead been impersonating the John Cleese character Basil Fawlty. Continue reading...

Christopher Trybus is charged with manslaughter and two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviourA man accused of subjecting his wife to a campaign of physical and sexual violence" said finding out she had died by hanging was the worst day of my life".Tarryn Baird, 34, was found dead at her home in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 28 November 2017. Christopher Trybus, 43, is charged with his wife's manslaughter as well as with two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviour. He denies all the charges.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Study backed by Jamie Oliver finds pupils are foregoing sit-down meals for often less healthy, convenient optionsPupils in England are routinely eating pizza slices, sausage rolls and paninis for lunch as school canteens become dominated by a grab-and-go" culture of unhealthy food.Convenience foods eaten on the move are ousting sit-down meals as the main way secondary pupils in England refuel during lunch breaks, a report backed by the TV chef Jamie Oliver found. Continue reading...

Met police say suspect in his 60s interviewed under caution over claims of human trafficking and facilitating rapePolice have questioned a man over allegations of human trafficking and facilitating rape in connection with the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.The suspect, who is in his 60s, was interviewed under caution this month after 154 people came forward to report allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Jerry Murrell seemingly alluded to healthcare CEO killing when he explained giving bonus to workers after bungled promotion

NBC host says returning is part of my purpose' nearly two months after her mother Nancy's apparent abductionAfter a two-month absence sparked by her 84-year-old mother's apparent abduction, Savannah Guthrie will return to NBC's Today show next month, saying in an interview that aired on Friday: Joy will be my protest."Hoda Kotb said after her emotional interview with her former co-host aired that Guthrie will return on 6 April. Guthrie said it was hard to imagine returning to a place of joy and lightness. While she doesn't know if she can do it or if she will belong any more, Guthrie said she wants to try. Continue reading...